Retirement Planning - Lessons Learned

[Frankenkubota]

As far as i know, the only real pensions left for the working stiff are....


Go to work for uncle sam.

 

[MoKelly]

As far as i know, the only real pensions left for the working stiff are....


Go to work for uncle sam.

Ha! What do you call a society when all the citizens work for the government?

MoKelly

 

[CobyRupert]

As far as i know, the only real pensions left for the working stiff are....


Go to work for uncle sam.

Yes, in the 90’s the baby boomer ME generation took over and Capitalism went on a race to the bottom. A search for the cheapest labor. If American weren’t willing to work for less and without benefits, like pensions, they just moved the capital (production) offshore to somewhere cheaper. Meanwhile the worker to CEO wage ratio went from 1:3 to 1:500
They haven’t been totally successful in finding a way to outsource or offshore government jobs and bust their union and living wages...but they’ll keep trying.

 

[ultrarunner]

With Ultrarunner's post about mergers & takeovers - Always have an alternate plan. I worked for an aerospace company and was accumulating a nice retirement nest egg thru their plan when they were bought out. That money was frozen, could not get it out and it did not gain interest. There were law suits over that! So 20 years later when I retired, the principle became available, but the interest that it should have been accumulating was not. If it weren't for the other accounts I'd set up, I would not have been able to retire when I did.

It's something that wasn't even on my radar... come work for us and here is the benefit package...

I looked it all over and at the sit-down was told the bonus profit sharing is exceptional... and it was.. but timing is everything.

Being 35 months in on a 10 year vesting meant 20 cents on the dollar of what my account showed on match, profit sharing and bonus program...

The 6 week paid sabbatical every 5 years was also out of reach... no one got it as that merger happened in year 4

Had I had a crystal ball staying non-benefited would have been the smart move. It happened a second time and I argued same desk rule should apply... it did not but vesting was changed by Congress from 10 to 5 years and I was one in contact with my Congressman.

PT0 was similar in that approval required to use... we were just so darn busy and I was salaried... my PTO was 680+ hours..

Company implemented a 25% penalty to cash out so I left it in... and then later capped accrual so I said I'm taking 4 weeks this year and 4 the next and did.

All things learned along the way... and it was not just me... several of my airline pilot friends got decimated on their retirements...

Planning is great but sometimes it is better to be lucky like my god-sister working a high school intern program back in the 70's for this start-up called Apple in Cupertino... her dad said invest in your future put your entire paycheck in company stock and she did... the high school job with 45 years of dividends paying cash for their house, vacation home, kids educations, etc...

 

[ultrarunner]

As far as i know, the only real pensions left for the working stiff are....


Go to work for uncle sam.

Dad's advice always was work for the government... so far no one has...

12 of my High School friends became OPD... being 51 with a 180k pension and lifetime medical leaves lots of options in retirement...

Dad was right.

 

[KennyG]

You have to be pretty rich for that to be a consideration. The 2021 tax exemption is $11.7 million. It's not like your heirs are going to end up eating beans out of a can in a hobo jungle.

If you read Joe Biden's campaign platform, he intends to reduce that to $3.5 million. Others in the House would like to reduce it further. And there are no plans to index it to inflation. That starts to hit medium size farms and small business in some places.

Remember the alternative minimum tax that was originally going to target only a few dozen high income people? Now, unless it's amended each year, it would impact something like 30% of taxpayers.

 

[JethroB]

That's a political consideration. If you are worth over 11 million, go buy a Senator. They'll be glad to take your money.

One thing in favor of those with considerable assets is that many in Congress are quite wealthy themselves. They aren’t going to cut their own throat when it comes to taxes on inheritance, capital gains, and dividends.

 

[MossRoad]

The political discussions keep creeping into this thread, folks. I know it's hard not to, but it's not allowed, so please leave it out. Thanks.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

Envy is one of the seven deadly sins.

MoKelly

I refuse to go from politics to religion. Both of them are based on controlling people through fear.

 

[ultrarunner]

Some of America's wealthiest such as Gates and Buffet retirement planning is how to give away vast amounts of their fortunes and have advocated more giving across the higher income ranges.