Good Layman's guide to the financial crisis

[Stevely]

Sam, just note that the only retirements not tied to the stock market in the government are military; civil servants have had a 401(k) like scheme for quite some time now.

[Ken White]

Civil service people hired after 1984 have the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) which is Social Security and a joint employee-Office of Personnel Management 401-K like 'thrift' plan which provides choices between several alternative mixes of stocks, bonds and interest bearing accounts, US and overseas. A modified form of that also applies to Congress today. FERS applies to virtually all of today's employees.

Military personnel today can also opt into the thrift programs in addition to their Retainer Pay -- and the military retirement payment is just that, Retainer Pay. It is not an annuity or a pension. All military retirees are subject to recall up to age 65. It is also deferred compensation -- IOW, we're going to pay you less than the market rate for your work today but if you do it long enough, we'll pay you later in a reduced amount.

The old Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) for Pre-1984 hires who did not opt to switch to the new plan was a defined pension plan and, like Social Security (today; since Lyndon...) is funded out of / is part of Federal general revenue. Persons who receive CSRS annuities and are also entitled to full Social Security take a 50% cut in the SS payment. Most folks have a mix of small CSRS annuities and SS, a good many have to work at other jobs. The number of CSRS retirees dwindles daily.

As an aside, unless one is a very senior person, one finds that either Military or Civil Service retirement will provide a car or a small roof, food and little else. If one wants a bigger roof, or a roof and a car plus the food -- and wants anything else, one will seek employment to bolster the retired pay. The biggest benefit of both retirements is really medical care (and that keeps getting whittled away). Like everything else, there are pluses and minuses...

[Surferbeetle]

From today's WSJ by Kris Maher: Homeward Rebound: Weathering the Storm With Kin

Families around the country are weathering out the recession by hunkering down with relatives and friends. It's not just a lower-income phenomena either. The homeward bound are former white-collar and blue-collar workers who believe they might have a better chance finding work in their hometown because they know more people, who, in turn, know still more people. But with jobs scarce, that doesn't always work, and rumors of jobs are just that. At home, though, they can at least get help with food, shelter and clothing.

"As Americans face tougher economic conditions, we'll likely see more of this," said Jim Toedtman, a vice president with AARP, which analyzed Census data. More adult children are living with their parents -- about 6.2 million in March 2008, the latest figures available -- up from 6.1 million the year before, continuing a gradual upward trend from 2000. The latest number doesn't include the most recent and most intense series of layoffs from the last three months, and is likely to be significantly higher now, says Mr. Toedtman.