Retirement planning

[newbury]

My friends at the lab experienced the same... quite a change going from loving your job go counting the days...

At our lab most of the senior staff experienced the KMAG syndrome after which life immediately looked better.
KMAG was achieved when all the retirement wickets were conquered, time in service, age, etc. That was the point we could turn to our bosses and say Kiss My A Goodbye.

You could tell us apart bye the inner peace we felt.

 

[NY_Yankees_Fan]

At our lab most of the senior staff experienced the KMAG syndrome after which life immediately looked better. KMAG was achieved when all the retirement wickets were conquered, time in service, age, etc. That was the point we could turn to our bosses and say Kiss My A Goodbye. You could tell us apart bye the inner peace we felt.

177days until I can say KMAG, how do I remain motivated in those remaining days is my problem....

 

[ultrarunner]

At our lab most of the senior staff experienced the KMAG syndrome after which life immediately looked better.
KMAG was achieved when all the retirement wickets were conquered, time in service, age, etc. That was the point we could turn to our bosses and say Kiss My A Goodbye.

You could tell us apart bye the inner peace we felt.

No longer having a company match to the 401k has led me to do my own calculations and arrive at the same point of inner peace.

I've been averaging 250 hours per month for the last 4 months with only Thanksgiving Day off... the corporate CEO sent a memo stating I had to the end of the year to personally do some facility painting that would require after hours and weekends... my response is I've already put in 600 hours of unpaid overtime this year and asked if I should start packing... I'm the Director of Engineering and just completed a very complicated Tenant Improvement for a new Imaging center... and I'm salaried.

CEO said I am defiant when I asked if painting is his number one priority for me... no heated exchanges, all very civil... you just get to a point where the line has been crossed.

I did run my Social Security Calculator and if I left today and never worked another day... in 7 years I would start receiving $1400 per month...

If I continued to work the next 13 years I would start receiving $2400 per month.

If I continued to work the next 30 years I would receive $3400 per month... (All numbers rounded)

So... now I know where I stand on retirement dollars and Social Security

The last several years have been trying... many of my colleagues have simply left... even Directors and Department Heads... without so much as saying goodbye... no longer even a pot luck or party... they just say they are done and leave.

I think I number 2 in terms of years with the Hospital... I would say seniority but we no longer use the term.

 

[RedNeckGeek]

Good point, newbury. I reached KMAG status a good two years before I pulled the plug, and was very open with management about what they could expect of me and the kind of assignments I would be happy in. It was a great comfort when things started going sideways.

One thing I don't think I've mentioned with respect to 401K plans, is that it is possible to roll over something like 50% of the funds in a 401K into an IRA, and you can do this long before you reach age 62. I think I was in my early 50s when I did it. There was no cost or penalty involved, and after it was done I was able to have a much broader variety of funds, ETFs, REITs, and even individual stocks in which I could invest. Most company sponsored 401K plans only offer a small selection of mutual funds, most with performance figures that rarely meet the average for their peer group. When I did retire, the balance of my 401K went into the same IRA.

Another thing, one that I'm pretty sure that I did mention, is that nobody cares about your money as much as you do. Every so called "advisor" I've worked with was never satisfied until all of my money was invested in mutual funds offered by his company. That's how they make their commissions. But that's not a very good strategy for surviving the inevitable downturns in the stock market. Keep in mind that the mutual fund managers make money no matter which way the market goes, so their main motivation is to have as many of your dollars under their management as possible.

Those managers will also insist you have so much of your money in bonds as well, usually in another of their funds. I'm here to tell you I've lost money in those bond funds, just in the last year or so when the Fed started hinting it was going to taper Quantitative Easing. I also lost when shares of individual corporate bonds became worthless when the company that issued them went bankrupt. All of those investments were counciled by the so called advisers, and it didn't take many experiences like that to make me realize I'd be much better off making my own mistakes than following the party line of "buy and hold" and "bonds are a safety net".

 

[RedNeckGeek]

Wow, ultra, I feel your pain. My last manager was infamous for selling the world to outside customers, and only after the promises were made telling staff they'd have to make the deliverable. That meant at least 20 hours/week of uncompensated overtime, none of which we were supposed to work unless he had obtained specific authorization from upper management. It was a clear case of his management incompetence causing undue stress on his employees, but nobody had the spine to call him on it. In my case it was easier to walk away, and just the motivator I needed to start retirement. I can't imagine any situation calling for management level employees to perform manual labor during unpaid overtime hours, unless the goal is to motivate them to quit or otherwise leave the company so as to save paying their elevated salaries. At the very least it's a sign of incompetence. Even though salaried, I think there are state labor laws that limit the number of overtime hours worked, so you might do some googling or consult with a knowledgeable attorney about your situation.

