Last year, about this time, I withdrew some money from my 401k. The person at the service desk told me that I could withdraw money once per calendar year, and not once every 365 days. He misunderstood what a "Calendar Year" meant, and I could have boxed myself in if I really needed to withdraw some money.
Today, I found out about this person's mistake. And I now believe that I may have to think about moving my money from its current home to a new home, where I have greater flexibility in accessing my funds. Am I annoyed? Yes. But not as much as I'd be if I absolutely needed the money. This is the problem of someone who has retired, but still has to manage her money well.
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The other day, I met someone who (due to some misfortune) had to deplete her retirement savings in order to survive. I feel for those who have not been able to accumulate the assets needed to have a good retirement. From what I understand, 80% of baby boomers can not afford retirement. For us transgenders, I'd bet this figure is even higher. Not only are we likely to have lower Social Security earnings, but we are also likely to have lower amounts stashed away for our retirement.
What's going to happen to us when our bodies can no longer stand the stress of earning a living? Even I have this type of worry, as I have no one who will look after me as I grow old. Right now, I have the resources to take care of myself in good health. But what happens when things change? Other than my brother, my closest relatives live 2500+ miles away. And this worries me a bit. Yet, I am luckier than many transgender folk. I still have my family. But what about the rest of us?
2 comments:
I know I will never retire. When my body can no longer work, I'm sure they'll find a nice dumpster to put me in.
Sophie -
I don't know what to say. The problems you have are common in society, and even more common among us TG's. If I didn't work for a firm that had a generous profit sharing plan at one time, I'd have shot myself by now. People have prejudices against people like us, and there isn't much we can do to change things in a short enough time to benefit us.
M
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