Yes but save to invest. Savings accounts will never keep pace with inflation.

Mike277 - exactly!

Macdeezy - agree, except if Obama is re-elected, investing won't be as attractive since he is likely to raise the tax rate on both interest and capital gains.

Go for the Roth IRA.

And if Mitt wins but you get sick in retirement, you will just die early and same the budget that way.

Save in what form? Dollars that they can devalue, stocks that can lose 10-20% in a week? Bonds that could drop if rates rise from the floor?

I recommend to get a little gold and silver in your hands, just in case.

It's too bad that it takes so much to support the governments and their lavish pensions.

Reasons for Gen Xer's not to be confidant:

1. Government overspending and printing money = Good chance on devaluation of dollar and massive cost to finance debt. Add to that we are likely to enter massive inflation because there'll be too much money floating out there IF the economy turns around. 2. Social Security is going insolvent (last I heard was down to 2034 and compressing) quickly and currently it costs two people's payments into the system to pay for one person drawing from the system. By the end of the boomer's retirement it's projectedt to be 3:1. Next we'll hear that the system is going to get rebuilt and that we won't qualify to receive anything in return, nor have any say in how our payments are going to work for us. 3. Market volitility- So far many of us have watched our 401k's go up and down like a yoyo (lost a chunk in 2000-1, lost a chunk in 2008-9....) We keep investing and we keep loosing parts of our investments. 4. Taxation- Just when you thought you were starting to get financially healthy the government goes and cuts the tax incentives we use and create new taxes on us. Think the government isn't going to make a run for your 401k? I can just hear it now, "not everyone can afford to save- it's just the right thing to do" and "one time 15% tax", etc.

The trouble is that if you play by the "rules", not spend every dollar you make and try to save, it can and will be used against you. You try to do the right thing and save some money for a rainy day and it looses it's value, inflation eats up a portion, and you become a target because you saved. You don't buy everything you feel like and save towards retirement and you get penalized because the government needs your money more than you do, so they find new ways to work over your meager capital gains, etc.

Nope not confident about retirement, let alone how to make it over the next 10 years.

A survey released Monday shows that Americans aged 35 to 44 are now the most worried about financing their retirement, a stark turnaround from 2009, when people in that age group were among the least worried about money for retirement,

Wasn't it the same group that lived way beyond their means and throwing everything on creditcards? Living in McMansions and driving around SUVs? And now they are worried about their retirement? A little too late don't cha think?

to had-enough

I don't know who "Cha" is, but I think that you are making a gross generalization. ;) I am at the eldest end of what is being called "Gen X" and two decades ago people were discussing the issue of what happens when the baby boomers hit retirement. How is there going to be money in social security or private pensions? Enter this political and fiscal climate where there is concern of rampant dollar devaluation, unstable markets, a messy real estate market (remember, real estate was the SAFEST investment you could make), and a particularly uncertain future if either candidate is elected are all very real issues. Nothing was done in the past two decades to fix any of the foreseen problems. You don't have to have sympathy but I hope you can understand that this is not a particularly worry free time for people in that age range on this issue. As for me, I went back and got a masters degree in a field that I can work in until I am very old as I don't expect to get to retire.

You can't save if you lost your job (despite education & experience) and can't find a new one, or the new one is temporary and doesn't cover necessities, like food shelter, etc.

Macdeezy - agree, except if Obama is re-elected, investing won't be as attractive since he is likely to raise the tax rate on both interest and capital gains.

Go for the Roth IRA.

2 bad ideas.

First, retirement accounts (401K's, IRA's, Roths) do NOT get capital gain treatment.

Second, with a Roth, you don't get a pre-tax deduction, but you do get all withdraws out tax-free (as long as the first contribution is over 5 years old), but wait....let's elect someone like Herman Cain, who wants a national sales tax.....you'll now pay tax again when you spend that Roth (once before your contributions, and once again when you spend it). You also run the risk in the next 20, 30, or 40 years of holding the Roth, that congress changes the taxability....bad idea.

Rule 1 of tax...take the deduction NOW while it still exists.

