Some of us didn’t grow up with financial discussions around the dinner table when we were young. Retirement planning wasn’t really a thought until recently for me. I don’t have rich parents and likely won’t inherit anything. Been trying to max out as much as possible, but damn life has really become expensive, and even more so since covid.
Some joke (and maybe some are serious) and say the plan is to just die while at work.. but what is your actual plan? We’re supposed to be in or entering our highest income years.
Hoping to learn a bit. What’s your thoughts/plan?
Don’t mean to brag but I’ve got 50 beanie babies and a full set of 89 Upper Deck baseball cards
And a full set of garbage pail kid cards.
The best.
How many Griffeys?
Any cabbage patch dolls?
My retirement plan is to squat on some of Bill Gates farmland until I'm shot by a Boston Dynamics robot dog.
Hell yeah!
OCP & Skynet. Looks like Hollywood was trying to tell us something back in the 80s about our not so distant future.
Nah. Talk to it in a high voice and ask it "who's a good boy?" Now you have a friend to occupy your time left.
Lmao 😆 that was awesome
lol!
Best answer I’ve seen. Bravo. 🤣
This sounds pleasant
Crap...
I knew I forgot to do something.
I’m trying not to lose the house. Which, I know, crazy that I have a house. But we’re barely hanging on.
Same boat here - it’s quite sad but real
I thought boats were very expensive to maintain
Break Out Another Thousand….
That term is so old, I assume you it's break out another 10 thousand.
Haha, inflation adjusted for sure. My brother has an offshore boat and it is an insane upkeep amount….he just dropped 10k on new upholstery
We just sold our house for an overseas move for work. Genuinely wondering if we’ll ever be able to buy one in the U.S. again. Might have to just stay overseas at this point.
Depending on where you're going, it might be the best call.
yeah, lucky
Sadly I lost my house 3 years back, so now I’m in rented and I’m waiting for a council house to become available
What is a council house? Sorry for your hardship
Thanks, Not sure where youre from but in the UK it is cheap housing that you rent from the local council/government usually at a cheaper rate than normal rental. If you stay there for a long time you can have the option to buy it.
Interesting, yeah we don’t have anything like that here. Just limited really expensive rentals that are near impossible to get typically. $3-4000 a month rent for a decent house and like $1500 for a tiny one bedroom suite or apartment
Never heard of Section 8 housing? The projects? Subsidized housing? We definitely have stuff like that.
Yo, you're not alone
With you 1,000%, just barely hanging on
I've been putting 10% ish in my 401k since I started working, it's doing it's job and I'm not sweating retirement, I won't be rich but I'll be fine.
Sidebar: The dot com bubble bust the year I graduated high school (2000) and a lot of adults around me lost a lot of money. Then in 2008 again a lot of older people I knew lost a lot of money. Observing these events in relatively short succession as someone who knew very little about investing, these events scared the shit out of me. Outside of my 401k I steered really wide of the stock market until only a few years ago.
Losing half my 401k in a divorce stung. Feels like starting over, but worth it to find love.
Putting about 7% back into it. Had to lower it from 11% to help pay child support.
Why is it called a 401K? Is this an American thing?
Yes. It’s the line in the IRS tax code that allows for tax-deferred savings accounts. Section 401, part K, or 401(k).
Thanks! I hear this term all the time and was trying to figure out if it had to do with saving 401k dollars lol
So it’s a good deal for us because we don’t have to pay taxes on the money we save.
So if I earn $100k and put $20k in the 401 account, my tax burden is only calculated on the $80k difference.
That could save you $4k or so in taxes.
Just to clarify… The money is normally taxed as ordinary income when it’s withdrawn from the 401(k). And if it’s withdrawn early (typically before age 59 1/2), there is an additional 10% penalty.
Yeah. It’s something that got invented to supplement pensions, and then employers started getting rid of pensions and only giving 401k plans as their option. So retirement plans/savings are dependent on the stock market.
And most employers don’t put anything in it if the employee doesn’t. They generally offer a match (mine is 5%, meaning they’ll match my contributions up to 5% of my paycheck). I was shocked to find out that a lot of my colleagues don’t contribute at all and miss out on that match.
That's the section of the Internal Revenue Code that allows for it
It's named after a the IRS code that established retirement savings plans.
