Is Reaching A Comfortable Retirement?

Elderly people (women and men age sixty-five or older) (Macionis, 2005), Have many obstacles to face as they grow older, many of these obstacles involve social inequality. Not only do the elderly have to learn to deal with many forms of Ageism (the stereotyping and prejudice against individuals or groups because of their age), some also have to deal with the fact that they do not have enough savings or pension benefits to be self supporting, for most people over sixty-five, the major source of income is social security (Macionis, 2005). This forces many elderly Americans back into the workforce to continue to earn money to support themselves and or spouses. Although many elderly Americans may choose

o     Social Security has made a difference in the lives of African Americans o     Without Social Security, the poverty rate for elderly African American beneficiaries would increase from 21 percent to 60 percent. o     Social Security is the only source of retirement income for 37 percent of elderly African Americans. o     African Americans face different situations when it comes to retirement.o     Social Security is race neutral – individuals who are in identical life situations are treated the same. People, however, are rarely in identical situations. African Americans tend to have lower earnings than whites and less pension coverage. Therefore, Social Security benefits are disproportionately important to them.o     African Americans have lower life expectancies than whites. The average African American male currently aged 65 can expect to live to about age 79,

We all will one day face the reality of growing older. There are many aspects of this change that will affect us in a large way. According to the Merck Manual of Health and Aging, 1.5% of Americans are 85 or older. This research states that the number of people 100 years or older could rise from 1 out of 5,578 in the year 2000, to 1 out of 472 in the year 2050. It brings out that women have a longer life expectancy than men, among people aged 65 and older in the year 2000, there were 70 men for every 100 women. For people aged 85 and older the figure was 41 men for every 100 women. The site goes on to say that approximately 11% of Americans aged 65 and older are below the poverty line. (The Merck Manual of Health and Aging:

The gender wage gap would have a significant impact on women’s retirement security. Most Americans depend on Social Security from their earnings over his or her career. According to a report by the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee, the gender

For years, Social Security has provided retired, disabled, as well many other Americans with financial security when they lacked or had little income later in their lives. Now, Social Security is being overwhelmed as the American population continues to grow. The Baby Boomers, or the demographic group born in the post- World War II era, from 1946-1964, have been the main reason for the prevalence of this issue. Millions were born during this era and by 2012 they were eligible for the full benefits of Social Security. Two years after that and for the first time ever, Social Security had to draw from its fund and since then they have not collected a surplus of taxes. Recent predictions show that by “2035, the number of Americans over age 65 will jump from today's 48 million to 79 million,” showing that this is just the start of Social Security’s problems to come. By 2035, I will hopefully be in my mid-30’s, wondering if one I would be able to afford retirement and without this system, I’m a bit unsure.

Aging Americans, like other age groups, are feeling the effects of the declining real estate and stock markets, as well as soaring fuel and food prices. Seniors’ economic security will only increase in importance as the U.S. population ages. The nation’s health and social services resources will face unprecedented demand as 75 million people in the baby boomer generation reach retirement age—some with eroded savings and retirement accounts. Aging people of color are more likely than white

For this paper, two separate interviews were conducted with two retirees. One, M.Q., is a 66 year-old white woman who lives in a beach area. The other was JH, a 78 year-old African-American man who lives in a very rural area. Both interviews were conducted over the phone, as M.Q. is recuperating from a bilateral knee replacement and JH lives several states away. These two were chosen because they are complete opposites. While both currently live in the Southern United States, M.Q. was raised north of the Mason-Dixon line, while JH has lived south of the Mason-Dixon line his entire life. The only similarity they share is that they are retirees living on the East Coast. Because they are complete opposites, interviewing the two of them as opposed to a married couple, two sisters, or something of the like, I was able to get a more complete picture of what it means to be retired. This gave me more information, and a better idea of what I needed to look for in the articles I used.

Retired women are twice as likely as retired men to live in poverty. Although many people believe that the United States doesn’t fit into the category of unequal rights for women because of the rights women in the United States have compared to the rest of the world, that thinking couldn’t be farther from the truth, since the United States culture and the world culture around women is not favored towards women.

The amount of people reaching late adult hood in large quantities is not unique to the U.S. As the Peterson (2002) article states, a combination of a rise in the longevity of people, and the fall in birth rate has other countries seeing a large percentage of their population fall into the “elderly” category. The article recalls that Japan was once the “youngest society in the developed world. Within five years, it will be the oldest.” (Peterson, p. 197). Now, the U.S. is considered the youngest society, and is in one of the best situations to maintain that title while also providing for their old. With older retirement ages, in addition to social security and social benefits, people in late adulthood are better taken care of than in other developed countries (Peterson,

The majority of people age 65 or older in the United States are still working in full time positions. This opens the question if they planned for retirement, or what if anything went wrong while working? How do they feel about still having to work? Have they taken proper steps in preparing for retirement? Are they only working to pass time? These are the questions that everyone should be asking themselves about their own retirement plans, and what they have done to financially prepare for that stage in their life.

Envision feeling cold, starved, petrified, and alone, just getting home to find an eviction notice, perhaps a letter of foreclosure hanging from the door. As the room goes grey and begins to spin, four words begin to echo in the background, “Is this really happening?” All resources are exhausted and Social Security proves ineffective. Fear has taken over. Thoughts of life in a shelter cloud the room. The bills are piling high, as bank accounts begin to dwindle. Unfortunately, this is the harsh certainty of many people in the aging community. Retirement is a critical life event that everyone has to undergo, through being unprepared, many fall victim to poverty in old age. Individuals should utilize Individual Retirement Accounts,

Race and poverty factor into the aging process in several ways. First, there is a growing number of minority older population in America (158). This growth will continue to rise in the future. As a result, the United States of America will have a diverse older population. Secondly, many older minority groups face disadvantages. These disadvantages are due to discrimination they have faced throughout their life. Furthermore, cultural and economic barriers can keep older minority people from a satisfying old age. Novak also stated, “Minority older people have lower incomes, poorer health, and shorter lives than other older people (160). Also, the people who are classified in the minority groups, experience aging different than the dominant white people do, due to their past. Lastly, the minority group members can teach us other ways of growing old. This means that they will show us how they grow old in their societies and communities. These minority groups have demonstrated strength and stability in an ever changing world, even when they felt prejudice and discrimination from others.

As adults enter the stage of later adulthood, many changes will begin to develop for each person. The aging process includes transitioning from work life to retirement, changes to roles, social positions, social policies, determining living accommodations with healthcare needs, and relationships with families and peers. The stage known as the golden years comes with great challenges while adjusting to the many changes in a person’s life. (Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman, 2010). Transition from work to retirement

In 2011, a typical 25 year old woman working full time all year earned $5,000 less than a typical 25 year old man. In just ten years, her cumulative lost wages will reach $34,000. According to US Census data, by age 65, the average woman would have lost $431,000 over her working lifetime as a result of the earnings gap. (not

Another problem that arose is the pay gap, which is when women and people of color are being paid less than white men. “The percentage of female earnings has never exceeded 74% of male wages annually.” Between 1978 and 1999 the weekly earnings of women full-time workers increased from 61 percent to 76.5 percent of men 's earnings. However, the ratio appears to have plateaued in the mid-1990s. There are any differences in the treatment of men and women. They arise from average differences between the two groups in the expected value of productivity. Sometimes women leave jobs to start a family so companies do not want to waste their resources training women who may eventually leave. They do not want the responsibility of having to pay someone for a medical leave if a woman gets pregnant. They also will realize that eventually she will need to start working less or taking more days off because of her child or children. Which is completely normal, however, people do not see it as so.