How much do you put in your 401K and other questions

2011NursingStudent · Jun 14, 2008

It's probably that low because your hospital provides a pension too, no?

Tweety, BSN, RN · Jun 14, 2008

kudos to you for planning for retirement. too many people don't.

most experts say to contribute the maximum that your employer allows which is usually 15%, but anything is better than nothing.

1. what percentage of your pay do you contribute?10%

2. how much does your employer contribute? to be honest, i don't know, it's been so long since i joined, but it's not as generous as 25%, i think it's like dollar for dollar of 3% of your pay, or something incomprehensible like that.

3. is your 401k your only source for retirement, or are you doing something else? no. i have a separate roth ira. but i'm only putting $150/month in that.

4. can you pick which stocks you invest in? yes. we pick from a long list of mutual funds, and other types of investments. right now none of them are doing well due to the economy, with most posting double digit losses. i'm a glutton for punishment and i check my balance weekly. it went down $4000 from last week. my current balance is only $1000.00 more than it was in december despite me putting in 10% of my salary for six months. there were times in the 90's when the returns were a lot better.

5. when would be your ideal age for retirement (assuming you are healthy enough to work and could quit at any time)?for me, it's going to have to be 65 or beyond, but the answer is going to be different for everyone. if the current situation continues for long, i'll never retire.

llg, PhD, RN · Jun 14, 2008

My current has a plan that seems pretty common in the industry. They will match my contributions at 50% up to a maximum of 6% of my pay.

In other words ... If I contribute 4% of my pay, they will contribute 2%. If I contribute 6%, they will contribute 3%. But if I contribute 10% of my pay, they will still only be contributing 3%.

So, while your employer contributes a smaller percentages for those who only contribute a couple of percent of their salary than my employer ... those who contribute more than 6% of their pay make out better under your employer's system than mine.

My employer also adds 1% at the end of the fiscal year as a bonus. So, the grand total for their contribution is capped at 4%.

How much do I contribute? Well, I'm old -- 53 -- so, building my retirement funds is my main financial goal. I already own my home and have no kids to put through college. I am also fairly well-paid as I have a graduate degree and am in an advanced practice role. Finally, I live a fairly frugal lifestyle. I would rather save money now and be able to retire a little early than splurge now on material things, but have to worry about my financial future. So I contribute the maximum amount allowed by law, which is somewhere around $18,500 per year. I also have a Roth IRA and own my home (with only 9 years left on my mortgage).

I started saving for my retirement in my mid-20's. There were a few years I did not contribute because I was in grad school and only working part time. So now I am playing "catch up." But I should be fine as I have saved about $350K in my retirement accounts. I also inheritied an additional $200K from my late parents.

I plan on semi-retiring around age 62. I think the big concern at that time will not be cash, but rather health insurance. I should have enough cash to retire comfortably at that time, but I will probably have to work part time to get health insurance until Medicare kicks in.

JessicaSN · Jun 14, 2008

So, while your employer contributes a smaller percentages for those who only contribute a couple of percent of their salary than my employer ... those who contribute more than 6% of their pay make out better under your employer's system than mine

I forgot to add that my hospital will only contribute up to the 6% mark too, just like your's (except at .25 instead of your .50). I hope I'm making sense!

p.s. Cool quote llg. I'm a huge X-files fan :)

CT Pixie, BSN, RN · Jun 14, 2008

My present employeer (not a hospital) will match our contributions 100% up to 3% of your weekly pay. So if I put in 3% (lets just say that 3% is $50), my employeer will also put in $50. We can contribute as much as we want but they will only match it 100% up to 3%. Not too shabby since my company only employees less than 50 people.

I put 3% into my 401K. I do have other retirement funds that I add to weekly.

We have a list of companys/stocks we can divy our money into. I have 33% in high risk 33% in moderate risk and 34% in low risk. They say the longer you have till retirment the higher risk you can go. I am 39 and with Social Security the way it is for me, I have another 35 years of working before I can collect "full" Social Security benefits.

I hate being idle with nothing to do so for me retirement isn't something I look forward to unless I have the funds to do things, like travel, go to school just to learn something I've always wanted to do, volunteer my time/service etc. I think I'll be working in one form or another until they call my Time of Death LOL.

If I had enough $ to do all that I want and have my health I think that 60-65 is when I'd want to "retire". Young enough to enjoy my retirement but old enough that I put my time "in the trenches"

Tweety, BSN, RN · Jun 14, 2008

It's probably that low because your hospital provides a pension too, no?

Probably no. Places to provide 401's don't have pensions. Pensions are a thing of the past.

ICRN2008, BSN, RN · Jun 14, 2008

I went to a financial planning class a few years ago and we met with a financial ad visor (actually, we're due for another meeting). It costs money if you are paying someone who isn't trying to sell you something, but in the long run I think that it will pay off. I know that some high schools are even requiring money management classes now, but I never learned any of it until I went to the class.

