Someone sells, someone buys.

No buyers = no sellers.

Only ambitions…

from what i read elsewhere (no link sorry) you dont have to be concerned.

the vast majority of shares is held by wealthy individuals/institutions who will not be cashing in on shares to finance their retirement.

Those thinkers who are familiar with the Monte Carlo Simulation and replacement of a probability distribution by a sample value which is usually done on a computer may fare well.

Those who have only faith in the chain of events leading up to cashing in their sweat labor for sustained benefits in retirement probably will end up a day late and a dollar short.

We must remember that all the people working in the financial sector are service people whose livelehoods are earned on the deposts they solicit.

Havr you been stiffed by your broker lately?

I am putting two kids through college with a third not far away. I don’t forsee my helping to destabilize that big bank.Investments, retirement, disposable income are words that have become meaningless. Am I the only one?

Given the lack of appropriate solid data points, predicting how the Baby Boomers of the U.S. and Canada might behave in retirement is a highly speculative exercise. They are not socio-economically monolithic, and there is and will be considerable diversity in lifestyles and personal circumstances.
Those with intact marriages, two decent pension plans, their home paid off, savings and investments, and perhaps two modest inheritances, are unlikely to be selling off their equities at all, let alone do something like that in a compressed time frame.
Many Baby Boomers also know that life expectancy has increased significantly, and they must arrange their future with that in mind.
But one trend that can be reasonably predicted will be a much greater concern with capital preservation and predictable income generated by that capital (as opposed to capital appreciation). A whole bunch of new financial products will be constructed to meet these needs and preferences.
By the way, anybody know what proportion of Baby Boomers have significant personal investments in equities which they personally control and over which they regularly make buy and sell decisions? And how does that relate to the markets in general?

The idea that the boomers will all run to the market and cash in on retirement day is ridiculous. Those that plan have been altering there asset allocations as they near retirement and those that don’t plan, don’t have any money any way and will keep working. What they do cash out over time will be spent – helping the economy – especially healthcare.

Dear Mr. Bing,

as for baby boomers cashing in the $$$ they saved, I believe the following:
1. it’s not a proper time to cash out of the Market, since it’s down lately.
2. I think withdrawals will be gradual, since you don’t want to kill the golden goose just yet. take some to spend, leave some to keep growing, unless you have an urgent need to blow it all out in Vegas.
3. don’t forget that in times of trouble, the money may shift from stocks to bonds, but stay in the market.
4. the real stress is going to be on the social security, which is underfunded, considering the massive retirment claims of the next 5 years or so.
5. this is just my personal assessment, considering the demography.
6. we may reach full employment, given all the retirees that need to be replaced, meaning higher wages, more consumption, therefore, more growth across industries.
What do you think ? Am I wrong ?

The fallacy here is that baby-boomers will liquate upon retirement. That’s not likely to happen. I know that I’m not liquadating because currently my stock portfolio is worth a lot less than it was a year ago. My money in my 401K will be gradually taken out over a period of years.

I read a lot about how many boomers haven’t saved – instead of the opposite problem. So this just seems like bombastic speech. Besides, unless we are wealthy individuals we seem to all be fucked at the same time.

This assumes that the boomers have enough money to retire, which on average they don’t. This also assumes that the boomers want to retire. Many would rather keep working longer, but at jobs that “give back” to the larger community. Either way, they’re going to get carried out of their offices feet first.

Re Jill’s comment hoping that the $$$ will trickle to fund health care…A tip for those poor boomers who did not plan, invest,or maybe partied a bit too much and can’t afford to retire on the back nine… and are too sick to work or really enjoy life…can come to Oregon and participate in the Oregon Health Plan. The plan will even pay for assisted suicide.(When it is cost/beneficial)

http://www.katu.com/news/26119539.html

Ya,

Retirement?

The future is once you become a burden on society, you be Ore-goned!

This “fear” ignores the global nature of wealth. Someone will want those assets. It may not be Americans. When we’re old, there will be plenty of ambitious “foreigners” who will be accumulating capital who will buy it from us. Who knows, by then, maybe 401(k) plans will be big in Asia.

Proprietary information is protected and held private according to the law; it keeps organizations inner workings private.

The Government is a sovereign entity whose responsibility it is to provide for the public with taxes they pay.

What makes little sense is that Wall Street personnel can be appointed to influence in the Federal Reserve Banking system, and when they decide to resign, they go to higher places in the private sector of Wall Street with propriety information gained in the “FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM”.

Is this not a conflict of interest?

Is this not appointing the “FOX” to be the “SHEPHERD” of the “CHICKENS”?

How can fraud occur undetected until it scandalous? Give the M.B.A. the combination to the “FED VAULT”. Maybe?