I contributed at least up to my company match for as long as I've had the option, which is over 20 years now. It didn't start to make a difference until maybe 7 ago and it actually became a meaningful amount of money. Still nowhere near retirement but it's something at least. The stock market still scares me and I'm bearish as heck right now
Same 10-15% into 401k and another 10% to savings for various reasons.
I got started late, I was 26 or so when I really started contributing to my 401K, but I’ll be a millionaire when I retire. It blows my mind when people I work with don’t contribute to their 401K.
Same, except 2 years younger
I also do 10%. Unfortunately I didn't have a company retirement account till much later in my career. I think I'm going to open my own Roth IRA soon to pad that.
Years afo when I was working with the first company that provided a retirement account, some young guy said, "I didn't opt in because I don't see a point in saving money before I'm 30."
If it's possible to slap someone with yours, I did.
I'm currently contributing 7% but I'm almost consumer debt free and once my emergency fund is funded, I'll be contributing the max amount.
Same! Prioritized putting away at least 10% to retirement since I started working. Now 15% plus employer match 6%. Just have to be disciplined and make it a priority. Won’t be rich but it’s something.
I heard that they recommended putting 15% into your 401k. Seems like that percentage goes up every year though
I also put away 10%, although I got a later start since I didn’t have a job that offered any retirement plans until I had been out of college for 3 years. And even then, I didn’t start out at the 10% rate. I barely knew what a 401k or employer matching even was.
Did 20 years in the Army. Came out of it a bit the worse for wear, but at least I have a pension that'll pay until I go into the dirt. Between that, the disability pay, and really inexpensive health insurance for life, it takes a lot of worry out of aging.
Same. I've had two kids since retiring and the insurance is wonderful compared to the garbage my fellow teachers get
I just retired this summer from the Air Force. Army’s typically a lot harder on the body, but I came away with a pension and disability. Working as a contractor now and saving hard for retirement.
With my savings and company 401k matching I put away about $5k per month.
Tricare is such an awesome benefit, too.
I know the military life isn’t for everyone, but the benefits if you can make it 20 years can’t be beat.
Those military pensions are great. I know a few folks that retired from the military and work in industry and are killing it.
Deserved, certainly, but they've gotten neutered over the last decade or so. The current system kinda blows.
What has changed?
It's more of a 401k with employer contributions now, as opposed to "do X years and get Y% per month."
You still get 2% per year of service, down from 2.5%, and they match on top of that.
If you max out the matching it can be better than high-36, but it’s now at the mercy of the market.
Oh ok, I thought you were referring to military pensions, cause those are still going strong.
I was. The military pension system has changed. It's no longer a pension in the traditional sense, but rather a retirement account like a 401k. The service member can contribute to the account and the government does as well. People that had more than 10 years of service when the new system rolled out were given the choice between the old system and the new. People joining now are all under the new "blended," system.
It’s still a pension. If managed right you can actually come out with more money even.
I got in early enough to not do the Blended Retirement System. High-36 isn’t too much worse than Final Pay.
Blended is great for people that don't do a full 20 years though; at least they have something to show for their time. Kinda a mixed bag.
Didn’t make it to 20 but the gibill and military scholarships saved me from 300k+ in debt. Can’t imagine if I had student loans to pay on top of everything else. So glad I served.
My father retired from the Army as well, and I am so grateful to not worry about my parents between that and his retirement from federal service.
Inversely, I work in welfare and have seen so many people who come in with nothing but social security and have a deer in the headlights look when it comes to Medicare premiums.
Fuck all. I'm going to die in the Water Wars.
12% into my 401k for the last 24 years . I was lucky enough to have someone teach me to manage my money . Thanks mom !
I am trying and I also try to entice the younger guys to do it by showing them my account .
Does that include the company match?
No , just my pre tax deduction.
Nice
Yeah , I’ll probably croak before I get it . But it’s there .
I max out my 401k, do a max backdoor Roth IRA contribution each year, and save some extra. When I was paying off student loans, I just maxed my 401k. Do what you can; the more you earn, the easier it gets to save. I plan as if I will get $0 from social security.
This is the way, I bit the bullet in my mid-30’s and just started maxing my 401k hell or high water. Now throwing bonus and any extra at a brokerage, HSA, paying off the house. I want off this hamster wheel asap.
Yah, saving is a slow grind. Are you maxing your HSA yet? Triple tax incentive there. My employer graciously offers 1k so I’m attempting to divide and conquer the 7k remainder over the next year year. Wishing all of us good luck
I get insurance through my wife’s job, so I haven’t looked too closely at it. They seem good if you qualify with a high deductible plan.