GK - that is a small minority of people. I know many people is this age group, all employed, many with very good jobs. THE #1 problem with them is that they SPEND TOO MUCH. From the house, to furniture and big screens and home decor, to vehicles, to vacations, to clothes, to eating out, too expensive haircuts and colors at salons, to their kid's expensive activities, to toys up the wazzoo for themselves and kids, to going to concerts and sporting events or playing golf, to smart phone plans they don't need, to premium cable tv, to just "having to have" the latest IPhone/Pad, etc. I could go on and on and on and on. The list is a mile long. They have no concept of need vs. want. I had a neighbor lady tell me her weekly massages are a "must". Seriously. They want it all, and they want it now. And then they whine that there is no money left to save for either their kid's college or retirement. I refuse to feel sorry for these people.

You should always "pay yourself" first. Put 10% (at least) in a automatic payroll deduction into some kind of retirement (first, with work to get any matching). Soon you will learn to live without it.

Starting is the first step. Put it in a target date retirement fund if you don't know where to put it, but starting is the biggest step.

What good has saving done now that the dollar is devalued? I had a company, made money from it and saved. After closing the company with money in my pocket, I got laid off from a corporation and have almost gone through all of my savings while looking for a job at 35. I assumed I would work until 70, but honestly Wall Street and the baby boomers who are in charged wrecked the economy by not being practical. Profits over a generations' livelyhood was absolutely wreckless.

What are our political leaders concerned with? The Middle East. It is absolutely frustrating.

Generation X will be the first generation to have to make do without Social Security, even though we always paid into the system. Bush gave the money to our parents in tax breaks while he gutted Social Security to fund two wars. At the same time, he also doubled the national debt from $5 trillion to $10 trillion. It has nothing to do with our personal savings.

Bush's economic plan is the equivalent of our parents taking out credit cards in our name, and leaving us to pay off their debts.

First Soc Sec and Medicare will collapse within 10 years ... FACT. We pay in to the system and when we retire we get the benefits we have been paying for, the problem is congress has been reducing the amount you have to pay in to qualify, presently $650 per year for 10 years, and making others eligible without ever paying in, at all. So, if you pay $6,500 and in some cases $0 you are now eligible to collect $14,100 per year every year.

Do you see why its going to collapse.

What the politicians are going to do is turn Soc Sec & Medicare into welfare, meaning ... example lets say you are retired and have IRA's and the interest you receive is $28,000 per year or you're a GM retiree, Retired Teacher whatever, Obama will say hey Mrs. Johnson you're doing pretty good so Soc Sec is only going to let you $300 per month of your Soc Sec $ not the $1,500 you paid in for. So, if you make $41,500 from your GM pension or Teachers pension or your own IRA's, Obama you're just fine you don't need Soc Sec

Let's say you're a retired Fire Dept and you make $110,000 per in retirement , Obama will say not only do you make TOO much to get Soc Sec we are also going to ask you to pay more for Medicare, instead of the $96 charge for Medicare per month we are going to charge you $951 per month. Don't think this could happen ? think again

It's going to start 2014 with the Medicare premium going from $96 to $257.

If you asked me this question 6 months ago, I would have said: I am right on schedule... I put aside the maximum amount in my 401K each year... I am going to re-finance my house so that it is paid off in 10 years... when I turn 62... I've got it covered...

Now, my answer is totally different after losing my job (RIF) in July... Interestingly enough of the 5 out of 15 people cut in my department, I was the youngest at age 52... no one under age 42 was let go... Company-wide over 200 were let go...

Because the RIF took place in July, I will not qualify for any UI extensions... so, after 26 weeks, I will no longer be eligible for UI nor will I be counted... even though I have never collected UI in my entire life, I will only get 26 weeks... doesn't seem fair when others were able to collect for 99 weeks...

I apply for jobs on a daily basis... Many that pay less than 50% of what I was making... I will be happy to take any job at this point, as my goal is to not have to dip into my 401K (and pay a penalty even though I'm unemployed and over 50) to cover my basic expenses... But, at 52, I have 10 years before I can qualify for any SS benefits... My biggest fear is that I will have to wipe out everything I saved in my 401K to make it to 62 and then I will be left with nothing...

My retirement hopes end when Republicans start screwing up Social Security and Medicare.

jac - I am one of them, and there are more of us than you think. I have a master's and two decades' experience in a field that isn't dead.

I've worked 13 weeks since April '10. And, I wasn't a fool w/ my $. I drive a Honda Civic. I live in a 1 BR condo <1000 sq. ft. I also met my 401k match and saved beyond that amt. in non-retirement accounts.

