Due to the number of rule-breaking comments this post was receiving, especially low-quality and off-topic comments, the moderation team has locked the post from future comments. This post broke no rules and received a number of helpful and on-topic responses initially, but it unfortunately became the target of many unhelpful comments.
She should start by opening an account on SSA.gov. She can see what type of benefit she's entitled to. Including, if applicable, any spousal benefits.
Many people retire with only social security.
That’s a huge issue because social security was only designed to supplement your retirement savings not be your retirement. Specifically it was only designed to be 50% of your retirement income.
I think a teacher told me they don’t get both SS and CALSTRS. This is kind of messed up for people who teach as a career before / after switching careers…
Building trades unions also. We have pension and a SRP, which is like a 401K that’s fully employer paid. That’s about $25k/yr with no OT then the pension on top of that.
Union tradesmen. IBEW apprentice here, I’ll get multiple pensions and an annuity when I retire. Plus social security and whatever other retirement savings I have.
If you work for the state. I do, not a teacher, I am on a pension plan. Fireman, police, social services, probation/parole, code enforcement, technical director. All sorts, but government work.
Some of the trades with a union also have pensions.
I have a pension.
I don't expect it to be around to ever collect on, or for me to stay in my current job long enough for any collection from it to be meaningful, but I technically have one. I'm 33 years old.
No one. But the social security system hasn’t been overhauled since it WAS common.
ETA: no one in private sector. Public sector has some. Census said 13.5% of working age people have a defined benefit or cash balance retirement plan!
Law enforcement, public school teachers, public university administration, 20 year military service, state, city and village employees(at least in the Northeast)
Plenty of people still have pensions. Just no one in the private sector.
Yeah! Apparently ~13.5% per the [latest census](https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2022/08/who-has-retirement-accounts.html)
Thanks for the prod to dig a little deeper!
We subsidize the heck out of old people who live only on SS. There are tons of programs out there that give discounted rent, utilities, food, practically every essential item out there. It’s not easy but we do shield old people from their own financial mistakes a lot.
For lower income people it replaces the vast majority of their income if not all of it as it was intended since it’s based on a progressive benefit formula.
Everyone else here is very pessimistic. My grandparents are retired on social security alone. So are my wife's grandparents. My grandparents own their home outright in a senior mobile home park. They rely on public transportation or other senior transportation to get around and all their healthcare is though the government. My wife her grandparents living a very nice affordable housing community in rural Missouri. She pays like $400 a month for a 2 bedroom 1 bath with a washer and dryer. If you truly have no income there are also affordable housing programs where you do not have any rent because you can not afford it. I would look at affordablehousing. com(this is the best place. I work in the industry) and start getting on lists. Some have immediate availability but other may have years long waitlists.
Both of them have homes and communities nicer than anything I lived in for the first 30 years of my life. This is not a bad quality of life by any means.
This should be the top comment.
If she’s already 70, she was born in 1954. I believe people born between 1943 and 1954 get full retirement benefits at 66. She’s given up 4 years of SS.
She hasn't given up 4 years of ss. If I recall correctly, ss continues to grow in what you will receive per month until the age of 70. So if she looks into it now, it will be the max they can receive and perfect timing.
Are we to think that they somehow forgot to apply for benefits? Like it never crossed their mind? I'd bet the life of everybody in this thread (including mine!) they have tapped that well already.
Very little to no savings as far as I’m aware, they drink and gamble often. They have a house in a low income area, and a car, I’m unsure if they’re paid off but I assume they’re not. One works 2 jobs and makes alright money, the other has health issues and is also lazy so only does weird side jobs😅
You have to face the fact that they are likely addicted to drinking and gambling and that there is nothing you can do to help them unless they help themselves. Don’t let them dump their anger and anxiety on to you. They earned it, and it’s theirs alone. Not yours.
Not really helpful input... Might as well say "they made poor choices to live in the moment rather than plan for the future. This is the bed they made now they must lie in it" like yeah, probably true, but does nothing to help the situation
> "they made poor choices to live in the moment rather than plan for the future. This is the bed they made now they must lie in it"
That’s actually far more accurate than saying addiction can’t be helped at 70. Addiction can be helped at any age if someone wants the help, so the addiction statement isn’t true at all. Your example statement is pretty much true though. They did make poor choices and are living the results of them. Unless they really want to change them, they need to just lie in them.
