I'm at 15%, and 53 years old.
33 replies (most recent on top)
@7yxh If you can swing it, it’s better to max it earlier in the year.
- Compounding
- More money in hand for xmas giftsor year end vaca
I adjust the percentage so I can hit $26K by the last pay period of the year. Over 50 you can go up to $26K annually. It is wise, especially if you didn't save a lot in your 30s or 40s.
Seen the headlines lately, Chumpie Boomers? Student loan forgiveness is real. And this is just the beginning.
Whose the smart one now? Cha Ching!
The spouse and I have been putting away the max as long as we've been working. we each have more than a million dollars each in our 401Ks and we're still probably 7-8 years out from retirement.
you should put away as much money as you can pre-tax, regardless of match rate. The money grows with tax deferred appreciation, so you get more compounding on your deferral.
Even if match rate is zero you are better off maxing out contribution on a dollar basis. Don't forget the 'catch up' contributions that you can make once you hit 50. The money is yours forever. if you leave WF it's still yours.
Get educated. The principles are not that hard.
Make the match percentage but then direct anything over that to a Roth or other taxable investments. When you retire, which I just did, it gives you the option of taking funds from taxable (IRA, 401K, SEP) and non-taxable sources to limit your income taxes. Even better is next year I need a year of health insurance before Medicare kicks in. By only using previously taxed money to pay my bills my "income" for the year will just be social security so I can get Obamacare for $26 a month. Obamacare care only looks at your taxable income and doesn't have any calculations involving how much actual money you have. Max out the HSA though. It goes with you and can pay COBRA premiums and Medicare supplemental expenses. I wish we had the HSA earlier in my career.
Whats wrong with ramen?
No one cares about %. Max contribution until you’re and HCE then max whatever you’re allowed.
Giant LOL @ “ Every bit of financial advice I ever read said it's pointless to contribute more than the company match.”. Keep following that terrible advice blindly. It’s probably because you’re half a step above straight poor that you believe it but I’m sure you’ll come back here and post about how much XYZ you have. Enjoy your beans and rice, Mac and cheese and ramen in retirement.
ZERO... I don't plan to be in this place on the one day a year they pay it out... what a scam.
6% and 6% match. Makes the bills very tight, but it's all I can afford. I have been here 15 years. I started at close to $20,000/year and currently make less than double that. Nearly all of my department is in the same boat, unless you are one of the managers family members who all made it to supervisor or management positions and get sizeable raises. My wife doesn't even get benefits at her job (not WF) other than PTO - so I guess I'm supposed to feel lucky.
*They all have different last names or are in laws to it flies under the radar regarding nepotism.
Not "contributing" anything to the ponzi scheme. At some point it's all going to tip over and your money is going to be GONE.
To the person who isn't paying your student loans. ChingChing here here! Everyone I know too is in student loan debt up to their eyeballs. There are more of us than there are boomers, and eventually we'll simply vote in politicians who will cancel all that debt. B00M! Done! Simple as that. Wait and see who really saves their money, chumpies.
Part of "saving" is not spending money paying down debt that is going to be cancelled anyway. Put that money to other use.
Another thing -- look at inflation. Every dollar you would have saved last year is now worth only 80 cents, and that doesn't "come back". Why guarantee yourself a loss?
As my dad used to say, "use your heads, people".
2% as I won't make it to retirement. Growing up on Miracle Grow and Roundup - cancer is a when not an if....
I'll wave at you when you're a 70 year old Walmart greeter. Yes, getting old sucks, but there's a very wide range of what "sucks" means. Barely surviving and being forced to work until you die is much worse than the alternative. Also, spending money largely isn't the key to happiness in life, during your working years or otherwise. The idea that you can't save and enjoy life while working is silly.
@ ple+1ifgFtPT
I think you’re pretty optimistic that a safety net is coming. I think the mass of homeless elderly you say is the other other option will indeed happen. Social security won’t be around either. As for the elderly out-voting this, by then the Supreme Court will have simply made it so state legislatures can declare any election outcome they dislike fraudulent, regardless of evidence, and overturn the result, including their own election losses. So they won’t need to worry about voting at all. All the homes will be eventually be owned by hedge funds so unless you’re one of the 1% you’ll be paying rent until you are forcibly aged out of the workforce at which point it’s either move in with your adult children or the street.
12% plus 6% match, at 50K in 401K, another 100K in various IRA and investment accounts. Have hit six figures and upped it, goal is $25K saved this year in both pre and post tax accounts
6% of 50k is much different than 6% of 150k.
