401K

[gipper]

As long as they pay in what's the problem?

Lol. They don’t. Many receive pensions that match their salary. Plus many also receive HC, if they are under 65 years of age.

Most public pensions are not paid for by the public worker.

 

[TNHarley]

At your young age, it’s best to stay in the market. You’ve got a long time before retirement. You also need to get yourself educated on financial issues.

I agree. I am financially responsible but i dont understand much about how all this retirement shit works.
I was freaking out.. Like i said, I have only been in this for a few years and for that few years, it just kept growing and growing... and then BOOM. Freaked me out.
I will start putting money back in and do like care4all said and just not look at it. Lolz
Thanks everyone! I feel much better now!!

 

[Blues Man]

Still missing the point.
Nothing you are saying is incorrect. You are 100% right.
But you are not accounting for the fact that the majority of Americans are so financially irresponsible they will do nothing of the sort.
And that is OUR problem. WE will be the ones paying taxes to support them later.

Well those people aren't saving enough for retirement anyway so there's not much we can do about it.

 

[rightwinger]

Moving from "aggressive" in the early years, to "moderate" in the middle years, to "conservative" in the years leading up to retirement. Because I'm lucky enough to have pensions, e

I have a solid Civil Service pension that pays most of my retirement
I keep my 401k primarily in stocks (2/3) because that has been the only investment that has shown solid gains in the last 20 years
I also bought a second house which went up significantly in value in the last two years

 

[Blues Man]

Lol. They don’t. Many receive pensions that match their salary. Plus many also receive HC, if they are under 65 years of age.

Most public pensions are not paid for by the public worker.

I thought you were saying the got Social Security. No one gets that if they do not pay into it. And as far as I know people do pay in to their pension plans

https://www.nasra.org/files/Issue%20Briefs/NASRAContribBrief.pdf

 

[rightwinger]

Most public pensions are not paid for by the public worker.

I don’t know of any that aren’t
I had to pay half

 

[WorldWatcher]

What’s even more frustrating and upsetting is public workers still get pensions and often SS benefits too. This results in many public sector retirees receiving gold plated retirements.

If public sector workers shouldn't receive SS benefits, then don't take them out of public sector workers checks. I would have been fine saving that money from my paycheck and plowing it into my 401K as over a career I'd probably get a better rate of return.

However, as a public sector worker I can tell you that when I retire my Pension + SS Benefits will replace about 76% (I just ran the numbers) of my current income. I will no longer be eligible for employer medical/dental/vision and will be required to enroll in MediCare Parts B and pay a premium significantly higher then my employer plan. So while yes, there are stories of individuals that have gamed the system, and people like to point to the top echelon. But in general the vast majority of public sector workers will OK, but it's not the free ride on easy street that many think it is.

WW

 

[gipper]

I don’t know of any that aren’t
I had to pay half

Half? Lol.

I know a guy who retired at 50. He worked in the public sector about twenty years. He bought 10 years seniority when that was allowed many years ago, for a small amount. He gets his public pension monthly that nearly equals his salary while working. He also gets gold plated HC at little cost, until he reaches 65. He also will collect SS when he’s eligible.

 

[Blues Man]

If public sector workers shouldn't receive SS benefits, then don't take them out of public sector workers checks. I would have been fine saving that money from my paycheck and plowing it into my 401K as over a career I'd probably get a better rate of return.

However, as a public sector worker I can tell you that when I retire my Pension + SS Benefits will replace about 76% (I just ran the numbers) of my current income. I will no longer be eligible for employer medical/dental/vision and will be required to enroll in MediCare Parts B and pay a premium significantly higher then my employer plan. So while yes, there are stories of individuals that have gamed the system, and people like to point to the top echelon. But in general the vast majority of public sector workers will OK, but it's not the free ride on easy street that many think it is.

WW

That's the point.

If there is a government pension the employees pay into that instead of social security

Who is exempt from paying the FICA tax in the United States? - Financial Security for All

FICA stands for Federal Insurance Contributions Act. FICA consists of two separate payroll taxes: Social Security (6.2% of pay) and Medicare (1.45% of pay), for a total of 7.65%. This is paid equally by workers and their employers, for a total of 15.3% of pay (7.65% x 2). In the case of...

personal-finance.extension.org

The major exceptions are most civilian federal government employees hired before 1984 (they are covered by and pay the 1.45% tax for Medicare but not for Social Security retirement benefits) and about 25% of state and local government employees with a pension plan. There are also other limited exceptions that apply (e.g., some on-campus college student employment).

 

[WorldWatcher]

Lol. They don’t. Many receive pensions that match their salary. Plus many also receive HC, if they are under 65 years of age.

Most public pensions are not paid for by the public worker.

My pension will be 39.1% of my current salary, and that's if I wait until 65. The pension decreases for each year prior, so the replacement percentage actually goes down if I retire early.

