Baby boomers
- Thread starter ido1957
- Start date
Yup, Gen X here too. Product of the boomers. A disinterested child of the 70s and 80s. Pac Man and Rubik's Cubes. I want my MTV.....to go off the air.
rayc
retroreprobate
I'm a boomer and, since I've had a good superannuation plan since work day 1, I am obliged to retire at 60, and that's just a little under three years, and IF I survive until and after then I'll not need the age pension and will be comfy enough in a frugal kind of way.
With my federal govt renegging on preelection promises re super AND raising the retirement age to 70 over the next decade I'm SUPERNATURALLY lucky to get out when I can.
Around the time I go the state wioll be in the grip of a MASSIVE teacher shortage - made even worse by those who train to be teachers and leave after three years because they haven't been promoted yet (despite having an almost guaranteed wage increase each year for a decade) or because it's proved too difficult to live with mum 'n'ndad AND travel to the areas that need the staff.
My generation are guilty of much damage to our children:
Paying them to do chores they should do, organizing their lives to the last second, accepting that they needed their own space, TV, stereo etc. In other words giving them all we had wanted for ourselves BUT not actually requiring anything much in return - things like responsibility and silly things like that.
GROSS generalizations I know but reasonably accurate ones when seen across a generation. We did them few favours.
With my federal govt renegging on preelection promises re super AND raising the retirement age to 70 over the next decade I'm SUPERNATURALLY lucky to get out when I can.
Around the time I go the state wioll be in the grip of a MASSIVE teacher shortage - made even worse by those who train to be teachers and leave after three years because they haven't been promoted yet (despite having an almost guaranteed wage increase each year for a decade) or because it's proved too difficult to live with mum 'n'ndad AND travel to the areas that need the staff.
My generation are guilty of much damage to our children:
Paying them to do chores they should do, organizing their lives to the last second, accepting that they needed their own space, TV, stereo etc. In other words giving them all we had wanted for ourselves BUT not actually requiring anything much in return - things like responsibility and silly things like that.
GROSS generalizations I know but reasonably accurate ones when seen across a generation. We did them few favours.
The WWII "Greatest Generation" was the last generation of stand up people. They really were the greatest generation. Boomers started the fuck up, Gen X prolonged the fuck up through apathy and/or misplaced interests, and the current millennial participation-award social media generation will be the complete undoing of american society.
Armistice
Son of Yoda
"obliged" ray?
One of my friends has been a teacher all his life (secondary, out in country Qld) and he's talking 60 too, I've told him there's no way I'll be retiring at 60 based on current super balances, and mine are healthier than most, but he seems to be comfortable with the concept. He has no actual money that I'm aware of, so it must be a hell of a super scheme....
And, not to be an Abbott apologist, but, as I say all the time... there is no such thing as "retirement age" - you can retire whenever you like. There are only "age pension eligibility age" and "superannuation preservation age". So for you, those ages would be 55 and 67, respectively. You could retire now if you could afford it, but you ain't getting that pension for a decade... and it wasn't Abbott who made that change from 65... it was Labor.
I'm sure you know all this.
I work in superannuation, and no matter who's steering the ship of state, there's a meltdown of massive proportions a-coming... there'll be a lot of very poor baby boomers who run out of money pretty damn quickly, unfortunately.
I'm not planning on being one of them, so I'll be going a bit longer than 60, I suspect.
All this continual tinkering by governments of both stripes ain't helping matters. There will be tax on super income over age 60 within the next 5 years. Better plug that one into your calculations. There will be no choice.
ibleedburgundy
The Anti-Lambo
I've been hearing this for a decade now. Problem is, people aren't retiring as young as they used to.
Bobbsy
Boring Old Git
Early-to-mid boomer (born 52) here and I got very lucky in my 20s and got into a good pension scheme--which has let me take early retirement. It's reduced from what it would have been at 65 but enough to live on if we're careful.
I really worry for those who are being asked to work until they're 70 or whatever. I'd love to say I'm fit as a fiddle but, just like analogue recorders, bodies get old and I don't have the energy or stamina I used to. How I'll be at 70 is anyone's guess.
As I said, my pension was purely luck, down to the company I joined in the mid 1970s. If I'd relied on a government pension I'd be in deep shit now...and, as Armistice says, the crisis will only get worse. The trouble as I see it is that governments (of all political persuasions and in most countries) have been running pensions like a giant Ponzi scheme, taking the contributions like regular tax and paying pensions out of the current account. This worked...sort of...as long as the population was growing and the life expectancy stayed about the same. Nowadays, there just aren't enough youngsters joining the labour market to pay for old codgers like me.
No nappies yet though...but I'm trying hard. I want my kids to know the pain I went through when THEY were in nappies.