I wish I could convince myself to do this. With thr way Healthcare is I am so wary of change. I stick with my premium plan. While financially I would be better even on the high deductible plan paying max out of pocket.... its the quality I worry about. My plan doesmt require referrals, they approve everything no questions asked. I also get a h8ge expanded network of doctors. The other plans i hear coworkers struggle to get anything covered or find doc. Fighting tooth and nail. Honestly I like thr peace of mind.
Same plus an HSA. Currently trying to talk my employer into adjusting rules on our 401k to do a mega backdoor Roth. Lucky to be saving about 25% of our gross income. I also pretend like SS will not exist.
Agree. I am not counting on any social security even though I’ve earned it.
So what is the back door method exactly? I just move money from my traditional IRA into my Roth and then not worry about taxes? I’ve never had anyone explain it in the dumbest, simplest way that I can grasp.
For anyone wondering, the backdoor Roth conversion is only needed if you earn $150k+ individually or $236k jointly (I think these are the limits), otherwise you can just contribute directly. With the backdoor method, you contribute up to $7k (2026 will increase to $7500 I believe) in non-deductible income to a regular IRA and then immediately convert it (otherwise any gains are taxable). I have my financial manager do the conversion, so I’m not sure how to do it yourself. That is my limited understanding. The Roth is superior, because withdrawals are tax-free and do not have any required minimum withdrawals.
Thank you for explaining that, I’ve never heard of the concept. Probably because I’ve never made enough money to need to know…
There's also the mega backdoor that let's you save more (I think it was an additional 30k or so per year?) by contributing after tax to your 401k and rolling over to Roth, but requires your employer to allow that in their plan.
I can't afford to put any money away for retirement.
I contribute to my landlord’s retirement every month
Likewise. And I'm still that idiot that says "ope, there's a light bulb out, guess I should stop by home depot tomorrow for a replacement".
To be fair, we have been here almost ten years and the rent has only gone up incrementally by a total of $225. And, in those ten years, we've gotten new carpeting, a new range, a new dishwasher, a new garbage disposal, a new water heater, a new dryer and an entire new HVAC system (both inside and out).
Right now, because I LITERALLY just started my 401k this year at 44, I’m doing over 10%. I’m also 30% service connected disability with the VA; trying to get my numbers on that up. My husband has a IRA and a 401k that are doing ok but not great. We’ll have a paid off house. I also have a job that a lot of people do until they croak - school bus driver. And I like my job a lot, it’s not stressful.
Better late than never! I started around 42! :)
Had one going early, had to switch jobs to a company that paid for shit and didn't offer 401k, and like a dumbass held on for 20 years. Started a maxed out 401k at age 49
Same with me. I'm 48 but didn't start until 42.
Lmfao that's a good one
45 years old, $550 a month matched by employer over 10 months a year. About $11,000 a year.
100% match up to $5500? Love that free money.
It's definitely not a joke for me
I started putting away a minimum of 10% of income into my 401k in 2002. This year is the first year I maxed it out. I also prioritized getting an emergency fund set up in a HYSA, maxing out my HSA contributions, and recently started a personal brokerage account. I feel semi okay for retirement, but I'm also aware that so much could change with social security, health care, and the economy that it's anyone's guess what to actually expect in another 20 years...
Excellent job at maxing the 401k and HSA!
Maxing 401k so $2k/month. With employer match it's like $2,500. Took a while to get here, feel like I'm playing catch-up for not being able to invest much in my 20s.
I assume in the US 401k is a voluntary fund?
In Australia we have a mandatory Superannuation fund which employers must pay into. On average its 12% per year/month. So if you earned AUD$80,000 you'd have $9600 put away per year for retirement.
Super balances range from a few tens of thousands in early career to greater than 400k. So everyone has a mandatory requirement fund. Pretty happy with it.
Yeah, the US doesn't have anything like this. We're on our own.
We have social security which was intended to be a pension fund.
You used the key word in there.
Yeah, they can’t get the idea of simple health insurance past the don’t tread on me rooty tootys.
Plus, we do actually contribute as a matter of law to a fund that is supposed to assist people in their retirement years. We are not guaranteed it at all and may in fact have contributed all of our lives only to find that the fund isn’t there for us. The 40 plus set might see something but it won’t be in line with our contributions and if you’re 30 or below, good luck.