We (I’m a “late boomer”) won’t all retire at once, and if we follow typical advice, we’ll draw down our retirement accounts gradually. Also, the Baby Boom period between 1946 and 1964 is eighteen years: we aren’t all retiring at the same time. What if we all “cash into” annuities? Won’t those be partially invested in stock?

My feelings about the economy are such that I will feel lucky to be dragged out of my office feet first: it means I will have been able to hold a job in my senior years.

About planning: it’s fine to predict how much cash we will need based upon our lifestyles, inflation, and anticipated return. But future medical expenses and insureability are mostly unpredictable and render the typical “what’s-your-number?” calculations meaningless. I am surprised so little is written about this fact.

The value of anything is in proportion to it’s availablility. If you have the only one, then it has value, if everyone has the same thing it’s value is less.

First in and first to cash out, has always been a winning strategy.

The shoulda, coulda, woulda guys don’t do so well.

All I know is that I’m tired of playing the chump, being told to “buy and hold for the long term” when all that does is stock the ballast for the Panicked Hoovers who suck and blow in and out of the market on a 69-minute cycle that coincides with how quickly some nerd at a keyboard can type in the latest version of the same 3 storied being played on the internets alternating between all is well and well, is all.

Retirement? What retirement?

MATH 101, I say it over and over. You cannot spend more than you make and survive. We are screwed!! This is a global economy in which unfriendly countries have infiltrated our nation at so many levels. It’s over!!!!

workers are now forced to invest for themselves in 401(k) plans rather than rely on employers. This is going to have more people participating in the markets blunting the effect of the boomer pull out.

The markets are more global now making it easier to tap into marks (I mean investors) the world over shoring up our markets.
Baby Boomers have created a baby boomlet. They will help keep the ponzi scheme going.

There is no more indulgent generation than the Boomers. They thought they would never turn 30 they thought they would never turn 60. Now they think that they will never die. So there will be no mass pull out of investments as the boomers all plan to live to be 150.

Will good things happen when Boomers check out?

You can deposit this check at the bank. The life expectancy of a 55 year old man is 79. What this means is that if you consider 1000 55 year old men, in 24 years 500 of them will be dead.

Hey Bing, dodging the bloggers this time around is silly. You are so full of it on this article (Confidence Game) you are no doubt trying to avoid a windfall of negative blogs. You rediculous man. I am walking to work. I am putting a roof over my head. I am getting in shape eating less, on my atkins diet. My girlfriend has liver cancer and we stimulate the economy by paying 90 bucks a week on her chemo therapy, on top of $300 a month for prescriptions, and another $300 a month for her HMeffingO! To cut costs, my relatively healthy ass doesn’t even have medical insurance, or even dental. Get out of your little shell and take a look at that! That’s $960 a month, and we have a combined income of about 2200 a month. Now add our rent, food, electricity, cell phone bills, utilities,and we’re lucky to have 50 bucks extra every payday to inebbriate ourselves on our time off (we both work full time, my wonderful girl is unstoppable and works for 9 bucks an hour with liver cancer). I thought you’re naivete was cute before but now i find it downright disgusting. Why don’t you half your wealth today into our flailing economy. Because even if you lost half your wealth, you’d still be way better off than me! So put all that excess BS money that you are so preciously entitled to and spend anything that isn’t going to leave you starving and without health care! Stop trying to pass the savings buck to my broke ass.

If you can’t retire by 40, your chances at a happy life are shot.

The truth is that if you are not rich enough to retire by 40, your chances at being rich when you get older are slim to none. All of the saving and sacrificing will all be for naught.

A person working for 40 years has already lost their health, youth, and ambition. The only thing to look forward to in old age is the end to suffering.

Get rich today, retire today.

No, bad things will not happen when boomers cash in because – surprise, boomers – you’re not the center of the universe. Although completely unfathomable to you, the world will continue long after you’re gone (can’t wait). Being a member of Generation X, I’ve had to (throughout my entire life) tolerate the self-important attitude of this boomer generation, along with its unwarranted and egregious hubris. Alas, I cannot blame them completely. The media, and the nation for that matter, chooses to hyper-focus on this supposed largest generation ever (and the most self-centered group ever, if I may add). So what else can a Gen X-er do? Well, like we’ve been doing for the past 30+ years, grin and bear it…living simply and looking forward to the day the media finally gravitates to the more deserving Gen Y or Millennial group (can’t wait) – because it’s been made clear to us that Gen X is completely forgettable.

I’ll be sorely disappointed if you didn’t realize the ponzai scheme that is the stock market before that commenter pointed that out to you. Tell us, that comment was just your excuse to point that fact out…

Josh, I’m sorry I set you off. Your perception of my wealth is off-base, though, my friend. I wish I was the fat cat you think I am.

I’m sorry about your girlfriend. One day there will be universal health care and people won’t have to worry about what you’re going through.

