The Race for Retirement

There is one factor of my parents generation that I can't get over. That is, that they are essentially the last generation to be guaranteed retirement benefits. Not only do they have IRAs and 401K plans, they also have pensions and Social Security and health care coverage. My grandmother can live comfortably off both her pension from nursing and my grandfather's since he died. She never had to worry about these things as early as I did.

My aunt and I spoke about it last week at the beach. She asked if I was investing and I said I had started when I was about 20. When she expressed surprise I had started so young, I had to ask if she was really taht surprised? Didn't she listen to the news? We are the first generation to have to deal with the loss of Social Security (since it was founded) with no retirement agreement from our companies- now you're not even expected to stay very long. We have been warned since the mid 1990s that there will be no company matches or stock options for the majority of us, that there isn't a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. With that news, can you blame me for starting early? I began working on my portfolio when I was 19, and from there have invested successfully every year. This year I opened an IRA account because I'm not planning on living off the government when I get old, and they're not planning on supporting me.

It's depressing, when you think about it. You used to get a nice watch and a party when you retired. Now you can't even think about itt until most of your friends are dead. I think it's kind of funny that if my friend B and I talk, there is a large chance our conversation will move towards our future retirements. And we're both under 25.