Later retirement, less jobs

[Nikia]

My boss said that this was a big problem causing unemployment and college grads being unable to find "professional jobs".
He is in his early fifties and hoped to retire in a couple years, but said it would probably be closer to 10 years. He said that companies of his parents generation used to offer pensions or at least paid health insurance for retirees. The elimination of these programs as well as rising insurance costs keep people from retiring in their fifities.
I hadn't thought of things that way. Does my boss have a point or is he just upset that he couldn't afford health insurance if he retired now?

[mhr]

1. I'm 46, Unemployed Now For 43 Months, All Of My Retirement Savings

will be gone soon.

If I ever work again, I will have to work till the day I die.

Your boss is spot on!

[SoCalDem]

2. A lot of 50-somethings never get the "option" to work longer

They are "phased out" at around 54 and their company hires younger cheaper people or just dumps that person's workload on his co-workers as he tells them how lucky they are that THEY are not the one being "downsized".. This has happened to so many of our friends..

The ones who have a military pension or who worked in government are the lucky ones.. They at least have a guaranteed stipend each month to add to the usually lousy job they have to go out and get..

If they were smart, they had paid extra on their homes and they are paid for or nearly paid for, so they can get by.. As long as no one gets sick , or their teenaged kids don't plan to go to college, they manage..

Most of them did not want nor could they afford to quit working, they had it forced on them..

One friend had 25 years (his only "real job") with his company when they downsized/eliminated his division. He lost his health care,his $75,000.00 a year job, and they had to use most of his 401-k until he found a new job..18 months later...for $40,000.00 or so a year.. He now has to work some weekends and some evenings.. and he is still somewhat depressed over the fact that their once longed for retirement scares him now..

[Nikia]

3. But as you said, they still work because they couldn't afford it

In that case, their former job may open up for a young professional (or not if the position has been permanently eliminated) but they are still in the workforce.
If people could afford to retire in their fifties, like my boss said they did in the past genration, instead of working until they died, there would be less people in the workforce and more available positions.

[SoCalDem]

4. They still work, but the bar gets lowered for everyone

Actually his job was one of the millions that just disappeared into the ether, sp no one got that job. But his company DID hire a bunch of younger people in more "menial" positions.. The job he took was probably vacated by someone else who was downsized, and he was desperate enough to work for half of what he had been making..

Young people today are actually facing something very similar to what my generation faced..more job seekers than jobs.. It affected us because there were just a ton of baby boomers dropped into the job market in a very few years..

The problem today is a contrived one.. A scant few years ago, workers were being paid bonuses to consider working for places....

Companies are greedy and they have found a legal way to privatise profit and socialize risk.

Welcome to the "Reagan years-part 3".. You will not enjoy the ride..

also..

EVERY generation wishes that the "old people" will hurry up and get out of the way ..That is not the main problem here..

[Nikia]

6. I hadn't even thought of it until my "old" boss suggested it

It is certainly not good though that people are not economically able to retire though if they would want. My boss has saved a good deal for retirement in 401Ks and such. He has enough for normal living expenses but cannot afford private insurance for someone of his age and not run out of money. We have a temp who worked for a company that offered a monthly pension payment. He counted on that for his retirement. Five years after he retired the company went bankrupt and the pension fund disappeared. Now he is a temp when he had planned on not working anymore.

[Raster]

7. "it's mourning in America..." to turn a phrase

I loved "welcome to the Reagan years, part 3"

No shit. Hmmm, go figure. Carter was right after all. We really are running out of gas. Hmmmm....an failed oilman president, son of another oilman/spook president... Hmmmm...tax breaks for gas guzzlin' SUVs... Hmmm...Secret Energy Comissions... Hmmmm...Secretary of Defense becomes oil company services CEO becomes Vice President... Hmmm... just how many puppet presidents will the Dark Side foist upon us? Black hearts that pump crude throughout a diseased body. Sacrifice YOUR sons and daughters today. We certainly won't be sacrificing the sons and daughters of the elite. They have things like the "champagne unit" of the National Guard. Hmmm...

[fortyfeetunder]

5. It is not going to get better

As the number of "entry-level" and routine jobs get outsourced to countries like India, China, there will be fewer jobs available for new college grads.

The trend for company funded employee pensions and retirements are increasingly a perk of the past. Hence, the proliferation of self-funded programs like IRAs.