I was you. Don't think you can't next on the chopping block.

vinca - I hear you. My job was 'eliminated' a year ago and then I was forced to train the person who would be my replacement. I'm 51 and with the unemployment rate for college grads at 50% - what do you think it is for over 50 engineers?

Unless they halt all immigration (legal, illegal and the specialty visas like H-1B, L1 etc) we will all be fighting over that last Walmart greeter job.

Why bother saving. If you save the ones that don't will just cry that you are the 1% and should give them some of your money because they have none. Might as well live it up good now and join the rest with their hand out, socialism at its finest.

So very true as seen in the past few years of benefits, bailouts and mortgages subsidized by those that didn't save, lived over their heads and reaped the savings and benefits of those that did save and live within their means. If you play by the rules, you get screwed because you are okay or better off than others and either political party wants the votes of the foolish and foolhardy...

yoyo (lost a chunk in 2000-1, lost a chunk in 2008-9....)

That is still short term were talking about 20-40 years.

Bezeelbub is Correct. . . . "means testing" means that if you saved or have anything it will disqualify for SS and you will PAY MORE for your Medicare.

Coming from a baby boomer looking back as why our generation is more secure than the others that came after I find we had in place many things that were politically removed. We had a strong middle class and there was more distribution of wealth so it was easier to save and invest. Today with the wealth gap, even if there were many jobs, the pay would still be lower than the pay ratio of top earners to middle class of 30 years ago. Diminishing or reducing corporate pensions to the workers has nothing that will take its place. The idea of making everyone personally responsible for their retirement has no meaning when they aren't personally responsible for the economy which controls their decisions.

It's impossible to save and invest if your pay barely covers your living expenses. Some tax exemptions the middle class had were removed by the republicans during Regan, interest on loans, and Romney promises to remove more, deductions for mortgage interest payments, all increase taxes on the middle class. Romney also promises to reduce taxes further on the super wealthy which will increase the wealth gap even more making the future look very bleak for anyone working and trying to be middle class. Even if you eventually find a good job with adequate pay your taxes will go up much higher than the super wealthy's on a ratio of disposable income to pay for the deficit which allowed for a tax break on the super wealthy to begin with.

I do not receive any of the above mentioned benefits from the baby boomer generation. I had always been a hard worker, invested, started businesses and sold all of that which gave me my retirement. But my wealth has been diminished greatly since 2001. Mostly under Bush II, not Obama.

I started saving at 24 because I saw the handwriting on the wall. Our reckless government spending and 'entitlements' will bankrupt this country, and SS and every other 'benefit' used to frighten seniors into voting a certain way will be long gone by the time I retire in 20 years. I'll have to take care of myself.

What a novel concept.

Too bad it's fallen out of fashion and people think it's the government's job to take care of them. And too bad it's mathematically impossible to retire anyway. I expect to work half time until my imminent demise; health care costs will probably devour everything I will have saved over my working life.

Some tax exemptions the middle class had were removed by the republicans during Regan, interest on loans, and Romney promises to remove more, deductions for mortgage interest payments, all increase taxes on the middle class.

What are you talking about????? lets see 3/5 of the country pays an average of 1% federal income tax the next fifth of the country's house holds pay an average of 2-3% federal income tax and the upper fifth pays an average of 6% it is not until you get to the upper 8% you go past an average of 9% federal income taxes.

The key is in having the stomach to keep putting money away and not making decisions during volatile or traumatic times. For gen X, there is more than enough time to make up losses, just adjust the amount you contribute, and spend a little less from week to week to make up for it. It would be ideal if economies remained stable and always grew, regardless of the ebb and flow of markets, but this isn't the first recession and won't be the last. The real people who have reason to worry are those who don't have jobs that pay the bills, let alone leave anything left over to save. That is something that can be changed, to a degree.

I wouldn't advise in investing in gold, contrary to what the gold sellers tell you (now why would they tell you their product is the one true smart thing to invest in?) At least not for the foreseeable future. Its at all time highs. Even if you manage to catch it before it peaks, the likelihood that you will take anything but a loss unless youre retirement has excellent timing is slim to none. Basically, unless you are retiring into an economy worse than the one we've been in (and, tbh, the economy atm isn't as bad as some think. The job market isn't great atm, but the economy itself is trending upward, and isn't at any kind of low ebb atm to begin with. I'll take stable growth that keeps ahead of inflation over a small chance at getting rich quick any day...)

