A Message for Mature Planners

[Seabishop]

You've worked hard all your life. You've busted your butt day in and day out to make your community a better place. You owe it to yourself to take that next step.

Fishing every day, taking the grandkids for ice cream, sharing wisdom at public meetings - this is the life you deserve.

Think about it.

This message paid for by the Young Job Seeking Planners Association of America.

The preceding was a joke. I do not really endorse "ageism" or the forced retirement of anybody.

 

[Chet]

Mature Planner. On Cyburbia. Riiiiiiiight.

 

[Rumpy Tunanator]

LMFAO, I'm waiting for this to happen here. :-D

 

[Richmond Jake]

Based on the recent events in my life, I'll likely have to work until the day I die. |

 

[biscuit]

ROTFLMAO!

That's great. Now if I could only convince everyone here over the age of 50 to retire there would only be about fivr employees left in the department and I'd be guaranteed a major promotion. I think it's time to start with the implementation of Operation Move On Already - part of my nefarious plan to be running this city before the age of 30. ;-)

 

[Gedunker]

At 43, I feel that I fall into the category of "You can't always be young, but you can always be immature" :-D [JOKING] So, sod off youngster, I got my job and you can't have it![/JOKING]

Actually, those of us born between '60 and '65 are not baby boomers so much, nor whatever clever name there is for the *post-baby boomers*. We're kind of in a notch and we're getting screwed: while my much older sister and brother will be eligible for SS at 63 or 65, we're in the group that won't be eligible until 67 or even 70 (if Congress keeps raising the bar...). I suggest this: let's end SS right now. I'll take my contribution and my employers contribution and I'll decide how I want to spend it. Congress can support the old f@rts with money they've *borrowed* from SS, the rest of us can make the economy move again, thank you.

 

[otterpop]

Young planners, tough luck! I might be "mature" but I have a young wife and a soon-to-be three year old. I will have to stick it out for many years to come. I will likely die in the traces, like an old fire horse. They will find my wrinkly ass in my chair and me slumped across my desk. Then and only then can some young planner haul me off to the boneyard and take my place.

 

[biscuit]

I suggest this: let's end SS right now. I'll take my contribution and my employers contribution and I'll decide how I want to spend it. Congress can support the old f@rts with money they've *borrowed* from SS, the rest of us can make the economy move again, thank you.

Amen brother! This is one of the only issues where I completely agree with conservative Republicans. I say give people the choice of either giving to SS or not. As a relatively young planner I know for a fact that i could retire a fairly wealthy man if I were allowed to keep the money the feds take in SS taxes and invest it as I see fit. It makes me see red everytime I think about the percentage of my gross pay being taken for something that I will never get a real return on. |

 

[Wannaplan?]

You've worked hard all your life. You've busted your butt day in and day out to make your community a better place. You ough it to yourself to take that next step.

This message paid for by the Young Job Seeking Planners Association of America.

Someone must be job hunting!! :-D

 

[cololi]

Everyone knows there is a SS problem but I am not sure that doing away with it is a good idea. I have a hard time imagining that too many people would actually invest the money into some kind of retirement account. Instead, they would jsut add to their monthly budgets and allocate it do more immediate needs. Our country could face an even larger crisis if people had absolutely nothing. Of course, my generation will probably be funding their own retirement without any kind of govt. assistance anyway. (I am a govt employee, so I guess my retirement is funded by the govt.) Part of the reason there will shortly be a huge SS crissi is becasue the baby boomers did not do a good job of planning for retirement.

 

[martini]

YES! Thanks Seabishop...now if only this was in the right medium...maybe a journal or two, or the Planner from APA. THEN there might be a difference!

 

[Cardinal]

The majority of Americans do a horrible job of planning for retirement. There is a time in most people's lives when saving is difficult. They are buying a home (actually a good investment), raising kids, paying off college loans, etc. That makes saving a difficult task, and they are not yet in their prime earning years. The trouble is then that so many people would rather buy a boat or spend a week in a resort or dirve an expensive car instead of saving.

When social security was create, life expectancy was about 65. Now it is about 80. Frankly, I think benefits should be indexed to this age. If you are older than the average life expectancy, then you get benefits. If you are younger, forget it. Save on your own if you want to retire early, and if you don't save, too bad. Keep working. Wal-Mart needs more greeters.

 

[NHPlanner]

Keep working. Wal-Mart needs more greeters.

Sam's Law in 12 posts.

 

[ludes98]

Do not forget that SS benefits are paid by current workers. When the program was created there were a lot more workers per retiree (62 to 1 is the number I keep hearing.) I think that the eligibilty age should rise to keep pace with life expectancy. If you want to retire at 60 but your benefits don't kick in till 70, then you pay for it.

 

[Wulf9]

Everyone knows there is a SS problem.

Actually, the main SS problem is that the government has borrowed from the SS trust fund for current expenses -- like paying for tax cuts and ag subsidies and wars and other such activities. SS is in trouble because the government has to cover those costs in order for SS to do its job. In essence, they loaned the money to themselves. Allen Greenspan has fired the first shot in what will undoubtedly become an attempt to not honor that debt.

Certainly there needs to be some wise stewardship and adjustment for longer lives, but the trust fund would be adequate for decades if it had not been raided.

 

[JNA]

At 43, I feel that I fall into the category of "You can't always be young, but you can always be immature" :-D [JOKING] So, sod off youngster, I got my job and you can't have it![/JOKING]

In best Guinness TV-Ad voice "Brilliant"

 

[tsc]

.....I got about 15 years yet....