I work for the state of Georgia. I have a mandatory 6% from my paycheck and they contribute 10%. I could do more but I don’t. Kids ya know.
When I worked at the U. Of KY, it was a mandatory 5% from my check and they contributed 10%.
Commonwealth of KY, same amount taken out of my checks, 6% to my pension.
A few years in I started an account with the 401K they offer to our employees, but I’m only at like 5% in contributing, but like you said, kid. 🤷🏻♀️
401k is a voluntary, tax deferred savings option.
Social Security is mandatory, and is essentially a government controlled pension that starts paying when you decide to start taking it. Earliest you can is 62, max is 70. The longer you wait, the more you get monthly. And the more you contributed (6.45% of your income) the higher your payments will be.
As much as possible. I literally Googled "how to not die at work" and found this:
https://www.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/wiki/faq
I am a former deadbeat Rock'N'Roller gone Union man. Had to read books & blogs & teach myself.
I invest About 50% of my post-tax income in VTSAX & similar funds in Roth 401K, Roth IRA, & Taxable Brokerage Accounts. Also have a Union Pension.
On track to Retire at 55. I started this planning at 31 when I became a Member. g-d bless my Union & my Vasectomy & my wifey. I am so thankful.
I’m working on my 60k in credit card debt first.
After that probably still not save. Enjoy the next decade or so and call it a life.
As long as depression and borderline personality disorder don’t stop it first.
If you employer offer a match or any kind, I bet you to invest at least that much… watching that account balance grow even a little bit may cure some of that anxiety?
I do 5% and company match but recently had to stop because I am drowning.
I'm going to checkout on my terms when I'm old. Live/work now but take time off to do stuff. What bunk to think you will actually be old with endless time and energy to do the things you always wanted...do them now while you're young and alive. You never know what can happen....
I am watching my father-in-law die at 60.
He was all excited to retire at 65 when I met him two decades ago. Had all of these plans to buy a camper and do a grand tour of the country. Now he is spending the last few months of his life doing nothing.
That’s really sad. Cancer? 😢
My mom died from cancer after 6 months diagnosis. She was 59, set to retire in a few years. She saved well and never got to see any of it. I have health conditions already in my 30s and don't have a big RRSP. At this point I feel like I'll likely wind up on disability before I get to properly "retire" . My only goal financially is to buy a house (again, had one with the ex, but cashed out my equity when we split) so that I have some sort of security for the future as my pension isn't going to be much. I also want to go on some bucket list vacations and enjoy the local summer holidays more while I'm still healthy enough to do so. Money ain't everything. It can't buy you time or guarantee your health and safety, although it certainly helps. I'm very lucky to live in Canada where we have CPP in addition to personal retirement plans, and my employer voluntarily contributes 6% of my income additional to an RRSP. I plan to stick it out in this job as long as I can and hopefully that'll be enough to live off of by then.
Yes. You never know what can happen. I'm facing the distinct possibility that I will be unable to work soon, and I have a wife and two kids who rely on me. If that happens, I am sure glad I've been saving up for retirement all these years, because I won't be able to live high on the hog, but at least I won't be poverty stricken, and I won't leave my family poverty striken if I die.
But everyone has to make decisions on how they structure their life. Just as long as you accept your decisions when they result in what they result in.
That’s exactly how I think of it. I have a 401K but that’s it. I don’t see the use in putting all my money in savings & not enjoy life. What if I die tomorrow?
15% into thrift savings plan (federal government), 5% match by USPS, pension, social security.
My(46) and my wife’s(45) teacher pensions aren’t worth as much as they were when we started. We’ve been contributing to 403bs as well, but not as much as I’d like. But as you said, life is getting more expensive and we’ve got 1 freshman and a 6th grader. My mom started 529s for them when my dad went, but it’s not going to be enough to cover their first years at a state school. As far as the state of NJ is concerned, we will be eligible to retire at 55, but my youngest won’t be out of college until I’m 57, so I’m hoping to retire then.
Ive got 3% match, but i do more than that. Its about $1100 total per month.
I started late but I started putting roughly 8-12% (fluctuating) into my 401k…started around 28 y/o and I’m almost 43 now.
On top of the physical investments I’ve made into gold/silver purchases, I figured I will be fine in retirement if I stay this course. My math checks out and two advisors confirmed it. I can get more aggressive at times with some stock bets that have also paid off.
Also for the past two years my wife and I are able to save about 1K/month as we learned to cut some expenses, reduce spending, etc.