And, to the comment about "paying for the governments expensive pensions" the real question I have to you on that is, why don't you feel you deserve the same? The private market can certainly afford it. Assets and holdings among American companies are record highs, and record is an understatement. Business expenses are low due to general downsizing, and money has never been cheaper to borrow. If you are buying into the dialogue that businesses in America can't afford it, its to your own detriment. Demand what you are worth, and not so long ago pensions for nearly every working American was as normal as apple pie. Don't support a race to the bottom. Demand your board start to pay its labor more. Don't let them get away with saying they are patriotic and Pro America if they are selling out America's largest social class. Especially if they are paying dividends to stockholders, they are in the black. If they are in the black and can afford to give payouts to people not doing the real work, they can afford to pay you first.

a vote for robme should finish us off !!!

You don't have to worry about the politicians though -- they're keeping in power to pick the pockets of the taxpayer -- that is if you have skin in the game they keep skinning you to give to themselves and those who don't have any skin in the game and want to keep it that way. Speaking of which how's your boy Joe and his brother doing, looks like they won't be worrying about retirement but then MSNBC isn't printing this story:

How was it that HillStone, a newcomer in the business of home building, landed a massive and potentially lucrative contract to build 100,000 homes in war-torn Iraq?

Richter didn’t mince words. It really helps, he said, to have “the brother of the vice president as a partner,” according to a person who was present.

The “brother” Richter was referring to during the meeting is James Biden, the younger brother of Vice President Joe Biden.

So we're filling SS with IOU's but we can build homes for Iraq? This is what this admin is all about -- WHAT ABOUT AMERICA?

250K per year? Get real.

Average household income is 50K for a family of 4. In the meantime, our roads are failing, our public school systems are failing, and the tea party wants to spend more of foriegn wars where we don't even get cheap oil out of the deal.

Not a big Obama supporter, but he is at least not pissing down my back and telling me it's raining.

I agree too. I wouldn't say making 70-249k a year poor and lower class....

I don't know what you make per year that consider making less than 250k poor. Must be alot.

@suz47; i was born apr 64 so im not genx but close.dont think all of them were like this but as far as digging was concerned,atleast when he was a kid my now 41 step brother doesnt have to worry.he wouldnt touch a shovel as a kid either.

a vote for robme should finish us off !!!

Ahh, yes, because Obummer has done such a fine job with four years as a disgrace of a prez. Perhaps four more with him will completely sink us.

If you are making less then $250k/year , meaning you are poor and lower class then you have little likelyhood of retiring.

You fail to plain you will fail to retire.

Guys... We've been through this before. $250k is an enormous amount of money for some places and it's not much at all for other places. Depends on where you live.

Dotties:

Sounds like Arrested Development!

I do have to say, if you are making more than 70k per year and cant figure out a way to plan your retirement with safety (if you are part of gen X) then you are living outside of your means. I do agree it is a horrible disservice to America the way I can pay a business to give me money someone else earned and be taxed at a lower rate than the people acutally doing the work. Apparently that is the system everyone wants though. Regardless of the system, planning, patience and forethought are priceless things that can offer piece of mind.

If you fall below 70k per year, youre dipping into the area where you may well just simply not even be able to keep up with average bills while maintaining a normal lifestyle. Given how the ranks have swelled in that category, and how disturbing it is that the median income has dropped so severely low, I don't know what to tell you. But this is America. Anyone who works an honest days work for 45 years of their life or more deserves to have some piece of mind when they move into old age. Knowing you will have food, shelter, medical treatment.... these are things I feel you have earned by your own sweat, regardless of your wage. IMO you have contributed more to the country in 45 years of solid, real WORK than anyone trading pieces of paper that belong to someone else for a profit professionally. That being said, if you made poor decisions with your finances and voting, you can't escape those consequences, either. There is no simple solution to a complex, multi faceted problem, despite how I just admittedly oversimplified it.

4 years of Romney will surely make it worse for the 99%.

Bye bye, my deductions.

At least the Job Creators in the top 1$ will get $250,000 tax cuts!

Maybe one of 'em can hire me for $50k a year to mow their yard.

You might want to rethink your statement. You might wanna redirect that anger to politicians who used the social security fund to pay for wars and other pork projects. The social security fund was perfectly fine until they got their greedy paws all over it.

