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That's right. Use your last paycheck to buy a one-way ticket! Some posted about the advantages of a 401k plan, ignoring the fact that about half of workers don't have access to one.
Honestly, you don’t need those vehicles to save, after tax savings is fine. We have one member here who don’t even put in 401k. My husband and I never had 401k in one job so we know.
In fact, one of my kids don’t have any retirement plan at work, she maxes out at $6000 for Roth IRA, but she has a big bonus coming up and I told her to open a brokerage account t and bank it, well most of it.
I also showed her the chart from NYTimes on what kind of esavings you need to be in certain percentile category. Obviously, she needs to aim higher. Of course she loves her job, but she also has to save.
Honestly, you don’t need those vehicles to save, after tax savings is fine. We have one member here who don’t even put in 401k. My husband and I never had 401k in one job so we know.
In fact, one of my kids don’t have any retirement plan at work, she maxes out at $6000 for Roth IRA, but she has a big bonus coming up and I told her to open a brokerage account t and bank it, well most of it.
I also showed her the chart from NYTimes on what kind of esavings you need to be in certain percentile category. Obviously, she needs to aim higher. Of course she loves her job, but she also has to save.
Save your breath, NH.
It's the pity-poor-me thread. They don't want solutions, they want tea and sympathy. Just about any thread in the Retirement forum about savings eventually devolves into such.
It's a generation shift. I don't believe you are a boomer..right ? Most of my peers I had worked with for over 25 years. Many of us started out together and knew each other since new employee orientation and training.
The 401K was a shift away from pensions as workers didn't view their jobs as 30 year career jobs.
The shift away from traditional pension plans to 401ks was due to the cost to administer such plans.
And it's not like people, especially boomers, do not view their jobs as 30-year career jobs. I, along with my friends, would have loved to stay at a job for 30+ years. But companies nowadays are sleezy operations. You work hard, get promotions, and work your way up the ladder. But when it's time for cuts, companies go after the bigger salaries.
I am 63 and want to retire next year. I have been riffed four times in my career, most recently in April of 2016. I was one of the luckier ones. I got rehired in Feb 2017 by the company which laid me off. Was hired into a different role but they matched my old salary...hard to do at age 61.
Despite the lack of a traditional pension, wife and I will be fine. We invested in our 401ks over the years and really ramped it up the last 5-7 years. We did not follow the "Dave Ramsey" plan. We sent our kids to out-of-state colleges and took multiple awesome vacations each year.
I do think that overall there is a national retirement crisis looming. I have relatives nearing 65 with zero retirement savings, no pensions, and only modest SS benefits. They plan to work forever. Problem with that plan is that at some point we become unemployable...for various reasons.
Well the breakdown is that 32% of boomers have less than $10K saved.
Also..did you see the methodology for that survey at the bottom of the article ?
They surveyed individuals and asked for their best estimate on how much they have saved. What if they have cushy pensions ? That was not asked.
You've got better studies coming from the likes of Fidelity and the Federal Government.
I have a whopping $3K in my savings account which I keep for any house repair emergencies. However I get a decent pension from the Veteran's Administration and DFAS from my late husband's 20 years in the military. Plus with my SSDI and very part time job I'm comfortable. Can't afford any luxurious vacations but I'm secure knowing that the only decrease in income I will face in the future is when I stop working but my job is the smallest amount of $$ I get in a month; well other than the huge $100 a month from my husband's Social Security.
The shift away from traditional pension plans to 401ks was due to the cost to administer such plans.
And it's not like people, especially boomers, do not view their jobs as 30-year career jobs. I, along with my friends, would have loved to stay at a job for 30+ years. But companies nowadays are sleazy operations. You work hard, get promotions, and work your way up the ladder. But when it's time for cuts, companies go after the bigger salaries.
Amen. My first job change was for better opportunities. The rest were "get me outta here" changes in one way or another, including one where I'd been thrown out on the tarmac as part of a cost-cutting before an IPO.
