Retirement Savings

[Kerbie]

I'm amazed every time I hear statistics like these...

--42% of Americans have less than $10,000 saved for retirement.
--The median 401(k) in the US is $58,000.
--The median retirement account balance at Vanguard is $26,000.
--Ages 35-44... median household retirement savings is $37,000.
--Ages 45-54... median household retirement savings is $87.000.
--GAO reports 29% of households age 55+ have no retirement savings or pensions.
--One in three Americans has saved nothing for retirement.

We have a lot of retirement threads, but most of them focus on our activities, hobbies and work. If anybody wants to share, I'm curious what means you've used (in general terms) to save for your retirement. I think my retirement is probably 11 months away, so some of these issues are very timely for me.

If you like quizzes, here's one by AARP assessing our knowledge of retirement planning issues.
Here's Schwab's Retirement Income Planning Quiz.
Here's NY Life Investments' Retirement IQ Test.
Here's the Retirement Savings Quiz from HowStuffWorks.

[catdaddy]

Fortunately, I worked for an excellent company for the majority of my career. Saving for retirement for me mostly involved maxing out my 401K contributions, taking advantage of available company matching contributions, and investing the company's generous profit sharing bonuses in a retirement fund.

[H165]

I worked for a utility for the majority of my career. I also maxed out my 401K contributions, and I took advantage of the company stock ownership plan. I avoided dipping into retirement savings for a couple of years by selling a whole lot of stuff I no longer needed.

I took SS as early as possible.

I have a few hobbies. If I want or need tools, equipment, materials, anything.. I look at ebay, Craigslist, swap meets, garage sales, and pawn shops, and I comparison shop.

Most important, I don't spend money I don't have and I don't buy new things that can be bought, in perfect operating condition, used. There's a good example of this on "the other" forum: There are over 500 used Martin D-18s for sale right now on eBay: https://umgf.com/trivia-there-are-ab...--t198260.html

[lfoo6952]

I also followed catdaddy's path to retirement savings by maxing out my 401K contributions. I was blessed with a nice career, working my way up the corporate ladder in the biotech field. In addition, my wife and I are rabid savers, rarely going on vacations. This may sound controversial, but we find that vacations are a big waste of money. We get more gratification watching our savings accounts grow.

[ahorsewithnonam]

Worked for Ryder Truck Rental for 15 years. Small pension. Then 19 years in the Pharmaceutical business. Contributed to 401k’s in both. Also bought stock in one of my Pharma companies that got bought 8 years later by a big Pharma company. That’s what really sent me ahead financially.

Been with Fidelity Investments for the duration. Those numbers posted are far different from the average 401k balance with Vanguard, Fidelity, Schwab etc.

Fidelity has a free retirement tool..RIP

My income streams in retirement are: social security, New York Life Clear Income Annuity, and my side job. Fidelity has me in their Private Client Group or something like that. They manage the investments in all my 401k’s, and other investments for a smallish fee.

[jpd]

Get a life : you don't need a million to retire well
by Warner, Ralph
Place HoldAdd To ListShare This!
Summary
The financial-service industry wants you to believe that in order to avoid financial destitution, you need to put aside huge amounts of money that you - let's say it together - should have begun saving years ago. Although a sensible savings plan makes good horse sense, many other actions and decisions will determine whether you enjoy your retirement years.

Title
Get a life : you don't need a million to retire well / by Ralph Warner.
Authors
Warner, Ralph (Ralph Jake)
Edition
3rd ed.
Publisher
Berkeley, Calif : Nolo, 2000.

[M Hayden]

I’ve been putting money away in either 401ks or brokerage accounts or both since I started working as a teenager in the very late seventies, and so has DW. It wasn’t a lot of money at first but compound interest is a wonderful thing, and where possible, the 401k was maxed out and money went into brokerage as well to provide an account which allowed withdrawals and checking.

That, coupled with the value of the house, has left us far better off than we ever expected. We are about 5 years out from retirement and anticipate renting the house after retirement to help fund travel until we collect SS.

We don’t have expensive cars or flashy clothes. We generally don’t take expensive vacations, though the money is there - instead, when I’ve had to travel for work we’ve found ways to leverage that to see thee world, and it’s been quite extensive. We do have the house, a couple of nice instruments and a few other objects of value, but on the whole we have lived well within our means, and we haven’t missed much.