Hey, you guys here that? I swear I just hear a little girl crying.

Now get off the internet and get your ass back to work so you can fund my retirement.

I funded the ones before me now it's your turn.

Jolly, we'll need those new hips and knees so that we can work until we're 90 because we used all of our money to send to to college for 6 years to get that 4 year degree rather than saving for our retirement.

See, a boomer can sound just as stupid as you do.

Boomers didn't fund the prior retires. They put it on the credit card. The ones prior didn't even pay in hardly. As far as directing to polititions. The boomers have the numbers to vote in who they want. As far as I am concerned you can all rought in hell.

I am with Jolly on this. Boomers sold this country and GenX gets to pay. No jobs, because for decades boomers sent them to other countries. There will be no SS for GenX because boomers decided to redirect that money to pay for one bad decision after another. In the coming decades, there will be a big devaluation in a Dollar that is printed like water to pay the bills of the country.

At the end of this mess GenX has to look forward to working in to their 90s..

Do GenXers make money mistakes? Heck yeah we do! It is by far the Boomers wide ranging mistakes with finances in this country that will end up biting us all in the butt later.

Enjoy your retirement Boomers. Im not sure I could if I where you.

Both parties are equally responsible for robbing Americans of over $6 trillion from Social Security since the Ford administration. Neither talk about it or even lie that the IOUs would ever be paid. Social security was looked at as a nest egg for money now and screw the American public later, they all did that, each and every last president an0 congress since the early 1970s. They f'd all of us and nobody held accountable. 2010 was the first year that incoming SS revenue didn't meet payouts, so the $6 trillion or more stolen from us all would have helped out at gaining even a modest interest thru the baby boomer years. It sure would be nice if our elected officials had to live to a budget, increase taxes annually to pay for new wars or programs (but that would mean votes and public awareness), and money taxed for a certain reason could never be used for something else even if God said to do it. Hypocritical bastards each and everyone one of them except the women, they are something else as well...

QE - Sure, join Jolly's whinefest. If I haven't been funding prior retirees, WTF is that thousands of dollars the government has been taking from my paycheck for the last 40 years? Actually, the money we collect in taxes does fully pay (currently) for medicare/medicade, social security, debt service and defense. We borrow money for everything else.

Tom - sure, we'll get right on that.

What kind of entitlements do you think the government will be able to give you with a job base that makes $9 an hour?

Whoops!

What is said in that regard is, for all the talk of honoring the nation of laws that we are, the constitution, etc., the requirement that SS be funded along the way was ignored. I don't want to say no to our seniors, but they kind of dug the bed they have to sleep in, and now expect us still working to pay for their lack of saving, planning, and choices in the voting booth during their years of power. THey traded pensions for get rich quick schemes that profitted other people more than them (choosing to allow their company to dissolve pension plans in favor of giving them 401k's, stock options, etc)

So now, its time to pay the piper. That which was inevitable happened. Eventually the easy money machine hiccupped, and a few years worth of the boomer generation saw their retirement investments disappear in a poof of smoke. Sadly, most don't seem to connect the choices they made int he 80s to the results they are seeing today. Americans in the workforce today are walking into a similar situation, although admittedly many of the options which used to be taken for granted have long since become the things that only government jobs and the rare private company offer anymore. Yet the answer they have to that is to race to the bottom and take away from those who didn't make the poor decisions they did regarding their security. Classic.

In regards to capital gains, I like what Romney says, however I still need to see the math...Romney says a lot of things...pandering to his audience.

He may be pandering to his audience (so is Obama), but you should feel confident that he won't raise taxes on capital gains and interest. Mark my words, Obama get re-elected, those taxes will be raised before mid-year.

Star,

taxes are getting increase no matter who is in office. By that I mean they are actually going to raise taxes not only let cuts expire. This is a re-run of Regan, he promise not to raise taxes but then he raised them seven times.

The truth of the matter is that we cannot pay down our debt without cutting spending in most areas of the Government and raising taxes. Any plan that does not do both or that increases spending by a large amount will not work and only add to the deficit.

To those commenting that Romney would make it worse, you need to do your research. Romney wants to eliminate capital gains tax - the majority of people with retirement accounts diversify and invest. Obama wants to raise the capital gains tax. Meaning, you keep less of what you make on your investment gains and interest payments. How is that going to help our generation?

