Retirement NINJAs – No Income, No Jobs, and No Assets!

This is quickly becoming the situation that many Americans and Canadians are facing. No jobs, no income, and no assets to sustain them. This happens when they are out of work let alone approaching retirement. This is a dire predicament for many consumers these days. They struggle to put food on the table and a roof over their head. They may not be old enough to retire. However, they are effectively retired and have no way of generating income for themselves.

If there are no jobs and no way of making money, many consumers will turn to family and friends to help them out. This works for a while but then they become a burden on their families as well.   Seniors may need to move in with family members to control or eliminate housing costs that they cannot afford. It can turn into a very desperate situation with seniors going hungry and cold in the wintertime.

Low Paid Jobs are Not the Answer

There has been a lot of talk about people having low-paid jobs which are essentially minimum wage jobs which are insufficient to save for retirement and basically insufficient to live on as well. They need to pool their income with other people, they’re living with, their families etc. in order to be able to live a decent style of life. It often means for larger families living together and pooling their assets and income.

When you are making minimum wages you also need to work many hours just to survive. It is not uncommon for many consumers to work 50 and 60 hour weeks just to make ends meet for tier families and themselves. One wonders just who is looking after the kids in a situation like this? They are home alone and we all know that idle hands usually mean trouble of some kind. The TV and video games do not provide a useful learning tool and our kids also end up with a very skewed view of the world.

No Income, No Jobs and No Assets – Retirement NiNjA’s

These people also have exhausted all of their assets trying to make do on no income or at best a minimum wage that just does not measure up to what they need to support themselves and their families.  Once your assets are gone, the only thing left is to live with your family and try to find a job that pays better. Don’t give up, work hard, and pool resources and you will eventually get out of the pit you are in. After all, the family is the most important asset that we all have.

More and more people are planning to work beyond 60 simply because they cannot afford to quit their jobs. They did not save enough money for retirement, and they do not have enough money coming in from pensions, so they have no choice but to work. As long as their health holds out, they can continue working beyond 60 with no problems, but as soon as health issues get in the way, they may not be able to work, even sitting down at a desk. What are they to do at this moment?

This is a tough question that more and more baby boomers are beginning to face. They do not have enough money to save for retirement and cannot work. How will they survive Working Beyond 60?

Sufficient savings, no worries

You have no worries if you have sufficient savings to generate an income. Continue working as long as it is interesting and meets your objectives. This is the most enviable position since you can quit when you want to retire or find another job that gives you some pleasure. But if you do not have enough money, it is time to start saving.

Not enough top-up savings

Save as much as you can for retirement. If you start late, you may not be able to save enough, but then something is better than nothing. Talk to a financial advisor and figure out how much you will need to save to have the lifestyle you want, then start saving money now.

Working Beyond 60

Even if this means you have to work well into your 60s, at least you will have a plan that will make your life a little easier. If your health gives out and you cannot work, then you have something that you can fall back on. Working when you know you have savings to fall back on is much easier than when you have nothing or not nearly enough saved and must work just to make ends meet.

Set aside a minimum of 10% from every paycheck and watch it grow over the years. The earlier you start, the faster it will grow.

A healthy body helps.

Keep your body healthy. Exercise a bit, go for 20-minute walks every day, and eat the right foods. When you exercise, your odds of maintaining your health will be better, and if you need to work, you will be able to. This is one of the most important things you can do to ensure a healthy body if you need to work.

Take care of it and avoid getting some ailments many older people get when they do not eat right, exercise, etc. Stop smoking and reduce your drinking as well to protect your body.

Health issues get in the way.

When you do get sick, it usually means time off the job. Serious health issues can take a long time to deal with, and they can mean a lot of extra costs and reduced income. Having a large savings and paying for health insurance until Medicare kicks in will help you avoid becoming totally broke as you age. Health issues can come up at any time, so you need to be prepared.

Plan for surprises

One of the largest issues many people have to deal with is that they are not ready for surprises from a financial perspective. Whether repairs to the car or the house or some other major issue, if you do not have the savings for major issues such as these, then the money has to come out of your current income, which can be difficult to deal with.

It also means you must keep working for a longer period than you planned. Always have at least six months of equivalent income saved up to deal with layoffs and other emergencies that occur from time to time. If you must dig into your emergency savings, top it back up as soon as possible.

For more thoughts about retirement risks, click here.