Educate/work/save/invest can work if you’re careful and patient and don’t expect miracles

[Dru Edwards]

Yea, some of those stats are amazing, especially when you consider the debt many people have. I wonder what it will be like when Millennials get to middle age and then retirement age? They seem to spend everything they have. Not sure if that's just a misconception on my part.

[DenverSteve]

I have always put extra into a self-managed retirement 401K. Allowing investments to compound for decades adds up. However, if you're fortunate enough to buy, and pay off, a residence, retirement becomes much easier. With no wasted money (all the extra $9.99- $99.99 monthly add-ons) and no over-spending on unnecessary frivolities, and no new car payments every 2-3 years you can save monthly and you can live pretty well on a modest retirement/401K and social security. Having to continue to pay for habitation takes a bit of money unless you move to a very cheap part of the country.

[penname]

I have a 401k started 20 years ago, small traditional IRA, larger ROTH IRA (maxed out contributions for almost 20 years), and small traditional corporate pension to draw from when I retire in about 5 years. My wife has a ROTH IRA and mutual fund/stock accounts. Plus I have military retirement and we both qualify for social security.

[Kerbie]

Thanks for the info and opinions. I remember my parent's generation when most of them I knew retired on one pension and Social Security. I think those days are gone... most of us seem to be pooling from multiple sources.

I've maxed my 401(k) every year of eligibility, so it's the largest asset I own. I'll also be pulling from a pension, ROTH, traditional IRA, nonqualified annuities and personal savings.

With a financial background years ago, I first ran a retirement income analysis in my 30s. And I continue to monitor and tweak it regularly. It's amazing how powerful those programs have become. I encourage anyone interested to do some type of analysis in order to see what the future might look like.

In my little second job, I still see folks every day who aren't preparing for retirement. If I were in their shoes, I think I'd be scared to death. Life expectancies have risen, yet personal savings aren't reflecting a commensurate increase. Fascinating stuff... and it gets more interesting to me each day as retirement gets a little closer.

[Mandobart]

We paid off our house many years ago. Got no debts at all. Paid for our kid's college with a guaranteed plan with the state when they were in grade school. Our son finished school a few years back and is working. Our daughter will finish next year. Giving them the gift of a debt-free education is huge. Been maxing out my 401k, wife's 401k and my 457 for several years. We are above the million dollar mark with those. I'm also in the state defined-benefit retirement system. About 400 k in regular CD's, money markets, bank accounts. I plan on leaving work in about 4 years. That will result in another ~$300 k in the retirement accounts and more in savings.

[RP]

Originally Posted by Kerbie

I remember my parent's generation when most of them I knew retired on one pension and Social Security. I think those days are gone...

I think that the days of corporate pensions are on the wane...

Originally Posted by Dru Edwards

Yea, some of those stats are amazing, especially when you consider the debt many people have. I wonder what it will be like when Millennials get to middle age and then retirement age? They seem to spend everything they have. Not sure if that's just a misconception on my part.

The other part of this is that child care, housing costs, student loans, automobile costs and others seem to have increased the actual cost of living far exceeding actual salaries for many millennials. In addition, certain costs such as internet, cable television, and cell phones to name a few are now perceived as necessary costs; and these didn't even exist a few decades ago....

[Fogducker]

Aesop's "The Ant and the Grasshopper" fable (The one where the ant worked all summer while the grasshopper played and had a good time!) is in play here.

Fog

[Mbroady]

Originally Posted by jpd

Get a life : you don't need a million to retire well
by Warner, Ralph
Place HoldAdd To ListShare This!
Summary
The financial-service industry wants you to believe that in order to avoid financial destitution, you need to put aside huge amounts of money that you - let's say it together - should have begun saving years ago. Although a sensible savings plan makes good horse sense, many other actions and decisions will determine whether you enjoy your retirement years.

Title
Get a life : you don't need a million to retire well / by Ralph Warner.
Authors
Warner, Ralph (Ralph Jake)
Edition
3rd ed.
Publisher
Berkeley, Calif : Nolo, 2000.

I like many others here have been fortunate to have had a career and employment which offers savings potential. In addition my parents indoctrinated me early into paying my self first in order to invest in retirement. So far all is good. Not so for many of our fellow citizens.

With that said this sounds like an interesting read and plan on checking it out. In the mean time Could you give us some cliff notes.