We didn’t talk much about retirement when I was young either, just common sense lessons about not living beyond your means.
I max my 401k each year, combined with matching i think about 30k goes into it. Smartest thing i ever did was start that young and just set it and forget it. Over the past several decades it's done well and I'm hoping to retire in 5 or so years.
Nice! Im about $24k per year plus RSUs that vest every year. I agree the fact that it just comes out of my paycheck automatically and I never see that money has been the best thing ever. I just learned to live without that money, don’t even considering it as something I can spend. I’m 42 so probably working about another decade at least.
I have my own business that I go into schools and do a lesson. Being out of work for two years because of covid set me back from parts of my original plan.
There is room for growth in my business. I am hoping to make enough to hire someone to do the presentations and I do the booking. And hope to organize the business while the other does the work and leave to them in a better spot than I was.
I just try not to think about it.
I have a pension through work and opened a 401k when I started working after college at a different job. But actively saving? It’s impossible. I’m a single mom with three kids. And I have to say they’re not even the bulk of my spending. I mean, I need a bigger place and spend more on groceries than I would alone. But I don’t buy them tons of stuff. Don’t do extra curriculars. We rarely go on vacation. I had them in cheap day care. They go to public school. My paycheck goes to keeping us alive essentially and paying bills.
When I say I try not to think about retirement, I mean it. It makes me angry and overwhelmed. I did all the things they say to do. I went to college. Did grad school. Make an honest living. I used to hustle for a good credit score. Budget meticulously. And then I realized the system is set up for the wealthy and that being wealthy means crushing someone underfoot. And even that isn’t accessible to everyone. I’ve pretty much given up on financial stability.
Proud of you. 💪🏼
I’ve been trying to max out my 401k for the last 20ish years and I’ve started getting totally solid stock grants at work for the last 6 or so but that’s about as far as I’ve gotten. Should probably get a financial advisor but don’t even know where to look to find someone non scammy and actually good so doing absolutely nothing besides sitting with paranoia and existential dread has been my overall plan.
If you’ve been maxing out your 401k for 20 years and you get RSUs that vest regularly, I suspect you are killing it.
I’m a tax attorney and my firm prepares about 300 tax returns a year and we do a lot of planning as well. If I can help a Xennial sleep at night, I’d be happy to chat.
If you want to message me, fire away.
10% of my paycheck, i never even see it so i can’t miss it.
I had college professor that I respected a lot explained that if you can’t save 10% of your pay, at minimum, you’re living outside your means. I was too poor to follow that advice for many years, but I’ve never forgotten it and I contribute that 10% 401(k), and then I try to add to my emergency fund with anything extra I have at the end of the month. And that’s just a high-yield savings account that I can quickly access if needed.
I'm now at a point where I can max out my retirement, mainly to pick catch up for those years when I put nothing into it.
I'm not freaking out though. I walked into a reasonably high paying career over the past few years (it's never too late to change careers), but my primary plan is to retire outside of the United states.
I think everyone in our generation who has give it a hint of insecurity about retirement funds should seriously consider retiring outside of the United States in a country with a lower cost of living.
I was working in Costa Rica about 20 years ago and that was the first time I ever saw Americans in their 60s 70s and 80s that were actually happy at times other than when their grandchildren were around.
I met a guy who got completely wiped out from his last divorce but was living a very nice life in an apartment on his $1,500 a month social security. He wasn't the only one. In fact, as long as they didn't get involved with drinking most of those retirees did pretty well for themselves.
Costa Rica's gotten significantly more expensive over the years, but there's still a ton of other countries that are great to live in, I have a low cost of living, and are very welcome to American retirees.
Been shunting 15%+ into the 401k since my first "real" job in 2007. For the last eight years or so, counting HSA and after-tax brokerage investments, we've averaged around $1k/week as a household going into the market. Our salaries aren't that awesome; this is due solely to inexpensive hobbies, buying a house in 2010, remote work, and not having kids.
If the market doesn't shit the bed we're on track for $100k/yr pretax retirement income and a paid-off home when we're 50/52. That'd be nice.
Nice! Gotta prioritize it. Anyone can put money away, start small and increase over time. I did as a broke single mom. I don’t understand not putting anything away, like I don’t have rich family so I knew I would have to take care of myself.
20%
Whatever the maxed out figures are (for 401(k) and Roth). Started maxing out at around 40 years old. My wife is set on retiring at 60 at the latest. I don't really care and would be content working until 65+. I'll probably retire when she does and I'm seven years older than her.
