Warning to pensioners

Welcome to the Precious Metals Bug Forums

Welcome to the PMBug forums - a watering hole for folks interested in gold, silver, precious metals, sound money, investing, market and economic news, central bank monetary policies, politics and more.

Why not register an account and join the discussions? When you register an account and log in, you may enjoy additional benefits including no Google ads, market data/charts, access to trade/barter with the community and much more. Registering an account is free - you have nothing to lose!

As Presidential Hopefuls Spar on Social Security, This Expert Separates Fact from Fiction

Besides death and taxes, there’s one more thing you can be sure of: Americans like the Social Security program — a lot. The vast majority, despite partisanship and political rhetoric, seem to agree that a secure retirement is a good thing: Poll after poll shows that voters in the U.S. — across the aisle — strongly support Social Security and do not want to see the program cut. A whopping 9 out of 10 of them who receive benefits have a favorable view of the program. Another 80% are opposed to raising the retirement age, and the majority would like to see wealthy citizens pay more taxes on their earnings to strengthen the program.

That’s what actual people think in America.

Politicians eyeing Washington (and listening to big money donors), not so much. For them, what voters want often fades from focus, the tune changing as the political winds blow. Biden once supported cutting Social Security, now he says he wants to expand it. Donald Trump once wanted to privatize the program and called it a Ponzi scheme, now he bashes fellow Republicans for demanding changes and cuts. Ron DeSantis has talked about changing (code for cutting) the program for younger Americans, now he blasts Nikki Haley for promising to raise the retirement age for young folks if she’s elected.

More:

As Presidential Hopefuls Spar on Social Security, This Expert Separates Fact from Fiction

Eric Laursen, author of The People’s Pension, explains to INET’s Lynn Parramore what’s at stake for Americans in a year of sneak attacks and misinformation.
www.ineteconomics.org
 
That's what the mediuh would have us believe that others are thinking.

Just as they'd have us believe that Bidet is beating Trump in the polls. And that most people **KNOW** Trump is "Literally H!tl3r."

Well, let's assume the report is basically honest. If people HAD BEEN EDUCATED ABOUT MONEY FROM THE TIME THEY STARTED WORK...they wouldn't insist on a program that will pay them back less than a third of what was taken from them, for the most part.

They would have saved, themselves - and opted out.

Since the program is pure Ponzi, money coming in is immediately sent out in benefits...reducing the scale wouldn't have cost the government anything. It would have saved the government, money and temptation.

Just make it OPTIONAL. The re-tards and druggies could pay into Saint Ponzi Security. The rest of us could save, ourselves.
 

West Virginia House OKs bill to phase out Social Security tax​

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia’s Republican-led House of Delegates approved a bill Thursday that would cut and gradually phase out the state income tax on Social Security benefits.

Eliminating the tax is a key priority for GOP Gov. Jim Justice, who announced it as part of his annual budget proposal during his final State of the State address last month.

Income tax cuts may be coming for those on Social Security in West Virginia

In 2019, the Legislature passed a bill cutting the income tax on Social Security benefits for the state’s lowest earners — those making less than $100,000 filing jointly and $50,000 for a single person — over three years.

The proposal passed Thursday, which now heads to the Senate, would eliminate the tax for everyone else, also over three years. The tax would be cut by 35% this year — retroactive to Jan. 1 — and 65% in 2025. The tax would be phased out completely by 2026.

It’s unclear what Justice will make of the proposal. His version would have eliminated the personal income tax on Social Security this year, retroactive to Jan. 1.

More:

 

Kodak Explores Tapping Pension Fund’s $1.2 Billion Surplus​

(Bloomberg) -- Eastman Kodak Co. is contemplating a move to unlock gains created by its overfunded pension system, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The company is weighing a so-called pension reversion, which would enable it to take control of the surplus rather than leaving excess capital to current and future retirees, said the people, all of whom requested anonymity to discuss confidential information. The maneuver would involve selling its portfolio of illiquid investments while liquidating other positions, the people said.

Proceeds may be used for corporate purposes such as paying down debt and investing in growth initiatives, according to the people. No final decision has been made.

Shares of the company surged, closing 53% higher at $5.34, after Bloomberg News reported the potential plan, the biggest jump in more than three years. They extended those gains in after-hours trading.