Starlight, you do NOT get capital gains treatment on retirement plans (401K's IRA's, etc.). I don't know how many middle class people have investments outside their retirement plans (I'd bet a month's pay nearly zero), so Romney doesn't help the middle class one bit. He'd like to make you think so (and it worked on you).

Romney WILL make it worse. He thinks he's a slick salesman throwing false promises out and laughing at you while he does it.

StoptheCannibals-2908428

Anyone that owns a house, a CD, and interest gaining savings or money market account is eligible for capital gains. That would encompass a majority of the middle class.

Bob,

You probably won't have enough gain on a home to pay any tax.

Interest is not eligible for capital gains treatment. Romney may lower rates on interest, but at 1% returns, you won't have much).

Selling capital assets (stocks, capital property) gets capital gain treatment, but gains other than a house (currently gains of up to $500k jointly is non-taxable), are not likely to be outside a retirement plan (unless you're rich).

get real...most folk don't have or worry about capital gains..only the well off...most folk live paycheck to paycheck...something Romney and Ryan never had to worry about

capital gains tax is huge. We started flipping houses to save for retirement. Our house is paid for and no debt. SS will not be there, so we decided to do this and save our own retirement. What we pay in future taxes will determine Gen X retirement.

Capital gains for the middle class?

You're serious, right?

My investments are in retirement funds that don't qualify. How will that benefit me? It won't.

However, the obscenely wealthy like Mitt who make $20 million a year in actual capital gains will laugh all the way to the Cayman Islands.

Why do you want this?

Gee, ever hear of opening a non-qualified investment account in addition to your 401K/IRA?

Yes, but one has to make enough money a year to be able to buy into such a thing. I don't, and I suspect most middle class folks don't, either.

It doen't take that much to open an account. And you don't need a lot of money - just the discipline to make regular deposits each month. Many people can do this, but it's a matter of choice. What are your priorities? Going out to eat every friday night? A latte at Starbucks? A smart phone famiily plan?

I've been in the middle class all my life. But that didn't stop me from going from a negative net worth to a positive ($1.1M) in 19 years.

That is a piece of a larger puzzle, much like doing away with pensions in favor of 401ks and the like were under Reagan. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but we'd be making the same selfish decision that MIGHT help us but will harm the greater picture. The ship needs to be righted, not sent even further in the wrong direction, imo. Use the system you have. There is more than enough leeway to make up for lost time without asking that the game rules be shifting even more in your favor at the expense of someone else. Innovate, don't re-legislate.

Not a big Obama supporter, but he is at least not pissing down my back and telling me it's raining.

Scary thing is the Republicains already did it to us in1930 and they want to repeat history? At least this time, the FED is not raising interest rates at the same time.

I agree and here the thing Bernanke's second term ends on January 31, 2014. Willard and the GOP will appoint the next Chairman. And I fear it will be devastating

Oh, you'll retire. When they re-legislate child labor back into the markets, why would they keep you on with 30 years of pay increases when they can hire a 12 year old to work your job instead? If some here are going to bring extreme examples, we may as well dip into the silly, but i'm only partly joking.

The fact is, the economy doesn't have much to do with the presidency anyway. Some, yes, but the bigger thing to pay attn to is the direct presidential powers. Appointments to the supreme court will have a more lasting, direct impact on your life than anything else the future president of this time has the power to affect. Its pretty clear that with one choice, we're looking at a rollback of 100 years of social progress fought for and won and put to bed... or so we thought. With the other, at least we won't be deliberately walking back into industrial era prioritization of business over people.

You are full of it......the Obamao has run up the National Debt from $10 Trillion to $16 Trillion. Social Security solvency is now trashed because of him......and he could care less. Have another glass of the Kool-Aid.....Alain.......maybe you can catch a flight back to Paris before the collapse there.

you been watching and believing those lies on Fox News...wakeup!

@caljam71 everyone else here at least seems to be somewhat reasonable. You on the other hand.. let me enlighten you. Obama didn't add to the National Debt. Congress, and a recession that put millions of people out of work and thus in a position where they weren't paying taxes, therefore reducing revenue... while at the same time drawing on social safety nets through short term welfare, emergency unemployment, etc. added to the national debt.