I just stated maxing it out. It makes me wanna die but I feel like it’s the only way I’ll be able to retire.
Been doing 15-17% to company 401(k) for a couple years. I wasn’t consistently putting into an account until about 2014 so I feel a bit behind.
I started a separate IRA account with Ellevest in 2018 or so. That was sold to Betterment earlier this year. Their forecasting says I’m “on track” but still feels tenuous since I’ve been listening to years of my mom saying she’s not sure how she’ll afford retirement.
I’m not able to max out contributions at this time. I tried to get us in with a financial planner but I couldn’t get my husband to track down all the paperwork on his accounts that she needed to get a full picture of our situation.
I just sold my car to make ends meet. lol saving is a far off concept
Doesn't matter, It will never be enough. Late stage capitalism is ensuring this at a staggering speed. Like anyone that makes a living from their labor unless it's a crazy high paying like a surgeon I guess cannot retire cause we will still be paying for our homes. Or we will need to sale them to finance our retirements. etc.
Thankfully their is assisted end of life services in my country so once I am too old to work and/or I run out of money I can just turn the lights off. I can basically do this becasue once my last parent passes away I will have only 1 relative left (that I am close to) and it's my brother. He has a kid (she quite a good kid) and she has a kid so he will be fine.
Just to be clear I have no intentions of doing it early and by myself. Their is still joy living :)
If you’re looking for actual financial advice, I’d follow the flow chart at r/personalfinance as you’re able. For my wife and I, we’re playing catch up, but get close to maxing our 401k and 403b, respectively and we put about $300 a month into 529s for our kids. Every pay raise and promotion goes into retirement and we live well beneath our means. Once kids are out of daycare, we’ll be able to do more. This year I put about 32% pretax (with match) into retirement and my wife did about 17% pretax and has an employer provided pension.
I think your sapose to have 3×-4x your yearly income when you hit 40. I'm closer to the 3x
I'll be happy if I hit 2x by 40. I'm at like 1.4x right now, only a couple years til 40.
Bahahahaha!!!! Retirement? What’s that? I’ll be working til I die.
Trying to maintain my spend per year, not give in to lifestyle creep, and continue to increase my savings rate. This year 15k a month, next year should be 17k a month, 19k in 2027, and 21k in 2028 and should flatten out at that until I'm promoted again.
Without considering my gf / future wife's finances, my goal is to be ready to retire at 50 / 55 at the latest. Assuming she continues to crush it, and neither of us suffer significant setbacks (which in the world we live in is certainly difficult) we should have the ability to walk away as early as 50 as she has the opportunity to make as much if not more than I do.
We'll see how we feel about our jobs at that point and make decisions from there.
I'll have a nice retirement waiting for me through my union's defined benefit plan, plus a 401k.
IRS 401k contribution limits then a bit more so about 2k monthly.
I've been putting 10 to 15% in to my 401k since I started working and contributed to a Roth until I hit the income limits. Unfortunately we just bought a house and lost an income stream about 6 months later so I contribute much less to retirement. Any extra money goes to savings because I think I will be laid off soon.
Not a whole lot. I have a military pension plus healthcare, and working toward a teaching pension. If any social security is left, that will be a bonus
15% of my gross since I started working.
I max out my 401k contribution and have for 15 or 16 years. When I met my wife she asked me “you are maxing your 401k, right?” I responded “uh, I put 12% in!”
Needless to say that was two of the best decisions in my life. At this point I have no idea what my paycheck would be if I didn’t contribute, I haven’t seen that money in so long.
12% of my monthly salary. I started out at 6% when I first started working and increases throughout the years. Been saving for 23 years now.
Grim thread. I make a lot and save a lot. When I met my now wife, an elementary school teacher, she had saved tens of thousands of dollars and paid her student loans. Her father is a construction worker. It can be done by many, not everyone for sure. There are a whole lot of people out there doing FIRE, some making a lot and some not. It’s amazing what can be accomplished but it does take the ultimate resource: time.
About 22 percent of my pretax income
I have a 401k that I put money into monthly, but otherwise I Intransfer $100 from my checking to my savings every month. That’s about all I can afford to set aside for now.
Between 401’s, Roth’s, the kids 529, and a brokerage account putting away about 50% of my gross.
Whatever gets me the most match from my employer. I have a Roth account that I daytrade using a slow grow strategy that should be worth about 8 figures when I can pull from it penalty free.