More:

​

​

 
Interesting article about pensioners in Switzerland. Will probably never happen here (at least in my lifetime) but it would sure be nice. Congress critters can vote themselves raises why not American retirees.

Swiss Voters Back Higher Pensions, Reject Working Longer​

(Bloomberg) -- Swiss voters backed a plan to raise pensions, the first time in the country’s history that social benefits got an increase via plebiscite.

The proposal to introduce a 13th annual payout to pensioners was supported by 58.2% of the electorate and also met the additional requirement of being passed in the majority of Switzerland’s cantons. A second initiative to raise the retirement age — and subsequently tie it to life expectancy — was rejected, garnering only 25.3% of votes.

Polls ahead of Sunday had suggested that passing the measure that boosts pensions by about 8% would be a close call. Since 1848, Swiss voters had never approved plans to boost social benefits paid out by the state. The initiative was introduced by labor unions, who said higher costs of living had diminished pensions’ purchasing power.

More:

Swiss Voters Back Higher Pensions, Reject Working Longer

(Bloomberg) -- Swiss voters backed a plan to raise pensions, the first time in the country’s history that social benefits got an increase via plebiscite.Most Read from BloombergWhat to Remember If the Stock Market Takes a DiveHaley Casts Doubt on Nominee Pledge After Trump’s Power PlayYoung Hong...
finance.yahoo.com
 
BI

Just over half of Americans over the age of 65 are earning under $30,000 a year, and it shows how stark the retirement crisis is​

  • A new report from Senator Bernie Sanders signals a looming retirement crisis for Americans.
  • Many older Americans are financially vulnerable, with over half living on incomes of $30,000 or less a year.
  • Potential solutions might include enhancing Social Security checks and setting up automatic retirement accounts.
There's a retirement crisis looming for many Americans — and some are already living on scant incomes. Retirement becoming a luxury for Americans hoping to get a reprieve in their later years is something a handful of lawmakers are hoping to change.

A new report from Senator Bernie Sanders, the chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, looks at the bleak future facing some older Americans and those who hope to retire someday.

The report cited the National Retirement Risk Index which found that around half of households "will not be able to maintain their pre-retirement living standard," and 56% of low-income households — and 45% of those who are middle-income — were "at risk" of not maintaining those pre-retirement standards at age 65.

Even more glaringly, 73% of those in the bottom group of wealth holders were similarly at risk, compared to 28% of those in the highest wealth group.

"After a lifetime of hard work, Americans deserve to retire with dignity. But with our retirement system focused on increasing profits for Wall Street, a financially secure retirement is beyond the grasp of many workers. The time to change that is now," Sanders' report said.

More:

MSN

www.msn.com
 
The idiot DemocRatic Socialist solution.

Print off moar money.

Liberate the poor, by enslaving everyone. Let's SEPARATE money from wealth. The rubes want money? PRINT MONEY!

When they're done, the railroad pension I worked hard for, at 0300, often standing up for hours on mid-watch hours...running trains in blizzards; in blazing heat waves, and through ghettos in Columbus, Cleveland, Buffalo, Indianapolis and Chicago...

...all that work, for the gold-plated retirement...

WILL NOT BE WORTH A FECAL STAIN. Already the Gnu Yuck Schitty government is paying INVADERS...THREE TIMES my monthly income. FOR INVADING.

Now Comrade Bernie is gonna compleat the job.
 

Social Security’s COLA formula could change under new proposal — and mean higher benefits for seniors​


Social Security’s cost-of-living adjustment could face changes under new proposals in Congress that aim to make it more reflective of the everyday costs incurred by older adults.

U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego of Arizona introduced the Boosting Benefits and COLAs for Seniors Act, legislation that would change the calculations for Social Security’s cost-of-living adjustments. U.S. Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania introduced companion legislation in the Senate.

Each year, the Social Security benefits for about 71 million Americans get a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). It’s not a raise, but an adjustment to help keep pace with inflation.

Since 1975, the COLA has been based on the previous year’s consumer-price index for Urban Wage Earners (CPI-W). CPI-W reflects spending that a worker would face, such as expenses for food, consumer goods, transportation and housing.

