There are so many little things that need to be done for finalization of retirement! I have a stack of paper and publications about 10″ deep. So many things to read and to think about . . . but finally, the Social Security is arriving, the pension is arriving, and the supplemental insurance for Medicare is in place – I got my card today! Pretty much everything I figured I would choose has worked out nicely. The benefits manager in my school district has done a great job, too, not just for me, but many other retirees. She brought in representatives from our medicare supplemental plan as well as an expert in such. The ones available through the district are quite good. The process, for me at least was easy – I just rolled over everything I had as an employee into my Medicare plan, as I had originally planned.
According to many sources, Americans are ill-prepared for retirement. Most do not have pensions or savings or investments, and for many, their Social Security check is their primary and only source of income. US News reports that the average Social Security benefit was $1,461 per month in January 2019. That is not a lot, at least in my neck of the woods. I certainly couldn’t rent a 1-bedroom apartment for that! Dave Ramsey has some interesting comments about how much people close to retirement have saved, the amount of debt they have, and how the lifetime pensions of 50 years ago no longer exist. I consider myself fortunate in that I have both a pension and adequate Social Security, and enough to get a good supplemental plan as well.
Health care is a major cost factor for many people. If you are healthy, you don’t really think about the fact you could get seriously ill or have an accident that changes your life. In this country, it’s a travesty in many situations. We are a capitalist society which means we are all commodities; however, we are commodities that are only good until broken. In other words, disposable – just like much of what we buy. Health care and support of those who are members of society is necessary to ensure future generations, and the generations who have contributed to society, prosper and thrive. The stinginess of our politics about health care never ceases to amaze me. Having worked in the industry for a lot of my adult life, I have been fortunate, but many others have not had the luxury.
Social programs benefit many people and help keep bigger problems from developing. Child care, access to health care regardless as to income, education, fire and police, roads are some of the social program that benefit society – some we have, many we do not. Our ideas are of the rugged individual, the person who “pulls himself up by his boot straps” are so fallacious. We all depend on each other in many ways, but our historical fear of communism and socialism and worship of capitalism, along with our Wild West mentality that there is always something better over the next hill, prevents us from embracing our neighbors. Too often these days it is all about ME, not you, not us. A society as self-centered as ours is becoming is at peril of drowning in its egocentricity.
Ink, Yarn & Beer 