Tales of woe from the UK and the US

As you will see from the video from Saga – all is not well with the financial position of the UK’s over-50s (well a large group of them). I quote...

"People sometimes portray the older generation as the lucky ones with fewer problems than others," said Dr Ros Altmann, director-general of Saga, which provides services for the over-50s.
"But the evidence does not support this view. Some are fine, but the majority are struggling and the worst affected are just short of retirement.

"Their pensions will not deliver the income they were expecting, their savings income has evaporated and more are losing their jobs. "Once out of work they find it hard to get back in. In short, their lives may never recover, but their plight has so far been ignored by policymakers."

OK, that's what is happening in the UK - now for the US. Reading today’s Wall Street Journal paints a similar picture for older people in the US. I quote..


The 401(k) generation is beginning to retire, and it isn't a pretty sight.
The retirement savings plans that many baby boomers thought would see them through old age are falling short in many cases.

The median household headed by a person aged 60 to 62 with a 401(k) account has less than one-quarter of what is needed in that account to maintain its standard of living in retirement, according to data compiled by the Federal Reserve and analyzed by the Center for Retirement Research.

Most 401(k) participants appear to have insufficient savings. Data from other sources also show big gaps between savings and what people need, and the financial crisis has made things worse.

What we are seeing is the ultra-fragmentation of the older market into the haves and the have nothings.

Why is it so difficult for our politicians to see what is happening, instead they keep up this mindless nonsense about the wealthy baby boomers. Dick Stroud