What is “to retire”?
I only just started thinking about it this year, at 42.
I have no 401k, I will get no inheritance, I have no pension, no anything.
I opened an IRA this year and maxed it out, And plan to do the same again next year, but because I started so late, I'm still only going to have half the money I need to retire when the time comes. Even assuming I max out my IRA every year from now on, and get social security, I'll still be like $1m short of what I'll need to retire.
It sucks.
Oh also I don't own a house. So that's not really helping matters.
We have five kids under 12 and my husband is the only one who works. I'm not legal to work. So. A wing and a prayer.
6% that my company matches every paycheck. Plus they usually give a 401k bonus deposit annually.
Also have a different IRA that’s minimal, but keep as a buffer.
$4k between my wife and I. Plus whatever the company match is.
Max your 401k or IRA, if you’re are remotely able to. Tax advantaged accounts are very very clutch.
I don’t know. Have 7.5% taken out. I max my Roth and put $200 a paycheck into a 403b. So maybe like $1200 a month? $1500?
I put 3% of my income into a 401K. I have no idea how much I have in it. I literally never look b/c my dad always told me me to pretend it didn’t exist. So that’s exactly what I’ve done. That’s really all.
I put $100 a month into savings but that’s for things that come up like car breaking down, house issues, or vacation. Ha
Please look at it to at least verify it's invested.
Tons of people do this and find out after 20 years that the money wasn't actually invested anywhere, it was just sitting in the account doing nothing.
Right now, 7% into my 401k, plus I get a company match, so it's around 1k a month I think. And set my account up to increase by 1% a year for the next few years. My husband also invests into his 401k.
A maxed out Roth, 6% into 401(k) + 3% company match, 5% into a brokerage account and then hope I stay as healthy as possible to work as long as I can. I’m on target but it’s never enough in America when you’re one accident from being ruined.
I'm at about 30% of my income but I have no debt thanks to a paid off house. I have two reciprocal pensions that I pay into (public sector gigs) as well as an additional 403b that I am now fully funding. I also max out a traditional Roth IRA every year. Anything beyond that goes into a brokerage account.
Get a pension when I retire and putting money into a 457-b that the city offers.
$1500/month into my 401K plus about $800 a month into investment account.
Mid-forties
I've got 16% going in (including match). I'm worried it won't be enough.
8% of income, employer matching up to 6%. Around $850/every 2 weeks. Then another $350/paycheck into a company stock plan that they do a straight 15% match on.
Then also over funding the HSA which has an investment option with another $150/paycheck. Which is really one of the best places to invest as you can deposit pre-tax, invest tax free, and spend tax free.
So ~$3k/month. Which still feels underfunded with how fast the cost of living is rising. But putting more in isn’t really an option right now.
I have auto withdrawals for a DB pension = $800/month. I do an additional $700/month for TFSAs that max out each year. My RRSPs were maxed out, but room to contribute grows again each year. I will stick with the $1500/month until I retire in hopefully 12 years.
Edit: I hope to retire with an income of around $60K/year (pretax). My pension will be about $50K/year. If I climb up into a management position I can bump my annual pension because it’s based on your best 5 years of salary
You say it’s a joke but for me it’s not.
0 into any sort of savings. I think my retirement as enough for a year at most? I am 100% going to attempt to work until I die. Or suicide pods if that’s a thing where I am from. Especially if they get rid of social security.
I've always stuck all my extra money into retirement. No matter how much I make, I live in about 50 to 60k. Everything else goes into long term investments. Some years that's 10k others its 250k. Takes a ton of willpower.
This means i rarely eat out, don't take vacations, and am still driving the same car i was over 20 years ago. All my 'friends' think I'm broke. But that's OK. I'll retire in ridiculous comfort.
I now only contribute 6% and I get a company match of 6% so about $2,600 monthly. Did the max allowed for 15 years 2005 - 2020. I honestly don't think i will even need to touch my 401k until im forced to at 73 years.
Government job with retirement, 10% TSP and increasing that by 2% every year and VA disability. Wife is a teacher with a retirement and is also saving in the state version of the401k.
Comparing might not be helpful. Do as much as you can as soon as you can. You won't regret that.
10% and company matches 6%
I started very late and it won't be enough, but it's something. I also carry less than 2k in debt and have no mortgage.
I'm not rich but I'm not in debt. That puts me in better shape than 70% of my peers.
