[quote=SK in CV][quote=bearishgurl]
SK, are you factoring in military retirees? Military pensions are akin to DB pensions and I included them in my assumptions. Also, I am referring to about 60% seniors (those currently 70 and older) and 40% boomers (those currently 51 to 69 yrs old who are already “retired.”). The bulk of senior households DID and DO HAVE at least one DB pension coming in, incl military retirements. The bulk of those collecting DB pensions also have guaranteed health coverage for life or a guaranteed healthcare allowance for life or both (single or couple).
HEALTH CARE BLAH BLAH BLAH
You’re skipping over a boatload of people, here, SK.
All but one of the boomers I know who lost both parents had to split their “inheritance” with 2 or more siblings (and/or the heirs of a deceased sibling). SK, you’re a boomer who grew up in SD, no? How many siblings do/did you have? Are both of your parents still alive?[/quote]
I was referring to private sector employees. But since public sector has never made up more than 10% of the population, it doesn’t change things much. There has never been a time during baby boomer’s working lives when “the vast majority” were covered by DB plans.
I didn’t skip over anyone or anything. I never mentioned anything about health care. Only your assertion that “the vast majority” of retirees have some sort of DB pensions. They don’t.
I had 5 siblings. One is dead, and the other oldest aren’t/weren’t boomers. But that’s the difference between us BG. You think that the entire world is like your world. I don’t, because it isn’t. None of my close friends had more than 2 siblings. One of my siblings has DB pensions that pay he and his wife over $170K a year. Another will have $7K a month when he’s 65 for 5 years of work in the ’70’s. The other two also have DB plans. Until 10 months ago, I’ve never worked for en employer with a DB plan nor even a 401K. Until 6 months ago, I’ve never been eligible to participate in any kind of employer plan.
You know a lot of retired military and retired civil servants. I don’t. I know one retired civil servant. I don’t know a single retired career member of the military. (I did know a guy that was a career Coast Guard. He’s probably retired now. I haven’t seen nor heard from him in 15 years, since he moved to Alaska.) But none of that is important, because what I’ve experienced is nothing more than a single data point among millions. So I look at that data for the millions. And it says that you’re wrong.[/quote]
Well, then, if I’m understanding your post correctly, SK, four of your siblings (2 seniors and 2 “boomers”) have DB pension plans and all are presently collecting benefits (typical). You are finally working in a job which will provide you with a DB pension. And I will surmise that most of all of your siblings have health benefits (or a healthcare allowance) attached to their DB Plans.
The reason I brought up healthcare is because there were at least two posts on this thread which forecasted a “healthcare crises” among the aged as another reason why this cohort (seniors and boomers) are going to run out of money to pay their healthcare costs. Nothing could be further from the truth … at least in this region of the country.
And I don’t think the “entire world is like my world.” I didn’t discuss the “entire world” here. I discussed San Diego County, CA and those areas close to military bases which have a very large population of military retirees and civil-servant retirees from of all levels of government, including Federal (incl thousands of DOD employees), state, county and municipal employers, including teachers and college professors. It also has a large contingent of DOD Contractor retirees (who provided generous DB pensions to retiring workers in past decades) and retired airline, phone and utility employees.
As a Native? San Diegan, SK, you must admit that in past decades, there weren’t very many large employers here in SD who weren’t gov contractors or the government itself. Most of their former workers never left SD County, and, if still alive, still reside here.
There are a LOT of military and Federal DOD retirees in East SD County as well, which is not that close to military bases. I can only attribute that to its lower cost to buy homes and land (compared to SD and close-in suburbs) and so a lot of enlisted families and lower-paid DOD workers bought property there while still working. Possibly those of all income brackets who had horses as well.
Public sector workers may not make up more than 10% of the population in the entire country … I don’t know. But in SD County, it is much more than that … especially when you count in the military active-duty residents, military retirees and public sector retirees, all of whom aren’t going anywhere. They were ALL “government employees” at one time.
While a portion of new retirees of every stripe from other parts of the country may typically relocate upon retirement, they tend to “retire in place” here. Along with the weather, Proposition 13 made/makes this decision a no-brainer.
