Retirement Interview

ATTENTION: you must complete 5 journal entries. MAKE SURE that you are ANALYZING, not summarizing!!! Your analysis MAY NOT have the word “quote” in it anywhere, nor should you start your analysis with “this shows,” or “here Douglass uses.” Instead, indentify the ACTION that is taking place in terms of language. If you see a biblical allusion, type “Douglass employs biblical allusion to emphasize…” or something similar. You may NOT use first (“I,” “me,” “we,” “us”) or second person (“you”). Also, you should not begin every sentence

According to the retired CPA I interviewed, the three most important concepts for a young college student to understand are: (1) Credit History and Credit Scoring, (2) Financing Charges, and (3) the Annual Percentage Rate (APR) of Interest. As they relate to considering which credit card to use, my interview subject suggested that the most important factor is how using that card might affect my credit history in the long term, what the financing charges could be on purchases that are not paid off immediately or very soon after the initial purchase, particularly as a function of the APR.

Arc of the Ozarks is a local human service organization providing help to people in the local communities with physical and mental disabilities. The main local offices for the Arc can be found in Springfield, Joplin, and Monett, Missouri. Interviewing someone from the Arc could have been done over the phone, by e-mail, and an in-person interview. The in-person interview seemed to be more appropriate because it would allow me to interact with the people who work for the organization and possibly see interaction with clients. Interviewing one in person also helps to show the kind of dedication put into the work provided by the organization.

More people are living much longer lives than in years past. People are very surprised to be living much longer lives than they thought they would. Health care has played a large part in patient longevity. There are many normal changes that come along with aging, however, because people are living longer these normal changes can become chronic problems. Common aging problems that can make the older adult a vulnerable population are reviewed in Gerontological Nursing (Tabloski, 2014) and can include nutritional needs, medication management, sleep changes, oral or mouth care, renal problems and musculoskeletal concerns. According to A Profile of Older Americans: 2013 (http://www.hhs.gov), there are a large amount

(Life Expectancy) This means, on average, people are around 13 years away from death by the time their social security kicks in. While many people could probably use the help provided by Social Security at this age due to their weakening bodies, they clearly are a much broader demographic and, on average, in less need of support from the program. Many people reaching retirement age in the modern day are still active and take up hobbies. (Novak) Clearly they can still provide for themselves by working. It should not be the job of the government to provide for people who do not need the

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

Social Security may said to provide primary means of income in retirement one would say that maintaining the existing system with its assured benefits is crucial for every American including the African Americans. Social Security is the nation’s most significant and operative income security program for American labors, pensioners and their families and is even more essential to the financial safety of African Americans; However, it be will right to propose that the system be amended due to the average life span of African Americans. By the time an African American senior citizen gets to the age where they are supposed to be enjoying their retirement benefits many of them seem to die off leaving their benefits to their beneficiaries. Hence it will be reasonable to amend the time of retirement due to the lifespan each race especially African American so that they can enjoy their hard earned insurance

Ed is 77-year-old White heterosexual man who is in good health and lives in the Niles area of Fremont, California with his wife, Laura, and eldest son Michael. Ed strongly identifies as Irish-Catholic and he and Laura raised their family in an Irish-Catholic household. I selected Ed as my interviewee because he lives in my neighborhood and is good friends with my neighbor’s father. The two degrees of separation between us are gender, ethnicity/cultural identity, as well as socioeconomic status (he is an upper middle class retiree).

There are many problems with Social Security today; however, the most prominent problem stands out as the baby boomers. The term baby boomers refer to the massive generation born after World War 2, and since they are all retiring now America’s Social Security is beginning to drain. Chuck Hagel, author for USA Today Magazine, states that in 1950 for each retiree, there were 16.9 people in the workforce; today there are much bigger numbers: for each retiree there are nearly 3.3 people in the workforce (“Saving” 12). Hagel suggests that Americans under 45 should be able to have options when it comes down to how their money is being spent in Social Security: either they can use the traditional Social Security tax rate, or they can use 4% of their Social Security payments to invest the funds that currently make up Federal Thrift Savings Plan (“Saving” 12). In doing so Americans will be able to limit and control where their Social Security money goes. However, many people disagree with changing Social Security. David Cay Johnston, author of several award-winning books, argues that Social Security does not need a revision because of the large surpluses in past years: $2.7 trillion in 2011 (“Social Security is Not”). This is true, Social Security does have a large surplus every year; however, the government ends up spending it which

     There is much-heated debate on the issues of Social Security today. The Social Security system is the largest government program of income distribution in the United States. People are concerned that they won't see a dime of what they worked so hard to contribute into the Social Security system for so many years. Social Security provides benefits to about forty-three million Americans. Not only to retired workers, but also to their spouses and dependents of the workers who die prematurely. It also provides benefits to disabled workers and their dependents. Social Security appears to most people like a simple retirement saving’s account. After all, you generally

L was married for 20 years. She has 2 daughters; one is going to school and the other lives in Texas. Her mother has been living with her for 3 ½ years. She enjoys movies, having coffee with her friends once a week, and her two grandchildren. She is active in her church, and used to do prison ministry. She works in Gerontology at the Health Sciences Center and has been a Tech employee for 25 years.

One of the very first topics that I will elaborate on is the economic aspects of my later life. As of November 13, 2016, I have had an account opened for my retirement fund. Its pertinent that I, personally have this account. I have this account to be my cushion to “fall back on” if any of my other plans for aging do not fall through. “Currently, the full benefit age is 66 years and 2 months for people born in 1955, and it will gradually rise to 67 for those born in 1960 or later.” (National Academy of Social Insurance, 2017)

Planning for retirement should not be based on Social Security alone, but rather by saving portions of personal earned wages and putting finances into long-term investments. Depending on Social Security as the only income after retiring is an unsafe and undependable way to prepare for retirement. People who contribute to Social Security are mandatorily putting money into the Social Security Reserve; this money is used for older generations that will file for these benefits before the younger people working, in the early 21 century, ever receive a chance. Money controlled by other’s hands will never be a guarantee for a secure future, yet money saved by an individual to put toward personal goals will reward greatly. By taking the time to

B. Relevance Everyone is faced with the prospect of living their “golden” years without a paycheck. Social Security will very likely NOT be available to people currently younger than 40 and if it does survive will not be a

Grohol, J. (2011). Mental Health Needs of Older Americans. Psych Central. Retrieved on September 29, 2013, from http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2011/05/02/mental-health-needs-of-older-americans/