Air traffic controller, so I can retire at 50 with a 6 figure pension, plus whatever I feel like taking out of my TSP which I have been maxing out (plus 5% government match) for 20 years.
I retired from (quit) my full time job at 52. I have a Roth with about $20k in it that I throw any extra $$ I have into. I have passive income from a rental property and work part time as a nanny. I’ll do that for as long as I’m physically able and enjoy it. Eventually, my house will be paid off so hopefully I can use that money for other expenses. I’m divorced/no kids and will get half of my ex’s social security if that’s still around in 8 years 🤪My house is in a trust so I can qualify for Medicaid if I need a nursing home
Lol retire? I feel like the only way I'll ever be able to stop working is to die
Hours cut at work by about 20% so now nothing is being put into retirement.
Had been 10% weekly pay with a 5% company match.
Even then I can retire for like 1 full year with whats in the 401k.
Business owner here, my retirement is when I sell my firm. Could be next week, could be in 20 years.
LMAO
I'll be retiring in 8 years or so with a good pension. I put 10% into a Roth as well. I also was not taught well. I wish it was taught in school better
My mandatory work pension contribution is 8% for up to $71k income, then increases to 11% (about $500/month). It is an increasingly rare defined benefit pension plan, so my employer's contributions are more than my own. I also pay into our mandatory Canada Pension Plan, which is 6% of income up to a max of $4,000/year (employers must match these contributions). My spouse's payments are about the same. We will both be eligible to retire around 60.
I feel bad for a lot of the people here, but have maxed out 401k and IRA the last several years, then dump all surplus into money market investment accounts.
I'm very aggressive though because I had pretty heavy student loans and not particularly well paying jobs for most of my 20s and 30s so trying to make up for lost time now
I max my 401k every year and max my IRA most years. I'm fortunate to make a decent salary and don't have kids, so I can manage a lot more than many people can.
More than 35% of my gross salary. I plan to retire when I'm 54.
I max out my Roth IRA, the 10% of my gross salary toward the pension and put $18,000 into a 457b.
Nothing. I just had a baby. We saved a little bit so I could leave corporate and be home with him like my mom was with me. Plus daycare is literally more than our mortgage payment. My husband makes good money- both college educated, we have no car payments, less than 5k combined in credit card debt and we aren’t shoppers. New Jerseyans with mortgage is just over $1000; we chose a smaller house/property to stretch our income further. On paper, we should be comfortable, not rich, but comfortable. Yet here we are about to struggle on just over a 100k a year.
This is the first year I’ve maxed my 401k! I’m pretty excited about it. I normally have put around16k away per year. I do HSA family max and only about 100 into my Roth. That is my next goal to max out my Roth. I certainly wouldn’t be able to do this without a second job though.
I max my 401k every year, but I live in a glorified shed. 🤷
I’m 45, and have been out of work for six months. I’ve got an MBA from a major public school, and veritable success. I still can’t find work.
So no, I haven’t been saving for a bit 🙃 I was doing a couple grand a month before. Not nearly enough to retire on, but SOMETHING.
Been putting 8% into my 401k, while my company put in 10%, which I'm also been fully vetted since hired on. They also contributed $900 into my HSA account, annually, plus other excellent benefits included provided by my company.
My entire life I have lived off something my mom taught me as a teenager when I got my first job: Every time I get a raise of any kind I split the difference between what you take home and what you put away.
I am at a rather healthy total percentage of income at the point and I never “feel” the increased amount I put away.
6 month emergency fund. Max the 401K match percent your company provides if one is available. I get .5% for every one I put away maxed at 3% total. So, I put away 6 and get 3.
Then max out a Roth.
If you have all of this and have more questions find a fee based finical planner and avoid r/wallstreetbets
I've been out of work since I got laid off in November. 2024. I'm using a 401K from another job to try to keep my house until I can get another job or convince someone to put me out of my misery.
My husband and I both came from families where retirement savings wasn’t a thing. Saw our parents get into some bad money problems as they got older. We started saving in our 20s and we were maxing out the 401k and IRAs since we were 32. I didn’t get my own 401k until I was 36 (previous jobs never gave me the option) and I max it out every year. We are hopefully going to get to retire at 55 if we play the cards right. And if either of us gets a horrible health condition, we will take a lethal dose of something and exit without burdening the other person. I saw both my parents die from horrible illness at young ages and I am not going to suffer like that at the end of my life.