Well, how much do you have in your 401K and how old are you?

[anonymous]

Pat Riley: "I don't believe in retirement. You just move on to the next phase of your life". Those of you that think the Magical 401K Plan is going to give you this amazing life when you retire, are in for a surprise. Your life doesn't not change with retirement, with the exception of working for a terrible company, if you mistakenly choose that path in life. Better move is to ditch the 401k and buy a condo in a city or town you love and plan to live in because you simply love it. You can rent it out until you move into the place.

The bottom line is that the 401k is "buzz killer", and instrument designed by bankers to take your money and secure for their own money changing schemes. And over 95% of you don't see it. You have been played like a dam fiddle.

 

[anonymous]

Pat Riley: "I don't believe in retirement. You just move on to the next phase of your life". Those of you that think the Magical 401K Plan is going to give you this amazing life when you retire, are in for a surprise. Your life doesn't not change with retirement, with the exception of working for a terrible company, if you mistakenly choose that path in life. Better move is to ditch the 401k and buy a condo in a city or town you love and plan to live in because you simply love it. You can rent it out until you move into the place.

The bottom line is that the 401k is "buzz killer", and instrument designed by bankers to take your money and secure for their own money changing schemes. And over 95% of you don't see it. You have been played like a dam fiddle.

Pat Riley is a basketball guy, not an investment expert. Secondly, you keep repeating a lie. Bankers do not take your money in a 401k. It has already been addressed. You can go ahead an avoid putting money in a retirement account and then spend your retirement years sponging off the government programs that might exist at that time.

The successful people will follow the wealthy that currently own the vast majority of funds within retirement plans in order to maximize the tax benefits they provide.

 

[anonymous]

Pat Riley is a basketball guy, not an investment expert. Secondly, you keep repeating a lie. Bankers do not take your money in a 401k. It has already been addressed. You can go ahead an avoid putting money in a retirement account and then spend your retirement years sponging off the government programs that might exist at that time.

The successful people will follow the wealthy that currently own the vast majority of funds within retirement plans in order to maximize the tax benefits they provide.

There is no such thing as an investment expert, another LIE you have been sold.

Good for you.

Keep putting money into a "black hole" with no access until you are old. And you still have to pay taxes on it.

 

[anonymous]

There is no such thing as an investment expert, another LIE you have been sold.

Good for you.

Keep putting money into a "black hole" with no access until you are old. And you still have to pay taxes on it.

Wrong. We can look at the credentials and track record to see who qualifies as an investment expert. It is no different than how you look at any other field of practice. You are also wrong about being able to access prior to retiring. Let’s say you lose your job. You can then transfer the money from a Roth 401K into a Roth IRA. Withdrawals are tax free and penalty free. The problem is that you cannot replace that money and those funds are meant for when you retire. Thus, it is better to have an established emergency fund.

In short, everything you just posted is completely wrong. If you would have taken just a few minutes to look it up for posting, you would embarrass yourself yet again for your lack of knowledge.

 

[anonymous]

If anyone tells you that they can’t afford to put money into a 401k, then their biggest problem is that they have a crappy job and don’t earn enough. No one can afford to neglect retirement savings when they are working as it is harder to make up the gap as you get older.

 

[anonymous]

If anyone tells you that they can’t afford to put money into a 401k, then their biggest problem is that they have a crappy job and don’t earn enough. No one can afford to neglect retirement savings when they are working as it is harder to make up the gap as you get older.

All jobs are crappy. Corporate jobs are the crappiest. Even a high paying corporate job is death.

Look, the 401k sucks. You guys don't get it. You have your heads up your #$$%%^.

Would you give your local mob boss (the banks) 15% of your hard earned money and let them hold it for decades? I think some of you would, as you are very naive.

In short, 99% of you have no clue how the world works. That is your problem. And you never will learn.

 

[anonymous]

All jobs are crappy. Corporate jobs are the crappiest. Even a high paying corporate job is death.

Look, the 401k sucks. You guys don't get it. You have your heads up your #$$%%^.

Would you give your local mob boss (the banks) 15% of your hard earned money and let them hold it for decades? I think some of you would, as you are very naive.

In short, 99% of you have no clue how the world works. That is your problem. And you never will learn.

If you have a crappy job, that is your fault. Not everyone is miserable like you. Do something about it. Perhaps all you qualify for is crappy jobs. What we see in your posts is that you have no clue as to what you are talking about and you also fail to do any research on topics before posting. Employers don’t want people like you when you sound like an idiot. We see this yet again on your erroneous 401K comments. Did you fail to understand the previous posts? Have you not done your research on Roth accounts vs traditional? If, for some reason, you want to take out money, you can do so without a penalty for an early withdrawal. Further, with all 401Ks and IRAs, you are not giving it to some “banker”. The money is your own account and you control the investments.

 

[anonymous]

All jobs are crappy. Corporate jobs are the crappiest. Even a high paying corporate job is death.