More:

 
We're Useless Eaters.

This is PR disinformation. What they want, is for us to get Jabs until we die.

A few might see a bigger increase in government-managed entitlements or pensions. Not many will live long enough for it to matter.
 
It's hard to imagine the exponential growth of government debt lasting another 10 years. It seems like we really are facing the end game.
 
Could have sworn there was a thread on this. Searched for around 15 minutes with no luck. Oh well........

From the link:

It now seems like an eternity ago, but the latest big play in the long-running Kentucky Retirement Systems case, with the centerpiece a deeply underfunded pension fund reaching for return, was the Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron rousing himself to enter the case on behalf of allegedly all potential plaintiffs. This was despite the previous AG havingfiled a motion supporting the effort by the legal team lead by Michelle Lerach, with her formidable and controversial husband, one-time top securities litigator Bill Lerach, and a cast of other able lawyers to obtain damages from some of the biggest names in finances, KKR, Blackstone, PAAMCO (a one-time affiliate of bond giant Pimco), their top execs (!!!) and many co-conspirators and enablers. The basis for action was over fiduciary duty breaches and other bad conduct in the sale and management of custom hedge funds.

This is a very hard won and important victory for the plaintiffs. As you may recall well from the financial crisis, individual executives are virtually never successfully targeted for their misconduct, let alone figures as prominent as these. Here, they are subject to punitive damages and their personal finances are discoverable. So expect more pitched battles to try to continue to keep this case from advancing.

Forgive me for skipping over the extensive legal and factual arguments to focus on the high points of the progress of the case; Footnote 1 presents some of the major evidence and arguments.

Game Finally On! Judge Denies Key Motions to Dismiss in Kentucky Retirement Systems Litigation, Subjecting KKR, Blackstone, PAAMCO, and Top Financiers Henry Kravis, George Roberts, Steve Schwarzman, and Tomlinson Hill to Discovery | naked capitalism

The much-delayed Kentucky Retirement System cases are finally moving forward, causing heartburn to some top names on Wall Street.
www.nakedcapitalism.com
 
Grandma was turning tricks in the card room at Century Village to pay her electric bill and for a new pair of orthopedic shoes.
 

Manchin, GOP senators move to overturn retirement investment planning rule​

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and a group of Republican senators are moving to overturn a retirement investment planning rule that was finalized by the Labor Department last month.

The Labor Department unveiled the new rule last month that would update the definition of an investment advice fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. Manchin and 15 Republican senators joined in co-sponsoring a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution that would overturn this new rule.

More:

 

The idea that you could work longer if you didn’t save enough is just not true: Teresa Ghilarducci​

Jun 6, 2024
Teresa Ghilarducci, New School for Social Research professor of economics and labor economist focusing on retirement security, joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss America's retirement crisis, why she believes the call to work longer is misleading, and more.

6:36
 

Wanamaker's - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Dozens of Wanamaker’s employees never got their pensions​

Bill Whiting’s job at Wanamaker’s holds a dear place in his heart. For Whiting, who worked there in his twenties and thirties, it was a deeply formative time — and a whole lotta fun.

He was hired as a corporate designer in the `70s, back in the renowned department store’s heyday, and during his nearly seven years there, he worked on fashion shows, window displays, and even designed a massive Shinto shrine for the store’s Japan fair.

He immortalized the tie and shoelaces he wore to the interview, using them as upholstery on two tiny French chairs he made for a 19th-century replica of a Spruce Street townhouse. Decades later, he still keeps in touch with many of his coworkers.

But there’s something about the job that doesn’t sit right with Whiting, who’s now 74:

He never got his pension.

He’s certain he contributed to it — and he’s not sure how to access it. Through a Facebook group, he’s found more than 40 former employees who are in the same boat.

More:

 

SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022: Overview, Rules, Limits

The SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022, part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) of 2023, is legislation that contains 92 provisions aimed at strengthening retirement savings in important ways.
www.investopedia.com

What Secure 2.0 Changes Mean For Your Retirement - 6/11/24 | Market Sense | Fidelity Investments​

Jun 12, 2024

The Fed is holding their June meeting. Plus, our Fidelity pros help make sense of the changes passed under the federal Secure 2.0 Act and explain what it could mean for your retirement savings.

