Job Discussion Forums

[thelmadatter]

The law dont mean squat if there aint no money.

I think most of us 50 and younger are more or less screwed.

I have my apartment but Im saving to buy some land, land. Something to put the cardboard box on.

[Hod]

Land, houses, gold or whatever; it�s all good stuff.

Doing nothing or expecting governments to support you is barmy.

My parents aren�t rich but live well in retirement. Twenty years on, sorry to use him again as an example, we have Scot47 in a council house, wondering about his means-tested funds. What hope will a government-funded pensioner have in another twenty years.

As for living in a council house, UK council estates are not going to be occupied by the nicest of people. Chances are you will be sharing your neighbourhood with a few low lifes and thugs. And what are you going to do about it then, move house?

[spiral78]

thelmadatter's cardboard box might be better than a council house, depending on the weather in the region

Anyway, Hod, good point about the progression downwards of retirement...(sorry, Scot). I guess it's generally true - and scary!

[nickpellatt]

Well I wish Scott every success, and I hope he enjoys a happy retirement!

Perhaps his council flat at �200 per calender month would be a better bet than renting a smaller flat in a new development from a couldnt care less private landlord for �600 per month. Perhaps that couldnt care less landlord owns other flats in the same development that he also rents to benefits claimants, or far worse, young gangsta drug dealer types that like to pay in cash and have people visiting all hours.

Not everyone is fortunate enough to be able to plan for a comfortable retirement. Bad luck, bad decisions, and a myriad of circumstances mean we dont all have our stocks, gilts and properties to fall back on. There is a huge percentage of people who have made no pension arrangements, and it isnt because we are all stupid and irresponsible.

Anyway .... I read a readers letter in a newspaper recently, and this reader suggested older people in the UK should do their utmost to get sent to prison. 3 square meals a day, central heating, Sky TV, a well stocked library, and no worries about maintaining property.

Scott - if retirement doesnt work out for you, PM me and we will arrange a bank heist together

[johnslat]

Dear Hod,

"Chances are you will be sharing your neighbourhood with a few low lifes and thugs."

Well, that shouldn't prove too novel or unsettling. After all, scot47's been an EFL teacher for most of his adult life.

Regards,
John

[nickpellatt]

I think its what comes after retirement that is more worrying anyway. I was doing a writing project last year and I attended an 'ALPHA' course, which is designed to help people find Christianity. Pretty much all the people on the course, and the members of the church itself, seemed to be ex-alcoholics, ex-drug addicts, ex-drug dealers, and ex-criminal types.

So I figure council houses may have a few people you might not want to live next to, but Heaven is full to the rafters of ex-alcoholics, addicts and jail birds, all people you definitely wouldnt want to live next to!

[Hod]

[thelmadatter]

I thought of the jail thing too. In the States, only prisoners have a right to medical care! Extra plus for us gringos. I did read somewhere though that prisons are having problems caring for their increasing aged population.... looks like someone got on that bandwagon before me!

[Flashman]

[AGoodStory]

Hod, you have directly disparaged another poster at least 5 times in this thread. I, for one, would appreciate it if you could make your points without constantly referencing Scot47. (As you may know, he makes a very valuable contribution here; his posts are often insightful, intelligent, and based in solid experience.) You can easily make your argument--which is at least as ideological as it is pragmatic--without resorting to scornful comments about another poster's life. It would be more useful if you simply contributed your ideas/plans for your own retirement, and refrained from attacking the plans that others have (or have not!) made.

[johnslat]

Dear Hod,

"A few exceptions aside, all I see on this forum are heads stuck in sand or people blaming some government or other. How ironic that such types will spend decades out of their homelands, not pay a bean in tax and yet expect handouts come pension time."

" I suppose I'm "an exception," probably an "ostrich." And yet, I'm doing just fine here in Santa Fe at age 67, enjoying life immensely."

"And then come the teachers who never want to retire. They want to be working away well into their eighties. Do you not think some pensioners crippled with arthritis or angina once thought the same?"

Yup , me again. And certainly my "non-retirement" plans could go awry. And you, Hod, despite all your planning, could (God forbid) come down with some chronic illness that would wipe out all your savings in a few months. It's all inshallah, I'm afraid. I'm going to try to make it to - and even through - my 80s, but if I don't, that's OK. I'll still get by just fine.

Thanks for all your concern, though. Be well.

Regards,
John

[jpvanderwerf2001]

I'm a property guy, but who knows what'll happen with that?
If I get my kid(s?) through college (or at least TO college), I'll be golden. I'll work as long as I have to (or am able to), and hope that any investments I make will help carry me along.
I'm not relying on the $300/month (as of January) that the US government will pay me (assuming I stay overseas). Not that I deserve more, I don't (as of now).
Best of luck to all!

[Isla Guapa]

I've been happily settled in Mexico for almost three years, living in the heart of the beast, lovely Mexico City (it is lovely, at least in my neighborhood). When people ask me what I'm doing, I tell them that I'm semi-retired, meaning I took early retirement from US Social Security and receive a modest monthly check, which more than covers my expenses and leaves a bit left over to save for those all-important vacations within and outside Mexico.

I teach English part-time (on my terms in my tiny flat) and do translations for a couple of art museums in the city as well as occasional editing and proofreading work for friends and acquaintances both here and in the States. In a couple of weeks, I'll begin to receive another modest pension from the last job I held in the States, which I was removed from in 2002. I'll be able to save all of that pension money to acquire a nest egg for more travel and possible art history studies at the UNAM, the national university.

I pay for private health insurance at a rate impossible to find in the US. Though I may eventually give up teaching, I expect I'll be able to do translating/editing/proofreading work crouched over my trusty laptop until the end of my days.

And that's my retirement plan

[Greg 09]

I'm one of those "why retire?" people, but I do recognize the possibility of forced retirement at some point because of some infirmity or another. Sooooo...

My plan has been:
1. Make as much as you can
2. Save as much as you can
3. Never spend more than you make (no credit cards or car payments)
4. Diversify investments (don't put ALL your money in Benin Bonds)

Its not rocket surgery.

I can slack up on #1 these days but that does not mean good financial habits can go by the wayside. Besides, when you do want to splurge paying out-of-pocket feels so much better than debt.

Other than that, some of you guys have some pretty sweet plans laid out. I'm a newbie FT, and I really do hope that this will be a good (3rd) career, and for a number of years. Professional development and continuing experience should land me (hopefully) in a place where I can more or less settle. My 2 properties in the US are paid for, and I would not mind trading one in on a foreign model.

[Zero]