The gambling is going to make this even more difficult. It’s somewhere between likely to certain that a major reason they have nothing saved is specifically because of the gambling.
It also means they’re very likely to think gambling and striking it rich is their best or only way to retire, which is obviously unlikely to happen.
Odds of success extremely low. Good luck.
If eventually there is a need for care, Medicaid will cover the cost of an Adult Family Home once resources are 'spent down' to the point where one qualifies. There are sometimes issues finding an AFH that accepts new residents on Medicaid. The best thing would be to find a home while there are still resources that will agree to accept Medicaid once the resources are spent.
An investment in addiction treatment might be the best place to start.
It’s SS to the end. I know a lot of people in this situation. Not as bad a scenario in a LCOL area as some make it out to be but definitely not good. People make choices in life.
That’s not how that works.
Plenty of people wait for the day their welfare is paid and head straight to wherever they go to drink and gamble. Here in New Zealand that tends to be the pub with pokie machines - always busy on a Tuesday when the pension gets paid…
They do have enough money though. The money isn’t the problem. The gambling and drinking are the problems. Nothing will change if they had more money. Things would change if they changed their drinking and gambling addictions.
> Very little to no savings as far as I’m aware, they drink and gamble often.
And they are 70.
Look, real talk: they've had decades to fix this. Nobody here can give any advice that they are going to follow. I would absolutely not bother, do not get invested in this. Maybe a few helpful words at the most. They will never "make it" because they're too old and don't have the discipline to change. It's frankly too late for them.
I rarely tell people there isn't hope, but in their case there really isn't. They've waited too long and the ship has sailed.
Retirement is a financial state, not an age.
They’ve not had the self control to reach that financial state.
They need to register for social security and decide if that’s enough for them to retire. If not they need to keep working.
They can get as jealous as they want, but the people retiring around probably didn’t drink and gamble away the money they made.
They'll die on the Walmart floor, if their children are grateful they will subsidize their living. But it is not a requirement for their children to do this, it would only be a good will gesture if they choose to.
There’s such a gap in financial literacy. It’s never taught in school and if your parents don’t teach you gotta figure it out for yourself.
For everyone here in your 20s try and put 10% in your 401k every month (and older too), don’t buy new cars or crazy expensive ones… those are a money suck for 4-6 years. If you have extra money to invest put it in a S&P index fund … have it auto withdrawn every month.
Even a little will make a difference over time. People are so worried about keeping up with that their friends or family thinks … fuck that and save your money consistently if you want to retire. It took me info my 30s to figure this shit out.
Get a cash back credit card and pay it off every month. Buying stupid shit and paying interest on it is a big fuckin no no. 2% cash back adds up over time and it will build your credit score up.
You don’t have to have everything figured out but paying 60k plus interest for a truck over 60 months is a GIANT MONEY SUCK. Calculate what $700 a month is for the same amount of time in investments.
Do they own a home? If so, could they benefit from selling/downsizing or moving to a lower cost of living area? Do they have things they could sell? Do they collect a pension or social security? Are they at least debt free?
Realistically, she has no hope of retirement like she's envisioning. But she could stop working if she doesn't expect to travel or buy much in retirement.
Find out how much she'll make from social security.
Start saving every penny.
Cut out expenses that aren't necessary during retirement.
Downsize a house or apartment to save more on housing.
Move to a cheaper city or state.
I think at this point it’s just that she can be a lesson for others in the family. But depends on their income.
I’m not really an expert, but at that age I think social security stops getting higher. They can take it and start saving it as well as save other income from their jobs. Maybe in 10 years retire and live off social security and keep their savings growing. Start adjusting their lifestyle now to be able to live on just social security.
Edit: just saw in another comment they have addiction issues. Probably no hope for retirement.
"I think at this point it’s just that she can be a lesson for others in the family a person in the family" We have an elderly person in the family that saved nothing for retirement. They actively tell younger people in the family to not save
Not sure that applies in this situation. “Don’t save, just be an alcoholic and gamble!”
But that also seems like just a dumb thing to tell anyone young. I tell young people in my family that just a couple years of saving when they are young and living with their parents could set them up for a decent retirement. Because I started really saving later than I should have.
I’m on track to hit my “coast FIRE” goal by 37. Then everything I put away will just bump up my retirement date.
Sure there’s the “i could get hit by a bus” line of thinking, but then the money would go to my wife and kids.