21:11

00:00 Intro
02:03 Federal Reserve meeting
05:02 Secure 2.0 legislation
07:28 Secure 2.0 changes
09:04 RMD rules
12:05 Catchup contributions
14:28 529 changes
16:18 Roth IRA assets over time
18:38 Timmer’s Take
 
In this 16 min vid Rob talks about holding cash as a retiree for emergencies, different vehicles to hold the cash and more. It's an opinion piece so take it fwiw and dyodd.

How Much Cash Should You Hold in Retirement?​

Jun 25, 2024 #robberger #cash #retirement

Many things change when we retire. There’s the obvious change–we stop working. And there’s a less obvious change–how we approach cash.

Before retirement, we might have an emergency fund of three to six months’ worth of living expenses. After retirement, we need cash for so much more. The ideal cash reserve depends on individual circumstances, including income stability, potential emergencies, and comfort level during market volatility.

In this video, I’ll walk through the seven main reasons retirees hold cash. For each, we’ll look at how much cash one should have for each reason and the type of account best suited to hold the cash.


Resources

- Savings Accounts: https://www.allcards.com/savings-acco...
- No-penalty CDs: https://www.allcards.com/no-penalty-c...
- T-Bills: https://fixedincome.fidelity.com/ftgw...

Timestamps

0:00 - How Much Cash Should You Hold In Retirement
1:33 - Cash Investments
2:20 - Monthly spending
3:30 - Emergency fund
5:11 - Short term savings
6:19 - Taxes7:18 - Income gaps
9:08 - Peace of mind
11:17 - Stock market crash
15:39 - Episode recap
16:15 - Financial Freedom
 
One moar reason the stonk market is melting up. Not only the Fed-Bankster complex, laundering printed-up money; but that Boomers are constantly seeking yield to simply retain what they have. They're running in place - if we had stable sound money, they'd be fine with the one-percent a legitimate bank would pay on savings; but in an era of 20-percent real inflation per year, they have to gamble in Ponzi stawx.

Like most market distortions and manipulations, and like all fiat fake monies, this is gonna end badly.
 
Here's several links concerning the latest shenanigans concerning fiduciaries.

GOP's attack on Americans' retirement savings just went to the …​

WEBThe American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) was asked to comment on these heinous Republican actions, and said this: “What they’re (GOP and these financial …

 

More:

Kentucky Retirement Systems Plaintiffs Battle With Yet More Efforts by KKR and Blackstone to Delay or Prevent Discovery | naked capitalism

An update on the long-running Kentucky Retirement Systems pension case, with KKR and Blackstone and their execs still fighting discovery
www.nakedcapitalism.com
 

Social Security Update: Lawmakers May Force Vote to Raise Benefits for Some​


Lawmakers now have enough signatures to force a vote on a bill that could raise Social Security benefits for some pensioners.

The Social Security Fairness Act was proposed to reverse the rules surrounding the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO).

These two Social Security rules can reduce monthly payments for some pensioners, often leading to more financial obstacles when these retirees reach their golden age.

More:

 
For anyone interested, here's a link to a good vid on RMDs (required minimum distributions.)

Savers Need To Get Paid Again

How To Calculate Your Required Minimum Distributions | Bond Laddering For Your RMDs 2024 Oct 11, 2024 #jenniferlammer #bondbeginners #bondmasters How to calculate your RMDs (or required minimum distributions) & build an RMD bond ladder so that may not have to worry about selling investments...
www.pmbug.com
 

Illinois’ pension debt grows​

(The Center Square) – Illinois unfunded pension liability is growing.

The Illinois Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability reports the latest unfunded liability is $143.7 billion. That’s $1.5 billion higher than last year and the second highest since 2020 when the total was $144.2 billion.

Wednesday, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said they’re doing good things with pensions.

“Our funded ratio for our pensions is much better today than it was when I took office and it continues to go in the right direction,” Pritzker said.

The funding ratio in 2019 was 40.3%. The most recent funding ratio was 46%. Actuaries suggest a funding level of 100%.

More:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/oth...S&cvid=a2f01f2aae5f44cb8c93348f69fc627f&ei=34
 
Really can't get lower than this...
 
