Pension, savings and Social security

shadowcast

I was watching Rachel Maddow last night and what I saw made jaw drop. It's about 11 minutes long but well worth it and very, very scary about getting old and standing in a bread line.

http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/ ... 7wwe?from=

BinauralJam

all i know is i lost 12 grand in my 401k in just the last half of year. :evil:

and i have 90% of my money in suppossedly safe funds.

pjhawks

BinauralJam wrote:

all i know is i lost 12 grand in my 401k in just the last half of year. :evil:

and i have 90% of my money in suppossedly safe funds.

i lost $9,000 in the last quarter alone. but unless you plan on retiring in the next 10 years i wouldn't worry about it. the market will eventually right itself and it will go back up per the usual historical 30-year rate.

Cosmo

I wasn't able to review the video, but... what is the alternative?
I mean, where do I put my savings? A Mattress?
...
Regarding pensions... my company does not offer a pension plan for younger employees joining our workforce. Most companies are doing the same.
Regarding savings, I am still receiving 75 for every dollar saved to my 401K, up to 8% of my annual salary. We are given certain choices on which plans we want to invest in... from risky stocks to more stable funds.
Regarding Social Security... it is a supplement to retirement, NOT a retirement plan. Always has been. Social Security is there to supplement your retirement plan (pension and savings).
...
We all took a massive hit when the shit hit the fan in 2008 because of the financial meltdown. Not just the U.S. economy, but global economies (with the state run markets in Russia and China). Like it or hate it, the bailouts of the financial institutions prevented a complete collapse of the economy. The problem is not with the bailouts... it is the institutions that are left to create the rule they abide by. Instead of being pissed at the bailouts... I'm pissed of at the assholes that created the NEED for the bailouts. If it wasn't for their greed, we would not have had to bail their asses out.
...
Finally... I don't worry about the paper wealth of my plans. I am trying to get to a point where I can retire at or around the salary I will be at at retirement. I will hopefully, not have to draw from either my pension or Social Security til age 65.
...
But, the question remains... what should I do? Where should I save for retirement?

FiveB247x

For those of you invested in the Stock Market yet claim to be equitably realistic - where is your sense of austerity? You claim to be just protecting what's yours but perhaps it's time you recognize that Wall Street is a polarizing influence... your money is for the taking, not for your growth and retirement.

Cosmo

FiveB247x wrote:

For those of you invested in the Stock Market yet claim to be equitably realistic - where is your sense of austerity? You claim to be just protecting what's yours but perhaps it's time you recognize that Wall Street is a polarizing influence... your money is for the taking, not for your growth and retirement.

...
Okay.
So... what is the alternative? WHERE do I save my money so it will hopefully grow to an amount I can live on after I retire... and not have to eat cat food?

catefrances

welcome to capitalism people.


why are people so shocked and disheartened when they see their savings disappear into the void? what do you think your 'retirement fund' is doing with your money?? how do you think financial institutions make profits??

BinauralJam

Fuck Capitolism, this shit is broke.

Monster Rain

This is actually a good time to be putting retirement money into stocks if you aren't close to retirement age. Stocks historically get a much better return than savings accounts, savings bonds, etc. Since the market has been down lately you are getting more shares for your money so when the market rebounds the value of your 401k will go up. The closer you get to retirement, the less money you should have in stocks. When you're very close to retirement, you should have virtually no money in stocks because you don't have the time to wait for long-term growth and the short-term risk is too great.

FiveB247x wrote:

For those of you invested in the Stock Market yet claim to be equitably realistic - where is your sense of austerity? You claim to be just protecting what's yours but perhaps it's time you recognize that Wall Street is a polarizing influence... your money is for the taking, not for your growth and retirement.

catefrances

BinauralJam wrote:

Fuck Capitolism, this shit is broke.

capitalism is like that mangey dog that somehow manages to live despite it having only one good eye, 3 legs and no fur. i dont think capitalism is broke, but i reckon we can maybe throw a spanner in the works and help it along

FiveB247x

My point is simply that investing is just legalized gambling. We like to assume it will be there when we're ready to take it back, but as we've recently seen, it's not necessarily always the case. Our society has based it's general welfare in the hands of for-profit corporations looking nothing more than to profit.. zero interest in the society or its well-being. There may not be a great alternative, but this simple notion is very, very dangerous and if left unchecked, ripe for corruption and the plundering of societies needs and funds. It is capitalism and privatization gone awry.

Monster Rain wrote:

This is actually a good time to be putting retirement money into stocks if you aren't close to retirement age. Stocks historically get a much better return than savings accounts, savings bonds, etc. Since the market has been down lately you are getting more shares for your money so when the market rebounds the value of your 401k will go up. The closer you get to retirement, the less money you should have in stocks. When you're very close to retirement, you should have virtually no money in stocks because you don't have the time to wait for long-term growth and the short-term risk is too great.