I’ve also been here 16 years. I have always contributed at a minimum of 10%. My current salary is around 120k and I will reach the max contribution allowed in early Dec. my current balance is around 600k. I also have a brokerage account and max out a Roth ira there and have a small contributory account that i dump other money into.
If your only contribution is the 6% and you have a low salary, you are going to have a low balance. Either save more or find a better paying job.
I have been contributing the 6% since I started at Wells over 16 years ago. I am still only at a little over 100k, so I have also been questioning what I should do differently. I had also read somewhere once to contribute at least to the max match percentage, since that is free money. Seems like with an annual match, I am better off putting that money into stocks of my choosing, and then towards the end of the year move it back to 6% for the match.
Does someone know how much contributions truly benefit a person at tax time?
The max every year I've been with WF. Reduce tax burden and take advantage of what USED to be decent compounding. The change to annual match gutted that part of the equation.
Whatever it is to get the ~20k limit by oct/nov timeframe
50% (which is the max) - max out early
Who cares? It's a big "Nunya".
20% @ 42.
I am only doing 3 percent…I hate the funds we have in our plan and I feel I have contributed for years and years and still only have 200k somehow…it’s not worth it. I put more in my personal brokerage account because I can pick my funds.
Zero. Other than saving a little bit for emergencies, I spend my money today.
A dollar spent today buys a lot more than that same dollar would buy next year.
Not paying off my student loans, either. That would be stupid. Everyone knows we're all going to get a bailout, so why the F would anyone throw that money away??!!
I max it out every year.
10%, age 55, at a million now, my wife has maybe half that, and we still feel woefully low.
It's not that I'm advocating for how you summarized it, but at a macro level that's what's coming.
If people enjoy watching their retirement account incrementally grow (like grass), then knock yourself out. But being old will still s u c k, assuming you even make it to old age.
@ple
So the summary seems to be “ spend your money to enjoy now and depend on a government handout later “
How typical!
6% to the max match then 8% to Roth. Been doing this for 20 years. Age 50
Live for today, people.
The best years of your life are your working years. It's NOT your retirement years, no matter how much your retirement is worth.
You're going to be old (regardless of how well you eat and exercise). Wealthy? Who cares. Your life will be going to multiple doctor appointments, etc. Everyone sees you as old, you're treated differently. The prospect of romance is permanently gone. Your life will be watching your mind and body slowly wither until you eventually die.
Having a few extra bucks in your pocket in the worst years of your life won't be any consolation. If you could, you'd gladly give up all the retirement money in exchange for a second shot at adulthood.
Also consider that most Americans have no basic savings, let alone retirement funds. It's easy to forget that when you're surrounded by professional peers all day, but no politician wants mass elderly homelessness on their watch. A retirement safety net (separate from Social Security) will be coming in the next couple of decades.
Previous generations had pensions to rely on. Many boomers and pretty much every generation after boomers can't rely on a pension (except for low-paying govt jobs). That means LOTS of poor elderly people in the next few decades.
Old people vote more than any other demographic. Today's politician will turn a blind eye to general homelessness because regular people do too. But seeing mass elderly homelessness will be a huge social issue in the coming decades. It's not that politicians will care, but they'll have to act on it to keep their gig.
Nothing wrong with saving, of course. I do, but it doesn't dominate my life. I don't want to be one of those people that lives to save, just to buy the farm before I can enjoy it. I'm alive today, during what I know to be the best years of my life, so now is when I'm going to maximize my enjoyment.
If that means I drive a Toyota instead of a Lexus when I'm old, I'm good with that.
Every bit of financial advice I ever read said it's pointless to contribute more than the company match. I've only ever given the max to get the match, but with the move to an annual match that's less solid advice than it used to be.
I contribute more to my non-WF personal investment account since I have complete control over it. I'm also not limited to WF's offering of funds. My effective saving rate combined between them is in the high teens.
Never put all your eggs in one basket.
Was doing 8%, but set it down to 0% recently to put in my liquir savings account...in the event I get let go in the next few months.
If things turn around with the company, I'll start contributing again at 8-10%.
Varies, but I've been going to the IRS annual max for the last 11 years. I love 401(k)s, IRAs, HSAs, and every other tax advantaged savings tool!
Its not really the percentage, but max is now $20,500
If you are older than 50, you can go up to $27,000. Probably not a bad idea if you can afford it. They up those amounts every year.