Let's Get This In Perspective Before We Go Any Further....
Because it's an important part of our next 30 years....
And Now....Onto the Facts & Figures....
SS & Medicare for Us
According to the government publication "Older Americans 2010: Key Indicators of Well-being", we're living longer and healthier lives:
So changes to the formula for both paying into and accessing SS benefits are in order:
- Compared to 1930, when the median life expectancy was 59.2 years at birth, and 12.2 years at age 65, in 2012, that rose dramatically to an average of 78.8 years at birth, and 19.9 at age 65. When surveyed, almost 75% over age 65 rated their own health as "good" or "excellent". Since 1981, death rates for stroke and heart disease have been cut in half.
- In 2012, the median net worth for those 55-64 was $179,400, and for those 65 and over (households) was $206,700; for married couples it was $365,000.
- Couples with an income of $52,000 went from 18.4% in 1980, to 30.6% in 2007
So changes to the formula for both paying into and accessing SS benefits are in order:
- Change the formula for deductions so that income on earnings over $106K goes into the pot
- Allow those making over $106K a year to claim only the percentage of SS equal to the percentage of their income they invested
- Allow those making over a certain income upon retirement to not claim their benefits, if they wish to do so, putting that back into the pot
- Raise the age at which we can claim our benefits, to match life expectancy (which was the original formula, we just haven’t been following it)
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Is the Social Security Trust Fund Really Going Bankrupt?
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Volunteering/Activism: It's in our DNA!
Of all current generations, Boomers do the most volunteer work, according to figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Approximately 33% of us in fact. That is the highest rate of any generational group, and four percentage points above the national average of 28.8 percent. In 2009, 22.8 million Boomers gave 3.1 billion hours of service to American organization, the numbers say.
Additionally, Boomer volunteerism has increased during the past few decades. For example, the volunteer rate for younger to middle Boomers (ages 46 to 57) is 30.9%, significantly higher than the 25.3% recorded by the same age group in 1974 and the 23.2 percent recorded in 1989.
Hey, after our extensive activism that brought about tremendous and needed social change in the '60s and '70s, we still feel the drive to change the world and make a difference, says Sandy Scott, spokesman for the Corporation for National & Community Service in Washington, D.C. And, a key component to our volunteerism is best use of our tremendous knowledge and skill sets, something we must ensure before agreeing to give our time. This means rather than (or perhaps in addition to) serving meals or helping in the office, we use our organizational and management capacities to benefit the organization.
Additionally, Boomer volunteerism has increased during the past few decades. For example, the volunteer rate for younger to middle Boomers (ages 46 to 57) is 30.9%, significantly higher than the 25.3% recorded by the same age group in 1974 and the 23.2 percent recorded in 1989.
Hey, after our extensive activism that brought about tremendous and needed social change in the '60s and '70s, we still feel the drive to change the world and make a difference, says Sandy Scott, spokesman for the Corporation for National & Community Service in Washington, D.C. And, a key component to our volunteerism is best use of our tremendous knowledge and skill sets, something we must ensure before agreeing to give our time. This means rather than (or perhaps in addition to) serving meals or helping in the office, we use our organizational and management capacities to benefit the organization.
And now... say hey to just a few of the hundreds of thousands of us giving our time and talents to non-profits of every type, throughout the nation...
(photos courtesy of nationalservice.gov)
Here's a good place to start....
Get back to our roots of environmentalism. Two stalwarts of planetary and our own health are clean water and air. No one will disagree with that, but many do too little to improve these environments - and more of us are doing less to even sustain the cleanliness we had achieved over the past few decades.
- According to the Natural Resources Defense Council's annual report, beach closures/advisories due to extensive pollution increased across the nation by 29% in 2010. According to David Beckman, a senior attorney who directs the organization's water program, "Going to the beach is a summer rite of passage....Unfortunately, it can also make you sick." Much of the nation's increased water pollution comes from sewage and pesticide run-off. Yuck.
- The EPA is being depicted as no longer needed by some in Congress who believe industry will do a fine job of policing itself. It was begun under Richard Nixon in 1970 to fix such disasters as the burning Cayahoga River in Ohio, smog that was so bad that Bob Hope joked "I don't trust air I can't see..." and one of our Great Lades (Erie) that was so polluted from industrial run-off and waste that is was declared dead, because it was clear that left to their own devices, industries then, as now, say that cleanliness is too costly and consumers will pay dearly - no different than the auto industry claims decades ago that seatbelts (and windshield wipers decades before that) would make cars unaffordable.
- use non-chemical fertilizers on your lawn, and insist your golf club/home association do the same
- insist that your local government modernize the sewage storm draining system, since it is overloaded older systems that spill over and wash into our waters
- don't allow environmental health become a partisan issue in your own mind or that of your elected official; Christine Todd Whitman and William Ruckleshaus, both Republicans, have been strong proponents of increased regulation of industry when it comes to the environment, noting that businesses will not invest in clean technologies because it puts them at a "competitive disadvantage" so unfortunately, top-down regulation is required.
Financial Retirement Prep 101
According to an analysis titled "Americans' Financial Capability" by George Washington University professor Annamaria Lusardi, 42% of those surveyed indicated they have even tried to determine how much they'll need financially to retire comfortably, and a whopping (but not surprising to this expert) 51% of those ages 45-59 had yet to figure this one out.
Add to that the fact that Boomers have done a not so swell job of saving for retirement in the first place, and now experience a huge hole in what we did have (investment losses, home devaluation), and far too many of us are financially unable to leave our primary job when we want to.
So what's a Boomer to do??!
Add to that the fact that Boomers have done a not so swell job of saving for retirement in the first place, and now experience a huge hole in what we did have (investment losses, home devaluation), and far too many of us are financially unable to leave our primary job when we want to.
So what's a Boomer to do??!
Start by getting this book....
...by Boomer Financial Planning wizard Patrick Astre: This Is Not Your Parents' Retirement. This is "The definitive book on retirement planning for Baby Boomers and anyone struggling toward financial independence. You will know the exact financial moves to make at your stage of life. Constantly updated through this website, its like having your own powerful financial planner at your side." It's loaded with investment secrets that create multiple income streams for life, including the best mutual funds, stocks, bonds, insurance products, and tax strategies.