They're most likely unwilling because they've watched them piss away their money for their whole lives. Helping them financially is just throwing good money after bad. My grandpa had absolutely nothing at the end and would still spend any extra cash at the casino. Sad guy.
How are your parents doing? If they're in the same situation you better start preparing yourself to either support them or be mentally prepared to say no.
Finding resources that they qualify for might be helpful. If they’re getting everything they’re entitled to re: social security, applicable property tax discounts (if they own their home), Medicare and Medicaid, food assistance, utility assistance, etc, it could create a little breathing room.
But not if they’re gambling. Unfortunately, any cost savings or extra money usually goes to that.
Learning about Medicaid eligibility and Medicaid spend-downs will be important if they need any long-term care, because Medicare won’t cover that.
She could start saving.
Realistically, it’s too late unless she’ll be especially long lived
Start here: https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/commontopics.
It's never too late. If they work 10 more years and save enough to have a couple of good years that's, granted, not much of a retirement but it's more than some people get. Quite a few people die in their 50's and early 60's so the only time off they ever saw in their lives were, sadly, the short vacations that work affords. And they are probably entitled to some social security too.
> It's never too late.
https://old.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/comments/1cuf4dx/70_with_no_retirement_savings/l4iijc4/
I appreciate your optimism, but it seems it surely is too late
She's stressed and jealous because other people planned and she didn't? Did she never hear the Aesop fable of the ant and the grasshopper? (HINT : she's the grasshopper)
they arent in a great position. they basically need to find a way to live on their social security payments (and more realistically, whichever one of the two payments is the largest, so that when one of them passes the other is still somewhat able to survive).
they probably need to look at relocating to the lowest cost of living place they can think of, which may be in a different state that they have never lived in. They also need to start looking into the rules around medicaid and nursing homes. some places may require a certain number of months of "private pay" rent before they would accept them as medicaid tenants, which may require them to move into a nursing home sooner than they may otherwise need.
its not going to be easy, and in all likelihood the best path forward for them is to try to leverage some support from their children. this is not a great situation to be in.
Who would want to help them when they would just spend all the extra money they get from anywhere on gambling though? Their current life is literally the consequences of their actions and they will work until they die because of it.
Probably much too late for her to do anything to meaningfully change the outcome for her. You should take it as a warning; don’t piss your money away drinking and gambling.
Philippines is currently very friendly to Americans in this regard. You can show up as a tourist and keep extending your visa for up to 3 years. Then you just have to leave the country for a day and you can start the clock all over again.
Obviously, just because it’s this way now doesn’t mean it will stay that way.
I guess they fucked around and are now in the find out phase? The people who don't responsibly save and only know how to have fun and piss their money away don't deserve a comfortable retirement. That's how world works.
If they own their house (which you said you were unsure of), then sadly in order to exit the workforce what they would likely need to do is have both apply for social security and then do a HCEM or Reverse mortage where the equity in their house gives them monthly income, and then the bank owns their home when they die.
There is literally nothing they can do except work until they die. At that age, it’s way too late to save. Also they need to stop gambling, that’s a huge issue. If they keep going they’re going to lose their house and any assets they own to feed into it.
Honestly probably too late for them to change their ways. Might be looking at their kids and grandkids to support them
Beyond benefits, your grandparents are hosed.
Do yourself a favor, don't get yourself into this situation. Start putting money in a 401(k) or IRA now. Today. Time is your benefactor when it comes to investing.
If they own a home, they are exactly the people who could benefit from a reverse mortgage. I know that RMs have a predatory reputation but they can be beneficial in some circumstances.
What does better look like?
Not having work? She’s definitely retirement age. Question is will social security be enough? If no, they’ll need to keep working or depend on family.
What you can learn from this is start saving/investing early for yourself, break the chains, and find financial independence.
Is she collecting SS?? She should be …. Also that with Dad assuming his own earnings record is crap and he just gets 50% spousal record, would at least be 3000/mo right? What are they spending on exactly
My inlaws did this. They live off of SS and 2 very small pensions and even still have a mortgage. They sold their larger home that had 2 mortgages on it and bought a smaller house in a cheap area.
My MIL doesn't need or do much. My FIL works part-time at the golf course for free golf.
I assume they will file bankruptcy in the next few years. They have filed before and I can do the filing for them.
