Desperate retirees really have to dig deep

I have enjoyed reading articles on the plight of retirees who had intended to supplement their incomes with interest received from their investments – confirmation in spades that I am not alone.

We are at a time in our lives when chasing higher turns involving greater risk leaves us vulnerable. Putting our savings in banks has little reward and is even detrimental when balances are sometimes used by authorities to determine what we are and are not entitled to. It can be demoralising seeing someone who has spent freely get handouts, while the person who lived frugally to provide for a better retirement misses out on the same help/perks.

Might there be merit in burying money? An elderly gent told me how his funds were buried for 20 years and as the bamboo grove had grown he had to get a metal detector to find where the tin now was! Imagine if he had lost his memory.

Stories of second-hand bean bags and couches with notes stuffed in them make you wonder about the previous owners.

But for me the best is from a guy who, when I asked him how retirement was treating him, said, “Well, it’s like this, Gert. If a man is going to die soon, best I keep spending the way I am, but if I have another 30 years to go, best I rein in my spending.” Six months later he was killed in a head-on collision. I was so pleased to hear that he had kept on spending.

So, on behalf of retirees, thanks for any suggestions or advice you can give to make us more comfortable in our golden years while accepting these really are unprecedented times. Ann