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Do you contribute to a 401k?

  1. #1
    Zanick motherfucker [my p.a. supernal goa]
    Honestly, I don't educate myself as to why. I just know that social security isn't a guarantee for MOON PERSONs and that, with employer matching, I'll be able to save $700,000 to $1,000,000 by retirement. Yeah, it pisses me off that I don't have that little bit of extra spending money right now, but I don't have faith that I'd use it so wisely as to negate an investment for the future provided that I don't kill myself before 30 in which case it won't even matter.
  2. #2
    Sophie Pedophile Tech Support
    Educate me on how pensions work in the states Zanick. Who manages your 401k? What does social security have to do with it? Is that like government pension? Because i wouldn't rely on that simply for the fact that while the national debt in the US seems like a measly 17 trillion the US government has lots and lots of more debt coming in the form of unfunded liabilities.
  3. #3
    arthur treacher African Astronaut
    I used to have one but then I said fuck it and cashed it in and spent all the money. From what I understand, they are nice until you go to use it, then they tax the fuck out of you.
  4. #4
    CountBlah Tuskegee Airman
    I used to have one but then I said fuck it and cashed it in and spent all the money. From what I understand, they are nice until you go to use it, then they tax the fuck out of you.
    same here
  5. #5
    Lanny Bird of Courage
    I do in the full amount my employer will match for, it just doesn't make sense to not collect what is essentially free money. I mean it's not free in the sense that it's part of the cost you represent to your employer and something an employer can use to persuade you with in place of other benefits, but at the point you're working somewhere and you opt not to take advantage of matching then you're just throwing money away.

    Educate me on how pensions work in the states Zanick. Who manages your 401k? What does social security have to do with it? Is that like government pension? Because i wouldn't rely on that simply for the fact that while the national debt in the US seems like a measly 17 trillion the US government has lots and lots of more debt coming in the form of unfunded liabilities.

    You pay into your 401k before tax and then pay tax when you collect it (presumably when you retire). 401ks are managed by private organizations, large companies usually have their own 401k managers while smaller ones will have a financial institution like a bank manage their 401k accounts. The law provides for mechanisms for transferring money between managers and early withdrawal penalties and whatnot but the money is kept with private companies ultimately. Social security is a government pension that you pay into as part of taxes but people have been saying it's going to run out of money any day for literally multiple generations. My grandfather thought social security was going to go belly up so he took his out early and my grandmother didn't, she's collected way more than him despite only working for half as long. My dad drew his social security out early and yet now that he's almost retirement age and they're still paying out. I'm not saying it's going to last forever but so far betting against social security hasn't paid out. Anyway, even if you don't think SS is going under it's still worth saving for retirement because social security almost always represents a (sometimes severe) reduction in quality of life relative to conditions while working.
  6. #6
    Sophie Pedophile Tech Support
    I do in the full amount my employer will match for, it just doesn't make sense to not collect what is essentially free money. I mean it's not free in the sense that it's part of the cost you represent to your employer and something an employer can use to persuade you with in place of other benefits, but at the point you're working somewhere and you opt not to take advantage of matching then you're just throwing money away.



    You pay into your 401k before tax and then pay tax when you collect it (presumably when you retire). 401ks are managed by private organizations, large companies usually have their own 401k managers while smaller ones will have a financial institution like a bank manage their 401k accounts. The law provides for mechanisms for transferring money between managers and early withdrawal penalties and whatnot but the money is kept with private companies ultimately. Social security is a government pension that you pay into as part of taxes but people have been saying it's going to run out of money any day for literally multiple generations. My grandfather thought social security was going to go belly up so he took his out early and my grandmother didn't, she's collected way more than him despite only working for half as long. My dad drew his social security out early and yet now that he's almost retirement age and they're still paying out. I'm not saying it's going to last forever but so far betting against social security hasn't paid out. Anyway, even if you don't think SS is going under it's still worth saving for retirement because social security almost always represents a (sometimes severe) reduction in quality of life relative to conditions while working.