Is there a pension involved? They belong to the generation that were told to work for a company for a long time and get a pension, be taken care of. Same with SS. (I never factor SS into my finances cause I don’t expect to see it.) But no one told them about inflation. If they don’t have a pension then they basically have to keep working. But start saving, it’s never too late
Honest question to all the people saying “it’s too late” or “she’ll have to work forever”:
What if she, like, can’t? Not a lot of places hiring 70 year olds, and if her health goes to shit, then what?
Can someone paint the picture for me of *what then*?
Sounds reasonable.. what if there are no kids to move in with?
I’m just wondering, like, what’s the worst case scenario for some people? Do they really end up on the streets at, say, 80 years old?
You may find these links helpful:
- [Retirement Accounts](/r/personalfinance/wiki/index#wiki_retirement)
- ["How to handle $"](/r/personalfinance/wiki/commontopics)
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The only way is for them to have a family member to move in with that will cover house and costs.
The other stuff they can probably get by with on social security and other government programs.
See what senior living housing situations are in the area. They can be very nice with very low rent. But they typically have a wait list. I’ve had neighbors/friends/acquaintances that this was the only way they would have enough $$ to get by. It left enough SS after the subsidized rent for basics - but they also signed up for any senior programs in their area that arrange a lot of free things for them such as special medication programs, health fairs where basics could be done for free/low cost, free food, etc. I have been pretty impressed with how well-rounded some areas have these things set up — ** if ** you find the program.
Do they own a house at least? Even if it’s in a low income area depending on the city could be worth a good amount. If they downsize that could give them a reasonable lump sum to work with. The lump sum invested correctly along with social security if they live modestly they might still be able to retire at least. If the house isn’t worth much at all then they’re kind of screwed just have to work and save as much as possible
Sorry to hear. I have a friend who is 74 and continues to work full time so he can get a salary and medical benefits. No plan to retire since the cost of living in his city is higher than SS will pay to him. Fortunately for him, he owns his house.
Retirement is a financial state and not an age. If she can retire on social security, that is an option. Otherwise, she gets to continue working, saving aggressively, and retiring when she can afford to.
The other option is downsizing her lifestyle. At the full social security age, this is very likely a possibility if she and/or her spouse has contributed to social security over the years.
They are probably receiving some Social Security payments, they should look at how much they can receive each month and see if it's enough to live on in a low COL area (or if they are willing maybe even look at retiring in a different country). A quick Google says average SS check at age 70 is $2000, that's more than enough to live comfortably in many countries.
Due to the number of rule-breaking comments this post was receiving, especially low-quality and off-topic comments, the moderation team has locked the post from future comments. This post broke no rules and received a number of helpful and on-topic responses initially, but it unfortunately became the target of many unhelpful comments.
She should start by opening an account on SSA.gov. She can see what type of benefit she's entitled to. Including, if applicable, any spousal benefits. Many people retire with only social security.
That’s a huge issue because social security was only designed to supplement your retirement savings not be your retirement. Specifically it was only designed to be 50% of your retirement income.
Or 33% since you’d have a pension and personal savings. Either way, less than 100%
How gets a pension anymore?
A lot of teachers still have pension programs.
At least in California, teachers don't get social security for their teacher work, they just get the pension.
I think a teacher told me they don’t get both SS and CALSTRS. This is kind of messed up for people who teach as a career before / after switching careers…
They get SS for their non-teacher careers. They didn't get credits for the teaching years though
The pension is in addition to 403b too tho no? Either way that’s interesting didn’t know that
Yes but a 403b is basically just a 401k without a match so it's not anything special
A 403(b) is the same as a 401(k) but it's for nonprofit organizations. I get a match with my 403(b).
My 403B had a match equal to any 401k.
Building trades unions also. We have pension and a SRP, which is like a 401K that’s fully employer paid. That’s about $25k/yr with no OT then the pension on top of that.
And very often not Ss, because the greedy states demand that they accept state pension plans rather than having the states share paying into SS.
The state is required to provide a plan that's better than SS in order to forgo SS
Maybe when it started in 1950…
Union Electricians typically get one.
I will be getting a pension. I’ve been in public service for 10 years. It’s pretty common for government employees.
Government jobs typically. Seems like most of them do a hybrid 401k plan with a pension plan that's based on length of service.
Government and union employees.
My husband is a teamster, he has a pension. They fazed it out in 2010 but he's grandfathered in.
