Retirement thoughts Past Present Future

[ultrarunner]

If I may ask, did you have your employer's company stock in your 401K?

Way back when I was reading many things on 401K in the early 80s. It was drilled into us not to invest solely in your own employer's stock in a 401K. Only invest in diverse mutual funds. Maybe a little employer's stock, but not much at all.

Didn't matter in my case, because the employer never set up the 401K as promised, so I left for a company that did. It's just something that I specifically remember.

HCA Hospitals Stock was totally outside the 401k as was the bonus program...

Also offered a paid sabbatical every 5 years... My dad was elated when he read my benefit package and said it was a wise move taking a pay cut...

The 401k may have incidental HCA stock through the mutual fund offerings...

Unfortunately the sale of the company at my 3 year 20% vested left a lot on the table...

 

[Larry Caldwell]

If they are worried about that, they should go through the process, come in legally, charge a professional price to you and pay federal taxes. That way no one is cheating.

And the work doesn't get done

 

[Oaktree]

I have been with the same company my entire career. I started with them right out of grad school, at 24.

My grandpa pulled me aside one day and said you want to know what the secret to a career is? He said pick a good company and stick it out for 30 years. There is a lot of life after 55, especially if your are financially comfortable. I am 42 now and will be done in 12 more years completely worry free.

There is too much turnover cost switching jobs so much...

That may have been good advice in his day, but that was then this is now. Younger generations have figured out that if you want to get meaningful pay increases, you've got to job-hop. Stay with one company and you might (key word, might) get CoL increases, but you'll also likely see new hires being brought in a the same or higher pay than a long-time employee is making.

I'm boomer generation, and learned this the hard way, probably even more true today. Don't assume an employer will look out for your best interests.

 

[ultrarunner]

Past performance doesn't guarantee future results... never more true from my prospective.

Most in my circle with platinum retirements are police and fire... and in the last few years police in particular are seeing increased retirements getting out of Dodge...

One of my high school friends retired on a police pension at 52 of 15k per month and lifetime medical... he got bored and went to work for another agency with a different pension...

Some are making several times more in retirement then working... especially under the old system where retirement is pegged to what the current position pay is even if retired 30 years ago...

That said there are many elderly I work with living on only modest social security...

Still seeing those opting for lump sum payouts from utilities and some do well and others have nothing to show in a few years.

Another point is do you take full retirement with no spousal continuation after you die or a lesser amount so your spouse continues to receive a portion?

No easy answers...

 

[Snobdds]

That may have been good advice in his day, but that was then this is now. Younger generations have figured out that if you want to get meaningful pay increases, you've got to job-hop. Stay with one company and you might (key word, might) get CoL increases, but you'll also likely see new hires being brought in a the same or higher pay than a long-time employee is making.

I'm boomer generation, and learned this the hard way, probably even more true today. Don't assume an employer will look out for your best interests.

After about year 15, it's crazy just how fast and furious promotions and pay increases happen. Most kids never make it to see the day and just rotate over every 5 years.

It's still possible today...

The most importaint word I said...pick a good company. That is the key. A person will know this in the first year of them hiring on.

 

[goeduck]

One of my high school friends retired on a police pension at 52 of 15k per month and lifetime medical... he got bored and went to work for another agency with a different pension...

Good for him, but excessive public pensions are a problem for the tax payers.

 

[TN8Man]

That may have been good advice in his day, but that was then this is now. Younger generations have figured out that if you want to get meaningful pay increases, you've got to job-hop. Stay with one company and you might (key word, might) get CoL increases, but you'll also likely see new hires being brought in a the same or higher pay than a long-time employee is making.

I'm boomer generation, and learned this the hard way, probably even more true today. Don't assume an employer will look out for your best interests.

I stayed at the same company for 35 years. Job-hop was common place where I worked but I took a more traditional strategy. I worked hard, kept learning for promotions and kept taking on more responsibility. It worked and I kept getting promoted. Now I have a pension and a decent 401K for retirement. I ended up a manager and hired many job-hop contractors for high demand contracts where the job-hop people would go after the contract was completed.

 

[WinterDeere]

I was working 2000+ hours as a part time non-benefited employee.

If you mean 2000 hours/year, it's likely they were breaking at least a few state laws, there.

 

[ultrarunner]

40 hours per week adds up over the course of a year… as an engineer I learned just like Doctors that employment law often exempts certain professions from overtime, etc once a certain level of income is reached.

Also Vesting is much sooner as a matter of law in my state now and the Congressman Stark used me as an example when the shorter vesting scheduled was crafted…

 

[ultrarunner]

I went to HR and said the same desk rule under ERISA should protect my 401k… HR said no and as it only applied to 2 of us employees at the time that fell into the vesting trap when ownership changes we were on our own.

HR said I could follow up with anyone I choose… so I reached out to Congressman Stark and got the law changed.