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Will Social Security Be Enough To Retire To Surf City?

By Cathy Moran

surfers_in_santa_cruz_wikimedia-brocken-inagloryWe live in the Golden State.

Retirement is supposed to be the Golden Years.

Do you have enough gold to make it happen?

It takes more than twice the typical Social Security check to meet just basic living expenses for a single elder in Santa Cruz County.

Yup, the median Social Security check is $12,500 and the cost of basic living for one renter is over $29,000.

And the problem is pervasive:  42% of Santa Cruz County elders don’t bring in enough income to meet their basic needs.

Why I care

I’m a bankruptcy lawyer.  I deal in debts and fresh starts.  What does that have to do with retirement?

It’s simple.  I begrudge every dollar that debt laden families pay on old debt rather than make provision for a viable retirement.

If you have enough income to pay off your debts while setting aside money for your old age, bravo.  You are truly blessed.

And as long as you are actually setting aside that money, now and regularly into the future, you can hope to be economically stable as you age.

But far too many of us these days don’t have the income to both pay off debt and save for retirement.

And a large percentage of those whose income is out of kilter with the demands on that income have drunk the Kool Aid that says repaying debts is a moral issue.

Those peddling the Kool Aid never ask if it’s really possible to pay off the debts, nor do they address the morality of relying on someone else to support you in old age.

In my book, the fact that you will need or want to retire some day is one of the most compelling reasons to file bankruptcy, start fresh, and get serious about retirement savings.

Image courtesy of wikimedia and Brocken Inaglory

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Filed Under: Considering Bankruptcy

About Cathy Moran

I'm a veteran bankruptcy lawyer and consumer advocate in California's Silicon Valley. I write, teach, and speak in the hopes of expanding understanding of how bankruptcy can make life better in a family's future.

Bankruptcy Basics

About The Soapbox

You’ve arrived at the Bankruptcy Soapbox, a resource of bankruptcy information and consumer law.

Soapbox is a companion site to Bankruptcy in Brief, where I try to be largely explanatory and even handed (Note I said “try”).

Here, I allow myself to tell stories and express strong opinions. We dig deeper into how to consider bankruptcy and navigate a bankruptcy case.

Moran Law Group
Bankruptcy specialists for individuals and small businesses in the San Francisco Bay Area

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