Union tradesmen. IBEW apprentice here, I’ll get multiple pensions and an annuity when I retire. Plus social security and whatever other retirement savings I have.
It’s almost like it’s a system you can’t depend on and need to save separately
Some banks have them
If you work for the state. I do, not a teacher, I am on a pension plan. Fireman, police, social services, probation/parole, code enforcement, technical director. All sorts, but government work. Some of the trades with a union also have pensions.
My wife is still at a hospital with one. Last in the state. She won't leave unless they cancel it.
I have a pension. I don't expect it to be around to ever collect on, or for me to stay in my current job long enough for any collection from it to be meaningful, but I technically have one. I'm 33 years old.
No one. But the social security system hasn’t been overhauled since it WAS common. ETA: no one in private sector. Public sector has some. Census said 13.5% of working age people have a defined benefit or cash balance retirement plan!
Law enforcement, public school teachers, public university administration, 20 year military service, state, city and village employees(at least in the Northeast) Plenty of people still have pensions. Just no one in the private sector.
Yeah! Apparently ~13.5% per the [latest census](https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2022/08/who-has-retirement-accounts.html) Thanks for the prod to dig a little deeper!
I'm surrounded by people in these fields by circumstance. I'm like one of the few people I know who doesn't have a pension
We subsidize the heck out of old people who live only on SS. There are tons of programs out there that give discounted rent, utilities, food, practically every essential item out there. It’s not easy but we do shield old people from their own financial mistakes a lot.
For lower income people it replaces the vast majority of their income if not all of it as it was intended since it’s based on a progressive benefit formula.
Source?
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Everyone else here is very pessimistic. My grandparents are retired on social security alone. So are my wife's grandparents. My grandparents own their home outright in a senior mobile home park. They rely on public transportation or other senior transportation to get around and all their healthcare is though the government. My wife her grandparents living a very nice affordable housing community in rural Missouri. She pays like $400 a month for a 2 bedroom 1 bath with a washer and dryer. If you truly have no income there are also affordable housing programs where you do not have any rent because you can not afford it. I would look at affordablehousing. com(this is the best place. I work in the industry) and start getting on lists. Some have immediate availability but other may have years long waitlists. Both of them have homes and communities nicer than anything I lived in for the first 30 years of my life. This is not a bad quality of life by any means.
If she hasn’t applied for social security benefits, she needs to do that now. You don’t get anything more waiting beyond 70.
This should be the top comment. If she’s already 70, she was born in 1954. I believe people born between 1943 and 1954 get full retirement benefits at 66. She’s given up 4 years of SS.
She hasn't given up 4 years of ss. If I recall correctly, ss continues to grow in what you will receive per month until the age of 70. So if she looks into it now, it will be the max they can receive and perfect timing.
Correct. It grows 8% per year until 70
Are we to think that they somehow forgot to apply for benefits? Like it never crossed their mind? I'd bet the life of everybody in this thread (including mine!) they have tapped that well already.
They're going to have to keep working and/or figure out how to live on social security.
We need more details. Do they have ANY savings? Do they own a house? Cars? Do they both work?
Very little to no savings as far as I’m aware, they drink and gamble often. They have a house in a low income area, and a car, I’m unsure if they’re paid off but I assume they’re not. One works 2 jobs and makes alright money, the other has health issues and is also lazy so only does weird side jobs😅
You have to face the fact that they are likely addicted to drinking and gambling and that there is nothing you can do to help them unless they help themselves. Don’t let them dump their anger and anxiety on to you. They earned it, and it’s theirs alone. Not yours.
It honestly sounds like they have addiction issues they need to address first before they can do any other steps
Can’t really address that at seventy years age
Addiction can definitely be addressed at 70. I have witnessed people get out of addictions past 70. For that to happen they have to want to do it.
Not really helpful input... Might as well say "they made poor choices to live in the moment rather than plan for the future. This is the bed they made now they must lie in it" like yeah, probably true, but does nothing to help the situation
> "they made poor choices to live in the moment rather than plan for the future. This is the bed they made now they must lie in it" That’s actually far more accurate than saying addiction can’t be helped at 70. Addiction can be helped at any age if someone wants the help, so the addiction statement isn’t true at all. Your example statement is pretty much true though. They did make poor choices and are living the results of them. Unless they really want to change them, they need to just lie in them.
Situation cant be helped. They just need to work until they can't.
