The Social Security Jig Is Up!
Gary Klaben and John Dragstrem discuss important changes to Social Security you can’t afford to ignore
December 2, 2015
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Gary Klaben and John Dragstrem discuss important changes to Social Security you can’t afford to ignore
Remember the old joke about the 85-year-old who has an annual physical? The doctor says, “I’ve got good news and bad news. The good news is you’re going to live forever. You’re strong as an ox. The bad news is, I understand you’re running out of money.”
Regular readers of this blog know that the No.1 good money habit our clients have is that they save first and spend second. Let’s talk about retirement savings, particularly if you’re under age 50. You’re going to change jobs throughout your career, and hopefully you’ll have a 401(k) at each stop. What do you do with your old 401(k) when you make a change? Do you cash it in? Do you leave it where it is? Do you roll it over into your new 401(k)? Do you roll it into an IRA?
I’ve been watching a high-energy client of mine for 25 years. John (fictitious name) is in his 80s, but he goes to lunch three times a week. He plays bridge once a week, golfs several times a week, exercises three times a week, and has a very full social calendar seeing his friends and extended family.
If you’re still working, I’m sure you dream about the day you can finally retire. But the days of gold watches, a pension and Social Security at age 65 are long gone. It’s more complicated today, and I want to walk you through six important stages in reaching a prosperous retirement.
I once had a very sobering client experience working with a married couple. The husband was winding down his work career. At his retirement party, the alcohol was running low, so he volunteered to pick up more. Unfortunately, in the liquor store parking lot, he had a massive heart attack and died suddenly.
Everyone’s talking about Social Security these days, and there are a lot of misconceptions. Gen-Xers and Millennials think it’s not going to be there for them, and Baby Boomers—10,000 of whom are turning 62 every day—think they better retire ASAP while the program is still solvent. But regardless of your age, here are eight factors to consider:
Remember the 1983 hit song “I Want a New Drug” by Huey Lewis and the News? It wasn’t about recreational drugs at the time. It was more about what drugs were doing for our culture, helping us live longer and attacking different kinds of diseases and maladies.
When you look at your life, you realize you have probably made some big mistakes—hopefully with small amounts of money or minimal physical harm. No one sails through life mistake-free or regret-free, but it’s about more than just being lucky. In their new book Decisive, authors Chip and Dan Heath take a good look at four big reasons we make mistakes and misjudgments.
My grandmother never drove a car. So after I would give her a ride someplace and drop her off, she’d say, “Thanks for the buggy ride!” I thought that was cute, but she also said something else that stuck with me whenever my siblings and I were behaving impetuously. “Now, Gary, remember: there’s always another streetcar.” Her point was to be patient and to avoid making hasty decisions that would eventually have to be undone.
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