[Porsche-O-Phile]

I hate to be the one to say all this since it IS historically good advice to sock away what you can for the end of life years, but I'm starting to seriously question the wisdom of it. The government WILL be coming for peoples' 401ks and IRAs. I'm 100% certain of it. This isn't a question of "if", it's a question of "when" and "to what degree will I lose".

I also believe we're in the waiting period before we see explosively high inflation (probably in the next 3-5 years). Again, this isn't a question of "if", it's a question of "when". When this happens, will your retirement accounts keep pace with inflation? Maybe but not likely. Still, it'll cut the real-dollar losses by getting some kind of return versus blowing it or having cash holdings that will devaluate considerably.

I also believe that people are no longer in control of their own destinies when it comes to retirement. It's becoming increasingly difficult to plan for simply because you might be (probably will be) shown the door well before 65. There are literally millions of people who were in their 50s and 60s (prime earning years) who were first-targeted during recent layoffs simply because the beancounters could get the most payroll reduction for the minimum amount of bad press (headcount). Don't count on being able to work until the age YOU want to unless you're fully independent.

Also (like I had to recently) if you do end up un/under employed you might find yourself in the unenviable position of having to cash out your retirement account early (assuming the government hasn't seized or frozen it by then) just to live on. Something to consider... And with real rates of return so lousy (especially after all those management fees are factored in), it's worth really questioning whether "max out your 401k" is sound financial logic anymore.

I can't believe I'm saying this but I think one of the best moves long-term a person can make right now is Real Estate. The market has cratered (maybe a little left to fall but not a whole heck of a lot in most markets), rates are low and given the surge in demand for rentals, it makes some sense to snap up what you can now, hold it, rent it and be paying it off with highly deflated rental revenue dollars down the road. I'm seriously considering this - I recently bought my first place for many of the same reasons and may very well buy a rental property (or two or three) as a retirement/long-term revenue generator. I certainly am NOT counting on Social Security and honestly I'm not counting on my 401k/IRA very much these days either...

Food for thought/discussion.