Look, the 401k sucks. You guys don't get it. You have your heads up your #$$%%^.

Would you give your local mob boss (the banks) 15% of your hard earned money and let them hold it for decades? I think some of you would, as you are very naive.

In short, 99% of you have no clue how the world works. That is your problem. And you never will learn.

If you have a crappy job, that is your fault. Not everyone is miserable like you. Do something about it. Perhaps all you qualify for is crappy jobs. What we see in your posts is that you have no clue as to what you are talking about and you also fail to do any research on topics before posting. Employers don’t want people like you when you sound like an idiot. We see this yet again on your erroneous 401K comments. Did you fail to understand the previous posts? Have you not done your research on Roth accounts vs traditional? If, for some reason, you want to take out money, you can do so without a penalty for an early withdrawal. Further, with all 401Ks and IRAs, you are not giving it to some “banker”. The money is your own account and you control the investments.

 

[anonymous]

I just read an article that said the average 401K balance in the US is $47,890! Seriously?

Please be honest, no bs. Just trying to see where I stand among the masses.

age 54
401K balance $465,000

I know, it should be higher, never changed my portfolio before the crash and I'm down about $140K from my high.

Age 60
401k/IRA balance is approximately $2million
After tax investments are about $3.2 million
Property is paid off and worth about $1.6 million (planning to downsize at age 67)
Doing some work with a company for some equity. High risk, but upside is in the $2.5 to 5 million range.

 

[anonymous]

All jobs are crappy. Corporate jobs are the crappiest. Even a high paying corporate job is death.

Look, the 401k sucks. You guys don't get it. You have your heads up your #$$%%^.

Would you give your local mob boss (the banks) 15% of your hard earned money and let them hold it for decades? I think some of you would, as you are very naive.

In short, 99% of you have no clue how the world works. That is your problem. And you never will learn.

You still crying, bitch? Financial professional but you don’t have the money to vacation and take a break from posting.

 

[anonymous]

You still crying, bitch? Financial professional but you don’t have the money to vacation and take a break from posting.

The little child is back playing on the computer and repeating himself…………yyyyyyyyyyyyyyaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwnnnnnnnnnn. Grow up junior.

 

[anonymous]

Age 67, retired for 2 years
net worth of $4.8M
Pension & SSI income of $112K, not yet withdrawn any of 401K funds
no debt
enjoying life and good health, good bourbon and cheap beer

 

[anonymous]

When I do even more analysis on the 401K, it is even worse than I previously thought.

1. The stock market is vastly overrated. Shell companies for the most part. No leadership anywhere in corporate world, when you consider all the restructuring and lack of loyalty to employees. There is nothing there. Just weakness, posing as strength. You are putting your money into a sinking ship that looks good on the outside, but in the inside is full of dead man's bones.

2. NOBODY has any idea where the markets will be in the future.

3. NOBODY has a clue on what the government will do with the 401K or other financial instruments in the future. Look up the Germany situation after WW 2. If you don't think that can happen again, you are an idiot. That was less than 100 years ago, and in a history timeline, that is a blink. Trusting the government is stupid.

Opportunity cost. Look it up.

Time, Value, Money. Look it up.

I am just trying to help, but you don't get it. If anything, if you choose this stupid path to your finances, make sure you don't work too hard. Don't sell when the boss is not there. Just do your signature thing. You are a fool if you go above and beyond as well. You are a bigger fool if you actually stress for you stupid job as well.

Cheers! I am off to Yellowstone for 3 weeks before school starts.

 

[anonymous]

When I do even more analysis on the 401K, it is even worse than I previously thought.

1. The stock market is vastly overrated. Shell companies for the most part. No leadership anywhere in corporate world, when you consider all the restructuring and lack of loyalty to employees. There is nothing there. Just weakness, posing as strength. You are putting your money into a sinking ship that looks good on the outside, but in the inside is full of dead man's bones.

2. NOBODY has any idea where the markets will be in the future.

3. NOBODY has a clue on what the government will do with the 401K or other financial instruments in the future. Look up the Germany situation after WW 2. If you don't think that can happen again, you are an idiot. That was less than 100 years ago, and in a history timeline, that is a blink. Trusting the government is stupid.

Opportunity cost. Look it up.

Time, Value, Money. Look it up.

I am just trying to help, but you don't get it. If anything, if you choose this stupid path to your finances, make sure you don't work too hard. Don't sell when the boss is not there. Just do your signature thing. You are a fool if you go above and beyond as well. You are a bigger fool if you actually stress for you stupid job as well.

Cheers! I am off to Yellowstone for 3 weeks before school starts.

Your analysis is just as bad, if not worse, than before. Let’s address each of your points:

No, most companies are not shell companies. Companies need to eventually become profitable or they will cease to exist. Further, you can just simply put your money in the S&P500 (large cap).

