Isn't SS kind of a screw for us?

[Engineer]

Originally posted by: Legend
If I invest 20k into 401k and get price matching during my 20s, and max IRAs, I will retire very easily.

Better lobby Congress to up the limit on 401k's then unless you're going after tax 401k as the pre-tax limit is 15,000!

 

[Engineer]

Originally posted by: vi_edit

You can put in a total pre-tax contribution of $15,000 with a *total* contribution (after matches & profit sharing) of $42,000 or 100% of your income, whichever is less in 2006. You can also contribute $5000 to your Roth IRA on top of this.

There's $20,000 a year. And the contribution allowances will just continue to increase each year.

Roth IRA limit is $4,000 this year and next. Doesn't go up to $5,000 until 2008. If you're over 50, you can participate in "makeup" and then contribute $5,000 this year.

IRA Contribution Limits

YEAR AGE 49 & BELOW AGE 50 & ABOVE
2002-2004 $3,000 $3,500
2005 $4,000 $4,500
2006-2007 $4,000 $5,000
2008 $5,000 $6,000

After 2008, limits will be increase in $500 increments based on inflation.

 

[vi edit]

Doh. Yeh, I was looking at 2008 contributions. Good catch.

 

[Genx87]

Originally posted by: outriding

Originally posted by: Genx87

Originally posted by: Legend

Originally posted by: techs

Originally posted by: Legend

Originally posted by: techs

Originally posted by: smack Down

Originally posted by: techs

Originally posted by: zendari
A negative return over hundreds of thousands of dollars paid in over 45 years for a few hundred bucks a month for a few years?

Yep.

Gee I guess its morons day here at ATOT.
Social Security has a huge return. Since the amount Social Security receives is pegged to salaries of workers.
And salaries go up over time.
Plus the money that the federal government borrows from the SS fund it pays interest on.
The only possible flaw to the plan would be if a President tried to radically cut taxes while increasing spending which would put the entire solvency of the US at risk.
Oh, wait, thats what BUSH is doing!!!

Of courses SS has great returns in the past. All pyramid schemes have great returns if your on top.

You need to look up what a Pyramid scheme is. It sure isn't SS.
I guess you really don't understand that SS is part retirement plan, part insurance plan (it has to pay for everyone regardless how long they live).
SS is a financially and actuarilly sound program.

I'll take my 5-10 million dollars from personal investment as insurance, thanks. And I'm sure people with a 30k income would rather get 2 million as well. The government does not have fiscal dicipline.

You CANNOT provide for your own retirement.
I proved it here:
http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=52&threadid=1854509&enterthread=y

Bullshit I can't. I'm a computer engineer. I expect a starting salary of about 60k.

If I invest 20k into 401k and get price matching during my 20s, and max IRAs, I will retire very easily.

Techs sometimes cant grasp reality. 50% of people cant afford to save for retirement. Hmm what he fails to remember is ever one of those people have 14.6% of their income taxed into SS and if put into an individual account like the thrift program would generate way more income for retiree's than SS.

You and Legend are not a fountain of knowledge on investing.

First of all you can only put in a max of 20% in a 401k, so Legend wanting to put in 20k is impossible. 2nd companies have been dropping off matching funds, my company will only match 25% up to 6% invested. I know Delphi in 2000 dropped all 401k matching and many other companies did the samething.

I am discussing taking your SS witholdings and investing them. The money is already gone so nobody has to invest anything more than what they already do.

 

[Legend]

Originally posted by: outriding

Originally posted by: Genx87

Originally posted by: Legend

Originally posted by: techs

Originally posted by: Legend

Originally posted by: techs

Originally posted by: smack Down

Originally posted by: techs

Originally posted by: zendari
A negative return over hundreds of thousands of dollars paid in over 45 years for a few hundred bucks a month for a few years?

Yep.

Gee I guess its morons day here at ATOT.
Social Security has a huge return. Since the amount Social Security receives is pegged to salaries of workers.
And salaries go up over time.
Plus the money that the federal government borrows from the SS fund it pays interest on.
The only possible flaw to the plan would be if a President tried to radically cut taxes while increasing spending which would put the entire solvency of the US at risk.
Oh, wait, thats what BUSH is doing!!!

Of courses SS has great returns in the past. All pyramid schemes have great returns if your on top.

You need to look up what a Pyramid scheme is. It sure isn't SS.
I guess you really don't understand that SS is part retirement plan, part insurance plan (it has to pay for everyone regardless how long they live).
SS is a financially and actuarilly sound program.

I'll take my 5-10 million dollars from personal investment as insurance, thanks. And I'm sure people with a 30k income would rather get 2 million as well. The government does not have fiscal dicipline.

You CANNOT provide for your own retirement.
I proved it here:
http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=52&threadid=1854509&enterthread=y

Bullshit I can't. I'm a computer engineer. I expect a starting salary of about 60k.

If I invest 20k into 401k and get price matching during my 20s, and max IRAs, I will retire very easily.

Techs sometimes cant grasp reality. 50% of people cant afford to save for retirement. Hmm what he fails to remember is ever one of those people have 14.6% of their income taxed into SS and if put into an individual account like the thrift program would generate way more income for retiree's than SS.

You and Legend are not a fountain of knowledge on investing.

First of all you can only put in a max of 20% in a 401k, so Legend wanting to put in 20k is impossible. 2nd companies have been dropping off matching funds, my company will only match 25% up to 6% invested. I know Delphi in 2000 dropped all 401k matching and many other companies did the samething.

Whatever happens, I will be investing about raw 20k of my income, It depends on what my employer allows, but why can't I put in 15k, and get 5k matched? And then put a max into a Roth (4k, 5k, and soon more).

If that's not possible, I'll go with good old mutual funds.

If I focus all my free money on investing in my 20s, and then let it compound until I retire, I will have several million waiting for me. SS will not do that.

In a private account system, there would be a certain percentage of tax that people of higher income could not invest. That would go towards price matching poverty level people's investments so that they a good amount of cash to take interest off of when they retire.

It completely baffles me that anyone would want to keep the current SS. When we get a surplus, the government spends it. When there's deficits, more taxes or lower quality services, which are already dwarfed by what you could do with that SS taxes in low risk balanced mutual funds. Everyone loses.

 

[MonkeyK]

copied from the last SS thread:

Social security is not a wealth accumulation tool, it is a risk management tool


Every time there is a thread on SS, it is compared to stocks and retirement accounts. Apples and Oranges. Learn what SS is before saying that it does not have good enough returns.
SS needs some change, no doubt about it. But until those proposing changes, understand what they are changing, I cannot take the suggestions seriously.

This post was written by a 37 year old man with two children under 3yrs old, and who, along with his wife max out their 401Ks and Roth IRAs. I am very financially responsible, and SS still has an important role in my financial plan.

 

[Moonbeam]

Billions are spent brainwashing people against SS. Secure people don't vote Republican.

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

Well there are occupations that are exempt from contributing to SS...could always getcherself one of those.