Three Major Trends Making it Harder to Retire in America

By Harry Dent

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The other day I was reading a Bloomberg article about how income inequality in the U.S. has hit a disturbing new threshold.
It went on about the fact that wage growth is ridiculously slow, despite our near full employment situation… that African Americans and women are still disadvantaged… and that the wealthiest are accumulating more money than ever.
Really, none of it surprised me. This is one of the issues that boosted Trump into the White House.
It’s also a trend I don’t see changing much in the near future, thanks to the demographicpath we’re currently on. And, as I see it, it’s a path that doesn’t end at a beach resort with perfect weather, an all-you-can-eat buffet, and limitless free cocktails.
Never mind the income inequality, the U.S. is careening towards a retirement crisis so epic, there’s no historical precedence.
For decades, part of the American Dream was to work 35 to 40 years for one company, then ride off into the retirement sunset with a healthy pension and Social Security to boot.
But times have changed.
First, the death of pensions in America has caused a dramatic shift where you – and only you – are responsible for your retirement savings.
That’s why, unless you’re sitting on one of the few remaining pensions, knowing where you stand today is critical to finding out whether you can outlive your nest egg.
Second, you simply cannot rely on Social Security alone as your safety net any longer.
While I don’t have your personal numbers, the average Social Security check for 2018 is a pitiful $1,404 a month. And the maximum you can receive each month is just $2,788 for 2018.
When you add up food, gas, medical costs, and other basic living expenses, Social Security just won’t leave much left over to actually enjoy your retirement.
To make matters worse…
 
The trustees of the Social Security Trust Fund projected, in their 2017 report, that the excess funds in the account – the total of what you, I, and all current and past workers have paid in – will be exhausted by 2034!
That projection doesn’t mean you’ll get nothing starting in 2034. It means that the program will only have enough revenue coming in to pay out 77% of promised benefits beginning in 2034.

For example, if you were expecting to get $2,000 a month at full retirement, your payout would shrink by about 23% to just $1,540.
That’s a scary scenario if you’ve been counting on Social Security as a core part of your retirement planning.
And finally, the most disturbing trend is this…
You’ll Need to Set Aside $490,000 JUST for Healthcare in Retirement!
People are living longer than ever before. In many cases, much longer… well into their 90s and beyond.
Never mind the fact that Social Security wasn’t designed to pay out benefits for 20 to 30 years, the health issues we have as we get older are more expensive to treat… and they’re the #1 threat to your retirement balance.
According to some numbers I’ve seen, one in four seniors spends the last five years of their lives fighting off bankruptcy from medical bills… and fails. And according to HealthView Services, a software company that projects healthcare costs, “The average 65-year-old couple could pay almost $490,000 in total health-related costs throughout retirement.”
It begs the question: Do you have an EXTRA half-million dollars lying around just for healthcare expenses?
I’ll go out on a limb and say it’s highly unlikely.
To cover expenses like that, you’d need a sizeable income stream during your retirement years… along with a seven-figure portfolio you can draw upon.
Harry

Harry Dent

Harry studied economics in college in the ’70s, but found it vague and inconclusive. He became so disillusioned by the state of the profession that he turned his back on it. Instead, he threw himself into the burgeoning New Science of Finance, which married economic research and market research and encompassed identifying and studying demographic trends, business cycles, consumers’ purchasing power and many, many other trends that empowered him to forecast economic and market changes.
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1 thought on “Three Major Trends Making it Harder to Retire in America”

  1. Please note, folks, the dialogue is changing on Social Security!!!! They are creeping in to calling it an ENTITLEMENT program!!!! BS!!!!! We have been REQUIRED to pay in to SS since the time we first started working in America!!!! I’ve payed in since I was 16!!!!

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