Tag Archives: Social Security

Just saw this—Linda Stern punches holes in some of the more common misconceptions about retirement:

Stern Advice: Busting retirement myths

What she has to say lines up well with my own observations and thoughts. What about you?…

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal tells a sad tale of retirement preparedness: The typical pre-retiree baby boomer has less than one-quarter of what he or she needs in a 401(k) plan to retire.

In my view, this …

My recent post on the government’s fiscal outlook generated several thoughtful comments.

Two readers mentioned Paul Krugman’s op-ed on Social Security in The New York Times. It is true, as Krugman points out, that Social Security is only a …

The long-term budget outlook for the federal government is bleak. What is surprising is that this is considered news.

The forces driving the U.S.’s long-term budget problem have been known for decades. We’ve also known for years that sometime in …

What’s the typical income of a U.S. retiree? $40,000? $50,000? Higher, lower?

It’s $31,157 as of 2008.

That’s the median income of households age 65 and older as reported by Pat Purcell of the Congressional Research Service. The median means …

A new poll from Gallup says that Americans expect to depend more on Social Security when they retire—and less on 401(k)s, IRAs, and part-time work. I don’t believe it for a minute.…

For many years, the government has published statistics on Americans’ age and employment. A version of that data is shown in the chart below. My sense is that these figures are the basis for much of the conventional wisdom on …

Several years ago at a speech in New York, I warned that “a future President Clinton or McCain would face a daunting budget challenge from population aging.” My political forecast was off, but my economic and demographic forecast is unchanged.…

Faced with a reduced (but recovering—so far) portfolio, children still in college, and not a clue what else I would rather do, I’ve given some thought to simply working forever. Not a bad plan, if I can manage it.

Many …

On March 31, I was in New York City as a member of a panel speaking with a group of financial advisors on the issue of retirement income. Being back in the city brought back a lot of great memories, …