NYT: ‘Too Little Too Late’: Bankruptcy Booms Among Older Americans

[Virginiá]

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/05/business/bankruptcy-older-americans.html

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I gotta say, it's incredibly depressing to know that so many retired people are in such bad financial shape. Many, maybe even the vast majority of these people, have worked long, hard lives and it's still not enough. Now they are in such a position that they simply don't have the means to rebound and are left with few options, especially if some sort of massive financial bill (such as medical-related) comes and they have no way to cover it.

For conservatives who wish to gut the safety net, this is just a preview of life without it, and these people have social security! Without it, our society would be up to its neck with poverty-stricken retirees who are flat broke with no way to support themselves and no doubt many homeless or passing, not to mention notable declines in life expectancy. And with drastic cuts to it, the future for them is not that much better.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Companies ditching pensions in favor of much smaller 401k contributions means workers have much less to retire on.

[Dr. Arch]

It'll trickle down at some point, amIrite?

[Ban my account ffs!]

Companies ditching pensions in favor of much smaller 401k contributions means workers have much less to retire on.

Good thing climate change will kill them first, amirite

[darklordoftech]

Bernie should have included making it easier to retire and helping retirees to his 2016 platform.

[#gravelgang #lessiglad]

As a generation, boomers had the following advantages over current workers:

• worked for companies when they still had pensions;
• paid a lower overall tax burden on their earnings when they worked, relative to the spending costs they racked up when in prime earnings age;
• paid lower tuition costs at universities after accounting for inflation;
• they still have social security to draw from even though their elected officials disregarded the insufficient funding paid into the system; and
• should have had the benefit of compounding interest and earnings over the last 30-40 years.

If a disproportionate share didn't have sufficient foresight to know they might need to save a little more for retirement to pay for health care costs, I am unsympathetic. After all, isn't personal responsibility™ still a thing?

Not to mention failing to internalize the negative externalities associated with climate change as discussed above...

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Wierdly, bankruptcy can be a good estate planning tool for the elderly.  Retirement accounts are generally exempt property and depending on the State you live in, homes and vehicles will typically be exempt in full or in part.So if you've retired and you don't have much in the way of non-exempt property, using bankruptcy court to clear debts can be quite effective even it isn't medical debt.