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Some people in this economy, anticipating that their pensions are going to become worth less or non-existent are cutting their losses. They are leaving those jobs and taking their pensions with them before the pensions depreciate or disappear. Who could blame them? It used to be you were lucky to have a pension. Now you are lucky if you can keep it. How things have diminished. Sell your house, move to a place where the cost of living is lower and find part time work. The plan was to work and take your full pension. Sorry, but those lifelong best laid plans are falling apart. Cutting their losses and doing damage control is the mantra of many in the middle class.
Dear tinydancer:
ReplyDeleteYour downsizing comment is spot on. Take it seriously and personally. Baby boomers apparently did too often suppose the good yuppie lifestyle would go on an on. Was that wrong? No, but it was a gamble. So the great recession has sent you lost notices to, I guess, half a million or so. I recommend former industrial power house, currently depressed areas. Seak a $30,000 house. $8-10 an hour under the table temp work. Safety net. Early SS. Millions do so. It is a good life. Tom
We didn't think we were gambling on the American Dream. We are headed in the direction of early SS. Thanks for the encouragement. We hope it will be a good life.
ReplyDeleteMany people planned on selling their larger homes and downsizing, then living on the equity, social security, and savings. But the homes no longer have enough equity! I grew up with the mantra of "buy a house; put your money in a house". I've always lived in an affordable house, but it makes no difference these days. The equity is gone anyway.
ReplyDeleteIt's like all the rules have changed. Dan Fogelberg said, "Changing horses in the middle of a stream, gets you wet and sometimes cold, changing faces in the middle of a dream, gets you old, oh, gets you old."
ReplyDeleteWe've always lived within our means but this goes against everything we and others did right. If you don't have a mortgage you can still get some equity and even at this point, it is still our biggest investment.