zbigi wrote: ↑Sat Sep 17, 2022 2:21 am
Also, I suppose even people from countries with high state pensions, if they go the ERE route and work less than 10 years, won't get that much out of the system...
Correct - at least in America. If I would have worked for 5 years then retired like traditional ere path I would have gotten nothing in old age. Social security is based on a credit system. 4 credits per year and you need 40 credits to qualify for traditional retirement social security. Once you qualify payout is based on formula based on lifetime income, but it is EXTREMELY progressive to ensure most everyone gets at least $1,000 /month.
Likewise with spousal credit. Have to be married at least ten years. If I would have divorced my wife after 9 years and she never bothered to work she would have gotten nothing from social security in old age.
On the plus side - these credits are absurdly easy to get. You need $1,500 /year in income per credit. So to get all four credits you need 6k. Around here anyone with a pulse can get paid $15 /HR to flip burgers. So this is 400 hours of basic work per year, or 10 weeks of full time burger flipping. It makes a ton of sense in America to slowly spread out income over 10 years to make sure you are covered in old age instead of retiring after 5 years.
If you have no income or assets or job after the age of 65 Medicaid will put you in a nursing home. Some of these are good, others not so much. I have heard some great stories and bad stories. It isn't bad around here they have group exercise classes, decent meals, daily games like bingo and card games. Most importantly, they have free wifi. It is way better than our prison system.