Sure you can.

Remember the Studebaker car? It was built by the Studebaker Corporation...previously the Studebaker-Packard corporation, and before that, Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing.

Studebaker didn't go bankrupt. They just exited the auto industry - taken over by the same morons who drove Packard into the ditch. They showed no greater insight when taking control of Studebaker, and chose to try being a conglomerate, and exiting automobiles.

It should be no great surprise that they didn't do any better in being a conglomerate, then they did in two previous attempts at financiers running manufacturing companies.

BUT. When Studebaker shut down production, 1963 in the US...they didn't go bankrupt. The UAW contract expired, and they said...hey, we're done here, you can all go home.

There were thousands of retired Studebaker employees drawing pensions. Those pensions ALSO stopped.

Studebaker, as Studebaker-Worthington (its new name) had never been legally discharged of the pension. No bankruptcy or insolvency or administrative status. The parent company, Studebaker-Worthington, simply dissolved the auto subsidiary, and stopped paying the checks.

They were never found liable or in default of any contractual obligation.

Studebaker, under a variety of different names, continued on into the early 1990s. There's no reports as to how elderly auto workers continued on.

It happens. That's why taking control of your own finances is imperative. And in this age of Currency Debasement, it's why gold and silver ownership are critical to THAT.
 



Casey..................thanks for the post.

'The Most Glorious Story of Failure in the Business:' the …​

Nov 13, 2001 · Soon after the plant closed in December 1963, Studebaker terminated the …
 
I'm glad I wasn't able to make it into law. That was my focus, first few years in koledge.

My eyes glassed over, just reading that paper. And I even know the story, in layman's terms.

Bottom line: Packard and Studebaker retirees trusted their former employer to manage their pension.

Studebaker and Packard, under original management, probably were trustworthy. Both had good history with their labor forces.

They fell under control of financiers, led by banker James Nance (later, became head of National City Bank, Cleveland...and, guess what? HE SOLD IT...) and the focus became, what was the legal way to not pay. Not pay pensioners, or dealers who had franchise agreements...because Nance wanted to make Studebaker-Packard a conglomerate. (And did, as he closed off or sold a litany of other businesses they were into...)

Walter Reuther, a unionist and Communist, thought government was the answer. So, as I understand it, he got the Johnson people onboard to create what became the Pension Benefit Guarantee Board.

Yup. Problem solved. Big, beautiful Government will take care of all its chillun.

Just ask how any failed pension taken over by the PBGB works out. Fractions of pennies on the dollar.

So...PRIVATIZE it! Sure...the Fwee Mawkett! Solve all you chilluns' problems.

How many Wall Street looters do we need read about...use this money as a cudgel against the same working people, in WEF-style campaigns against freedom? Misappropriating it, allocating gains to favored clients, putting the losses on the paper of the Little People.

AntiSocial inSecurity? How's DAT workin out? Or, those UDDER gob-mint po-groms, like Ray-Rode Retirement. I'm in that. They tell me the COLA has increased one-point-eight percent, so that's all my stipend benefit will increase.

LIARS. How to tell when a government bureaucrat is lying? If his lips move, he lies.

ONLY answer left is...if you hold it, you own it.

And since currencies are being deliberately debased, use your corroding currency to buy enduring stores of value.

It ain't bitcoin.
 

Millions to Get Bigger Social Security Checks If Biden Signs New Bill​

(Bloomberg) -- Millions of Americans may see their Social Security benefits increase under a bill headed to President Joe Biden’s desk — though critics warn that the measure comes at the cost of pushing the fund further toward insolvency.

If signed by the president before the new Congress convenes on Jan. 3, the law would boost Social Security payments to more than 2 million beneficiaries, according to the Congressional Research Service. The increases — as much as $550 a month for some retirees — would be retroactive to December 2023.

Those beneficiaries are mostly those who have received foreign pensions or government workers such as police officers, firefighters and teachers who contributed to a federal or state pension plan but didn’t pay Social Security taxes.

More:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/oth...S&cvid=b688a551288e413f91980a93ca72c8a5&ei=29
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register
Cookies are required to use this site. You must accept them to continue using the site. Learn more…