Until then, I hope you’ll forgive me my occasional boomerish lapses into navel gazing. It’s a generational thing. And I hope you’ll keep reading as I stumble along trying to overcome my naivete. It’s hard to be naive and cynical at the same time.

And one last question… do you guys always know when I’m making fun of something?

I am sorry for my naivete in regards to your fat cat status. I assumed that a CEO writing for fortune would be a pretty well off guy. I was very angry at that article because of all the pressure I’m going through but I do love you as a writer and I will continue to read. I don’t read anything to simply agree with it. i appreciate your apology and I apologize for my harshness. I can’t expect you to know the intimate details of my life and how your words can frustrate in light of those details. You are a writer and you shouldn’t have to write with an angry broke devil spewing venom on your shoulder. I thank you for your appreciation and compassion of my situation. You’re a good man Bing, I’m just a frustrated guy blowing off steam.

No, actually, Josh, you were right to call me out. I need a touch of reality now and then. Working in a corporation 35 floors above Manhattan, you don’t always get a clear picture of what is really going on. And blogging is one step even farther away.

Just for the record, I am NOT a CEO, I am an executive vice president, which may sound very grand, and it is quite satisfying to read on a business card, but it means that I’m essentially middle management — there are many, many bosses around me, I have NO pension (it was replaced a few years ago with some bogus crap based on the price of the stock), and while I do report to a CEO I will never become one. If the market was doing well, I would be a lot more relaxed, but as it is, believe it or not, I live on my salary and my writing, and with one wife, one ex-wife, two grown kids (with not-yet-grown incomes) and two step kids with college in their future, I do worry about money a lot of the time. I’m a lot older than you are, and that means I’ve had more time to get myself on my feet, and I’m certainly NOT complaining, but it also means I have less time to do better than I’m doing now, while you, I think, have a lot of time ahead of you to write a different script than what’s going on right now.

Thank God I don’t have the medical issues that I’m sure keep you up at night, not right now at any rate. And that, I think, makes all the difference. When someone you love is sick, nothing is right with the world. Thanks for making me think a little more accurately about things, Josh. You’re a good writer. Maybe you should do something with that. Most people aren’t.

Thanks for being gracious. You have no idea what it means to me to be called a good writer, especially by a writer of your caliber. Now my vanity will have no limits lol. I wish you a wonderful week. One of the upsides of my crappy job is getting to read CNNMoney.com and hoping the next Bing article is out in Fortune, and the fact that my Sundays are Thursdays (which makes fridays my tuesdays). I am using some vacation time and taking tomorrow off so I’ll have a three day weekend. About your grown kids with not so grown incomes, my mother can relate to that lol!!! Besides my brother in the military, she has me and my sister (who also works at my place of employment) who are in constant need of her financing services. If I were to pay interest on all that my Mom has loaned or given me, she’d probably own me for the rest of my life. That’s why I am making the fiscally wise desicion to not have children! My brother has a boy and a girl and my sister does as well. The line is secure, freeing me to live a bachelor life. Anyway enough rambling. Peace to you, the great Bing. May your keyboard always be ready for more of your words!

Okay, you two. Get a room.

Everyone has problems, serious problems, at many points in life.

Live and love, and give the next guy a break, even if he seem like an arse. After all, you don’t know what ANYONE may be going through.

Keep those cards and letter coming. And be sure to cash any check within 180 days.

hey kids–in a day of depreciating assets–all the union -state-and federal retirement funds have all found their way into the ponzi game of the market–and me and my friends at the HMO’s have a plan for every penny of your liquidated mutuals and widely helds–not to worry!

I’m probably around the age of your kids. Good, stable jobs have been much trickier to find for someone in my generation (true in the US too) and I’m worried as to how it will affect us and the future economy. If too many of us are working minimum-wage jobs, how we will save to buy a house? And in an economy that is heavily dependent on internal consumption, how can we buy anything besides your basic apartment/food/car expenses? I’m not even including debts.

Most college degrees also have some sort of lifespan, so for those of us with any type of education. If we’re not off a minimum-wage job within 2-3 years, and entry-level positions are few and far inbetween, we’re considered “outdated” and thus back to minimum-wage jobs.

In other words, I have no idea how most people my age will save for retirement. Boomers cashing in might or might not be that last jump before the finish line.

AC said:

Re Jill’s comment hoping that the $$$ will trickle to fund health care…A tip for those poor boomers who did not plan, invest,or maybe partied a bit too much and can’t afford to retire on the back nine… and are too sick to work or really enjoy life…can come to Oregon and participate in the Oregon Health Plan. The plan will even pay for assisted suicide.(When it is cost/beneficial)
————————————–

I’m a boomer earning minimum wage; I still have student loan debt.

How much should I have been saving on a minimim wage income?