Insurance companies and pension funds are at risk of becoming insolvent if ultra-low interest rates persist for a prolonged period, the International Monetary Fund has warned. After almost eight years in which central banks have kept borrowing costs at record lows in an attempt to boost growth, the IMF said an over-reliance on monetary policy could have unwanted side-effects. With an aging population depending on pensions the Fed needs to get busy raising interest rates many times in succession - not doing it now will make it a lot worse down the road.
Just wanted to make a quick calculation to show the problem. Not an exact calculation. I think the problem is clear. Even with intrests and dividends there will be a shortage. Investments can also create losses instead of dividends (crash). Intrest rates can also stay much lower than in past, etc... The additional medical care needed to survive till the age of 100 will largely surmount the returns on capital.
If your elders lived above 78 years old, here is USA, it better to sign up for Medicare at 66yo but delay the money, keep working till 70 yo, then you will receive $1,000 more on average per month from SSI, even if USA has to print money, they will always have SSI, Washington DC don't have enough bullets when 100 million people show up. Plus the entire lot of them be voted out. Also, people live generally for today and hardly any for tomorrow, I have spent life time trading 98% of the time, for my 401k LLC, should I be punished cause I worked hard to have decent retirement? I really don't believe in retirement, I see it all the time, someone retires and inside of few years they croak. Am going to keep doing what I am doing till I can't any more, I am going to try to even expand what I am doing and manage money in few years, keeps life interesting and challenges the mind, have to keep brain active. And I believe in charities. Think about it, all the Baby Boomers getting old, buy anything health care stocks. You want a good job, get into Rehab.
In an information world, post industrial, not much implications. We can work productively way pass 65. The reality is in the not too distant future we will not retire at 65, the official "retirement" age. As is, many retirees are having a second career or working part time after retirement.... So, IMHO, the problem will be self correcting for most of the developed world. Let's not forget, retirement is a modern term coined in the 20th century, in human history until recently, most folks worked until they died.
1. Will there be enough jobs for people, especially for youths, after moving to a robot driven society? 2. What kinds of old-age jobs will be available in the upcoming AI driven society? How are we going to re-train the old people for AI related skills? 3. What kinds of job old-age people can keep themselves working until death, and paring taxes? Their old skills, physical strength and mindset may not be fit enough for the AI society, perhaps. What I can suppose would be the future cost of maintaining old-age people living well and longer could be much cheaper then now due to technologically advancements. Using robots to serve them daily would be one. Medical operations handled by AI robots would be another.
OddTrader, I don't have answers to your questions sir. History did provide us with guides: In every major historical disruptions, be it farming, industrial revolutions, computer, information, internet, somehow, society always found a way out. I am an optimist, given humankind are an innovative bunch, this time will be the same. Cheers.