Retirement Reality Check

So many political arguments are being made about funding social security and medicare, it made me wonder. Is it possible for a middle income worker to save enough money to support him or herself in retirement for, say, 20 years? I decided to try to answer my own question.

The current individual median income for workers 25 and over is about $33,000. That means half of American workers earn more and half earn less. Also, that's exactly what my latest full-time annual salary was with an associate's degree and many years of working up from entry-level clerk to senior office associate. So it seems like a good number to use for representing a middle income.

I used the calculator at CalcXML to determine how much a 25 year old would have to save in order to achieve the equivalent of $33,000 annual income from age 70 through 89 (assuming 3% inflation per year). I assumed the retirement savings plan would earn 6% per year, which is roughly the historical average return for stock funds. Here's the result:

"To provide the inflation-adjusted retirement income you desire, you need to save $7,282 or $607 a month. The total amount needed for retirement...is $2,423,159."

Does anyone expect a young middle-class worker to sock away over $600 per month for retirement? I think that's highly unlikely, which raises more questions, especially this one: Are there other ways to fund one's own retirement?

Getting Ready to Grieve

Last April, on a typical busy day when no one was expecting anything out of the ordinary, my father died. Even Dad didn't suspect something was up. When it happened he was standing in the grocery checkout line, waiting to purchase eggs and tomatoes. He'd already gone for a swim at the YMCA, enjoyed a conversation with his wife, and started his volunteer shift at the Elks Club. He was picking up the groceries for the club. Just a nice, normal day, until suddenly it wasn't.

The family, especially his wife, were occupied for weeks with hundreds of (supposedly) necessary tasks and decisions. Dad's life was simple because he liked it that way. He had no debt, little property, and kids from just one marriage. Even so, there were a few loose ends, unanswerable questions, and difficult judgement calls. I can't imagine how hard the process would be for a family with complicated financial and family situations.

That's mostly over now. There's not much left to do but grieve.

I haven't really begun to go there yet. It feels kind of like standing at the edge of an unheated swimming pool, trying to work up the nerve up to jump in. Knowing the freezing cold water will be a shock, and I'll have to do a lot of moving to warm up. Wanting to do it, but dreading those first extremely uncomfortable minutes.

 I'm almost ready to grieve. Almost. Just give me another minute to get my nerve.



Dad & Me

Celebrating Wildflowers

I just discovered that this is Nebraska Wildflower Week. What a lovely thing to celebrate! Events across the state include tours, outdoor concerts, morning yoga, hikes, plant sales, fun runs, and photography seminars.

Starting Over After a Fire

Lincoln Fire and Rescue battles a fire at the Lincoln Public Schools Administration building, 5901 O St., late Monday night, May 30, 2011. This photo shows the west side and southwest corner of the building.
(TED KIRK / Lincoln Journal Star)

Our local school district administration building burned down this week. The fire spread at night, and the only employee in the building smelled smoke and called the fire department. So no one was hurt, thank God. But what a mess. I've been wondering since then, just as I did after the World Trade Center burned down, how do you get your business up and running again when all your stuff is gone? We all have off-site backups of our computer files...umm, right? Even if that is the case, the hours of work it would take to get all the new computers, configure them like they were before, and retrieve all those files, boggles my mind. Not to mention the logistics of replacing all the physical equipment and records that were assembled over decades. I just can't imagine it!

Retirement for US War Dogs

I knew the US military uses dogs. Our local Veterans Memorial Garden includes a K-9 Corps Memorial. What I didn't know is when their tour of duty is over the dogs aren't returned to their home station, and can be euthanized or abandoned in a foreign country. It wasn't even legal to adopt them until 2000.



Photo: http://lovingforaliving.blogspot.com/2010_05_01_archive.html



Fortunately, "...the military has made dramatic strides since then," according to an eye-opening article in the Military Times. Publicity about Cairo, a Navy Seal dog who participated in the raid on Osama Bin Laden's house, has increased the number of adoption applications so now there's a waiting list. I like Maj. Gen. Mary Kay Hertog's idea; she wants the dogs to be re-classified from "equipment" to canine veterans. "That would take an act of Congress, but it could also ensure that all dogs shipped out of the United States are brought back," says the Times. “Uncle Sam gave the dogs a ride over. He should give them a ride back,” says Kandoll.

 I couldn't agree more!

Rapture

Seems like all the news broadcasts are covering the story of Harold Camping's prediction that Rapture will occur tomorrow, May 21st, 2011. The Atlanta Journal reports, "According to the Pew Center for the People and the Press, 41 percent of Americans believe Jesus Christ will return to Earth by 2050."


The web site Rapture Ready is chock full of information those folks could find useful, including a timeline of events pertaining to significant armaggedon factors such as the European Union and Rock and Roll. Another web site, Rapture Assurance, has an interesting pitch: "Are you ready to be Raptured? The Rapture Card will assist you. Get a Rapture Card and get peace of mind." I had to click on that, just to see what the card does.


I grew up learning all about the Rapture, or as our chuch called it, the Second Coming. As a child, whenever I saw beautiful cloud formations I searched the skies for Jesus just in case he was coming through. That's because I Thessalonians says, "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord." I didn't want to miss that!

If you're still around after May 21st, reading Tim LaHaye's books, especially the Left Behind series is another way to get a detailed perspective on these beliefs. By the way, a couple of months ago LaHaye said on Mike Huckabee's talk show that the Obama administration's policies are "bringing us closer to the apocalypse."

Predictions are a common as weeds. A local pastor, Gil Rugh, predicted Rapture would occur around the year 2000. Since then, he changed his mind. Rugh's pamphlet "The Rapture," published in 2010, says, "The next event for the church is the rapture. This has been true for the past 2000 years. No one knows when Christ will return because no one knows when the rapture will take place."

Though I find other people's end-times beliefs interesting, I don't feel anticipation or worry about any of that. I still love to watch our beautiful Nebraska skies and look forward to seeing Jesus some day, but for now my favorite version of "Rapture" is Blondie's!

Four-Legged Immigrant Coming to Omaha

A very unique therapy animal is coming to Omaha, all the way from Iraq! Smoke, a donkey who befriended a Marine unit while they were stationed in Iraq, will soon be part of Nebraska's Wounded Warrior Family Support program. Apparently, he's a charmer and really good with military personnel. Best of luck, Smoke!