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You definitely are behind the eight ball. Start an IRA immediately.
Actually I am not. If I work here 10 more yrs I will retire in WA with a $3,000 net monthly take home min from my pension. More than enough for me to be happy. I will play music or make coffee 2 days a week for fun if I want more money.
Even discounting the exaggeration and outright lying that these threads always attract, that's pretty terrible.
At least you do have a pension. Just hope that it doesn't get axed lest you be completely screwed. I'd be putting away as much as possible if I were you.
Define "terrible". I do have a GF, but no mortgage, kids or marriage to support. Pension is with a state government, never going away. My life is going about as good as I could possibly hoped at my age. You cannot take it with you, ya know?
If I were in a different circumstance (private sector) I'd have prepared differently and flooded a 401k. I find the fretting a bit moronic here though when people are wondering if $1 mil+ etc is enough. My dad worked in a pawn shop for Christ sakes and he and my mother are retired now and doing just fine off of social security alone. They own a home and are plenty happy.
Actually, you are. You must have bought the last crystal ball from your parent's pawn shop. Heading into retirement with just a $3k pension and so little in savings is a risky move. There are a lot of other state pensioners in the country who were also emphatic that those pensions were 'never going away'. I do hope it works out for you. My own rule of thumb has been to look forward to the pension, but to plan as though it won't be there.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sacite
Actually I am not. If I work here 10 more yrs I will retire in WA with a $3,000 net monthly take home min from my pension. More than enough for me to be happy. I will play music or make coffee 2 days a week for fun if I want more money.
Actually, you are. You must have bought the last crystal ball from your parent's pawn shop. Heading into retirement with just a $3k pension and so little in savings is a risky move. There are a lot of other state pensioners in the country who were also emphatic that those pensions were 'never going away'. I do hope it works out for you. My own rule of thumb has been to look forward to the pension, but to plan as though it won't be there.
I think a lot of the equation is whether healthcare is part of the pension and how good it is. Health is something that can never be planned for accurately.
Actually, you are. You must have bought the last crystal ball from your parent's pawn shop. Heading into retirement with just a $3k pension and so little in savings is a risky move. There are a lot of other state pensioners in the country who were also emphatic that those pensions were 'never going away'. I do hope it works out for you. My own rule of thumb has been to look forward to the pension, but to plan as though it won't be there.
Lol ok, well then my response is that the entire country could fall off a cliff (which it would if my state went under) in which case you are screwed as well my friend. There is no 100% fail safe investment. You are gambling as much ad I. But my particular investment has proven to be much more sound than the real estate or stock markets, no? History proves that.
We all make choices. My choice is to invest in.myself rather than going back for an MBA to try to scrape out $150k in the private sector and essentially live a lower quality of life to afford crap I don't want or need or prepare for a day that may never come. I respect that choice, but I want to live my life while I can. There is only so much money to go around in any scenerio. My dad didn't own the pawn shop dude, he was a $12 hr employee. Seems to be doing just fine today.
as i said in another thread a pension goes along with your own savings and investing not instead of it.
unexpected emergency spending ,healthcare shocks , helping family members and your own real inflation index can require large amounts of cash at times .
life is filled with the unexpected and to think otherwise is a plan based on hope not logic and reality.
the colas built into pensions follow a price index not a real cost of living index and your pension alone can leave you well behind what you need to keep up with bills.
ask the folks in Detroit how their pension feels, or Jefferson county Alabama, or Orange County or Stockton or San Bernardino. To wag your nose ignorantly like everything will be fine is silly.
You have only saved 10k in 38 years which is really next to nothing, you still have to work for 10 more years to possibly get 3k a month. Nothing is guaranteed
as i said in another thread a pension goes along with your own savings and investing not instead of it.
unexpected emergency spending ,healthcare shocks , helping family members and your own real inflation index can require large amounts of cash at times .
life is filled with the unexpected and to think otherwise is a plan based on hope not logic and reality.
the colas built into pensions follow a price index not a real cost of living index and your pension alone can leave you well behind what you need to keep up with bills.
ask the folks in Detroit how their pension feels, or Jefferson county Alabama, or Orange County or Stockton or San Bernardino. To wag your nose ignorantly like everything will be fine is silly.
You have only saved 10k in 38 years which is really next to nothing, you still have to work for 10 more years to possibly get 3k a month. Nothing is guaranteed
No **** Sherlock and if I lived in a state with an uncertain financial outlook I'd be highly concerened. I don't need to ask anyone from Detroit anything because if worked for their city government I'd have operated undrr the assumption that I'd get ZERO pension. Instead, I invested extra in Calpers by purchasing service credits, because it is one of the largest and most stable fund managers in the world. Please re-read that if you are confused. "If" they go under, I GUARANTEE whatever you have "responsibly" stuffed your money into is tanking straight down the toilet too. We each made an investment decision by weighing the risks involved.
$3k is "nothing" my a-- dude. I live a great life by spending far less than that per/mo now. If in your atomic bomb scenerio it did tank, I'd take the $200k so distribution on top of whatever else I have saved or invested and wipe the tears lol. Waaaa, how will I get by on that??
You can spend your life doing what you are doing and try to.prepare for a cruise at age 60 with a bunch of wrinkled farts talking about your past 25 yrd at the corp and all of your investments, or you can do like me and pour tbousands into learning and producing music, travel, skydive etc. I chose to.invest in myself, and I am 100% more happy since I shifted my life toward that focus.
No **** Sherlock and if I lived in a state with an uncertain financial outlook I'd be highly concerened. I don't need to ask anyone from Detroit anything because if worked for their city government I'd have operated undrr the assumption that I'd get ZERO pension. Instead, I invested EXTRA in Calpers by purchasing service credits, because it is one of the largest and most stable fund managers in the world. Please re-read that if you are confused. "If" they go under, I sure as s--t GUARANTEE whatever you have "responsibly" stuffed your money into is tanking straight down the toilet too. We each made an investment decision by weighing the risks involved.
$3k is "nothing" my a-- dude. I live a great life by spending far less than that per/mo now. If in your atomic bomb scenerio it did tank, I'd take the $200k so distribution on top of whatever else I have saved or invested and wipe the tears lol. Waaaa, how will I get by on that??
You can spend your life doing what you are doing and try to.prepare for a cruise at age 60 with a bunch of wrinkled farts talking about your past 25 yrd at the corp and a of your investments, or you can do like me and pur tbiusands into learning and producing music, travel, skydive etc. I chose to.invest in myself, and I am 100% more happy since I shifted my life toward that focus.
Good luck on your portfiloi(s).
I said saving 10k by 38 years old was nothing. Calpers could take a hit just so you know, it is one of the largest because if the number of people that participate but doesn't make it immune to having an issue down the road. 36k in net income, if that is net is nice but wouldn't get me to where I'd like. Don't worry about me and the amount of travel I do because I assure I far out travel most people and I do a fairly good job at saving. Could my investments tank? Sure that's why you don't see me ignorantly saying it couldn't be an issue
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