Nobody knows the exact outcome of ANY investment. With that said, the S&P has never had a failed 30 year period (look up the 4% SWR).

Your concern about government changes to the 401K are unfounded. To the opposite, they could sunset the 401K and those that maxed out the 401K would be much better off versus those that did not.

Opportunity cost? To the opposite, those that fail to take advantage of the tax benefits of retirement plans, such as 401Ks have suffered from lost opportunity of the tax break (which are few for most people). There is a reason why the vast majority of money in 401Ks and IRAs are held by the top 10%. Poor people have very little in these tax shelters.

Time, value, money? This is yet another reason to put money into a 401K/IRA. Inflation and taxes are the two biggest threats. The tax treatment gives you the tax advantages and simply putting your money into something like an S&P500 fund or a total stock market fund will outpace inflation (The S&P500 has a historic average annual return of 6.5% real, which is the return after adjusting for inflation)

Every post you make lack any factual support and, in fact, is harmful to anyone‘s finances. You said you are off on a vacation for the next 3 weeks until you have to go back to school. It sounds like you should have been spending your time in summer school instead.

 

[anonymous]

To the fella screaming doom and gloom around the 401K, I read several of your latest posts yet I don't see any solutions to the awful 401K we all use. What would you suggest/plan to do instead?

BTW, 61.
$2m in 401k, IRA account. Includes Roth.
House paid for. No debt. (net worth +$4M)
Pension of about $5500/month or if I select lump sum, around a $1M (give or take based on interest rates).
IRA will create another $5-6K monthly in divvy's (and most will come from the Roth). Won't need to touch principle and looking to move most of traditional to Roth to assist heirs and reduce the tax burden on them.
Take SS at 67 will be another $3500/month.
This doesn't include any of my wife's calculations. Just mine.

The 401K has been great. Getting a 100% company match is free money. Why wouldn't anyone not take advantage of that (if they can)?

 

[anonymous]

To the fella screaming doom and gloom around the 401K, I read several of your latest posts yet I don't see any solutions to the awful 401K we all use. What would you suggest/plan to do instead?

BTW, 61.
$2m in 401k, IRA account. Includes Roth.
House paid for. No debt. (net worth +$4M)
Pension of about $5500/month or if I select lump sum, around a $1M (give or take based on interest rates).
IRA will create another $5-6K monthly in divvy's (and most will come from the Roth). Won't need to touch principle and looking to move most of traditional to Roth to assist heirs and reduce the tax burden on them.
Take SS at 67 will be another $3500/month.
This doesn't include any of my wife's calculations. Just mine.

The 401K has been great. Getting a 100% company match is free money. Why wouldn't anyone not take advantage of that (if they can)?

Why listen to the doom and gloom guy when he doesn’t care about facts? Just look at what the rich do. Just Google this: What percentage of stock are owned by the top 10%. What percentage of retirement accounts (401ks/IRAs) are owned by the top 10%? What tax advantages work for you? What level of risk are you willing to take?

As to your situation, you are in your 60’s. At that age, listen to William Bernstein. You have won the game, so you don’t need to play any longer. Keep money diversified. Probably a 60/40 split. Keep it simple with a three fund portfolio. Use your tax advantaged accounts for your bond allocation in order to keep your tax burden low. In your situation, I would consider delaying social security until age 70, to get a higher benefit. It not only helps you, but can leave a higher benefit for your surviving spouse. The pension question is complex. Does it have a surviving spouse benefit? If not, you will probably want to get the payout. At age 61, your life expectancy is about 19 years. So if there is no spousal benefit, simple math tells you to take the payout (even factoring very modest returns).

 

[anonymous]

If you can't see that the stock market is rigged for the benefit of the international bankers, then you are a dolt, that has no clue how the world actually operates. Don't worry. About 99.9 percent of you have no clue. Worse, you get mad at the .1 percent that try to teach you! No future for you. No hope for you. Fantasy fiction is what you all thrive on.

 

[anonymous]

If you can't see that the stock market is rigged for the benefit of the international bankers, then you are a dolt, that has no clue how the world actually operates. Don't worry. About 99.9 percent of you have no clue. Worse, you get mad at the .1 percent that try to teach you! No future for you. No hope for you. Fantasy fiction is what you all thrive on.

Just a simple check of the facts show that you have no clue what you are talking about. Look at who actually owns the vast majority of stock. Is the wealthy. Broke people like you act like you know what you are talking about, but you will always be poor at watching the successful from afar.

 

[anonymous]

If you can't see that the stock market is rigged for the benefit of the international bankers, then you are a dolt, that has no clue how the world actually operates. Don't worry. About 99.9 percent of you have no clue. Worse, you get mad at the .1 percent that try to teach you! No future for you. No hope for you. Fantasy fiction is what you all thrive on.

Dumbass just keeps going

 

[anonymous]

Dumbass just keeps going

Some of us prefer to deal in facts instead of making idiotic posts like you do.