# A coming retirement crisis? Are you worried? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 18, 2019, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-coming-retirement-crisis-are-you-worried/845024 "2019-12-18T10:31:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2019, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-coming-retirement-crisis-are-you-worried/845024/61 "2019-12-19T20:51:45Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > A bunch of my on and offline friends were all discussing our impending move out to the ass end of nowhere [Dyer Nevada] and joked that because the land was so cheap, we should all go in together, get about 50 acres or so, and set up our own ‘retirement mobile home park’ called FennHafn [Fenn Haven, Fenn are fans of fantasy and science fiction] the requirement for residence being a part of our rather oddly inclusive and extended fennish community. It was pointed out we could save space by building a community club house that the ground floor was a gym [rehab and work out equipment] with the upper floor a single large media library - books, dvd, cd and art supplies so individuals didn’t have to worry about over cluttering their trailers. The overall discussion started when one of my friends who happens to be an upper 60s vintage author and her husband, who own a house in a large urban area in the Pacific NW were commiserating at the inability to find a lodger that in exchange for driving them to grocery shop once a week, to occasional doctor/medical appointments and an occasional movie night [like Star Wars opening] with light housekeeping they would get free room and board. [They have a 4 bedroom classic turn of the 1900s 4square] You ought to go for it. It sounds similar to a cohousing project I used to be a part of. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2019, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-coming-retirement-crisis-are-you-worried/845024/62 "2019-12-19T21:27:01Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > One thing mentioned in the video was people retiring but staying in expensive places like New York City. I dont get why they dont downsize and move someplace cheaper. I’m in the Bay Area, and I can’t afford to downsize my house. It isn’t property tax - the problem is that it has appreciated so much that I’d get killed on the taxes if I sold it. When one of us dies it gets revalued at the current market price, and then the survivor can sell it. I know, first world problems. Plus I’m only 2 miles from my clinic and surgery centers, which in the past 6 months has come in handy, in walking distance from 2 supermarkets and more restaurants than I can count, and close to BART. I’ve lived in lots of other places, as well as New York, and towns are not the same. As for retirement homes having activities, my father-in-law lived in a very nice one. It had a lot of people in the arts - he was a composer and fit in well. They had lots of activities. But if you think that this is the same as New York, I can only conclude you’ve never been to New York. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2019, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-coming-retirement-crisis-are-you-worried/845024/63 "2019-12-19T21:38:05Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > I was watching [THIS Video on “The Coming Retirement Crisis”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OFaZcC0lRU) where they basically told about how many people have unfunded pensions so either they wont get retirement or if they are retired the payments will stop or they just plain worry they wont have enough due to our current lives being so expensive its almost impossible to save for retirement. > > Also its not just the US but also in other countries. For example France just raised its retirement age and is trying to cut benefits. > > What do you all think? Pensions are a problem. But remember that the solution to the pension problem, 401Ks, hasn’t exactly worked well either, given the woeful underfunding of them for a variety of reasons. The big problem is not the cost of living, given that inflation has been low for a long time, but that the average worker has been screwed by low raises for ages now. I’ve been retired for 3 1/2 years and I’m doing fine, and I have enough money to easily outlast me. I’ll be doing even finer in terms of cash flow when I turn on my social security at 70, and I converted my pension to an annuity for more if I need it. But we were unAmerican and bought new cars only every 15 years or so and never spent more than we had. Which is a lot simpler if you are making reasonable money, so this isn’t a virtue thing in comparison to those making less. It is in comparison to those making as much or more than I did and who wasted it all and now can’t retire. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2019, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-coming-retirement-crisis-are-you-worried/845024/64 "2019-12-19T22:14:30Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > The choice isn’t between two extremes, either big city or else “in the sticks”. > No, I’ve never heard of St.John, Indiana. > But I _have_ heard of Indianapolis, Indiana. I guess you didn’t read all the way to end of my post - my last paragraph addresses that. > [@Is JK Rowling transphobic?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jk-rowling-transphobic/845105/12): > > Or rent a nice apartment for $600 per month. You won’t be in an upscale neighborhood, but you won’t be in the slums either. Uh, yeah, right - you can’t rent a “nice” anything around here for $600/month and we’re more out in the sticks that Indianapolis. I’d check out Zwillow but they don’t want to let me look at their site without giving my email and profile picture so fuck that noise. Seriously? People can’t take a look without handing over their privacy? Wow. Not doing it. > [@Is JK Rowling transphobic?