As public sector employee I do not receive health care upon retirement, I can remain on my employers plan, but I then have to pay the full premium (Employer + Employer portions). Currently for my spouse and I that is about $2200 per month, for which I will receive a $100 stipend that can go toward health care as part of my pension.

Most "pensions" were/are not paid by any worker, defined benefits retirement plans (pensions) were/are paid by the employer at a time when people didn't job hop and thought in terms of careers with a company as part of their total compensation package.

WW

 

[WorldWatcher]

That's the point.

If there is a government pension the employees pay into that instead of social security

Who is exempt from paying the FICA tax in the United States? - Financial Security for All

FICA stands for Federal Insurance Contributions Act. FICA consists of two separate payroll taxes: Social Security (6.2% of pay) and Medicare (1.45% of pay), for a total of 7.65%. This is paid equally by workers and their employers, for a total of 15.3% of pay (7.65% x 2). In the case of...

personal-finance.extension.org

The major exceptions are most civilian federal government employees hired before 1984 (they are covered by and pay the 1.45% tax for Medicare but not for Social Security retirement benefits) and about 25% of state and local government employees with a pension plan. There are also other limited exceptions that apply (e.g., some on-campus college student employment).

I pay into my pension plan (5% of earnings and my employer also pays). In addition to that pension plan I pay into SS. The 1984 cutoff was 38 years ago, not very many of them still around.

WW

 

[Blues Man]

I pay into my pension plan (5% of earnings and my employer also pays). In addition to that pension plan I pay into SS. The 1984 cutoff was 38 years ago, not very many of them still around.

WW

is it a government pension plan?

 

[odanny]

So, over the last year, I have lost 13K bucks. I lost 1K since last Monday.
I have stopped putting money into it.
I tried to withdrawl all i could so i could put it in something safe, but of course, the govt tells you to fuck off.
I tried to get a hardship and just save what I could, and they want receipts on home repairs.
Now, im just sitting here watching part of my retirement whither down to nothing.
WTF can i do? Am I missing something? Is there a way I can get all my money out of the market?
Am i just freaking out for no reason?

When Covid hit, my 401K allowed emergency withdrawals. Right off the bat, people were taking money out of their 401K to pay off bills, just because they could. They took that money out when their accounts were down over 20%. Absolutely stupid they were.

Myself, I waited 6 months, and the moonshot rebound occurred. I was up 36% on the rebound, and withdrew 51K, which was all pure profit, and didn't touch my balance. I paid off a home addition and took around 15K and invested it in E*TRADE and bought up some stocks. I doubled that 15K with my investments, but have since lost 10K. I'm still up 5K.

Never withdraw money when the market is crashing. If it is a true emergency, this should be your absolute last resort. The market will be back, no one knows when. I have money in my cash account, and am waiting just a bit longer before I start buying again. Now is the time to buy, but be forewarned, your investments are still likely to shrink, because we probably have not hit bottom yet.

 

[rightwinger]

Half? Lol.

I know a guy who retired at 50. He worked in the public sector about twenty years. He bought 10 years seniority when that was allowed many years ago, for a small amount. He gets his public pension monthly that nearly equals his salary while working. He also gets gold plated HC at little cost, until he reaches 65. He also will collect SS when he’s eligible.

Which state?

I don’t know of any pension that allows you to retire at 50 with 20 years service at nearly full pay

Is he a cop?
Disabled?

 

[rightwinger]

is it a government pension plan?

Sounds federal (FERS)

 

[iamwhatiseem]

Well those people aren't saving enough for retirement anyway so there's not much we can do about it.

Which is why it was a disservice to the public to replace pensions with 401ks.
Like I said, 401ks were designed to get companies out of having to pay for pensions.
As well as a MASSIVE windfall to drive up stock values.
It worked flawlessly.
The few won, the majority lose

 

[basquebromance]

 

[gipper]

Which state?

I don’t know of any pension that allows you to retire at 50 with 20 years service at nearly full pay

Is he a cop?
Disabled?

Michigan. He was a state college professor.

 

[Blues Man]

Which is why it was a disservice to the public to replace pensions with 401ks.
Like I said, 401ks were designed to get companies out of having to pay for pensions.
As well as a MASSIVE windfall to drive up stock values.
It worked flawlessly.
The few won, the majority lose

Any business can offer whatever they want.

Besides not all employers offered pension plans anyway

 

[iamwhatiseem]

Any business can offer whatever they want.

Besides not all employers offered pension plans anyway

Most did.

Having said that - everything you are saying detracts from the most important point of all.
Likely over half of the population of my generation is going to be flat out broke and in debt late in life.
First time in our history this is true.
In another 10 years there are going to be millions of older people needing government assistance more than ever before.
All due to people not having pensions, and doing nothing to save for retirement.