Are You Saving Towards Retirement?

Its too late!

 

well, one of us is at the moment. i wish they'd set up company matching already <_<

we have a loooong way to go before retirement though.

 

That's a really weird question/comment.

Who WOULD need to "save" money for retirement?

It's like they never heard of Social Security!

 

:lol:

My company does percentage match up to 5% which is really a huge help and really advanced for a non-profit. I was a single parent for many years, living took the place of saving so I am definitely behind.

Hoping the daughter and her husband stay gainfully employed and keep a room open for me!!

Just kidding, my mother makes me crazy, would not do it to my kid!

 

We fully fund ours and our employees retirement accounts.
Our donation is an amount equal to 15% of ours and our employees salary.
We have no say how risky their investments are, we only have say in ours.
This will be the 18th year we have done so.
We have never had an employee leave.
My retirement account is getting quite comfortable.
The better business decision would be a 401K but know our secretaries would not participate because they would not come up with the matching funds and loose a great benifit.
That would be advantagous to me as I wouldn't have to fund theirs but could legaly fund mine. I am happy to not be a great busisnessman but not have to deal with unions.

 

First off, I don't ever plan on "retiring". At any moment I could give the world the finger and go scavenge/live off the land somewhere warm. Most old folks I know wish they had something to do now that they're bored and feel like they're simply waiting for the end.

Personally, I don't save for retirement at all. I'd like to think I live a great life now, while I'm young and it's meaningful. I have more stupid toys than most my age, have traveled extensively, and will continue to do so. I'm totally happy dying broke living in a shack near a beach somewhere warm. I don't want to be an old man hobbling around consuming vast resources at the expense of my youth. Should I find myself in my 60's with no money to pay for a simple operation that can extend my life by X years, fine, I'll die. I'm fine with that. Of course, knowing me, I would likely hold up a bank and go out with a bang...! :lol:

...and I'm not playing devil's advocate with this one either.

 

Oh, I did want to bring this angle up for discussion purposes and thought:

What makes anyone think their 401K plan is any safer than Enron?

Unless there's something I don't know, unless anything is backed 100% by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government, all is still at risk. Hopefully, y'all diversify, and NOT leave all your eggs in one basket....

 

social security, yeah right, with the chimp doing his best
to dismantle it..
.
_H*

 

Good point, today Fox News had some financial guy that was saying that employees are not safe depending on just their SS and 401K. Many of these 401K are mismanaged by the company, robbed or Enron'd.

Wildkow

 

Yes.

But I don't think it's going to do me much good.

I have a pension, but I believe the Governor will take that money, not pay it back, privatize it with me right before whatever cut off date is chosen so I have no hope of making up the diffrerence, whatever......I'm going to be cheated of my pension.

I've been putting money in a TSA since I was 30. But again....I don't think that's going to do me much good. The Stock market will suck, inflation will eat a lot of it and I just can't put enough in there to make a difference. Certainly not enough to last 30 years.

I had wanted to retire at 58. I've been working my entire life toward that goal. Now I think I'll be working until at least 65. I may have to just continue working until I die. I may have to do that anyway since once I retire I won't have any healthcare unless I pay for it. And I won't be able to afford to pay for it if my pension is looted and the stock market tanks. I think it will cost somewhere around $400-500 a month to maintain the same coverage I have now.

My parents both have Social Security. What a joke. It hardly pays their Blue Cross premiums.

I guess since my family was never in the "rich" category we are doomed to slip down until we're "poor". That seems to be the way America is going..either you're rich or you're poor. But we'll never be poor enough to be helped by the government either.

Call me a pessimist...but I expect before I die I'll lose my home, my pension and all of my savings. Isn't that what has to happen before I qualify for help from the government? Maybe I'll save up my meds so right before they take my house I can just OD.

 

Diversification does make it safer. I did lose about 1/3 of the value of my IRA when the tech boom crashed, but its back up to its prior level. I'm much more diversified now (I thought I was before because I held several mutual funds, but I found they were all investing in the same sectors!)

 

Most people on social security have already earned back more than they paid in ... the payback time used to be something like 4 - 5 years.

Current regulations let you keep your residence and one car, and get medicaid, Medicare and other help. But in the end, health care costs are what does in most people. The alternative to spending your money on staying alive is to die, so it seems a fair trade.

My mother lost more than half her income when my father died, and their house payment was about the same as the income she got from Social Security. But she did have equity, so now she has a home she lives in without a mortgage, and a "nest egg" in the bank that will last her 10 years if she remains healthy. If she doesn't just up and die, but gets unhealthy first, then all of that nest egg will be used up, the reverse mortgage will be refinanced, and she'll use that money. We have structured it so there will be no inheritance, but we'd rather have her around another few years than a pile of money.

 

You touched upon another big issue:

Most financial advisors know barely more than you (at least, in terms of the essentials), and on top of that, only represent a handful of choices (and those are the better ones). So, you do what the wealthy do if you can pull it off, have several different advisors, for which each does not know of the existence of the others... h34r:

 

I have been saving the max pre tax allowed since I was 28, now have about 700,000 in various ira's 401's 403's my employer matches 401 to 4% of salary.

Once they start taking it out of your check you learn not to even miss the money.
Putting about $20,000 a year away right now.

 

I take it you're making a joke about SS. Nobody can live on SS. If our President and/or future Presidents get their way SS will be cut drastically.

 

Yep, we both have IRA's and also my wife's group just started a 401k w/ matching.

 

My wife has a 401K-company matches 50 cents to her 1 dollar up to 5%. We are biting the bullet at 7%. Unfortunately, I have no way to do a retirement with my current cheap employer. It's up to all of us to take care of ourselves.

The govt. can't be relied upon to help us in our old age. Look at how they're treating seniors regarding buying prescription drugs from Canada. Some people are near the brink of buying medicine or going without food.

In any event it's not good for many of us.

 

All employers should be as caring as you are. Many have the don't give a damn attitude regarding their employees.

 

Many old people will say they want something to do. If you ask them to volunteer they won't do it. Guess it's really not about just something to do.