I'd say the shift to 401(k)s was also a risk-cutting move. One employer I had actually contributed 6% to the 401(k) for anyone not covered by the recently-terminated pension plan regardless of whether you contributed anything else- and then they matched 100% of the first 6% you contributed. A class act- but essentially they dumped the investment risk and longevity risk onto the employees. Sleazier companies terminated the pension plan and didn't replace it with anything or replaced it with a 401(k) but no match.
Quote:
Originally Posted by fluffythewondercat
Save your breath, NH.
It's the pity-poor-me thread. They don't want solutions, they want tea and sympathy. Just about any thread in the Retirement forum about savings eventually devolves into such.
It's the pity-poor-me thread. They don't want solutions, they want tea and sympathy. Just about any thread in the Retirement forum about savings eventually devolves into such.
I don't think it's "tea and sympathy" as much as the median person in this country has few resources and little slack in the budget.
I'm more affluent than average in my local area, but it doesn't feel like I am where I am %age wise. I have a townhome, a newer Jeep, and took a weeklong vacation this year. I don't have a pool. I don't have a boat. I don't have a big house with all the trimmings. I contribute 12% to my 401k, which is more than a lot of folks I know can do.
Most of the people I know are paycheck to paycheck or even worse. I saw a buddy a few weeks ago and he was complaining about how he has to be careful where he drives so he can ration his gas money. I'd say 80% of my social circle is "just getting by." I can't imagine they have much for retirement.
I don't think it's "tea and sympathy" as much as the median person in this country has few resources and little slack in the budget.
I'm more affluent than average in my local area, but it doesn't feel like I am where I am %age wise. I have a townhome, a newer Jeep, and took a weeklong vacation this year. I don't have a pool. I don't have a boat. I don't have a big house with all the trimmings. I contribute 12% to my 401k, which is more than a lot of folks I know can do.
Most of the people I know are paycheck to paycheck or even worse. I saw a buddy a few weeks ago and he was complaining about how he has to be careful where he drives so he can ration his gas money. I'd say 80% of my social circle is "just getting by." I can't imagine they have much for retirement.
Why don't you (and they) get the heck OUT of Tennessee?
I don't think it's "tea and sympathy" as much as the median person in this country has few resources and little slack in the budget.
I'm more affluent than average in my local area, but it doesn't feel like I am where I am %age wise. I have a townhome, a newer Jeep, and took a weeklong vacation this year. I don't have a pool. I don't have a boat. I don't have a big house with all the trimmings. I contribute 12% to my 401k, which is more than a lot of folks I know can do.
Most of the people I know are paycheck to paycheck or even worse. I saw a buddy a few weeks ago and he was complaining about how he has to be careful where he drives so he can ration his gas money. I'd say 80% of my social circle is "just getting by." I can't imagine they have much for retirement.
We made several suggestions to you and we’ve heard more excuses back. So that’s why I’m not surprised 80% of your social circle would be just getting by. Maybe they have the same mental block.
Even in California, had my family stayed back in one area we would be in dire poverty. Have you heard of Yucaipa?
Why don't you (and they) get the heck OUT of Tennessee?
I haven't received a better offer. With that said, I have a relatively easy job, a good boss, and am paid fairly well by local standards. My job prior to this seemed like a great match on paper - once I got there, it was hellish. With things going relatively well, I don't want to upset the apple cart. Having a boss you like
If I could get 50% more in Raleigh, I'd move. I'm not moving for a 10% raise. I frequently get recruiters from where I used to live in Iowa reaching out to me. This area isn't perfect, but overall, I'd rather live here than Iowa.
We made several suggestions to you and we’ve heard more excuses back. So that’s why I’m not surprised 80% of your social circle would be just getting by. Maybe they have the same mental block.
Even in California, had my family stayed back in one area we would be in dire poverty. Have you heard of Yucaipa?
Yeah, but you can drive 60 miles from Yucaipa and be in one of the most prosperous job markets on the planet. It's not much of a move. From eastern Tennessee, prosperity is much farther away.
At my 40th high school reunion a few years ago, pretty much all of the top-10% of my graduating class who went to good colleges had lived their whole adult live elsewhere. A few of us had summer homes because it's a nice coastal town but people with any kind of career objectives move.
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