In the past there is a good chance that even if you werent a financial person and were able to hold a job for a long period of time, you were able to retire somewhat comfortably. In the United States you could live off of basic wages, even afford a home and attain the “American Dream” so to speak. There was always room for savvy people to make more returns, but even people who didnt pay attention still had the cards stacked in their favor. Company employee plans, pensions 401k matching and more was given so even the most basic of employees, but times have changed and not paying attention is no longer an option.

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In addition I believe the death of the social security for most retired Americans to be imminent. The government can no longer afford it so they will either push the age back to a point where most of us will probably not live to, or make cuts to the plan all together. In my opinion within the next 20-30 years the amount of elderly homeless people is going to skyrocket. The average American in their 60s has only around 150k for retirement, not nearly enough for the vast majority of people to live decently for even 20 more years. Account for emergencies like healthcare accidents, meds, ect and its completely unrealistic to think they can be retired. 

I once saw an older man talk about being poor and not saving for retirement and he said there is nothing worse in your life when you realize you cant afford to live and youre too old to get a job. This is going to be the sad reality for many people if they dont pay attention to their situation. I would argue that for most people the biggest factor in being able to retire is not how much you put in, but rather how much time you have it in for. Obviously you cant just throw a dollar here and a dollar there, but even small amounts over a lifetime end up returning ridiculous amounts. If you simply cut a few costs and put that money in the market while you are young, you will be in a much better place than most of your peers. 


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I also expect that as automation takes over more and more jobs, those who have their money in the stock market are probably going to see better profits and growth than ever before. The problem comes with who can actually afford to buy the products at that point. I think some sort of universal basic income will have to be established but even then it will be the bare minimum. You dont want to be eating rice and beans, every meal for the rest of your life do you ? The time to start thinking about retirement was yesterday, this is true at any age in my opinion. The 100 you save now at 25 will be worth multiples more if you retire at 60. 

If you happen to be in a union or have a good government pension plan, still take money and invest it on your own. There is a very good chance the government will pay on those plans, but they might devalue the worth of them if worst case scenarios hit. You cant rely on anyone else but yourself to invest your money and you shouldnt. It is your responsibility as an adult to make sure you save enough to take care of yourself and your family, so while using professions as a tool to help you is recommended, learning about things on your own and investing yourself to become financially independent is one of the most important things you can do.

-Calaber24p