My first employer had a pension and a 403b. However, I did not work for them five years full-time, so I lost out because I never became vested. I was silly in those first few years out of college and only contributed 2%.

My next employer would match $.50 on the dollar up to 8% of the yearly salary. I contributed the 8% and got a pretty nice match.

My current employer matches dollar for dollar up to a certain point, and then it becomes $.50 on the dollar. They contribute a max of 4% of the yearly salary if you put in 6%. Therefore, I am putting in 6%.

You're usually better off doing a Roth IRA for additional retirement contributions once you put the max amount that you need to get the full match under your 401K. This is because fees for 401Ks are higher. Some employers now have Roth 401Ks, where you put in post-tax dollars. For people who anticipate that they will be making more money (and therefore have a higher tax liability) upon retirement, it makes sense to take the tax hit now. Later, when you have a higher income it's advisable to do everything that you can to knock down your taxable income. This means contributing to pre-tax retirement accounts such as regular 401Ks.

I have about $600 in a Roth IRA from earlier, but my husband and I don't qualify anymore. I regret not putting more money into that account when our income was lower.

My main advice is not to put off saving. I thought I was doing a good job right out of college, but it turns out that I was grossly underfunding my retirement accounts. Yes, you have to buy a car, you will want to by a house, you might get married, and these are all big expenses. But you get the most "bang for your buck" when you are in your early twenties as far as savings. Many baby boomers are now in a desperate state of "catch up" now because they failed to save when they were young (I know a few of them). Imagine having to put 15% or 20% of your income into retirement! It's better to do the 5% when you're young! Even I'm playing catch up now, and I'm only 28 years old.

llg, PhD, RN · Jun 14, 2008

I forgot to add that my hospital will only contribute up to the 6% mark too, just like your's (except at .25 instead of your .50). I hope I'm making sense!
p.s. Cool quote llg. I'm a huge X-files fan :)

Yes, that makes sense. It sounds like your employer's plan is less generous than most.

About the quote: It's from the first season. I think the episode name was "Squeeze." It's the one where they first encounter the character who can stretch and squeeze himself through very small places. Scully met up with one of her old friends (played by Donal Loague) and didn't want Mulder to embarrass her by being "Spooky Mulder." But of course, he couldn't resist. :wink2:

I was one of the original "X-Philes" back in the early 1990's, when the showed first aired and the World Wide Web was in its infancy. It was one of the first shows that was discussed online and for which discussion boards, a fan site, etc. was developed. The whole idea of meeting people online and talking with them was brand new -- and exciting! We developed our own slang, started using abbreviations for common occurances, etc. People made pilgrimages to Vancouver. It was great fun.

texas2007, BSN, RN · Jun 14, 2008

1. What percentage of your pay do you contribute? 10%

2. How much does your employer contribute? They contribute dollar for dollar up to 3%. The catch is, they only match after you've been working there a couple years.

3. Is your 401K your only source for retirement, or are you doing something else? I also max out my roth ira, 5000/yr. Work also has a small pension plan, nothing to write home about though.

4. Can you pick which stocks you invest in? Yes, they have some target funds but they didnt look very good to me with high expense ratios. I decided to invest in their list of individual funds, most of them were 4 or 5 star funds.

5. When would be your ideal age for retirement (assuming you are healthy enough to work and could quit at any time)? I'm 22 now, if I had the option, I'd like to work part time while I had kids and maybe retire for good at 50 or 55? Not sure how feasible that is, I have to get a boyfriend first!! But I definitely can't see myself being a bedside nurse for the next 40 years. I'm not really interested in being a NP, educator, manager, transport nurse etc. either so I'm not sure what will happen.

Jules A, MSN · Jun 14, 2008

I do the max that my employer matches and Roth IRAs each year as well as emergency savings in a local bank that pays 4%. You are very smart to be thinking about this now!

flashpoint · Jun 14, 2008

1. What percentage of your pay do you contribute?- 3%

2. How much does your employer contribute? - they match up to 3%

3. Is your 401K your only source for retirement, or are you doing something else? - nope...I also have a Roth, plus two other 401Ks from previous employers

4. Can you pick which stocks you invest in? - yes...my other two are about half conservative, half moderate to high risk...the one with my current employer is pretty high risk...right now I am not doing well, but my accountant is confident that it will pick up before I retire

5. When would be your ideal age for retirement (assuming you are healthy enough to work and could quit at any time)? - 62 would be nice...I'll probably wait until I am 65.

In general, the time to start investing is now...the sooner you start, the more you will end up with. My niece is 17 and already has $1500 invested...not a lot, but think how it will multiply by the time she is 65!