do nurses get employer sponsored pensionplan?

[lily1289]

Pardon my ignorance but about a decade ago, as far as i know the hospitals are not offering employer sponsored pension plan to nurses. Yeah, you can participate in 401K or the IRA but it's the employee who has to make contributions to his/her retirement.

I just went for an interview with an insurance company and i was surprised to hear that they are offering a pension plan where they make 100% of the contibutions for the employees retirement. Is this the norm now where all/most nurses get this type of pension plan? Do you have it in hospitals or is this only common in the managed care industry or non-hospital setting?

[dudette10, MSN, RN]

Yes. My employer has a pre-tax 403(b), a post-tax 403(b) Roth (if you max. out your pre-tax contributions), and a pension plan. Pension vesting is 5 years.

[dudette10, MSN, RN]

Maybe they learned from the Enron employee's, when you invest in the company you work for , you run the risk that if they go out of business you lose your investment as well as your job . Although profit sharing sounds good , it does have this major downside .

If the profit sharing plan does not invest in the company you work for, the downside you mention does not exist. If it does invest in the company you work for, or your company match is in the form of company stock, look into whether or not you can move the match money into a different investment within the plan. Problem solved.

You are better off putting money into a Roth IRA up to the max after you get the company match if any for your 403B.

Why are you better off doing that? Company matches often stop far before you've maxed out on the retirement investment limit. Roth IRAs are after-tax, but you can still reap the benefits of pre-tax retirement investing in 403(b) or 401(K) after the company match. Second only to mortgage interest and dependent deductions, maxing out on pre-tax retirement savings is probably the biggest federal tax deduction you can receive as a middle-class taxpayer.

Also the Roth can function as a defacto ER savings; whereas the 403b/401K you get a penalty 10% federal, 10% state plus taxed so lucky if you have 50% left over if you have to withdraw it in an emergency.

Some plans allow you to take loans from your profit sharing plan, which you pay back at a favorable interest rate through payroll deductions. You are essentially paying the principal and the interest back to yourself. There is no third party taking the interest payment.

[Whispera, MSN, RN]

In one of my most recent jobs (just a couple of years ago), the hospital deposited 10% of each paycheck's amount into a retirement fund for me. This wasn't deducted from my pay. It was something extra they deposited...

[suanna]

We lost ours last year- it is a very rare benefit in todays market. Even if you get a pension, what guarantee do you have that it will be there when you retire. Pensions are federaly insured, but not necessairly at the same benifit level promised in the original plan. Pension plans have gone "broke" in recent years resulting in people who were counting on XXX dollars/year of service actualy getting much less. I miss my pension, but a good 401k/403b is more secure. I know a number of nurses who were counting using thier pension to retire in the next 10 years and not contributing to a 401k, now finding thier plans for retirement turning into "work till you die". If you are including "the Rapture" in your retirement finiancial planning, you may want to look into alternative funding options.

[nicurn001]

Sorry FLArn misread employer for employee ( or brain saw what it expected to see ), yep if you are signing up for that free money you ara a bit daft .

[foreverLaur]

My hospital has a pension plan. I am required to contribute 10% of each paycheck to it and my employer always contributes 14% of each paycheck.

[mama_d, BSN, RN]

My system has 403(b) as well as a pension plan. Personally I'm not counting on getting the pension paid out to me as I'm still decades from retirement and who knows what will happen by then...if it still exists that'll be bonus money on top of what I've managed to save. I just figure it's better to plan for it not existing anymore and being pleasantly surprised if it is instead of relying on it.

[Altra, BSN, RN]

Each of the 3 hospitals in which I've worked has had a defined benefit pension/cash accumulation plan in addition to a 401(k) or 403(b), and I opted to take a one time cash payout of the accumulated vested funds when I left my jobs at the first two.

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

My organization (Catholic health care system) has a 'cash balance' plan in which they contribute a percentage of employee salary & also a 403B in which they match up to 2% of salary contributions.I understand that other major hospital systems in my part of the country have stopped providing any employer contributions - but still offer employee-contribution-only plans.

[classicdame, MSN, EdD]

we have 6-10% employer contribution, depending on length of time worked. This is for a 401-K plan. I contribute as well and it really adds up. 100% is great. Ask if you can contribute as well, so it will grow faster.

No union here, all fully vested. We are for-profit

[brandy1017, ASN, RN]

...Why are you better off doing that? Company matches often stop far before you've maxed out on the retirement investment limit. Roth IRAs are after-tax, but you can still reap the benefits of pre-tax retirement investing in 403(b) or 401(K) after the company match. Second only to mortgage interest and dependent deductions, maxing out on pre-tax retirement savings is probably the biggest federal tax deduction you can receive as a middle-class taxpayer.

A Roth IRA allows you to have money that grows tax free, and is accessible at any time for an emergency without penalty as long as you only use the original amount you placed in the Roth IRA. While a traditional IRA and 403b can be used as a tax break as you say, in reality you are only deferring the taxes till you are retired or 59 1/2 years old. Then you will still have to pay the regular taxes on them at that time. How much that hurts you depends on what tax bracket you find yourself in. For example if you have a house and don't pay it off and then in retirement need to take out more money from your 403b you can find yourself in a higher tax bracket and penalized at the end of the year. Whereas if you have a house paid off you can keep your yearly income lower and keep more of your money social security if not tax free at least in a lower tax bracket! This was from one of those wall street magazines several years ago.

What good is a temporary tax deferment if you find yourself in later years due to injury, illness, unemployment withdrawing money from your 403b. Then you will be taxed at your income tax rate, plus be penalized 10% federal and 10% state, at least where I live. If you put the $5,000 year in a roth IRA, all the money would be available later in life, it wouldn't be reduced by 1/3 to 1/2 with taxes in penalties.

Ask yourself what is more important a tax deduction now or tax free money in the future. Many people have been reduced to using their 401K/403B to live on since this depression started and though Congress is aware of this, do you think they bothered to give an exemption of the penalties for these poor, desparate people? No, because they don't give a damn about anyone but the rich and the big corporations. It has gotten to the point where business has all the power and us poor workers are supposed to be begging for a job and whatever scraps of a salary they want to give us. It is a sad situation in America!

Lastly, regarding loans from your 401k/403b these usually need to be paid in full once you leave an employer, or it counts as a withdrawal and you are hit with taxes and penalties! Also you will be paying taxes twice, first to pay back the loan and later in life to pay taxes on it in retirement! Some 401k/403b plans actually have been known to siphon 2-3+ % of the interest back to themselves as a transaction fee. The better plans have a one time $50-100 fee for a loan.

When you consider the disadvantages of the 401k/403b of high fees on many plans, limited choice of offerings, penalties for early withdrawal regardless of need or emergency, and the fact that if you invested after the roth and your company match if any into a straight index fund say Vanguard known for low fees, the tax rate is only 15%. And the money is available whenever you need it!

You can say the govt is penalizing us for our own good, but you don't know the future and given how workers are at the mercy of age, illness, injury and unemployment and job security has become a thing of the past, I want to know that the money I need will be available when I need it without jumping thru hoops and getting penalized! If Congress wouldn't do a waiver when we are in the middle of a depression for all they claim otherwise, I think your better off doing a ROTH IRA and then considering regular investments rather than putting your money in a second class, high fee 403b with a lot of gotcha's! Just my own opinion!

[brandy1017, ASN, RN]

In one of my most recent jobs (just a couple of years ago), the hospital deposited 10% of each paycheck's amount into a retirement fund for me. This wasn't deducted from my pay. It was something extra they deposited...

We would all like to know what hospital you worked for that was so generous!