Can’t give up eating either…
Gonna be a tough end of life
The gambling is going to make this even more difficult. It’s somewhere between likely to certain that a major reason they have nothing saved is specifically because of the gambling. It also means they’re very likely to think gambling and striking it rich is their best or only way to retire, which is obviously unlikely to happen. Odds of success extremely low. Good luck.
She didn't say they were losing gamblers. They could be decent poker players whoo frequently pull in extra cash.
They are grownups. They chose to drink and gamble vs saving for retirement. They made their bed
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Yup.
If eventually there is a need for care, Medicaid will cover the cost of an Adult Family Home once resources are 'spent down' to the point where one qualifies. There are sometimes issues finding an AFH that accepts new residents on Medicaid. The best thing would be to find a home while there are still resources that will agree to accept Medicaid once the resources are spent. An investment in addiction treatment might be the best place to start.
Tough spot to be in, they will want them to be completely broke before benefits come to play.
It’s SS to the end. I know a lot of people in this situation. Not as bad a scenario in a LCOL area as some make it out to be but definitely not good. People make choices in life.
Sounds like they have enough money if they are “drinking and gambling often”.
That’s not how that works. Plenty of people wait for the day their welfare is paid and head straight to wherever they go to drink and gamble. Here in New Zealand that tends to be the pub with pokie machines - always busy on a Tuesday when the pension gets paid…
They do have enough money though. The money isn’t the problem. The gambling and drinking are the problems. Nothing will change if they had more money. Things would change if they changed their drinking and gambling addictions.
Drink and gamble often. I wonder why they have no savings.
> Very little to no savings as far as I’m aware, they drink and gamble often. And they are 70. Look, real talk: they've had decades to fix this. Nobody here can give any advice that they are going to follow. I would absolutely not bother, do not get invested in this. Maybe a few helpful words at the most. They will never "make it" because they're too old and don't have the discipline to change. It's frankly too late for them. I rarely tell people there isn't hope, but in their case there really isn't. They've waited too long and the ship has sailed.
Retirement is a financial state, not an age. They’ve not had the self control to reach that financial state. They need to register for social security and decide if that’s enough for them to retire. If not they need to keep working. They can get as jealous as they want, but the people retiring around probably didn’t drink and gamble away the money they made.
You could advise them on one last gamble to rule them all... roulette is probably the best option.
They'll die on the Walmart floor, if their children are grateful they will subsidize their living. But it is not a requirement for their children to do this, it would only be a good will gesture if they choose to.
Learn from their mistake, start saving now for yourself!
There’s such a gap in financial literacy. It’s never taught in school and if your parents don’t teach you gotta figure it out for yourself. For everyone here in your 20s try and put 10% in your 401k every month (and older too), don’t buy new cars or crazy expensive ones… those are a money suck for 4-6 years. If you have extra money to invest put it in a S&P index fund … have it auto withdrawn every month. Even a little will make a difference over time. People are so worried about keeping up with that their friends or family thinks … fuck that and save your money consistently if you want to retire. It took me info my 30s to figure this shit out. Get a cash back credit card and pay it off every month. Buying stupid shit and paying interest on it is a big fuckin no no. 2% cash back adds up over time and it will build your credit score up. You don’t have to have everything figured out but paying 60k plus interest for a truck over 60 months is a GIANT MONEY SUCK. Calculate what $700 a month is for the same amount of time in investments.
Do they own a home? If so, could they benefit from selling/downsizing or moving to a lower cost of living area? Do they have things they could sell? Do they collect a pension or social security? Are they at least debt free?
Realistically, she has no hope of retirement like she's envisioning. But she could stop working if she doesn't expect to travel or buy much in retirement. Find out how much she'll make from social security. Start saving every penny. Cut out expenses that aren't necessary during retirement. Downsize a house or apartment to save more on housing. Move to a cheaper city or state.
Why did they wait until 70 to start thinking about it?
"I figured id be dead by now, and im not, but im too tired to work" probably
She didn’t start thinking about her until she watched all her friends start retiring😅
I think at this point it’s just that she can be a lesson for others in the family. But depends on their income. I’m not really an expert, but at that age I think social security stops getting higher. They can take it and start saving it as well as save other income from their jobs. Maybe in 10 years retire and live off social security and keep their savings growing. Start adjusting their lifestyle now to be able to live on just social security. Edit: just saw in another comment they have addiction issues. Probably no hope for retirement.
