Most American are worth nothing or less than nothing (taxes, increase, employment)

[stoutboy]

Originally Posted by Malloric

Really?

Everyone I know is forced to be in a defined benefit plan in this country. It's a lousy one too. I wish I could opt out.

Less than 10% of private sector workers in the US have pensions.

[Rubi3]

I wonder why some think most everyone else is too dumb to grasp a concept? I know what my net worth is and I don't presume to think many others don't also know about theirs. It isn't complicated.

[mathjak107]

the point is there are billions out there in all kinds of products today that are not easily counted as wealth.

if i had no kids i would take all my money ,buy a bunch of annuities with a 7% withdrawal rate today and live happily ever after . i would keep a small amount of dough in an emergency fund and i would be one of those folks with hardly any savings at all but i would be drawing 200k a year in income living a royal lifestyle.

anytime we try to count other peoples money we are usually wrong..

[stoutboy]

Originally Posted by mathjak107

In the first half of 2013, more than $85 billion in annuity product transactions were processed by DTCC’s National Securities Clearing Corporation (NSCC) subsidiary for:
112 insurance company participants (representing 43 parent/holding companies)
128 distributors
3,236 annuity products.

there are huge amounts in annuity products today . many mom and pops gave up equities after 2008 forever. with more and more strategys today utilizing annuity products in combo with your own investing the market is growing like mad.

Meh. This says nothing as to the median value of those annuities. And Most of those 'strategies' end up benefiting financial institutions and their sales staffs, not the typical American investor, who is in way over his/her head.

[Malloric]

Originally Posted by stoutboy

Less than 10% of private sector workers in the US have pensions.

That'd be nice. Unfortunately almost all of the private sector workers in the US are required to have a pension.

[stoutboy]

Originally Posted by Malloric

That'd be nice. Unfortunately 99.9% of the private sector workers in the US are required to have a pension.

Give it a rest. Social security is not a pension, and most people are far better off for having it, very likely you included.

[mathjak107]

Originally Posted by stoutboy

Meh. This says nothing as to the median value of those annuities. And Most of those 'strategies' end up benefiting financial institutions and their sales staffs, not the typical American investor, who is in way over his/her head.

there is nooooooo value on insurance products. i wouldn't even guess.

but besides that how many people do you know were ever surveyed about their finances. i know zero.the biggest is a supplementary census done with a small sampling of folks. there is just to much variation they way they do it so thinly.

i know one person on city data who got it once and he threw it out.

[stoutboy]

Originally Posted by mathjak107

there is nooooooo value on insurance products. i wouldn't even guess.

but besides that how many people do you know were ever surveyed about their finances. i know zero.the biggest is a supplementary census done with a small sampling of folks. there is just to much variation they way they do it so thinly.

i know one person on city data who got it once and he threw it out.

These guys get there data from somewhere, and they seem to be pretty much in agreement for the most part.

[Opin_Yunated]

Originally Posted by canadian citizen

Here is a set of links that compare the net worth of the average Canadian family with the average American families net worth.

Canadian family net worth in 2013.

Canadians getting richer, average net worth tops $400,000 - The Globe and Mail

Average American family net worth .

Americans Have Relatively Poor Net Wealth - NASDAQ.com

Jim B.

Toronto.

I personally would like to exclude homes from net worth. Canadians over the last 10 years have benefitted from a dangerous housing bubble forming, and an overvaluation of the Canadian dollar.

A lot of people's net worth is tied up in their homes, and isn't a good measure.

Most of the Western countries are extremely liquid-asset poor in this day and age. The high income couple with a $200,000 annual salary typically has a mortgaged house, financed luxury car, some credit card debt, and 100% of their equities in their 401k. This is about as liquid asset poor as a person can get.

When the market crashes, this same couple will b**ch about the congressional politics surrounding it.

[mathjak107]

Originally Posted by stoutboy

These guys get there data from somewhere, and they seem to be pretty much in agreement for the most part.

it is from the financial census they do with every census but it is a seperate very thinly taken survey.