Tag Archives: retirement planning

This Retirement Party is Coming to a Close

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All good parties must come to an end, and this one is no exception. The old geezers of the group, grandma and grandpa Pension, are complaining that the music is too loud and that it’s past their bed time. They have however agreed to do one last meet and greet before this shindig wraps up. So without further ado it is my pleasure to introduce you to Mr. & Mrs. Pension (they are cranky so we will keep this short).

So what is it? Pensions are company sponsored retirement plans that provide retired employees with a fixed payout, usually paid monthly, for the remainder of their life. A common requirement is that the employee work for the sponsoring company for a specific period of time determined by the company (this is referred to as vesting) in order to qualify for the pension benefit.

How does it work? The employee first must sign up for the pension plan then complete a vesting period, usually 5-7 years of active employment, once complete they are entitled to a fixed benefit in retirement (age 65). The amount paid is usually determined by number of years worked for the company and salary level upon retirement or throughout the employee’s career. Traditionally pension plans do not require employee contributions, the employer provides all the funding, however there are some plans that may require employees to contribute.

  • Example[1]: Sam worked for Procter & Gamble for 30 years; his Pension plan states that he will be paid 2% of his average salary multiplied by the number of years worked for the company, each year once he retires. Sam’s average salary during his employment was $70k per year. To calculate his pension payment Sam multiplies 2% by his average salary ($70k) then multiplies the result by years worked (30) to get $42k (2% x $70k x 30). The result, once Sam retires he will receive $42k a year in pension benefits, or if paid monthly $3,500 a month for the rest of his life (pretty sweet deal in my opinion).

Important information to note: Over the past few decades pension plans have become scarcer, especially in the private sector mainly because of the high cost to maintain. With no employee contribution in many cases, and guaranteed befits, the employer must offset any market downturns to maintain the fixed benefits. It should be no surprise that direct contribution plans like the 401(k) have become the retirement vehicle of choice due to lower costs and the ability to pass the responsibility for retirement planning on to the individual employee.

So that about wraps it up for this retirement party, if you have any additional questions about pensions drop a comment below and I’m sure we can convince Mr. or Mrs. Pension to get back to you. If you missed all the action until now you can catch up here with the 401(k) and here with the IRA.

I hear there is an after party in the works for sometime next week, make sure to tell your friends (I hear Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ are good ways to do that ;)) so they can catch up on all the action before it happens!

[1] This is a very simple example; the math behind the real calculations can be much more complex.

It’s a Retirement Party!

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I have received many requests to write a blog post on the various types of retirement plans. This isn’t surprising, since many of my friends are recent college graduates starting their first big boy (or girl) jobs and have never given retirement planning a thought. Instead of doing one long post covering every type of plan I am going to write three separate posts covering the most popular plans, the 401(k), IRA, and Pension. With that little introduction out of the way let’s kick this retirement party off with the big daddy, the traditional 401(k).

So what is it? The traditional 401(k) is a company sponsored retirement plan that allows you save for retirement by making pre-tax contributions to the plan. Not every company offers a 401(k) and you can not open one on your own, it must be through an employer.

How does it work? You elect through your employer to contribute funds to the plan on a pre-tax basis, usually a set percentage of each paycheck (for more information on pre-tax deductions check out the mini series your paycheck). The company sponsoring the plan will provide the employee with multiple options where they can choose what to invest the funds in, common investment options include, index funds, mutual funds, bond funds, and company stock. Once you retire and begin withdrawing funds, those distributions are then taxed at ordinary income taxes rates (see here for example) In many instances your company will match your contribution up to a certain percent (aka: Free Money![1]).

For example, say I make $10,000 a month (I wish!); and the company I work for will match my contribution up to 6% dollar for dollar. This means if I contribute 6% of my paycheck ($600) the company will also contribute an additional 6% ($600) for a total contribution of $1,200.

Matching varies from company to company and the terminology may differ as well. You might find out that your company matches the 1st 3% dollar for dollar then a 2nd 3% at .50 cents on the dollar, up to 6% total. This means the first 3% of your contribution is matched in its entirety and the subsequent 3% is matched at 50%. Using the $10,000 example from above an employee contribution of 6% ($600) would equate to an employer match of 4.5% ($450), the first 3% dollar for dollar equaling $300 and the second 3% .50 cents for each dollar totaling $150.