FiveB247x wrote:

For those of you invested in the Stock Market yet claim to be equitably realistic - where is your sense of austerity? You claim to be just protecting what's yours but perhaps it's time you recognize that Wall Street is a polarizing influence... your money is for the taking, not for your growth and retirement.

Cosmo

Okay...
So... I get a paycheck. I don't want to buy crap I don't need... I want to save some money so when I'm old and retired, I can buy crap I do need... like food that doesn't come in cans with pictures of cats smacking their lips on the labels.
WHERE should I put the money I want to save?

FiveB247x

Cosmo, I'm not saying there's some perfect alternative.. but you could just put your money into a savings or checking account. The myth that economy always has to have growth is the same exact reason why your funds are not really guaranteed as "safe" in the stock market.

Cosmo wrote:

Okay...
So... I get a paycheck. I don't want to buy crap I don't need... I want to save some money so when I'm old and retired, I can buy crap I do need... like food that doesn't come in cans with pictures of cats smacking their lips on the labels.
WHERE should I put the money I want to save?

Smellyman

Cosmo wrote:

Okay...
So... I get a paycheck. I don't want to buy crap I don't need... I want to save some money so when I'm old and retired, I can buy crap I do need... like food that doesn't come in cans with pictures of cats smacking their lips on the labels.
WHERE should I put the money I want to save?

Most of your money in safe under your mattress may be safer....

banks, stocks and markets all can come crashing down.

Just hope your house doesn't burn down or make sure the safe is fire proof.

The idea that markets continually grow and everyone gets fat is ludicrus to me.

Johnny Abruzzo

pjhawks wrote:

BinauralJam wrote:

all i know is i lost 12 grand in my 401k in just the last half of year. :evil:

and i have 90% of my money in suppossedly safe funds.

i lost $9,000 in the last quarter alone. but unless you plan on retiring in the next 10 years i wouldn't worry about it. the market will eventually right itself and it will go back up per the usual historical 30-year rate.

I fully understand this theory. I have my doubts whether it still holds water. I've been in the workforce for 12 years and I've basically broken even on my investments. I think the execs are pocketing all the profits and sucking everyone else dry.

Monster Rain

The idea is that investing in stocks historically yields a better return than savings accounts, CDs, savings bonds, etc. over the long term. This is especially true if you put money into things like index funds that are based on the DJI, Fortune 500, and things like that. When you have a variety of stocks through funds like that, you minimize the risk because you're invested in several companies instead of one. Once company might have a rough stretch or even go bankrupt but the other companies in the fund will likely see their stock prices rise unless you've invested in a fund based on one industry that is struggling or has become obsolete.

If you put your money under your mattress, I'd say you run a greater risk of losing all of your money since it's less likely that your investments will all fail than your money will be stolen from your home either by a break-in or by someone you know. Also, keeping your retirement money in your home or in an account that receives interest at a lower rate than inflation is essentially losing money since what you have will be worth less by the time you retire.

Smellyman wrote:

Cosmo wrote:

Okay...
So... I get a paycheck. I don't want to buy crap I don't need... I want to save some money so when I'm old and retired, I can buy crap I do need... like food that doesn't come in cans with pictures of cats smacking their lips on the labels.
WHERE should I put the money I want to save?

Most of your money in safe under your mattress may be safer....

banks, stocks and markets all can come crashing down.

Just hope your house doesn't burn down or make sure the safe is fire proof.

The idea that markets continually grow and everyone gets fat is ludicrus to me.

know1

BinauralJam wrote:

all i know is i lost 12 grand in my 401k in just the last half of year. :evil:

and i have 90% of my money in suppossedly safe funds.

I've lost 45K in just the last 4 months in mine. But then again, you don't really lose it until you sell.

know1

pjhawks wrote:

i lost $9,000 in the last quarter alone. but unless you plan on retiring in the next 10 years i wouldn't worry about it. the market will eventually right itself and it will go back up per the usual historical 30-year rate.

I used to say the same thing you are saying here, but I'm starting to believe that there is enough good technology now that the market is more manipulated than it used to be. I'm losing faith in this system although I still put 15% of my income into it just like I have for the last 15 years.

BinauralJam

know1 wrote:

BinauralJam wrote:

all i know is i lost 12 grand in my 401k in just the last half of year. :evil:

and i have 90% of my money in suppossedly safe funds.

I've lost 45K in just the last 4 months in mine. But then again, you don't really lose it until you sell.

Good Lord!