<p>Some people have the “foreign language gene” and can pick up languages rather easily. My H and our two sons have that talent. I do not…at all…in any way, shape or form. </p>
<p>RE foreign language gene: my parents knew someone who had moved around a lot, from country to country, and liked to say: “she speaks 6 languages, none of them fluently.”</p>
<p>“Are we going to have many, many millions of unprepared very low-income seniors in a few years?” - Maybe so. But… if they can keep working til 65 (for Medicare) and have a pension to add to SS, they may be fine for the basics. Lots of the speculation in this thread is about retiring early (by choice or not) and still being able to affording dreams of current standard of living, big travels etc. </p>
<p>My brother in Costa Rica used a local doc for a medical situation - sounds like he ate some undercooked food and was super sick. Doc gave him meds, injection, home visit. Was paid in cash. Doubt you can get more ‘Americanized’ unless close to major city, American style hospital. Don’t think another doc could have done much different for him - docs there are able to handle those kind of situations.</p>
<p>In the U.S., in some remote areas, you may not get super good health care when you need emergency care - for example after a coronary and need bypass surgery or other interventions quickly. That also could happen on a cruise ship - I saw an interesting show where they followed a cruise ship doc. Made you not want to need medical care for anything serious; gave a blood transfusion from one of the ship workers…passenger should never have been on the cruise due to frail at the start. Had to helicopter off after able to do that.</p>
<p>I’m not advocating living overseas for the majority of people, but for some people, it maybe the right situation. But it was interesting read.</p>
<p>When you travel overseas even for a short time, i.e. not a perpetual traveler, if you get sick, you have to get local doctors. The reason the word cheap was mentioned because compare to the cost of health care in this country, it’s actually cheap. My massage therapist went to a place in SE Asia and got her nose/eyes fix for $500. Note, I don’t believe in self-mutilation but can we get similar prices here in USA? I bet it’s around $5K, which is 10 times more expensive than here. </p>
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The “average American” kid is elated with a 1900 SAT. The average CC kid is in a state of panic with a 2200+ “disaster”. Same with parents - we are CC parents, aren’t we? 
btw, mom2, thanks so much for starting this thread. I’m still learning from it.</p>
<p>If you have chronic health conditions that may require some serious medical interventions, you may find it important to live near a major medical center where you can get affordable medical care, whether the the US or elsewhere. That will be a major consideration for me and H. </p>
<p>I have a friend who had to relocate so he could have a lung transplant. He did so and got a new lung and continues to live a good life, but it was a challenge for him and his W. My folks, on the other hand, have been extremely healthy and see their doc annually and take few, if any meds ever.</p>
<p>“Some people have the “foreign language gene” and can pick up languages rather easily. My H and our two sons have that talent. I do not…at all…in any way, shape or form”</p>
<p>I know what you mean. They learn, they remember, easy for them. I could work on the same phrase for years and still not get it right. My younger son took French for ten years, and I think all he remembers are the French obscenities, useful stuff like that. He hated that language, so much, such a struggle. You’d think after ten years, he’d get more of a hang of it.</p>
<p>I took 7 years of Spanish–my big accomplishment is convicing people that my Spanish is MUCH worse than their English and we happily converse in English. Sadly, neither of our kids is too strong in languages, but I think D could if she were immersed in it. She picked up German because she wanted to read the message boards about a singer and most of the comments were written in German. Neither S nor D could pick up mandarin, no matter how earnestly they tried (tho they have been told their accent and pronunciation are good). My niece has a great ear and picks up languages well–French, Mandarin and now Japanese.</p>
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<p>if they can keep working til 65 (for Medicare) and have a pension to add to SS, they may be fine for the basics. Lots of the speculation in this thread is about retiring early (by choice or not) and still being able to affording dreams of current standard of living, big travels etc.</p>
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<p>…and have a pension. Hmmm…I think most Americans dont have a pension (or at least not a decent one). Or am I wrong?</p>
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<p>We’re not talking about Ethiopia. This is America. If you can’t make it to retirement here, what were you doing? </p>