    Thanks for elaborating.
  7. #7
    Merlin Houston
    Educate me on how pensions work in the states Zanick. Who manages your 401k? What does social security have to do with it? Is that like government pension? Because i wouldn't rely on that simply for the fact that while the national debt in the US seems like a measly 17 trillion the US government has lots and lots of more debt coming in the form of unfunded liabilities.

    A 401k is a retirement fund that is only affiliated with your company. It's comparable to a IRA or Roth IRA except the 401k is managed by some kike in the company whereas a IRA you can pick whatever funds you want. (IRA is your personally managed retirement fund, Roth is the same but taxes paid upfront). The thing is the government limits how much you can contribute to either a IRA or Roth IRA and it's way less than what you can contribute to a 401k. I don't contribute to mine because my employer doesn't match so it doesn't provide any advantage. I would preferably put it all in a Roth IRA, but you are limited to $5000 a year. This means I'll probably end up putting some in a regular IRA too. You can also contribute to a regular IRA and then roll it into your Roth IRA, but I think this fucks you over somehow.

    They (the government) make it impossible for a person to reasonably contribute to a retirement fund that they personally have control over. Considering all the shit about "young adults aren't saving any money, don't think about the future, blah blah" they sure don't make it easy by placing caps on what a person can contribute. Presumably because they want to force you into the company 401k instead.
  8. #8
    Lanny Bird of Courage
    Most 401k plans give you some flexibility in how your money is invested, what exactly are you looking for? Usually you get a spread of plans that split between liquid assets/bonds/index funds at fairly fine levels of granularity by risk (there were like 30 different plans when I signed up). Unless you're interested in making your own stock picks or something (in which case you're probably missing the point of retirement savings) I don't see what the issue is.
  9. #9
    SBTlauien African Astronaut
    I honestly don't save that far ahead. I expect to die before I am at a retirement age and I actually kind of hope to die before I get that old.

    Not to mention all of the economy stuff going on right now. I wouldn't doubt it if it all crashes at one point and everyone losses their 401k and is SOL. But we still probably have at least 10 years until that happens.
  10. #10
    A 401k is a retirement fund that is only affiliated with your company. It's comparable to a IRA or Roth IRA except the 401k is managed by some kike in the company whereas a IRA you can pick whatever funds you want. (IRA is your personally managed retirement fund, Roth is the same but taxes paid upfront). The thing is the government limits how much you can contribute to either a IRA or Roth IRA and it's way less than what you can contribute to a 401k. I don't contribute to mine because my employer doesn't match so it doesn't provide any advantage. I would preferably put it all in a Roth IRA, but you are limited to $5000 a year. This means I'll probably end up putting some in a regular IRA too. You can also contribute to a regular IRA and then roll it into your Roth IRA, but I think this fucks you over somehow.

    They (the government) make it impossible for a person to reasonably contribute to a retirement fund that they personally have control over. Considering all the shit about "young adults aren't saving any money, don't think about the future, blah blah" they sure don't make it easy by placing caps on what a person can contribute. Presumably because they want to force you into the company 401k instead.

    You admitting to funding the IRA?
  11. #11
    Data African Astronaut
    Originally posted by SBTlauien I honestly don't save that far ahead. I expect to die before I am at a retirement age and I actually kind of hope to die before I get that old.

    Not to mention all of the economy stuff going on right now. I wouldn't doubt it if it all crashes at one point and everyone losses their 401k and is SOL. But we still probably have at least 10 years until that happens.

    Yea 2031
  12. #12
    BeeReBuddy motherfucker [pimp your due marabout]
    Match no more than what your employer will match.
    Just let it build and grow with interest.
    Don't touch it.

    I gots a 401k and if I wanted to cash it out and pay those hefty taxes for withdrawling early I could buy some nice shit.
    But that is not the point.

    Although I have a 401k, I still feel the need to invest in other ways because say I wanna retire early but my 401k is still waiting for me to be 67 or whatever...

    Right now I am looking for new ways to invest on my own.

    My 401k is managed by some shirt.
  13. #13
    Bradley Florida Man
    i dont' have a 401k and i hope social security lasts forever cuz if it doesn't it's back to juking and joggin for every jeeze jurger
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