That is a short term thing. Unless you are naive enough to believe that any photographic snapshot of the economy at any given point in time is the way it will behave for the rest of eternity. Given your comment, apparently you do. One thing is just simply common sense for anyone with economic understanding. Romney or Obama, things will continue getting better. Its the hows, how much, how fast and the who's that are in question.

caljam71, perhaps you should do a little research and enlighten yourself. A starting point would be:

http://www.truthfulpolitics.com/http:/truthfulpolitics.com/comments/u-s-federal-debt-by-president-political-party/

The advantage of compounding...start early as posted above

well thought out--you were proactive and didn't wait on others or for mommy or daddy to pass away to get your assets so you could look successful when in reality it was bequeathed.Well done and you deserve all the respect in the world

Very good Jerrold, but I would be careful about the Roth- see my comment at 1.9 (it may become taxable at some point thru the back door). You may just want to put some in to start the 5 year clock and put in extra money (after the 401K is funded).

most employeers match the first 7% .....what you been smoking!; Also, compounding only works if the market goes up in your investment horizon. Try it now buddy, the market hasnt moved from its peak since 2006. !

Jerrold-1391564

Are all your savings and investments denominated in Dollars? If they are, all your planning and hard work could be for nothing if the US hits Hyperinflation wall. That is more an more likely so long as we keep printing money to pay the bills.

For all your prep work, I would hate for it to be for nothing in the end.

Don't make it so simple you'll confuse people how to retire.

You are the perfect example of personal responsibility coupled with the system working as it is supposed to.

Hopefully, more ppl will do that. Sadly, sometimes employers don't match, ppl don't save, ppl get term'd without cause, etc. Its not an ideal world. But if people remain innovative, adaptaple and patient, they can achieve stability, regardless of the means or party in power. But, 80 years of economic history have shown us some stark economic lessons. If you take a look and really want the economy to stay on track, the answer to the election should be pretty simple.

Again though, my hats off to ya!

Seems like they love to get appointments from Goldman Sachs.

bushisanidiot,

If you think that Bernanke(or the Federal Reserve) is doing a good job, then I am not at all surprised that you are not confident about your retirement.

I too had a plan... house paid for by 62... Hefty 401K... No credit card debt... live below my means... then I got the phone call (in July) that told me: you're done (RIF)... didn't matter that I had stellar reviews and many awards... I was cut anyway... Was probably age discrimination, but it is next to impossible to prove... Hopefully, you won't suffer the same fate... My dreams of a nice retirement seem very remote now...

We also wished that those in control of the country would stop spending many we did not have ( boomers ). We wished for an older generation that was not Ok with selling out America.( boomers ) Last but not least, we wished for the end to the constant sanctimonious drivel of boomers who erroneously labeled us as lazy losers.

Boomers have some gull pointing fingers at a generation that will be picking up their mess for 20 more years.

Error correction there. Spending money we did not have. Instead of spending many we did not have.

while we disagree on some finer points, you took the words right out of my mouth on that one QE137.

People who wonder what is meant when someone refers to "our grandchildren will be paying for it" they talking about the boomers who spent themselves silly, blew up their credit cards, never saved a dime, treated their retirement accounts like casinos, and now are robbing the system we are paying into to cover the expenses they ran out of their own money to pay for. They are the epitome of the ME ME ME gotta have it now, give me another credit card so i can spend spend spend don't read any fine print i'll just sue them later generation. They let themselves be the cash cow for corporations for 30 years. The wheels finally fell off when credit crashed and they couldn't pretend they had money that they really didn't have anymore, and now want to cry that its someone else's fault.

TRinPA, I'm sorry for the tough place you're in. But I do hope you pay off your student loans. I paid mine off, and I'm glad I did. With no credit card debt, you're not in as bad a place as you think. The home market is starting to loosen up. Hang in there! You and your wife can work through this.

Why four kids? There is your problem right there.

Don't be so Harsh Linda. those 4 kids are going to pay for only your retirement.

Doctorate in what?

Nobody made you have 4 kids.

Not sure how sorry I feel.

I am confused. So the way to a sound retirement is in real estate these days? Especially in Florida? Unless of course, you are referring to the old "you gotta have money to make money" plan for retirement. Well, if that's what you are referring to (and I believe it is), well then that pretty much negates the rest of us 99%-ers.

