One major hushed topic: a looming retirement crisis with 74 million baby boomers retiring, Social Security in sorry shape and half of people near retirement with only $104,000 or less in retirement savings. According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, a person with $104,000 would be able to devote about $350 a month toward everything from food to electricity in retirement.
Both Clinton and Trump have said they are committed to making sure Social Security remains there for you, but questions remain: What form? Who will pay more than they now imagine, or get more or less than they now imagine? These are explosive political issues fraught with potential jealousies between income classes, genders and generations, so there's no wonder we are spending this election year in the gutter.
Retirement concerns aren't going away as Social Security approaches insolvency and people live to 90 or older. At some point, the president and Congress will likely be forced into Band-Aids or solutions, whether they've warned you in advance or not. So before the election, learn about the issues. As a starting point, the Commission on Retirement Security and Personal Savings for the Bipartisan Policy Center provides an overview. The retirement solutions it covers are no secret to anyone in national politics, so they shouldn't be to you either.
Social Security cuts and increases: Proposed changes range from limiting benefits for spouses who are part of a "high-earning" couple, to requiring employers to make workers aware that if they work past age 62 they will get more Social Security benefits monthly.