Good luck!

 

[doxford jim]

I am convinced that more than 60% of managerial promotions are nothing more than promoting incompetence, that the yes people have somewhere to go - never mind being good at the job or better. I sure have seen my share.
I also will say the same for the so called "financial advisors" too - as sjmarbu so eloquently describes above.

 

[NY_Yankees_Fan]

Every so called "advisor" I've worked with was never satisfied until all of my money was invested in mutual funds offered by his company. That's how they make their commissions. But that's not a very good strategy for surviving the inevitable downturns in the stock market. Keep in mind that the mutual fund managers make money no matter which way the market goes, so their main motivation is to have as many of your dollars under their management as possible. Those managers will also insist you have so much of your money in bonds as well, usually in another of their funds. I'm here to tell you I've lost money in those bond funds, just in the last year or so when the Fed started hinting it was going to taper Quantitative Easing. I also lost when shares of individual corporate bonds became worthless when the company that issued them went bankrupt. All of those investments were counciled by the so called advisers, and it didn't take many experiences like that to make me realize I'd be much better off making my own mistakes than following the party line of "buy and hold" and "bonds are a safety net".

If you do not pay for financial advise how do you expect the person to make $$$$????

That is why I have used a "pay for advisor" they have no interest in how much THEY will make on the advise they give you. If you use a company such as Vanguard they have the lowest fund cost. Use a pay for advisor and use Vanguard funds is the way to do it. If the advisor does not ask for $$ for his advise, run away, he has His interest first, yours second.

 

[ultrarunner]

Wow, ultra, I feel your pain. My last manager was infamous for selling the world to outside customers, and only after the promises were made telling staff they'd have to make the deliverable. That meant at least 20 hours/week of uncompensated overtime, none of which we were supposed to work unless he had obtained specific authorization from upper management. It was a clear case of his management incompetence causing undue stress on his employees, but nobody had the spine to call him on it. In my case it was easier to walk away, and just the motivator I needed to start retirement. I can't imagine any situation calling for management level employees to perform manual labor during unpaid overtime hours, unless the goal is to motivate them to quit or otherwise leave the company so as to save paying their elevated salaries. At the very least it's a sign of incompetence. Even though salaried, I think there are state labor laws that limit the number of overtime hours worked, so you might do some googling or consult with a knowledgeable attorney about your situation.

Good luck!

Not sure how it will ultimately play out... hours worked are all documented to the letter.

Benefits started to disappear as early as 1998 and then again a big push in 2008...

The current push is to cut cost and defer maintenance to get operating numbers way down to increase shareholder value in contemplation of sale...

A very good friend of mine shared some advice... he said never do anything rash over a bad day at work... his rule was he had to leave work pissed off 3 consecutive days before leaving for good.

I've shared this with others who found it helpful.

There is another whole element that comes into the picture and that is family... working late is one thing... coming home and hearing about it from a spouse is another... or the kids when you're a no show at their activities...

 

[Ken]

Not sure how it will ultimately play out... hours worked are all documented to the letter.

Benefits started to disappear as early as 1998 and then again a big push in 2008...

The current push is to cut cost and defer maintenance to get operating numbers way down to increase shareholder value in contemplation of sale...

A very good friend of mine shared some advice... he said never do anything rash over a bad day at work... his rule was he had to leave work pissed off 3 consecutive days before leaving for good.

I've shared this with others who found it helpful.

There is another whole element that comes into the picture and that is family... working late is one thing... coming home and hearing about it from a spouse is another... or the kids when you're a no show at their activities...

Ulrarunner
Always remember no matter how much you are valued at work. the day you leave they say cannot do with out you.
And six months later it is old what his name used to work here.

ken

 

[Steppenwolfe]

Not sure how it will ultimately play out... hours worked are all documented to the letter.

Benefits started to disappear as early as 1998 and then again a big push in 2008...

The current push is to cut cost and defer maintenance to get operating numbers way down to increase shareholder value in contemplation of sale...

A very good friend of mine shared some advice... he said never do anything rash over a bad day at work... his rule was he had to leave work pissed off 3 consecutive days before leaving for good.

I've shared this with others who found it helpful.

There is another whole element that comes into the picture and that is family... working late is one thing... coming home and hearing about it from a spouse is another... or the kids when you're a no show at their activities...

Ah... There in lays the rub, the Quality of life vs the Quantity of the dollars to be gathered, How do any of us know the correct percentage ?