Re: The Condition of the Church in the UK vs USA

Philip Gardner wrote:

A million pounds would produce an income of the order of £50,000 annually, wouldn't it? - why on earth would we need that much?


Run the spread***, put in inflation, remember to run it to age 95 minimum, 100+ would be safer; with geriatrics, life expectancy is increasing significantly. Age 65 to 95 is 30 years!

You don't need 50,000 per year, but a chunk of that yearly "income" goes to taxes (which will probably increase as the proportion of retirees to workers increases), and in USA a big chunk goes to medical insurance plus uninsured medical expenses (insurance covers only part of the cost, and only routine treatments, and only limited numbers of hospital days, no long term assisted living or nursing home).

But the biggest problem with living long term on savings is inflation. What is an excessively generous income in year one is peanuts in year 20. Where I live, the "official" inflation rate has been kept low by not counting rents and some other big increase items. To get a sense of the actual rate, check the changes in price of fuel, which affects just about everything manufactured, grown, or shipped.

Have you checked the price of food lately compared with last year? Rumor says food prices are headed way up in the next few months, due to droughts last growing season in Australia, USA, and Europe, plus diversion of cropland to corn for ethanol. Poor folk in Mexico are really hurting at the price of corn today.

The point of aiming for a million pound savings in a framework of no pensions and high medical expenses, is not that you'll need every cent but that you don't want to be surprised by running out of money at age 85.

My spread*** says I run out at about age 71 or something like that. What, me worry? There are other ways, like take a job at Walmart (hard to find real jobs after age 50 no matter what your skills), rent out rooms if there are people who want to rent just a room that is not a separate apartment, grow most of your own food (a neighbor raises pigs for her meat), move to a cheaper country (lots of USA retirees living in Mexico), move in with your kids if you have kids, etc.

Or learn to tap into and live on God's endless resources. Some people do! Learn that one, and the ability to receive and give is unlimited, without the need to accumulate for the indefinite future.
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