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jk-rowling-transphobic/845105/12): > > And if you can’t drive, these cities have Uber, which is a _lot_ more convenient than the subway when you’re 84 years old and carrying groceries. Except that a lot of old people don’t trust Uber, are afraid to get into a car with a total stranger, don’t use a smartphone, and Uber drivers in no way have to be handicap accessible. Unlike municipal buses and trains. > [@Is JK Rowling transphobic?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jk-rowling-transphobic/845105/12): > > (And you don’t have to step over a homeless guy.) The homeless don’t bother me, largely because I don’t bother them. I was bothered by the two _dead_ homeless people I encountered in Chicago on my way to work, but that’s because they were dead, not because they were homeless. > [@Is JK Rowling transphobic?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jk-rowling-transphobic/845105/12): > > Moving to a cheaper city is a realistic option, which does not get mentioned often enough. It’s an option, but it costs money to move, and there’s that whole business about security deposits, needing a job or, if you’re on a pension, getting things adjusted… Moving is a headache and I can why people avoid it and put it off. Sometimes until it’s too late for them to make that choice. > [@Is JK Rowling transphobic?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jk-rowling-transphobic/845105/12): > > They interviewed a Starbucks waitress who lost her job after the recent fires burned down half her town, so she moved to LA and is now homeless, living in an unused trailer and shitting in the street. She apparently never thought of moving somewhere other than LA. The cities I mentioned have cheap enough rents that a waitress can live a respectable life…It’s difficult, but better than being homeless. So… she’s jobless and homeless and you suggest she move to a different city where she will be… jobless and homeless? At least when you’re a pensioner your income will move with you for sure, but if you’re jobless and homeless you’re in a really bad place. I’m not sure relocating to a new city where you can be jobless and homeless without knowing anyone there or where things are improves things. She’s still jobless and homeless. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2019, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-coming-retirement-crisis-are-you-worried/845024/65 "2019-12-19T22:25:00Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > Again, you would be surprised at the number and quality of senior living opportunities in small towns throughout the midwest. These have all kinds of opportunities for social events and hobbies. > > [HERE](https://www.pioneermemorial.org/) is an example of one place in Viborg SD. Its a combination of hospital and [senior living.](https://www.pioneermemorial.org/custom/assisted-living) Yeah, that’s great if you’re upper middle class or better but if not you simply won’t be able to afford such a place. Those amenities aren’t free, you have to pay for them. Not only that, you get what amenities the place has, once you’re there your options drop to zero. And there can be problems - one of my aunts and her husband moved into such a place. Oh, great, they’ll provide meals! Except the place completely failed to accommodate the dietary needs of their medical conditions. As just one example. Typically you have to sign a contract which means if you’re not happy moving out can be a lot harder than moving in - my Aunt and Uncle started calling the place they were in “Hotel California”. They did finally get free but they had to go to court to do it. Of course, it’s not always like that - some people can afford such a place and are happy there. Good for them! But it’s hardly a one size fits all solution. It is CERTAINLY not a solution for those on the lower end of retirement income. Also - not everyone NEEDS “assisted living”, even into their 80’s or 90’s. I have several friends in that age range who live on their own in their own condo, not in “senior housing”. They have contacts with social agencies for some types of help, they have friends and family around here (which they would NOT have if they moved far away looking for cheaper housing), and sometimes will pay for a service if they need/want it. My downstairs neighbor is 88. She still drives, is still able-bodied, she doesn’t need all that other stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2019, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-coming-retirement-crisis-are-you-worried/845024/66 "2019-12-19T22:32:01Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > I forgot to mention that the woman I mentioned above who moved to Viborg from LA, was black. Actually she was originally from New Orleans. > > See I hear this often that people think that the midwest is full of racists and kkk and they are afraid that being a minority will be all bad when it might not be. Every year I go up there I am seeing more persons of color. Yes, that is true - everywhere is getting more and more diverse. On the other hand, for some people being immersed in a culture is very important. A black woman who is a Christian is likely to be better accepted in a rural Midwest village than, say, a Muslim woman would be. There is less bigotry, and less of it is racial, but it’s still out there. Which is not to say it’s impossible for a Muslim woman to find community and happiness in Viborg, SD, it is possible, but it would be silly to ignore that there may be obstacles. ---
**Author:** ![slash2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@slash2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slash2k)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2019, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-coming-retirement-crisis-are-you-worried/845024/67 "2019-12-19T23:16:37Z")
> [@Dag\_Otto](#): > > So, given that 1) pension plans do use actuaries, and 2) retirement plans need to plan for longer time-frames with more uncertainty, then it would seem that retirement plans would need to be more conservative than they are to ensure success. Yet retirement plans tend to be underfunded. Are these actuaries just really bad at what they do, or are they simply ignored? Does ERISA say that that they only have to have an actuary enrolled in some capacity (perhaps sorting mail or mopping floors) or does it say that they have a responsibility for the programs they work for? > > Besides property and casualty insurance, insurance companies seem to do ok with life insurance and annuities, which certainly have timeframes exceeding a couple of years. I may be wrong again, but it seems that life insurance companies do better than pension plans working with longer timeframes. Life insurance companies get themselves into trouble too; here’s [a partial list](https://www.nolhga.com/factsandfigures/main.cfm/location/insolvencies) of companies that have gone into liquidation over the last few decades. Actuarial mistakes aren’t the only cause of insurer failure, of course, but bad judgments in risk management are usually very high on the list of causes. With insurance contracts, however, very often the policies are taken over by another and more sound company which will continue to collect the premiums; there’s not so much of a market for companies to take over failed pension programs, so those tend to be more visible. The enrolled actuary for an ERISA plan is generally actually employed by an accounting firm or other consultant, not the pension plan itself, and is required to present a report annually to the trustees of the plan about the funding levels and assumptions used. A version of their report is required to be filed with the US Dept of Labor, and [hence is publicly accessible](https://www.efast.dol.gov/portal/app/disseminate?execution=e1s1). You know whether a pension plan is underfunded or not because actuaries have run the numbers. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2019, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-coming-retirement-crisis-are-you-worried/845024/68 "2019-12-19T23:27:27Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > That is an interesting viewpoint and really not that uncommon. Thanks for sharing. As a counterpoint, a lot of potential crisis situations never happened because we took them seriously and we found a solution before the shit hit the fan. Mass famine? Norman Borlaug and others found ways to increase crop yields. Ozone depletion? The world got together and changed what chemicals they used to more environmentally friendly ones. Y2K? The public and private sector spent a ton of time and money updating computers to deal with the problem. Peak oil? Advances in geological science increase the amount of oil we can extract from the ground. So yeah, maybe the retirement crisis won’t happen but maybe that’ll be because we adopt solutions before it gets too out of hand. Subsidized apartments for the elderly, or public dormitories for the elderly. Elderly moving in with family or friends. More subsidies for health care in old age. Make health care more cost efficient. etc. These things will help us avoid a retirement crisis, but only because we took the problem seriously and dealt with it before it got out of hand. Our elderly now have more resources than they’ve ever had at any point in history. But a lot of elderly may have to adapt to a lower standard of living. Smaller houses, shared housing, living in RVs, living in public housing, etc. Absolute worst case scenario (IMO) is the destitute elderly live in public dormitories or public apartments, and only get 80% of what modern health care has to offer (health care seems to follow a pareto distribution, where 20% of spending results in 80% of outcomes), combined with having to travel overseas for care. It’ll be unpleasant but not life ending. Lots of elderly may live in subsidized public housing and have to travel to mexico for surgery or long term care. That assumes politicians are willing to enact legislation to make the issue better. Thats not guaranteed. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2019, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-coming-retirement-crisis-are-you-worried/845024/69 "2019-12-20T00:07:56Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > I guess you didn’t read all the way to end of my post - my last paragraph addresses that. > Uh, yeah, right - you can’t rent a “nice” anything around here for $600/month and we’re more out in the sticks that Indianapolis. > > I’d check out Zwillow but they don’t want to let me look at their site without giving my email and profile picture so fuck that noise. Seriously? People can’t take a look without handing over their privacy? Wow. Not doing it. > Except that a lot of old people don’t trust Uber, are afraid to get into a car with a total stranger, don’t use a smartphone, and Uber drivers in no way have to be handicap accessible. Unlike municipal buses and trains. > The homeless don’t bother me, largely because I don’t bother them. > > I was bothered by the two _dead_ homeless people I encountered in Chicago on my way to work, but that’s because they were dead, not because they were homeless. > It’s an option, but it costs money to move, and there’s that whole business about security deposits, needing a job or, if you’re on a pension, getting things adjusted… Moving is a headache and I can why people avoid it and put it off. Sometimes until it’s too late for them to make that choice. > So… she’s jobless and homeless and you suggest she move to a different city where she will be… jobless and homeless? > > At least when you’re a pensioner your income will move with you for sure, but if you’re jobless and homeless you’re in a really