Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire How does your 401K compare to your age-group's average?

Yes, I know.

I have a feeling it will be dissolved and paid out well before I retire.

"Income producing land or something similar." Take advantage of the opportunities in your area or move to the country. You can live in the city and own income producing land and rentals. GW

Why not just buy an assortment of REIT's and laze in the city?

It doesn't even have to be income producing. If you can get it rented for enough to pay the mortgage and all the costs of upkeep, eventually you own it free and clear.

If that whats works for the individual, great. For myself I can't see a large city as being a place that I could be comfortable in during hard times. GW

PS. Email for my address, should you have a hankering for turnips. GW

We setup a LLC owned by one of our 401k to buy rental property. The nice thing is your profits are tax free if you want to ever sell. That gives us a little diversification in retirement savings rather than have everything pinned on wallstreet. When I leave my current job I'll move my 401k into the same thing. It's more work than investing, but the return is more consistent.

You're one of the good guys OT303.

I live in the country, too and have property rented out but it doesn't take care of itself. Like livestock and kids, you better stay on top of it.

Sad part of what you've said is so few Americans really have a choice in the matter.

Yours is a plan!

I do not buy this at all. I work for the #2 oil company in the world and will soon be retiring with a defined benefit pension after 30 years of employ. About 15 years ago the company started to offer the "portable" retirement plan as an option. For one, we could not attract experienced hires because they would receive little from the defined benefit plan and often only begin to collect it at age 65, later than many planned to work. The choice was yours though. Over the years more and more new hires were selecting the portable option as most do not believe or even want to work for the same company for their entire career. Finally in 2013, because 90% of the people were choosing the portable option, the defined benefit option was dropped. I forget the exact numbers but these days folks are expected to change companies 5+ times in their career.

I've read here where many people tell a tale of woe of someone they know who did everything right and unfortunately, died right after retiring. While sad, this is not the norm and no reason not to plan for retirement. Others say that they want to do "stuff" that they won't be able to in retirement. Two answers for that- 1.Plan well and you can retire early enough to do those things, and- 2. Take care of yourself now and you'd be surprised at what you're still capable of as you get older.
There's nothing worse than having to work and not being physically able to.
PS-the dollar is never going to plunge in value. If it did, you'd have a lot worse problems than retirement.

I'm still scratching my head at those numbers. They seem very low to me. I'm in my mid 30's and have been contributing max to my 401K since I was allowed. My company has matched in my 401K almost what's presented in the age 60's column, and I get a pension. I'm not counting on the SS or pension for retirement and still feel behind in my 401K. I guess my kids will have a large time when I'm dead and gone.

I'm not too worried about it. The politicians already have the wheels turning to seize retirement assets of you guys who have more money than the government thinks you need in retirement. I'm just planning on living the good life until I retire and then having the government take care of me with the redistributed funds from your accounts

Doing stuff and saving for retirement are not mutually exclusive.

For us, just not raising our standard of living every time we got a raise resulted in allowing us to save and do stuff. It also allows me and my wife to bothe work part-time in our 40's and maintain my standard of living, while allowing me to work more if I want some tools or toys. Time with my son > any physical possessions.

Not having car payments also really helped. Like someone here said: you should treat a vehicle like a refrigerator. Use it until it doesn't work anymore.

Pretty much. And, it's the stupid things folks spend money on now that they could easily give up, and still live a good life before retirement. You can have it all.

They are way too low but they are the reality.

I just found this thread and your comments are both helpful and amusing! I may be retiring soon due to some health issues, actually about 2 1/2 years sooner than I planned. My financial guy is telling me to quit worrying, my Wife is telling me to quit worrying, but I can't help worrying, at least a little. Its a big change for anyone and I really wanted to work a little longer. I have a decent pension, a decent 401 and very little debt. Wish me Luck!

The numbers in this chart would worry me if that was all that I managed to save. I don't know how much you will really need, but I do know that more is better. I'm glad that I started early and managed to live under my means. You never know what life is going to throw at you. I've heard most of the numbers. Some experts say your savings should be 5 times you pre-retirement salary, and I've heard 8 times.

The company I work for stopped contributing to 401k's as of Jan 1. Previously they would match 25% of your contribution, up to 15% of your pay.

I am still able to put money in it this year(without match) but they are doing away with the 401k at the end of the year.

We are moving to an ESOP program. Not sure how I feel about it.

One chitty part is it took 5 years before you were fully vested in the 401k, now you start over and it will be another 5 before I am fully vested in the ESOP.

Could be great, could be awful. Remember Enron. No matter how much you love your company and think they are great diversify at the first opportunity.

The company I have worked for the last 15 years matches the 403B at pretty much 100% your contributions and gives us all the Fidelity funds to pick from. The offset is I make less money that other for-profit in the industry but it's by no means a paupers existence. When I started here my wife and I hoped to have children and bought the house based on my salary at the time. Children didn't happen, she went back to work and I have done well and the result is retirement is 8-ish years away at 59 and unless the country melts down we'll be comfortable.

I didn't really start saving and investing until I was 30 and I have made sure to take advantage of everything I can, IRA (both regular and Roth and now regular again) and my first companies 401K and now the 403B. Even though it grew to be no fun at the end, I stayed in the Navy Reserve until retirement so that's another income stream. Wife takes advantage of the IRA, the gov't TSP and will have a retirement as well. We won't have a mortgage in retirement so that's another cost gone.

Yes, things could melt down but all I can do is plan and prepare the best we can.

Self employed for 10 yrs now. I only have what money I put in a Roth with my wife and that is only about 11k per yr. I don't have that much, not even close to the avr. I do have a 3 bed brick ranch on 4ac. worth 300k though and it is payed for for 5 yrs. Then daughter goes to college, I borrow her 30k. She is out but now my son is ready for college. Money in one place isn't so good. Eveyone sais DIVERSIFY!!! but then all thei money goes in diverse and different stocks. Not so good cause it really isn't diversified if it is all in stocks. I have 3 different pieces of land. Where I live and 2 small 7& 8 ac parcels with river frontage. I have money on the bank too. How else do people diversify??? I refuse to own gold. It has no dividends and scripture says " they will throw their gold and silver in the streets" I think it is a bible verse.

Huh?