<p>I’ll hope that most of those in their late 50s and early 60s have their affairs in order, but those who don’t will probably just keep working. Some people would rather buy the expensive car and house and keep working instead of retire, which is fine. I don’t think there’s going to be any societal problem. Throughout history there’s always been people who’ve had to work their whole life. </p>
<p>Yes, from what I have read, most Americans have SS and whatever investments they saved. Only some govt employees and some fortunate few others have pensions or profit sharing to help with their retirements. Many are living much more frugally than they had envisioned because they didn’t save as much as they had thought they would and costs in retirement (especially medical and housing) are higher than they expected. Interest rates for “safe” investments are also at all time lows and they are nervous about putting their small nesteggs at risk.</p>
<p>Well… it seems to me that many professionals once did have annuity pension plans. My company and many others have transitioned to 401K plans for younger workers. The 401K plans are still a nice perk (especially if there is some employer matching). It just means mroe careful planning is needed. </p>
<p>Living on just SS can be tough. My aunt has modest savings and 1/2 of ex husband’s SS amount. She’d have a tough time surviving w/o subsidized housing (Section8/HUD). Luckily she has that option in her area. Rent calculations are based on 30% of former year’s income (after medical costs, her main expense). </p>
<p>In our state newspaper, they did a poll this month, asking folks whether than more than 30% of their monthly income went toward housing. Of the nearly 1500 who answered, over 53% said “Yes,” and 14% said about 30%. Only 33% said “No.” Housing is a HUGE expense in our state, plus our electricity costs are literally the highest in the nation and food costs are up there as well.</p>
<p>This is one of the reasons that many families are living multi-generationally, just to make ends meet.</p>
<p><a href=“Multi-generational Household Population Continues to Rise Post-Recession | Pew Research Center”>http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2014/07/17/in-post-recession-era-young-adults-drive-continuing-rise-in-multi-generational-living/</a></p>
<p>Before we were married, H had lived in his own place for 5 years and then moved back to his parents’ home at their request to help them out (and save money by renting his place out). Our state leads the nation in multigenerational homes. Part of it is cultural, with not wanting our elders to fend for themselves but part of it is basic economics with housing so very expensive in our state.</p>
<p><a href=“More multigenerational households in immigrant areas”>http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2012/10/25/census-multigenerational-households/1653159/</a></p>
<p>I think that many unprepared folks will end up living with their adult children. A generation or so ago, it wasn’t unusual for a family to have a widowed granny living with them. Now that people are living longer (both men and women), I wonder if this will become an issue? </p>
<p>As much as some people would like to “work til they die,” many just wont be able to. Many jobs just aren’t suited well for elderly folks. And various health issues can prevent a person from continued work. </p>
<p>I am concerned about those who have lesser-skilled or hard-labor jobs. They are probably most likely the least prepared for retirement. Many of their jobs are not conducive to work past 70, except for those who are unusually fit at that age.</p>
<p>@Dad<em>of</em>3 “btw, mom2, thanks so much for starting this thread. I’m still learning from it.”</p>
<p>You are welcome! I had no idea that the thread would be this popular. I have learned so much from it, too.</p>
<p>Note - If you have older relatives currently struggling with housing costs, make sure they know about HUD options.
<a href=“How Do I Qualify As Low Income for HUD Senior Housing?”>Home and Garden;
<p>Above is a general link I found. You can probably find more specific info by googling HUD for your area/state. HUD has been a blessing for my aunt. Depending on prior year’s med expenses, her rent (with heat/elec) has been I think between $100 and $200 per month. She is in a senior HUD complex, but I think there are programs involving vouchers for other options.</p>
<p>Yea, in workers comp cases we have worked on, a huge percentage of the totally disabled were doing heavy manual labor and have few skills that will translate into getting a job with lesser physical requirements. Quite a few if these people were young (often under 40). </p>
<p>Disability income isn’t very much, especially if you try to pay for your kids’ expenses and save for retirement. </p>
<p>I think there will be a lot of very poor retired people who are not really poor now. It will be even worse if inflation goes higher.</p>