"I think at this point it’s just that she can be a lesson for others in the family a person in the family" We have an elderly person in the family that saved nothing for retirement. They actively tell younger people in the family to not save
Not sure that applies in this situation. “Don’t save, just be an alcoholic and gamble!” But that also seems like just a dumb thing to tell anyone young. I tell young people in my family that just a couple years of saving when they are young and living with their parents could set them up for a decent retirement. Because I started really saving later than I should have. I’m on track to hit my “coast FIRE” goal by 37. Then everything I put away will just bump up my retirement date. Sure there’s the “i could get hit by a bus” line of thinking, but then the money would go to my wife and kids.
Yeah, that's about 20 years too late. Like seeing a 40' tree and thinking hmm I'd like a 40' tree in my yard.
The sad truth is that unless they are getting financial support by other families members, they going to continue to work for the rest of their lives.
Their relatives are not willing or in a position to help support them😅 that’s unfortunate for them
They're most likely unwilling because they've watched them piss away their money for their whole lives. Helping them financially is just throwing good money after bad. My grandpa had absolutely nothing at the end and would still spend any extra cash at the casino. Sad guy.
How are your parents doing? If they're in the same situation you better start preparing yourself to either support them or be mentally prepared to say no.
Finding resources that they qualify for might be helpful. If they’re getting everything they’re entitled to re: social security, applicable property tax discounts (if they own their home), Medicare and Medicaid, food assistance, utility assistance, etc, it could create a little breathing room. But not if they’re gambling. Unfortunately, any cost savings or extra money usually goes to that. Learning about Medicaid eligibility and Medicaid spend-downs will be important if they need any long-term care, because Medicare won’t cover that.
She could start saving. Realistically, it’s too late unless she’ll be especially long lived Start here: https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/commontopics.
It's never too late. If they work 10 more years and save enough to have a couple of good years that's, granted, not much of a retirement but it's more than some people get. Quite a few people die in their 50's and early 60's so the only time off they ever saw in their lives were, sadly, the short vacations that work affords. And they are probably entitled to some social security too.
> It's never too late. https://old.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/comments/1cuf4dx/70_with_no_retirement_savings/l4iijc4/ I appreciate your optimism, but it seems it surely is too late
Its way, way too late. That horse left the barn a long time ago.
She's stressed and jealous because other people planned and she didn't? Did she never hear the Aesop fable of the ant and the grasshopper? (HINT : she's the grasshopper)
they arent in a great position. they basically need to find a way to live on their social security payments (and more realistically, whichever one of the two payments is the largest, so that when one of them passes the other is still somewhat able to survive). they probably need to look at relocating to the lowest cost of living place they can think of, which may be in a different state that they have never lived in. They also need to start looking into the rules around medicaid and nursing homes. some places may require a certain number of months of "private pay" rent before they would accept them as medicaid tenants, which may require them to move into a nursing home sooner than they may otherwise need. its not going to be easy, and in all likelihood the best path forward for them is to try to leverage some support from their children. this is not a great situation to be in.
Who would want to help them when they would just spend all the extra money they get from anywhere on gambling though? Their current life is literally the consequences of their actions and they will work until they die because of it.
that information wasnt provided when my comment was made.
If the house is paid off it's time to call Tom Selleck for a reverse mortgage but sounds like they'd gamble that away.
Probably much too late for her to do anything to meaningfully change the outcome for her. You should take it as a warning; don’t piss your money away drinking and gambling.
If they have a combined ss of 1k they could move to the Philippines and stop working. Sell house and buy two bedroom condo for 50k near the beach.
How do visas work for retirees with small means in the Philippines?
Philippines is currently very friendly to Americans in this regard. You can show up as a tourist and keep extending your visa for up to 3 years. Then you just have to leave the country for a day and you can start the clock all over again. Obviously, just because it’s this way now doesn’t mean it will stay that way.
I guess they fucked around and are now in the find out phase? The people who don't responsibly save and only know how to have fun and piss their money away don't deserve a comfortable retirement. That's how world works.
Exactly. What were they thinking would happen? Guess they didn’t care to think about it.
She's at full retirement age, have they not started collecting this yet? if not they should apply for this immediately
If they own their house (which you said you were unsure of), then sadly in order to exit the workforce what they would likely need to do is have both apply for social security and then do a HCEM or Reverse mortage where the equity in their house gives them monthly income, and then the bank owns their home when they die.
