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Well I'll tell ya..the government has spend every last dime I've ever given them in taxes about 4 times over. And now they want more of my money..the money I've been able to save inspite of them ?
They'll get my 401K money OVER MY DEAD BODY !!!!!!!
Just because I have money and they don't is no reason for them to go throwing around their control and power so they can get their grubby little hands on something that doesn't belong to them.
If they tried to confescate and dedistribute 401Ks there literally would be blood running in the streets.
If they tried to confescate and dedistribute 401Ks there literally would be blood running in the streets.
They did it in Argentina. No revolt. This country is full of pansies who are too afraid to do a "virtual" march against the IRS for fear of being audited.
Then perhaps educating people is the obvious solution?
Personally, I think a 401(K) is a damn good way to prepare for retirement. I have been using one since the mid 90s and have done quite well with it.
If you rely on a 401K for retirement, you did something wrong. Why would you leave the money you invest for your future on the fund programs picked for you, by your company, that you then have to cherry pick from?
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I read a great deal about people who have used 401(K)s and yet have little when the time comes to retire. The common element is that they do not save enough. Even casual discussions with my work colleagues here reveal most of them only put in something like 5%. That's fine if the language of your retirement includes, "Want fries with that?"
Again, you should do your own leg-work and invest your money where YOU think you should. Not where your company plan "suggests". When the tech bubble burst an acquaintance of mine, who invested money he could not afford to (1st rule of saving: don't save when you have debt) watched his 401K drop from the 100K range to the teens.
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Pensions were great things. But they are going the way of the dodo bird. Why? People are living longer. Same issue with Social Security and other entitlements. When will people wake up, ditch the paranoia, and realize this simple truth?
Pensions are going south b/c non-pensioned people don't get the free ride of $2-3K per month for putting in 20 years of service..but have to pay for it somehow. People are waking up....some "worker" who showed up to a job (my MIL is one of them, so I get it) put their required hours in, bitched about any penny taken away from them...but still rakes in a few good thousand bucks /month after 20 years of service is ridiculous. For working 9-5 answering phones in a government job. For working on an assembly line and putting the cheese on a hamburger headed out to a "retail" White Castle. For watching vats of vitamin -c get mixed..while playing poker all shift with your cronies. Really? That's "pension" deserving? At whose expense? Either the tax payers or the consumers.
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Annuities have their pros and cons. Anyone who thinks they will solve the problem is not paying attention. If the government could create the perfect vehicle for us to save, they would have done so already.
Al Gore already did. It's called the internet. Do your research on it and figure out what funds to invest in. Don't rely on your financial planner who will push anything at you to make a commission. Don't rely on your employer's "hired" fund manager to do anything but live off of any of the "offered" funds you sign up for.
Take control of your money. Do you own research. Invest in what you need to for the time of life you are in- high risk/low risk.
Last May, I wrote about the rumor that the Obama administration might seize funds from American's 401k and IRA accounts.
Last week, Bloomberg pointed out:
The Obama administration is weighing how the government can encourage workers to turn their savings into guaranteed income streams following a collapse in retiree accounts when the stock market plunged.
The U.S. Treasury and Labor Departments will ask for public comment as soon as next week on ways to promote the conversion of 401(k) savings and Individual Retirement Accounts into annuities or other steady payment streams, according to Assistant Labor Secretary Phyllis C. Borzi and Deputy Assistant Treasury Secretary Mark Iwry, who are spearheading the effort...
I fully expect that within our lifetimes, the feds will confiscate private retirement plans and "roll them into" social security. It goes along with the asset and income grab of the libs. They will rationilize it and state that it is just "paying back taxes" on a program that should never have been tax free. That way, they can state that is not really stealing.
I fully expect that within our lifetimes, the feds will confiscate private retirement plans and "roll them into" social security. It goes along with the asset and income grab of the libs. They will rationilize it and state that it is just "paying back taxes" on a program that should never have been tax free. That way, they can state that is not really stealing.
Right.."for the good of everyone"..right ?
So we all become poor and dependent on the government.....
Obviously, but in many cases, the number of positions needed to continue the re-scaled operations is fewer than the number of quality employees. You're naive to think that a lot of hard working people haven't been affected by RIFs.
Ultimately, though, the question is this -- who do you want controlling your retirement money? Your employer, or you? If you prefer to control it yourself, then the 401K is the way to go. Employers can still contribute, and most do. Admittedly, I'm one of the lucky ones who still gets a dollar-for-dollar match on the first 5% of salary I defer. But I control how my retirement money is invested. If my employer goes under, I'm not at the will of the PBGC.
Unless you are an employer, you can't establish a 401k profit sharing plan for yourself so you're at the mercy of your employer.
Odds are that you pick investments from a menu selected by your employer. 9.9 plans out of 10 are set up that way.
The PBGC has nothing to do with 401k plans...only defined benefit plans. So your plan money has nothing to do with the burdens/benefits of PBGC.
If you rely on a 401K for retirement, you did something wrong. Why would you leave the money you invest for your future on the fund programs picked for you, by your company, that you then have to cherry pick from?
Again, you should do your own leg-work and invest your money where YOU think you should. Not where your company plan "suggests". When the tech bubble burst an acquaintance of mine, who invested money he could not afford to (1st rule of saving: don't save when you have debt) watched his 401K drop from the 100K range to the teens.
Pensions are going south b/c non-pensioned people don't get the free ride of $2-3K per month for putting in 20 years of service..but have to pay for it somehow. People are waking up....some "worker" who showed up to a job (my MIL is one of them, so I get it) put their required hours in, bitched about any penny taken away from them...but still rakes in a few good thousand bucks /month after 20 years of service is ridiculous. For working 9-5 answering phones in a government job. For working on an assembly line and putting the cheese on a hamburger headed out to a "retail" White Castle. For watching vats of vitamin -c get mixed..while playing poker all shift with your cronies. Really? That's "pension" deserving? At whose expense? Either the tax payers or the consumers.
Al Gore already did. It's called the internet. Do your research on it and figure out what funds to invest in. Don't rely on your financial planner who will push anything at you to make a commission. Don't rely on your employer's "hired" fund manager to do anything but live off of any of the "offered" funds you sign up for.
Take control of your money. Do you own research. Invest in what you need to for the time of life you are in- high risk/low risk.
Ummm... my 401(K), which has done exceptionally well since I first began it some years ago, is but one sector of my retirement. The rest of your post is quasi-mindless blather.
I am schooled in finance. Don't waste your silliness on me.
At stake for the millions of Americans with private retirement plans: Would they be able to continue making their own investment decisions? Or would Congress mandate both investment options and distribution methods? Government Retirement Accounts also would prevent workers from owning their retirement savings fully, as they could bequeath only half of their remaining account balances to their heirs.
I have heard about this since the 1980's. Back then the threat was that money you took out of retirement accounts, or what the Feds assume you should have taken out, would be counted against your SS benefits. Politically it did not stand a chance, nor does this one. The elderly vote consistently and politicians know this. In Illinois, a policy of free transit rides for those over 65 stays in place despite the severe budget crisis.
I see the entire 401 system as a gift to the finance industry that has greatly benefitted from amateurs investing in the market. This is one of the hidden disasters we have had since the Raygun 80's. The loss of defined benefit pensions has been a disaster for working people.
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