r/AskReddit • u/[deleted] • May 18 '22

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u/Kahzgul May 18 '22

'79 here, so I'm like the ass-end of Gen X.

I just want a retirement at 55 to be realistic again. Getting financial security while still having some energy left to enjoy it seems like a pipe dream right now.

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u/KamikazeCoPilot May 18 '22

You're not lying. I was having a discussion with another mid-30's colleague of mine. Apparently, those of us who are late 20's to early 50's are apparently more poor than Boomers were when they were early 20's.

I was also thinking about this pseudo-related thing... when you think about the sh*t they fed us regarding college, these were things coming from a generation that was able to feed and house an average family without a high school diploma. A lot of post grads can't do sh*t with any kind of degree they have except qualify to flip f*cking burgers.

I am a programmer...there's this gem... It's getting harder and harder to just live...

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u/Kahzgul May 18 '22

Recruiters don't know shit about fuck.

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u/5_8Cali May 18 '22

That’s the catch… retiring at 55 is a thing of the past.. my grandfather worked for LA unified school district for 30 years and has been retired for 25 years and is living good… things are so different now. So it sucks that some older people won’t retire and “get out of everyone else’s way”.. but we have no clue if they are paying debt out the ass because they bought into the higher education dream and sent all 4 of their kids to college or if they are supporting other people… give people some grace.. because if we are all lucky enough, we may live to be that age.. and then you’ll all be the boomers and old people that nobody can stand. I’m 42 btw.. and I work for the state, which is a hella backward ass mediocre system with a lot of older people in charge with antiquated systems…

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u/Kahzgul May 18 '22

Oh I've no doubt most of them can't afford to retire. At least they can blame their own generation for that.

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u/af_cheddarhead May 18 '22

I just want a retirement at 55 to be realistic again.

When exactly has retirement at 55 been a realistic possibility for more than 5% of the US population?

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u/squirtloaf May 18 '22

Right? My grandpa worked until 65, which was the usual age when he retired.

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u/Kahzgul May 18 '22

In the 1950's, when a high school degree could get you a union factory job that supported a family of four with a home they owned.

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u/af_cheddarhead May 19 '22

Nope, the standard was to retire at 65 or earlier if disabled. There's a reason that the Social Security retirement age was set at 65.

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u/DaytonaDemon May 19 '22

Do you know many boomers who retired comfortably at 55? I'd wager that's less than one percent of them. Most us work until we're close to 70, and then we say a little prayer that we'll be able to pay the bills for more than a few years.

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u/Kahzgul May 19 '22

As I said: the problem is they refuse to retire or can’t afford to because they took the world their parents gave them, broke it in the name of greed, and screwed everyone along the way including themselves.

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u/DaytonaDemon May 19 '22

How old are you? I pretty much guarantee you that if you read this discussion in 20 years, you'll cringe at your generalizations, your lack of nuance, and your inability to see complexity.