Retirement planning, etc.

[yendi]

I've mentioned before how much I enjoy The Motley Fool, which, aside from having a nifty url, has tons of really good free content (I don't pay for any of their newsletters, and only use the message boards via the 30-day free trials), and advice on all sorts of good subjects.

Anyone who works a job that provides any sort of 401(K) option owes it to themselves to read this article and this one.

Seriously, with access to plans like that, especially if your employer matches, why the hell isn't everyone taking advantage of them? Short of true out-on-the-street or medical emergencies, there's just no excuse.

Comments

[envoy.livejournal.com]

That's a good checkin. I'm glad that I actually passed their requirements, I've never cashed out a work 401 between jobs, always rolled them over. And I've maxed my withdrawls for years.

Of course, I have no idea what that's going to mean with my new changes *wince*

[yendi]

Hmm. Yeah, I'm not sure, either. If you retain citizenship, you should, I'd imagine, be able to keep accumulating, but I'm not positive. Probably something worth looking into.

[darth-spacey.livejournal.com]

Did you know that anyone under Chapter 13 bankruptcy is not allowed to contribute to private retirement accounts? What's this going to do to Bush's private SS accounts, and the notion of SS for all? Irresistable force and immovable object, and all that.

[yendi]

Personally, I don't think there's a chance that the private SS plan will make it through, so it's a moot point, but if it does, it would have to have some sort of explicit re-write of the bankruptcy laws, as a given.

[iroshi.livejournal.com]

I have my first 401K plan, here at the job I'm working. It excites me. I put 6.-something % of my paycheck in it each month, and my employer matches 6%. (That's as high as the employer matching goes.) It's amazing, to me, to watch the amount in that 401 go up, from money I don't even acknowledge as having received, because it's *always* been taken out of my paycheck, from day one. (And working for the University of Texas, the Teacher's Retirement Fund of Texas is *mandatory*, so I couldn't opt out, anyway...so I just chose the amount that allowed the greatest employer matching. :)

I've been working there 3.5 years, and there's several thousand dollars in my 401K. It really freaks me out when I get the reports. ^_^ (Of course, my longest job ever before this one was only 1.5 years.)

[yendi]

That's exactly why it's so nice. Not to mention, that 6% you're taking out is pre-tax, so you're only being taxed on the remaining 94% that you actually receive.

[litch.livejournal.com]

it's not always that straight forward, especially if (like me) your employer doesn't match

For that yutz to say "you'll never even miss those pre-tax dollars taken out of your paycheck" show's he's living in a hell of higher tax bracket than I am and I am doing better than most. An extra 5-10%, let alone the reccomended 15%, off the top would definately be felt.

I'm also wary about getting money stuck somewhere I can't use it. I don't think bushco is making sound longterm decisions and I don't see any evidence that their philosophy is going to get wholly rejected any time soon.

[yendi]

One thing to be aware of -- that 5% is off the pre-tax rate. So it usually scales into about 3% net change. Which, honestly, is an amount I can live with.

And 401Ks, unlike SS, remain your money at all times. There's a penalty for pre-60 withdrawal, but the money is considered a non-taxing asset, which means that other than lawsuits, seizures, etc (things that apply to any asset), it's untouchable by the govt.