How did Pension/Retirement work in the 30's and 40's?

[murray t turtle]

They died much younger.
“Retirement” back then lasted single digit years, for those even lucky enough to make it that far.

%%
That;
+ many of them had better work habits. They stared businesses, so they did not really want to retire. Some started selling oil by the quart, that trend goes on even today. One paid off his mortgage selling tomatoes; named it ''mortgage lifter'' in 1922/ paid off his mortgage.,

 

[ironchef]

%%
That, ironchef;
or you have a well tested battle plan, or both. Made plenty of money in 1974,1975 not 1973.Vietnam War[US mostly lost Vietnam] =1965-1975. [ I was too young before 1974, school graduation LOL]..................................................................................Did make some money/cash as a kid cutting lawns.

If you owned Russian stocks during the 1917 civil war, or Chinese stocks during the 1949 civil war. You would be holding worthless papers after the revolution.

 

[murray t turtle]

If you owned Russian stocks during the 1917 civil war, or Chinese stocks during the 1949 civil war. You would be holding worthless papers after the revolution.

%%
Another good reason they name it ''EVIL EMPIRE'', ironchef. I prefer a land/US where they love capital+ dont try to control all+ hate guns + private power................................................................................................

 

[Sig]

The reason retirement age was set at 65 was because life expectancy in 1940 was ~61. The pension authority didn't expect too many would receive a pension.

An interesting and common misapplication of averages that you'll realize instantly when you stop to think about it. Infant mortality was very high then, and a bunch of your population dying at <1 really pulls down the "average" of average lifetime. From 1930-39 26% of babies died before age 1. Imagine in that scenario you had a group of 100 people, 26 died at 1 and the rest all died at 78. The "average lifespan" would be 61, even though everyone who made it past 1 lived to 78, so that 61 year average is not only somewhat meaningless but very misleading.

In fact the average lifespan of someone who makes it past 40 has changed very little since Greek times and our current dramatic increase in "average lifespan" is due almost entirely to an equally dramatic reduction in infant mortality. Remember, when you hear the word "average" your first question should always be "so what's the distribution look like?"

 

[Sig]

Pensions were a way out, but you had to serve 30+ years and often times (unless you were in a welfare position like the military, police, or government) your pension wasn't enough to cover expenses as inflation became intense.

Not sure how you get off with the idea that police and military are "welfare positions"? Seriously? I'd be happy to take you for just a day of "welfare" and see how you hold up...honest offer.

 

[gaussian]

Not sure how you get off with the idea that police and military are "welfare positions"? Seriously? I'd be happy to take you for just a day of "welfare" and see how you hold up...honest offer.

Sounds like we've got ourselves a bootlicker! Let's do the numbers:

We will use the following guide from the BLS:

The most dangerous jobs are as follows:

- Driver/sales workers and truck drivers had the most fatalities of any broad occupation group at 966. Among all detailed
occupations, heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers had the most fatalities at 831.
- In 2018, logging workers, fishers and related fishing workers, aircraft pilots and flight engineers, and roofers all
had fatality rates more than 10 times the all-worker rate of 3.5 fatalities per 100,000 FTE workers. (See chart 4.)
- Police and sheriff’s patrol officers had 108 fatalities in 2018, up 14 percent from 2017.
- Fatal injuries to taxi drivers and chauffeurs declined by 24 percent to 47, the lowest total since 2003 when comparable
data for the occupation were first available.

The military is no where to be listed. The fatalities in police work are laughable at best coming in at 108 - a full 14% increase. There aren't many people dying relative to the population of people employed.

So given that, I'd gladly take:

1. Top tier government pension
2. Free healthcare
3. Free student grants
4. Better housing (sometimes even free)
5. The adoration of every bootlicker in the country when I walk in the door
6. Decent salary while I'm employed
7. Insane life insurance and death and disability for my family

For a job that is several orders of magnitude less dangerous than a labor job I'd be working if I didn't go to college. The education requirement is the same for the military, police and being a truck driver. So if I only have those choices why wouldn't I join the military or the police? The numbers don't lie. That's free welfare for me.

How about you work a day of actual labor and come back to me. I'd much rather risk getting shot (an almost unfathomably small risk relative to the population) than live another few years in my college days as a machinist. I'd say the average military and law enforcement goon lives nicely on state welfare!

