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Liqiuang, In 2104, Congress backtracked and undid a cut to veterans’ benefits – just two months after passing them in a budget bill in 2013.
The cuts—to start just two years later in 2015 -- would have meant, a 1 percent reduction in the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) applied annually to retired, 20-year veterans’ pensions before they turn 62. According to Congressional Research Service, the COLA change would have hit up to 750,000 military retirees currently under the age of 62 (meaning people ALREADY retired). If that's not low I don't' know what is.
In a nutshell, since the overwhelming majority of military members retire relatively early and resume new careers, it would reduce the annual COLA by 1% until they reached age 62, at which point the COLA would return to normal. It would have affected about 750k or the 22 million people receiving military retirement benefits.
Would that suck? Yes. End of the world? No, and there is a huge difference between a 1% change to a cost of living increase to people on defined benefit pensions and deciding to seize people's 401k accounts. The former hardly indicates a willingness to do the latter.
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Originally Posted by selhars
What will their cutoff be? 100K, 250K, 400K? more? Will they care that 250K in a 401K saved over 20 years for a person’s retirement is not the same as earning 250K a year? (I use that number because 250K seems to be ‘a favorite number’ tax threshold of certain politicians.)
250k is sometimes seen as an income threshold, not an account balance. The raiding 401k thing is nothing more than irrational fear mongering.
You have your opinion of that which of course you're entitled to.
1) I know what the bill said and did -- and it would have affected already retired veterans.
And I think, an opinion I also am in titled to, that if Congress would make a change to COLAs for already retire vets -- to save that bit of money, that someone might indeed be eyeing 401ks. A different move to be sure -- but look at changes O ba ma wanted to make to IRAs.
Source: https://www.irahelp.com/slottreport/...our-retirement
-- Limit Roth Conversions to Pre-Tax Dollars
-- “Harmonize” the RMD Rules for Roth IRAs with the RMD Rules for Other Retirement Accounts (meaning you have to start taking the money out and 70 1/2)
-- Eliminate RMDs if Your Total Savings in Tax-Favored Retirement Accounts is $100,000 or Less
-- Create a 28% Maximum Tax Benefit for Contributions to Retirement Accounts
-- Establish a “Cap” on Retirement Savings Prohibiting Additional Contributions
2) Also, it's not about how many people were affected and whether it was 'the end of the world' the point is congress did it (and UNdid it)
Quote:
there is a huge difference between a 1% change to a cost of living increase to people on defined benefit pensions and deciding to seize people's 401k accounts. The former hardly indicates a willingness to do the latter.
….The raiding 401k thing is nothing more than irrational fear mongering.
I believe the Supreme Court has told the current administration a couple of times already that things they HAVE done were not Constitutional -- AFTER the fact.
Keep on underestimated what Congress, or any elected official, might do.
I live in a state where a bill was passed taxing people for the rain water runoff amount that the STATE would calculate you have on your property. And one called the toilet flushing tax (uh fee). So don't think lawmakers won't get as creative as they can to get money out of your hands and into theirs. As I said, keep on presuming they WON'T do -- or have no interesting doing something or other.
MCNE, same here. I really don't have much of a budget, because despite eating out all the time I have enough to put money (not max out but enough that I'm happy with it) -- into both a 401K and Roth IRA. I'm boosting my savings a bit now for nine years from now, but I'm still eating out and taking small trips. All I'm waiting for is Medicare. (and if we go to universal health care I might retire before then.)
But when I retire, especially if I try to live just off my pension, my budget will be SUPER tight. And you know what? I don't even think I'll care because I won't be working! IF I have to tap savings, or work under the table (but you didn't see that), or work seasonally instead of tapping savings or to make travel money -- I can live with that. No matter what -- I AM retiring at 65. I'll have to live on what I have then. But as of now -- that timing is set.
And I think, an opinion I also am in titled to, that if Congress would make a change to COLAs for already retire vets -- to save that bit of money, that someone might indeed be eyeing 401ks. A different move to be sure -- but look at changes O ba ma wanted to make to IRAs.
You're still making a really big leap to take it from a COLA reduction to actually taking money from someone's retirement account. None of the IRA changes is anywhere in the same league either, like I said irrational fear mongering that one sees on infowars type conspiracy websites... the government is not going to take the money you've put in your 401k.
Quote:
Originally Posted by selhars
Keep on underestimated what Congress, or any elected official, might do.
I live in a state where a bill was passed taxing people for the rain water runoff amount that the STATE would calculate you have on your property. And one called the toilet flushing tax (uh fee). So don't think lawmakers won't get as creative as they can to get money out of your hands and into theirs. As I said, keep on presuming they WON'T do -- or have no interesting doing something or other.
Have a nice day in your world.
I'm not underestimating anything, you're making the astounding jumps from one thing to something entirely different. Congress passing something that reduces a cost of living adjustment for retirees younger than 62 has become something you point out at to just let your imagination run wild. If congress would reduce a COLA then they would surely put us in FEMA camps! Don't underestimate congress!
Hey... my 96 year old American born Japanese neighbor was sent along with his family to a detention center...
Laws are passed all the time that end up at the Supreme Court.
If push comes to shove there could very well be changes.
All we can do is plan with the best available information...
Eliminating debt has been a traditional method and entering retirement with a paid off home has made retirement possible for millions because it provides options.
I spent $350 at the chart house in SA just a couple of months ago but no way that's continuing in 2019. I don't even track my eating out spending at the moment. Probably a bad habit.
Better start cutting back NOW to be sure you can do it rather than retire early and hate it because you HAVE to eat cheap then.
No thats not the norm at some place like the Chart House. Not even close but I do love the dine-in movies but I wouldn't consider that very high-end. I follow what you are getting at.
Hey... my 96 year old American born Japanese neighbor was sent along with his family to a detention center...
Laws are passed all the time that end up at the Supreme Court.
If push comes to shove there could very well be changes.
All we can do is plan with the best available information...
Eliminating debt has been a traditional method and entering retirement with a paid off home has made retirement possible for millions because it provides options.
Ultrarunner,
That’s all I’m saying. You’re a voice of reason.
Thank you so much.
No thats not the norm at some place like the Chart House. Not even close but I do love the dine-in movies but I wouldn't consider that very high-end. I follow what you are getting at.
Also consider if you have grand kids that could squeeze the budget too!! Yesterday we took our two grand daughters ages 3 & 6 to a local corn maze and then out for lunch. It cost $50 entry fee for the 4 of us to take a hay ride, a trip through the corn maze, and the girls to go on couple of small rides. Lunch was at a pub, the girls had pizza and chicken tenders and us burgers. Adding two chocolate milks for them and sodas for us with tip that was another $50. Fortunately they wanted no trinkets or face painting because that would have been another $50!!
i agree . we are always paying to take the grand kids somewhere or picking up the check when we go out to eat with all the kids . it does cost a lot of money a month . we are 8 adults including spouses and 4 grand kids under 5 . not to mention tolls to get to all the kids are insane . that george washington bridge is 16 bucks to get to new jersey and the whitestone bridge to leave queens is 16 . you get a discount for having ez pass but it is still expensive to just get to the kids .
so all that increases the budget and it is not something you really would even think about when listing all your expenses on paper initially . .
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