PatseChi;

It is kinda hard to think about retirement when you are living almost day to day and unemployment has struck your family hard. I'm talking about two educated professionals with at that time kids in 9th grade and 11th grade. We Had investments that tanked, my husband had to move without me could not sell our home and we did manage to buy rather than rent a small place, but we have so much to make up for between the time not working and putting out for essential like Cobra.....we do have his investments which we can move to a safer haven once he is 55 but he isn't and im not even close to that. So maybe when you say something about planning, consider that when unemployment strikes at this point in your mid forties with all the responsibilities to just stay ahead that many people cannot do as you have done. You are smart and lucky and count your blessings. No one is untouchable.

Are you implying that Gen X is the first "coddled generation"? If so, this displays a shocking ignorance of demography, so I'll assume you were born somewhere between 1946-1964.

You miss a larger point here, that anyone who is able to, will attempt to make things easier for their children. My point on the "anyone able to" is important, as the days of the middle class being able to do so are quickly coming to an end...Obama...Romney...it doesn't matter - at some point global capitalism devours itself, and on that day, we are ALL screwed, regardless of our "generation."

A. Gramsci - I disagree. Those immigrant generations, up through the WWII generations, did work hard so their kids' lives would be better. They didn't necessarily leave huge financial legacies, but they did adopt the "old money" attitude of preserving wealth. That stopped w/ the boomers - drugs, dodging the draft, promiscuity/AIDS, etc. Goofing their way through college, but still able to get great jobs w/o having to know much because there was no global competition.

I wish I would have bookmarked the article - a large majority of the boomers in the study I read about planned to "spend it all". The $s now being transferred between the WWII & Boomer generations has financial planners salivating!

Many said their kids "couldn't handle money" Gee, wonder where they learned how not to handle money". How does paying off crushing student debt demonstrate an inability to handle money? Money decisions are complicated; that's why there are trusts.

GK:

The 1% can't wait for the irresponsible idiots to blow their inheritance (from what I've read, the largest wealth transfer in human history) in our discretionary economy.

It will all shift to the top 1% with a decade as it's spent on bills, eating out, new cars, houses, etc. and it will be gone.

Wealth, gone forever from the middle class, and never ever to return.

Endgame 1%, 40 years at most.

Sorry to disagree with you I'm 49 now, just at the tail end of the boomers, spouse is 52, both of us worked from age 14 up, paid our own college, no help at all from parents here. I came from a family of 6 kids my husband 4. Worked and attended school at night. Did not have our children until we were in our early 30's to make sure that we would be OK and then the bottom dropped out in late 2008/2009 and poof up went more than half my investment which I out alone myself no contributions when you work non-profit. We still have my spouses ESOP and will move it to safer haven in a few years when we can and it has recovered for the most part, but please don't call us coddled that such crap.

The competition with so many people in this age bracket born has always been huge. Now we just have compettion and our age wroking against even though we are no where near retirment age.

Here I am, a baby boomer, and I'm wondering where the heck my WWII parents' inheritance is! Doggone it, they must have misplaced it! It has to be here somewhere... They didn't work blue collar for all those years and not save up a big chunk of change, did they? Shucks, if I knew that, I wouldn't have spent all these years working my a$$ off...

To you boomers,

I wouldn't call you coddled. However, when you were in your prime earning years the US economy was doing much better than for Gen X.

You inherited a world where the ONLY manufacturing capability was in the US (due to the destroyed infrastructures of WWII), and global demand for goods was increasing exponentially.

You had trillions of borrowed $$ put into your economy which will need to be paid back by Gen X.

You had a much larger middle class than Gen X is dealing with. You also didn't need an advanced degree to get a job that would support a family.

And as large a generation as you are, Gen X is actually larger and faces global competition.

You are not coddled, but you certainly are lucky. Many Gen X-ers are smart, capable and have a good work ethic, but will never get ahead. It's a hard reality.

Well said, good sir. There must be some prime real estate waiting for you in the afterlife.

the loan officer that defrauded you???

yes you are

you are the one who bought more than they could afford, you are the one that tanked the economy

you are the one responsible for your own misery

you

I'm sorry that bad things happened to you. But did you really believe you could afford that house? I think you must have--and you're not alone. Yes, the loan officers at those banks have a lot of explaining to do. Still, sorry to say, ultimately we are all responsible for our own choices. You sound like you think you're a victim--but don't think that way. Think about what you can do now, not about what bad things other people "did" to you.

On the other hand, you sound like a troll with that story about your wife...

1247190pk . . . I think you must bear some responsibility here. . .