What’s Your Retirement Plan?
by Brian Diedrick
Needless to say, a lot of people are starting to get a little worried about Social Security as it relates to their retirement plans. But who’s kidding who, retirement in America hasn’t been easy for at least 25 years now. So what are the bartenders planning? Sure, the job has its long-term benefits — interesting anecdotes, quick wit, good math skills while tipsy — but a pension plan isn’t one of them.
Bob
Where he presides: Grassroots Tavern, St. Mark’s
Favorite drink: Finlandia and Tonic
[Laughs] You’re seeing it right now — working until I drop. Personal savings really is all. That and whatever amount Social Security ends up being. But let’s be serious — nobody is retiring anymore. The way things are going you work until you can’t anymore.
Dan
Where he presides: St. Mark’s Tavern, St. Mark’s
Favorite drink: It remains a mystery
I plan on being so rich that it doesn’t make a difference. I won’t need any kind of retirement plan. [The young gentleman then hands our intrepid correspondent a flyer for his rock ‘n’ roll outfit. They are playing a gig somewhere around town soon. This, it would seem, is how our subject plans on becoming grotesquely rich. All told, it’s probably just as good an idea as relying on Social Security.]
Rafael
Where he presides: The Skinny, LES
Favorite drink: Budweiser
[Laughs] — Well… I have a couple of things in mind. A long-term 20-year investment in an IRA. It pops into my mind every now and then — especially during tax time. I’ve been putting money into one for about 10 years. Also, I could win the lottery tomorrow. I have a friend who was buying scratch-offs. He just bought two and he won $50,000 a year for 20 years. I buy scratch-offs all the time.
Mark
Where he presides: Tribe, East Village
Favorite drink: Jameson’s
It’s kind of a lack thereof at the moment. Some-thing I’m trying to figure out. Someplace warm and sunny. When I’m not hungover I try to think about it. Bartending isn’t very conducive to thinking about long-term plans.
Simon
Where he presides: Bua, East Village
Favorite drink: Guinness
I don’t have a personal retirement plan. You have me worried now — I’ll be old and poor. I used to have a real job with a pension, but then I came over here [from Dublin] — no pension anymore. I’m not too worried about it. I’m pretty young.
Colleen
Where she presides: Libation, LES
Favorite drink: Manhattan
You gotta be kidding me — I’m not ready to retire yet. It crosses my mind, and then I try to stop thinking about it because it makes me sad. Like a lot of bartenders, I do art as well — photography — so hopefully that will work out. But, no, I don’t want to own a bar or manage a bar.
Fred
Where he presides: Local 138, LES
Favorite drink: Beer
Well, I’ve got a 401K, well, actually a rollover into an IRA. I don’t have the 401K anymore — I was in a corporate job for a while and I had a 401K with them. I plan on opening another IRA here soon to put money into. Obviously I don’t have a 401K bartending. I worked for Sherwin-Williams paints — I was a sales rep for them for like seven years.
Bob
Where he presides: Grassroots Tavern, St. Mark’s
Favorite drink: Finlandia and Tonic
[Laughs] You’re seeing it right now — working until I drop. Personal savings really is all. That and whatever amount Social Security ends up being. But let’s be serious — nobody is retiring anymore. The way things are going you work until you can’t anymore.
Dan
Where he presides: St. Mark’s Tavern, St. Mark’s
Favorite drink: It remains a mystery
I plan on being so rich that it doesn’t make a difference. I won’t need any kind of retirement plan. [The young gentleman then hands our intrepid correspondent a flyer for his rock ‘n’ roll outfit. They are playing a gig somewhere around town soon. This, it would seem, is how our subject plans on becoming grotesquely rich. All told, it’s probably just as good an idea as relying on Social Security.]
Rafael
Where he presides: The Skinny, LES
Favorite drink: Budweiser
[Laughs] — Well… I have a couple of things in mind. A long-term 20-year investment in an IRA. It pops into my mind every now and then — especially during tax time. I’ve been putting money into one for about 10 years. Also, I could win the lottery tomorrow. I have a friend who was buying scratch-offs. He just bought two and he won $50,000 a year for 20 years. I buy scratch-offs all the time.
Mark
Where he presides: Tribe, East Village
Favorite drink: Jameson’s
It’s kind of a lack thereof at the moment. Some-thing I’m trying to figure out. Someplace warm and sunny. When I’m not hungover I try to think about it. Bartending isn’t very conducive to thinking about long-term plans.
Simon
Where he presides: Bua, East Village
Favorite drink: Guinness
I don’t have a personal retirement plan. You have me worried now — I’ll be old and poor. I used to have a real job with a pension, but then I came over here [from Dublin] — no pension anymore. I’m not too worried about it. I’m pretty young.
Colleen
Where she presides: Libation, LES
Favorite drink: Manhattan
You gotta be kidding me — I’m not ready to retire yet. It crosses my mind, and then I try to stop thinking about it because it makes me sad. Like a lot of bartenders, I do art as well — photography — so hopefully that will work out. But, no, I don’t want to own a bar or manage a bar.
Fred
Where he presides: Local 138, LES
Favorite drink: Beer
Well, I’ve got a 401K, well, actually a rollover into an IRA. I don’t have the 401K anymore — I was in a corporate job for a while and I had a 401K with them. I plan on opening another IRA here soon to put money into. Obviously I don’t have a 401K bartending. I worked for Sherwin-Williams paints — I was a sales rep for them for like seven years.
