[joeltrout]

Another scary article for the day.

Pensions suffering in financial crisis

Pension assets declined by at least $1 trillion and may be down as much as $2 trillion over the past year and a half as the credit crunch tightened its grip on financial markets and the U.S. economy, the Congressional Budget Office reported Tuesday.

The most direct effect on pensions is through the prices of financial assets such as corporate equities and bonds. Because the majority of pension assets are held in equities, drops in stock prices have had a significant adverse effect on pension plans.

estimated that the decline in the value of financial assets cost pension funds about $1 trillion -- almost 10% of their assets -- from just the second quarter of 2007 to the second quarter of 2008.

Not good for baby boomers.

joeltrout

[Atlantean_Relic]

Well I guess we should warmly greet the boomers to generations that don't get retirement. I just hope they can learn to shut up and accept it like the rest of us have.

[Cashmere]

Boomers are screwed.

And that's exactly perfect.

[gnm]

Pensions lose 2 Trillion

-G

[Eli]

Well thank goodness they passed the Bailout to save everyone's 401K's.

What would we do with out such great leadership?

[DantesPeak]

Well thank goodness they passed the Bailout to save everyone's 401K's.

What would we do with out such great leadership?

Actually a little known fact is that the TARP does allow the government to buy everyone's IRAs and other types of retirement plans:


TARP Allows Treasury to Purchase Retirement Plans, MMFs!
http://www.peakoil.com/fortopic46557.html


However actually implementing that plan is, well, difficult. Do we send letters to the Treasury saying - take my retirement plan, please! - or do we have to engage in some contorted reverse bidding process competeting with major Wall Street firms?

Don't laugh when the government starts bailing out retirement plans.

[Eli]

Actually, I have heard that and I think it is done through the Fed actually buying stocks.

Ultimate Ponzi scheme.

I am sure it will work out well.

[TreeFarmer]

The Government and the Economists learned thier lesson in the great depression and its associated deflation. They will not allow deflation this time around.

If $2 Trillion disappears out of the system, they'll print $2 Trillion and put it back into the system. The entire economy is based on the amount of money growing or at least staying constant, deflation will not be allowed.

TF

[ColossalContrarian]

The Government and the Economists learned thier lesson in the great depression and its associated deflation. They will not allow deflation this time around.

If $2 Trillion disappears out of the system, they'll print $2 Trillion and put it back into the system. The entire economy is based on the amount of money growing or at least staying constant, deflation will not be allowed.

TF

"Bad boy Deflation now go back to bed, you're not allowed to be up this late. Only your sister Inflation can stay up after 9"

Only deflation isn't a boy, more like an 18 year old full of hormones sneaking out the bedroom window.

Just trying to put your two trillion into $56 Trillion in perspective.

[frankthetank]

My best buddy is a police officer. Just yesterday we were talking stock market. He still plans on retiring at 50 (10 years from now) (they get to keep their benefits too!). He has a feeling that it might not happen. This is a guy who has no mortgage, no bills, and saves a lot of money (cash).

[Olaf]

I'm becoming quite concerned that my wife and I are about to lose everything we have invested. To top it off, we don't really know what to do anyway. So we hold our breath.

I'm tempted to take as much as possible and buy things of value while we still can, but then that just sounds like panic talking.

My wife cautioned of 'running to the bank' and feeding a fall, but I countered with the argument that people who pulled out their funds actually HAVE their money.

Olafr

[gnm]

I'm tempted to take as much as possible and buy things of value while we still can, but then that just sounds like panic talking.

Olafr

Sounds sensible to me really. I already did...

-G

[Arsenal]

As I wade through the office to the coffee machine I can see dozens of people with this 1000 yard stare talking about the economy and what they should do. It reminds me of the story of how the early humans started fires to push the herds towards a cliff. The first group smell the fire.. wide eyed they start running away which starts the stampede.

You can literally smell the fear. The true panic is just about here if the markets don't stabilize.

Make sure you are outside of the stampede. Shelter, Water, Food, PMs, ammo. I hope you have them.

[Eli]

I'm becoming quite concerned that my wife and I are about to lose everything we have invested. To top it off, we don't really know what to do anyway. So we hold our breath.

I'm tempted to take as much as possible and buy things of value while we still can, but then that just sounds like panic talking.

My wife cautioned of 'running to the bank' and feeding a fall, but I countered with the argument that people who pulled out their funds actually HAVE their money.

Olafr

Then there is the other side of the coin he who panics first, panics best.

We all have been collectively lied to, people are waking up to that fact. Having cash on hand will not be a bad thing.


People do not want it to get that bad, but things have the potential to get truly awful. See the thread about consumer credit going negative 8 billion, that is a TEOTWAWKI print.

[vision-master]

Well I guess we should warmly greet the boomers to generations that don't get retirement. I just hope they can learn to shut up and accept it like the rest of us have.

Too late, 55 and already collecting........

Got sucked in at the last minute on the shirt-tails of the Geezer Generation before the door slammed shut.

[ReverseEngineer]

Boomers are screwed.

No, only Boomers stupid enough to have invested in Ponzi schemes are screwed. I am not screwed at all. I haven't lost a dime

Never planned on retiring, I like my work too much. Spent my money as I made it, no debts either. I am not screwed at all. Its all the rest of you who have mortagages and tons of investments who are screwed. Man, how stupid can you get?

Reverse Engineer

[emeraldg40]

Well I guess we should warmly greet the boomers to generations that don't get retirement. I just hope they can learn to shut up and accept it like the rest of us have.

Too late, 55 and already collecting........

Got sucked in at the last minute on the shirt-tails of the Geezer Generation before the door slammed shut.

Good for you! I took out some $ and a loan against my 401, bought land and home.....best thing I did. That was 4 years ago. This past month I sliced the pie up and put some in Money Market Fund.....have no idea if this will be safe....but it is the slice of pie that hasnt lost. Life goes on, I keep hearing "money people" tell me I will need several million to retire?? Who are these people? What planet are they from? I wont make a million in my life-time much less save and invest for it. Who needs 10 thous a month?? For what? Can someone tell me how these people spend 10 thous a month?

[CrudeAwakening]

Has $1 trillion been truly lost, or was it never really there in the first place?

[vision-master]

Well I guess we should warmly greet the boomers to generations that don't get retirement. I just hope they can learn to shut up and accept it like the rest of us have.

Too late, 55 and already collecting........

Got sucked in at the last minute on the shirt-tails of the Geezer Generation before the door slammed shut.

Good for you! I took out some $ and a loan against my 401, bought land and home.....best thing I did. That was 4 years ago. This past month I sliced the pie up and put some in Money Market Fund.....have no idea if this will be safe....but it is the slice of pie that hasnt lost. Life goes on, I keep hearing "money people" tell me I will need several million to retire?? Who are these people? What planet are they from? I wont make a million in my life-time much less save and invest for it. Who needs 10 thous a month?? For what? Can someone tell me how these people spend 10 thous a month?

Private golf courses.

Ski trips to Vail.

Big hunting/ fishing trips.

[VMarcHart]

Well I guess we should warmly greet the boomers to generations that don't get retirement. I just hope they can learn to shut up and accept it like the rest of us have.

Too late, 55 and already collecting...

Good for you, for now. At 55, you still have 30-35 or more years to pull before you bite the dust. Your pension's cashflow is directly tied to everything that's going on right now. If it dries up, VM ... you're bagging groceries at Cub Foods.

Sorry about the black humor, but don't count your blessings yet. This stuff will affect EVERYBODY.

All the best!