I really worry for those who are being asked to work until they're 70 or whatever. I'd love to say I'm fit as a fiddle but, just like analogue recorders, bodies get old and I don't have the energy or stamina I used to. How I'll be at 70 is anyone's guess.
As I said, my pension was purely luck, down to the company I joined in the mid 1970s. If I'd relied on a government pension I'd be in deep shit now...and, as Armistice says, the crisis will only get worse. The trouble as I see it is that governments (of all political persuasions and in most countries) have been running pensions like a giant Ponzi scheme, taking the contributions like regular tax and paying pensions out of the current account. This worked...sort of...as long as the population was growing and the life expectancy stayed about the same. Nowadays, there just aren't enough youngsters joining the labour market to pay for old codgers like me.
No nappies yet though...but I'm trying hard. I want my kids to know the pain I went through when THEY were in nappies.
dobro
Well-known member
Originally Posted by ido1957:
"there's going to be some big labor shortage."
Exactly. Like Track Rat said, I won't be retiring. I may drop from a heart attack or they may fire me for not being able to do the job, but retire? Nah. And if your young punk ass needs the job? I get that, but viewing the situation from where my not so young punk ass is parked, I need it more.
"there's going to be some big labor shortage."
Exactly. Like Track Rat said, I won't be retiring. I may drop from a heart attack or they may fire me for not being able to do the job, but retire? Nah. And if your young punk ass needs the job? I get that, but viewing the situation from where my not so young punk ass is parked, I need it more.
kcearl
I see deaf people
stopped working in 07 at the age of 40 and have no idea if I'll bother again. Im a diaper/nappy changing mofo at the moment, but wont be for long...then number two comes along and Ill be a diaper/nappy changing mofo again..in around 2 years theyll both be in pre-school/daycare and I can get a bit of my life back...2 long years lol
cant say late fatherhood is easy but at least I had plenty of years to get all the partying etc out of my system
cant say late fatherhood is easy but at least I had plenty of years to get all the partying etc out of my system
rayc
retroreprobate
David,
YEAH, we should be talking Aged Pension and not confusing that with retirement in Oz.
Obliged? Pretty much yes; the set up makes it a money losing option to go beyond the originally nominated retirement age.
I haven't looked into it personally but have had the conversation with those who did & then retired.
I'm in the OLD State Super Scheme that was quarantined and hidden in about 88.
When I started working women in NSW teaching had the option of 55 or 60. MOST took 55 as they couldn't see the impact on career development from the younger perspective. The one's I started work with have left the service now, some very reluctantly, because of that early out option.
Way too much fiddling about with super after Keating's monumental change and always for political purposes.
YEAH, we should be talking Aged Pension and not confusing that with retirement in Oz.
Obliged? Pretty much yes; the set up makes it a money losing option to go beyond the originally nominated retirement age.
I haven't looked into it personally but have had the conversation with those who did & then retired.
I'm in the OLD State Super Scheme that was quarantined and hidden in about 88.
When I started working women in NSW teaching had the option of 55 or 60. MOST took 55 as they couldn't see the impact on career development from the younger perspective. The one's I started work with have left the service now, some very reluctantly, because of that early out option.
Way too much fiddling about with super after Keating's monumental change and always for political purposes.
dobro
Well-known member
Probably fathers are better the later they start. As a rule. You may prove the exception, of course.
TAE
All you have is now
Born in 53 I was pretty much smack dab in the middle of the BOOM! air raid drills and all. We truly got to experience the American dream as it was envisioned. Retirement is not something I plan on embracing but then again I've not been a 40 hours a week plugged into a socket kinda guy for most of my life. Seen the old "yep he retired and 2 years later he died of a heart attack" story too many times...They're bored stiff and have no purpose so they expire... Uh Uh not for me..
I'll hold off till 67 on the SS benefits ( if I can make it that far ) to make sure the wife is able to get the most bang for our buck out of the Social security..( if it still exist in 6 years) In the mean time if you're a healthy bodied soul, better make hay while the sun shines cause putting all your hopes on Social security is probably not a real prudent decision.
I'll hold off till 67 on the SS benefits ( if I can make it that far ) to make sure the wife is able to get the most bang for our buck out of the Social security..( if it still exist in 6 years) In the mean time if you're a healthy bodied soul, better make hay while the sun shines cause putting all your hopes on Social security is probably not a real prudent decision.
kcearl
I see deaf people
Probably fathers are better the later they start. As a rule. You may prove the exception, of course.
lol...I think from about 35 on we're safe to have kids. But Im injured all the time, this week my ankles strapped up. I cant have long to go.
On the upside very little chance Ill be around when its time to pay for college