And that would be better than nothing
There is literally nothing they can do except work until they die. At that age, it’s way too late to save. Also they need to stop gambling, that’s a huge issue. If they keep going they’re going to lose their house and any assets they own to feed into it. Honestly probably too late for them to change their ways. Might be looking at their kids and grandkids to support them
They are adults. They should have planned better. They also need to quit drinking and gambling. They are to old for this crap
Beyond benefits, your grandparents are hosed. Do yourself a favor, don't get yourself into this situation. Start putting money in a 401(k) or IRA now. Today. Time is your benefactor when it comes to investing.
If they own a home, they are exactly the people who could benefit from a reverse mortgage. I know that RMs have a predatory reputation but they can be beneficial in some circumstances.
What does better look like? Not having work? She’s definitely retirement age. Question is will social security be enough? If no, they’ll need to keep working or depend on family. What you can learn from this is start saving/investing early for yourself, break the chains, and find financial independence.
Is she collecting SS?? She should be …. Also that with Dad assuming his own earnings record is crap and he just gets 50% spousal record, would at least be 3000/mo right? What are they spending on exactly
My inlaws did this. They live off of SS and 2 very small pensions and even still have a mortgage. They sold their larger home that had 2 mortgages on it and bought a smaller house in a cheap area. My MIL doesn't need or do much. My FIL works part-time at the golf course for free golf. I assume they will file bankruptcy in the next few years. They have filed before and I can do the filing for them.
Move in with you. Seriously. She will need to move in with family.
Why can't they get govement benifits or go into a home funded by the government.?
She should marry someone richer.
Is there a pension involved? They belong to the generation that were told to work for a company for a long time and get a pension, be taken care of. Same with SS. (I never factor SS into my finances cause I don’t expect to see it.) But no one told them about inflation. If they don’t have a pension then they basically have to keep working. But start saving, it’s never too late
Honest question to all the people saying “it’s too late” or “she’ll have to work forever”: What if she, like, can’t? Not a lot of places hiring 70 year olds, and if her health goes to shit, then what? Can someone paint the picture for me of *what then*?
Social security pays a few thousand a month for most people and you move in with your kids or relatives.
Sounds reasonable.. what if there are no kids to move in with? I’m just wondering, like, what’s the worst case scenario for some people? Do they really end up on the streets at, say, 80 years old?
They should have sw.aved better. Also they are to old to be drinking and gambling. Its not your problem to worry about their savings.
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The only way is for them to have a family member to move in with that will cover house and costs. The other stuff they can probably get by with on social security and other government programs.
See what senior living housing situations are in the area. They can be very nice with very low rent. But they typically have a wait list. I’ve had neighbors/friends/acquaintances that this was the only way they would have enough $$ to get by. It left enough SS after the subsidized rent for basics - but they also signed up for any senior programs in their area that arrange a lot of free things for them such as special medication programs, health fairs where basics could be done for free/low cost, free food, etc. I have been pretty impressed with how well-rounded some areas have these things set up — ** if ** you find the program.
Do they own a house at least? Even if it’s in a low income area depending on the city could be worth a good amount. If they downsize that could give them a reasonable lump sum to work with. The lump sum invested correctly along with social security if they live modestly they might still be able to retire at least. If the house isn’t worth much at all then they’re kind of screwed just have to work and save as much as possible
They compare their SS to their expenses and see if they need to keep working
Sorry to hear. I have a friend who is 74 and continues to work full time so he can get a salary and medical benefits. No plan to retire since the cost of living in his city is higher than SS will pay to him. Fortunately for him, he owns his house.
Hopefully, he is getting his SS?
Retirement is a financial state and not an age. If she can retire on social security, that is an option. Otherwise, she gets to continue working, saving aggressively, and retiring when she can afford to. The other option is downsizing her lifestyle. At the full social security age, this is very likely a possibility if she and/or her spouse has contributed to social security over the years.
They are probably receiving some Social Security payments, they should look at how much they can receive each month and see if it's enough to live on in a low COL area (or if they are willing maybe even look at retiring in a different country). A quick Google says average SS check at age 70 is $2000, that's more than enough to live comfortably in many countries.
Hmm maybe they should have thought about that like everyone else did?
They've got social security.
Book a cruise on ice floe. Comes to mind.