Important information to note: a 401(k) is not like a normal bank account, it is governed by different laws and regulations. The biggest difference is you can not access your money whenever you want, because it is a retirement account the money can not be accessed until you retire or reach the age of 59 and a half. Now, there are certain instances when funds can be withdrawn before retirement but you could be subject to penalties or additional taxes. Each situation is unique; if you need to withdraw money early from your 401(k) it is best to speak with your HR department or a financial advisor. There are also limits to the amount you can contribute to the plan in a given year, for 2012 the limit is $17,000 and if you are over 50 you can contribute an additional $5,500 for a total of $22,500. These limits do not include employer matching.

What’s all this noise about a Roth 401(k)? A Roth 401(k) is the same as the traditional 401(k) except for one key difference, contributions are made after tax instead of before.  When money is withdrawn in retirement there is no tax withheld since it was already paid. Now many people want to know which plan is better, Roth or Traditional, and the truth is one is not “better” than the other. The choice of which plan to choose largely comes down to your individual tax situation, weather you prefer to pay taxes now or later, and your assessment of future tax rates (something very hard to determine). If you think tax rates could be higher when you retire it may be beneficial to choose a Roth plan, if you think rates will be lower the Traditional plan may suit your needs better.

WTF does the (k) mean? The (k) refers to the sub-section of section 401 of the IRS code. Not nearly as exciting as you thought the answer would be, was it?

Next up is the Individual Retirement Account, or IRA.

[1] It’s for this very reason that if your company offers a 401(k) you should be contributing!!

$100 > $1,000,000 (not a typo…)

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I fully intend to have $1,000,000 in the bank one day. Not literally in one bank, spread across many types of investments and accounts, but you get the point. One day, I will be a millionaire.

So many people spend a lifetime chasing what seems to be the elusive goal of becoming a millionaire, only to fail in the end. The thought process usually becomes “if I only made more money” and while making more money certainly helps achieve the goal, it is only half (or less) of the equation. The other half, which is usually widely neglected, is your personal spending habits.

Now, this isn’t going to turn into some published for the thousandth time article that tells you to cut down on the frappucinos, which I’m sure you have read more than once. Instead I am going to share with you one of my personal philosophies on how I think about money.

Regard $100 more than you do $1,000,000

That’s right; treat one hundred dollars today as more than one million in the future. Many people tend to spend $100 without much thought, and a good portion of those will drop $1,000 without much more. And let’s face it, one million is kind of an arbitrary goal to have and probably won’t be enough for you to retire with anyway. Don’t treat saving $1,000,000 like it is impossible and something you will never achieve, think of it in terms of a lifetime and it is actually pretty small.

Millions of people will bring home probably twice that amount during their working lifetime. Think about it, if you bring home a net income of $50,000 a year working for 20 years, you will have made one million dollars. Most people work more than 20 years before they retire and eventually end up bringing home more than $50,000 net per year. Couple this with any income provided by a spouse, and suddenly your earning power doesn’t seem to be the problem.

Read the 1st two paragraphs of this article as some food for thought: http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/moneymatters/a/edandearnings.htm

I could probably make the argument that spending habits actually matter more than income when used to measure a person’s wealth. However, I don’t have any academic studies to reference proving my point…all I need to do is look at the many celebrity actors and music stars who once had millions and are now broke.

Remember when you were a little kid and thought $100 was almost an unimaginable amount of money, what happened to that feeling as we got older? Somewhere along the line it was lost, and the ability to spend freely took over. The next time you are about to make a purchase over $100, do your best to remember that feeling and give the purchase a little extra thought. Is it an item you really need, or really really want*? If you do this, I bet you will see that ever elusive $1,000,000 much sooner.


*Quick Tip: Before buying something you want, wait a week. Or better yet, wait a month before actually buying it. Most of the time the feeling will wear off and you will either not want the item anymore, or want it much less. If you still want it after that time frame and you can justify it, go ahead and buy it. Using this little trick will help you save and cut down on impulse purchases.