bad place. I’m not sure relocating to a new city where you can be jobless and homeless without knowing anyone there or where things are improves things. She’s still jobless and homeless. I think you meant to reply to **chappachula** , not me. > [@chappachula](#): > > The choice isn’t between two extremes, either big city or else “in the sticks”. > No, I’ve never heard of St.John, Indiana. > But I _have_ heard of Indianapolis, Indiana. > And Cincinnati, and Kansas City, and Louisville and Nashville and Peoria , IL > In these cities you can buy a nice little house for $100,000. Or rent a nice apartment for $600 per month. You won’t be in an upscale neighborhood, but you won’t be in the slums either. Check Zillow dot com. > And these cities all have supermarkets and hospitals, ya know, just like New York. They even have a symphony orchestra, art museum and local theater. (Not as good as Broadway, so yeah, you’ll have to suffer a bit. Life’s tough.) > And if you can’t drive, these cities have Uber, which is a _lot_ more convenient than the subway when you’re 84 years old and carrying groceries. > (And you don’t have to step over a homeless guy.) > Moving to a cheaper city is a realistic option, which does not get mentioned often enough. > [Related subject, for a different thread:] > This strange concept(moving to a cheaper city, in flyover country) applies to the homeless, too. There was an article in the NYtimes just a few days ago about homeless camps in Los Angeles. They interviewed a Starbucks waitress who lost her job after the recent fires burned down half her town, so she moved to LA and is now homeless, living in an unused trailer and shitting in the street. She apparently never thought of moving somewhere other than LA. The cities I mentioned have cheap enough rents that a waitress can live a respectable life…It’s difficult, but better than being homeless. > [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2019, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-coming-retirement-crisis-are-you-worried/845024/70 "2019-12-20T00:47:08Z")
Yes, you are correct. My bad for fumbling the quotes. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2019, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-coming-retirement-crisis-are-you-worried/845024/71 "2019-12-20T05:43:51Z")
**slash2k** , thanks for the information. ---
**Author:** ![rbroome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2019, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-coming-retirement-crisis-are-you-worried/845024/72 "2019-12-20T15:40:46Z")
> [@Oredigger77](#): > > Yep, that’s what my parents did. They retired to the cheap country but now are 20 minutes from the nearest ambulance service and then from there another 45 to the hospital so they are an hour from help if they had a heart attack also known as dead. They are 10 minutes from the closest gas station with any kind of food and 20 minutes from the closest grocery store. My dad has chosen to not drive at night already and my mom just backed into a car the was parked behind her. I would be shocked if either of them can drive in a decade and then they will have to be moved again. > > Rural life works best when you’re younger or have large families in the area once you’re old and alone its really difficult. People seem to think that there are only 2 places to live in the US-big cities and far rural locations. Uh, the choice isn’t binary. I know the suburbs have a bad reputation now, but the living is easy near but not in many mid-sized cities. Where I live good housing is $200K, doctors are 10 minutes away, emergency services are a quicker than most big cities, crime is low, groceries are 5 minutes away and public transportation is poor but available if you have to use it. Yeah, I don’t have a major museum around the corner and I do have neighbors within sight of my back door, but it isn’t a terrible life. Nor is it expensive. I couldn’t live here on 20K/year, but taxes are low. If you are surviving in the big city, you do have good choices around the country. I don’t have a mountain view, but I also don’t have to look at the backside of an adjacent skyscraper either. ---
**Author:** ![rbroome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2019, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-coming-retirement-crisis-are-you-worried/845024/73 "2019-12-20T15:58:18Z")
In finally reading the entire thread, it is clear that many people are worried about their high cost city life because they don’t want to leave behind all the amenities. Can’t blame them. But that isn’t a crisis. If their financial situation allows them to stay and enjoy all those community centers great. But if not, there are options and that avoids the crisis. Faced with living in a dorm of destitute seniors or moving to the suburbs-well that is still a choice not a crisis. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2019, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-coming-retirement-crisis-are-you-worried/845024/74 "2019-12-20T18:12:20Z")