 

[Sig]

Sounds like we've got ourselves a bootlicker! Let's do the numbers:

We will use the following guide from the BLS:

The most dangerous jobs are as follows:



The military is no where to be listed. The fatalities in police work are laughable at best coming in at 108 - a full 14% increase. There aren't many people dying relative to the population of people employed.

So given that, I'd gladly take:

1. Top tier government pension
2. Free healthcare
3. Free student grants
4. Better housing (sometimes even free)
5. The adoration of every bootlicker in the country when I walk in the door
6. Decent salary while I'm employed
7. Insane life insurance and death and disability for my family

For a job that is several orders of magnitude less dangerous than a labor job I'd be working if I didn't go to college. The education requirement is the same for the military, police and being a truck driver. So if I only have those choices why wouldn't I join the military or the police? The numbers don't lie. That's free welfare for me.

How about you work a day of actual labor and come back to me. I'd much rather risk getting shot (an almost unfathomably small risk relative to the population) than live another few years in my college days as a machinist. I'd say the average military and law enforcement goon lives nicely on state welfare!

I notice you responded to something no one said, not sure what danger has to do with anything or why you decided that is some broad determinant of worth? And most telling that you didn't answer the one question I very specifically asked. Too inconvenient for you?

If spending 6 months at a time away from your family working 80 hour weeks at what are often physically gruelling jobs to earn what are often significantly below market salary (my comp is literally 10x what it was in the military in a completely unrelated job) with every aspect of your life from where to live to what you do controlled 24/7/365 is "welfare" then I would have to conclude that English isn't your first language and perhaps that word does not mean what you think it means?

You can certainly argue that there are worse jobs out there, I'll be the last to disagree. Being a garbage man is more dangerous and shitty than almost any out there, by your "logic" that makes anyone with a job better than garbage man "on welfare"! Oh, they get paid by the government in many places too, so clearly also on "welfare" compared to your tough machinist self. And what about the military folks who are in fact machinists as their rate, now that really fucks your logic up doesn't it?

There once was a time we didn't have decent housing (and it still sucks, you've clearly not experienced much of it), pay, or benefits for the military. Turns out that costs a lot more and buys you a much shittier force. Treat people like shit (which you're bizarrely advocating here) and you get shit people or you have to force them with a draft. Basic business sense, if you've ever run a business?

You sound a lot like someone who was rejected by the military and have some kind of chip on your shoulder because of it. If you think the benefits are so great, you had every opportunity to join, so why didn't you? If you didn't, you clearly thought they weren't so great because I'm not buying that you willingly passed up what you're painting as this windfall mecca of a gig because of your staunch moral code against "welfare". Can't have it both ways tough guy, your internal contradiction kills your entire point.

 

[gaussian]

If spending 6 months at a time away from your family working 80 hour weeks at what are often physically gruelling jobs to earn what are often significantly below market salary (my comp is literally 10x what it was in the military in a completely unrelated job) with every aspect of your life from where to live to what you do controlled 24/7/365 is "welfare" then I would have to conclude that English isn't your first language and perhaps that word does not mean what you think it means?

Oh, I see, you were in the military and I've offended you because despite the rest of your life outside of the military you still identify with your captors. Nice. Some of us chose to be independent of the system. No VA safety net and a fat GI Bill to protect you from student loans. Must be nice.

I pity you really. I gave risk measures and you gave me a dissertation on how hard your service was. Frankly I don't care. Hate to break it to you but it was voluntary. Just like my job. Where's my welfare package? Perhaps I'd have an iota of pity if military service was compulsory.

I appreciated the line about "you must've been rejected". Is being insulted so easily a special MOS?

 

[Sig]

Oh, I see, you were in the military and I've offended you because despite the rest of your life outside of the military you still identify with your captors. Nice. Some of us chose to be independent of the system. No VA safety net and a fat GI Bill to protect you from student loans. Must be nice.

I pity you really. I gave risk measures and you gave me a dissertation on how hard your service was. Frankly I don't care. Hate to break it to you but it was voluntary. Just like my job. Where's my welfare package? Perhaps I'd have an iota of pity if military service was compulsory.

I appreciated the line about "you must've been rejected". Is being insulted so easily a special MOS?

Oh no, you're mistaking your juvenile attempts to be offensive with me being offended, which takes far more than the likes you! You're certainly at this point only trolling, but if you ever have the ability to answer those so terribly inconvenient for you questions I posed which you are apparently unable to answer I'm more than willing to continue the conversation.