> [@rbroome](#): > > People seem to think that there are only 2 places to live in the US-big cities and far rural locations. Uh, the choice isn’t binary. I know the suburbs have a bad reputation now, but the living is easy near but not in many mid-sized cities. Where I live good housing is $200K, doctors are 10 minutes away, emergency services are a quicker than most big cities, crime is low, groceries are 5 minutes away and public transportation is poor but available if you have to use it. Yeah, I don’t have a major museum around the corner and I do have neighbors within sight of my back door, but it isn’t a terrible life. Nor is it expensive. I couldn’t live here on 20K/year, but taxes are low. If you are surviving in the big city, you do have good choices around the country. I don’t have a mountain view, but I also don’t have to look at the backside of an adjacent skyscraper either. In many medium sized and some larger cities in the south and Midwest, real estate in good neighborhoods is $100/sq ft. You won’t live in the upscale neighborhood but you won’t live in a slum either. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2019, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-coming-retirement-crisis-are-you-worried/845024/75 "2019-12-20T19:50:34Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > A > > So yeah, maybe the retirement crisis won’t happen but maybe that’ll be because we adopt solutions before it gets too out of hand. > > Subsidized apartments for the elderly, or public dormitories for the elderly. > Elderly moving in with family or friends. > More subsidies for health care in old age. > Make health care more cost efficient. > etc. > > These things will help us avoid a retirement crisis, but only because we took the problem seriously and dealt with it before it got out of hand. > > Our elderly now have more resources than they’ve ever had at any point in history. But a lot of elderly may have to adapt to a lower standard of living. Smaller houses, shared housing, living in RVs, living in public housing, etc. > > Absolute worst case scenario (IMO) is the destitute elderly live in public dormitories or public apartments, and only get 80% of what modern health care has to offer (health care seems to follow a pareto distribution, where 20% of spending results in 80% of outcomes), combined with having to travel overseas for care. It’ll be unpleasant but not life ending. Lots of elderly may live in subsidized public housing and have to travel to mexico for surgery or long term care. > > That assumes politicians are willing to enact legislation to make the issue better. Thats not guaranteed. I dont know about things like travel but I do like the idea of government subsidized apartments. ---
**Author:** ![BMax](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bmax/32/4267_2.png) [@BMax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMax)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2019, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-coming-retirement-crisis-are-you-worried/845024/76 "2019-12-21T18:17:40Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > This is my plan too. 7 years and 11 months to go! We’re close to the same age. I’ll be eligible for SS retirement in August of 2026. I got very lucky and married a woman from Vietnam, she’s about 10 months younger than me. We’ll have the house and both cars paid off in less than 4 years. If everything goes well, we’ll be renting out the house to a young Viet-American couple and moving to Da Nang in June of 2027. The daughter will be 24 years old and hopefully she’ll have steady employment. The wife wants to stay with her brother and sister-in-law at first They’ll allow us to pay them a couple hundred US monthly for rent, but we probably won’t stay there too much, as there are lots of places we want to visit. We can live comfortably in Vietnam on our Social Security and my 401k. The rent from our house here will pay for travel and allow us to save more. We may sell the house here after a year in country. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2019, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-coming-retirement-crisis-are-you-worried/845024/77 "2019-12-22T01:59:04Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > I dont know about things like travel but I do like the idea of government subsidized apartments. The government doesn’t subsidize anything. Tax payers do. ---
**Author:** ![Tatterdemalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/43a26b/32.png) [@Tatterdemalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tatterdemalion)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2019, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-coming-retirement-crisis-are-you-worried/845024/78 "2019-12-22T03:04:26Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > The government doesn’t subsidize anything. Tax payers do. You say that like there’s a difference. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2019, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-coming-retirement-crisis-are-you-worried/845024/79 "2019-12-22T20:57:51Z")
> [@BMax](#): > > We’re close to the same age. I’ll be eligible for SS retirement in August of 2026. I got very lucky and married a woman from Vietnam, she’s about 10 months younger than me. We’ll have the house and both cars paid off in less than 4 years. If everything goes well, we’ll be renting out the house to a young Viet-American couple and moving to Da Nang in June of 2027. The daughter will be 24 years old and hopefully she’ll have steady employment. The wife wants to stay with her brother and sister-in-law at first They’ll allow us to pay them a couple hundred US monthly for rent, but we probably won’t stay there too much, as there are lots of places we want to visit. We can live comfortably in Vietnam on our Social Security and my 401k. The rent from our house here will pay for travel and allow us to save more. > We may sell the house here after a year in country. Alot of people are also retiring to the Phillipines. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2019, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-coming-retirement-crisis-are-you-worried/845024/80 "2019-12-22T21:21:46Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > I dont know about things like travel but I do like the idea of government subsidized apartments. It might be government built apartments in low cost of living areas. I believe before social security we used to have public buildings for destitute elderly people. Sadly we may go back to that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-coming-retirement-crisis-are-you-worried/845024.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-coming-retirement-crisis-are-you-worried/845024.md?page=5)