Nurses , How to afford retirement?

neurorn6 · Sep 17, 2008

To tell you the truth, I don't think that many of us have any pension or any type of retirement. At yeast not enough that we can actually enjoy our so called "golden years". I have a small pension from an old job but that facility actually changed it's policy a few years after I started working there. The nurses hired after me had less of a pension.

I hope to be able to put some money in treasury bonds in the next few years, but with 2 kids in college its going to be difficult.

I agree with you, in that we the number of nurses in the country alone that we should have some kind of association which would help us with financial planning.

The ANA nor state nursing association do nothing from what I have seen to help us financial. You would thing that someone would realize the untapped power that nurse would hold we would all come together.

Unfortunately, I don't see that happening, at least not in my life time.

OC_An Khe · Sep 17, 2008

It is really simple. Just decide that retirement is important to you and you will get it done. If you can understand the human body with regard to anatomy, physiology and pharmacology the basics of retirement planning/investing is actually easy to comprehend.

Rule one is pay yourself first. Whether it is through your 403B,401K or IRA this comes before everything else. Including your children's education. You or your children can borrow for education but you can't borrow to fund your retirement.

Rule 2 is start young, the younger the better. Small amounts invested when you are in your 20's grow to an enormous amount by your 70's (those years go by so much faster then you think.)

Rule three, save more tomorrow. Every time you get a raise increase the amount you place in retirement savings, this is very simple to do and you still wind up with more money in your take home paycheck and in your retirement fund to boot.

No one else is going to do it for you. You must do it yourself. Even those teacher plans that previous poster mentioned require significant contribution from the teachers paycheck to fund those plans.

shodobe · Sep 17, 2008

I started way to late for my own comfort, but it is better than not starting at all. Like one poster said start young and definitely start paying yourself first, Most employers have matching funds so this is a good start. Also, when you deduct from your paycheck for your 401 or 403, it is pretax so you don't feel it as bad. In reality when you put a hundred bucks away each paycheck you are saving a hundred bucks not the 50 or 60 bucks you would have after taxes. In todays economy and for your future you have to look out for yourself and stop thinking someone is going to take care of you because they are not! I have been in nursing for over 31 years an didn't really start to save for retirement until about 15 years ago. I should have much more than I do now but I figure at the rate I am going I should have close to $500,000 when I retire. I put 14% of my paycheck each pay period and do not even miss it. Even 2 or 3 % each pay period will get you going in the right direction. Remember, watch out for numero uno, YOU!

Virgo_RN, BSN, RN · Sep 17, 2008

I contribute to my 403B plan through work. Once the stock market recovers, I'd like to roll my IRA into it and increase my contributions.

locolorenzo22, BSN, RN · Sep 17, 2008

Well, I put 5% in before taxes, and my hospital puts in up to a 6% match....so I get about 10% every paycheck...works out to about 320.00 a month. I figure by the time I go to take it out, it'll be worth a lot.

Also, I try to take 50.00 out each check and put it in a online account for savings(vacation first, then house, then whatever)....

You just have to do your research and then make saving a priority...you can always find the money....no cable(savings there), brown bag lunch....cheap entertainment, etc.

I'm thinking about a 2nd job after the 1st of the year, just because I already don't do a lot with my days off anyways, but the extra money would be nice...

classicdame, MSN, EdD · Sep 17, 2008

my employer offers a plan and I participate, but nurses tend to change employers so I also have private plans with a brokerage firm. I recommend you start doing your homework and talk to several brokers or financial planners then decide on a workable plan for you. The worstthing you can do is nothing.

lpnflorida · Sep 17, 2008

I appreciate the thoughts on what people are already doing.The question was however. What we personally do versus such as what teachers ,policemen, firemen have.

Do you realize many of them retire with full pensions some as young as age 50. In addition to so called pensions they have which yes, they put the money in there. Many also contribute to 401 etc.

How many nurses will be able to do the same. How is it, we have not come together to come up with a similiar plan. That was the thoughts I was wondering about.

Trauma Columnist · Sep 17, 2008

I know exactly what you are talking about. My husband is a teacher with an excellent retirement plan! We as nurses should organize better. My personal thoughts are that since nursing is traditionally a "female" occupation, many think that it is a supplemental income for families. However, that is no longer true and nowadays two incomes (sometimes three and four) are necessary to support a family.

Another example is military retirement - my husband served 23 years in the Air Force and retired at the age of 42 with a pension that more than pays our house payment each month and he gets it for the rest of his life.

Jolie, BSN · Sep 17, 2008

I appreciate the thoughts on what people are already doing.The question was however. What we personally do versus such as what teachers ,policemen, firemen have.
Do you realize many of them retire with full pensions some as young as age 50. In addition to so called pensions they have which yes, they put the money in there. Many also contribute to 401 etc.
How many nurses will be able to do the same. How is it, we have not come together to come up with a similiar plan. That was the thoughts I was wondering about.

I think that you are comparing apples to oranges. Employees in the public sector (teachers, fire and police, military) historically have had superior retirement plans, often thru union representation.

Private sector employees (business world) are largely expected to plan for themselves. Some employers offer plans and may match contributions, but contributions must be made by the employee first.

Nurses are really no better or worse off than any other private sector employees.

Retirement is a personal issue. We need to plan and save to meet our needs. No national organization is going to do that for us.

Quickbeam, BSN, RN · Sep 17, 2008

This is a pet issue of mine. When I changed careers to nursing I was horrified at the terrible retirement funding options out there. What pensions existed were a joke. A lot of hospitals had minimal savings options. I asked an administrator at one hospital why this was and his answer rings in my head to this day:" "We don't offer better because nurses don't care. They come, they go and they don't plan on staying very long. They want immediate cash and don't care about the long term picture".

I think teachers and their unions made retirement plans a priority. I tried to in my careers but I saw employer after employer cheapen or cut back on any contributions. At 40, I took a government job. I will have a decent pension when I retire. I also save aggressively and make my husband do the same. It also helps to live within your means and to not get too house-crazy. I know a few nurses who lost everything because of the 'need' for a 5,000 sq ft house. They'd love right now to have a small paid off home and retirement savings.

llg, PhD, RN · Sep 17, 2008

This is a pet issue of mine. When I changed careers to nursing I was horrified at the terrible retirement funding options out there. What pensions existed were a joke. A lot of hospitals had minimal savings options. I asked an administrator at one hospital why this was and his answer rings in my head to this day:" "We don't offer better because nurses don't care. They come, they go and they don't plan on staying very long. They want immediate cash and don't care about the long term picture".
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That's pretty much been my observation, too. Most nurses have not WANTED to defer their income for their later years. They have wanted to earn the maximum amount of cash at the time they work rather than decrease their paychecks a little in exchange for a good pension plan or larger contribution to their 403B or 401K. They have not wanted an organization (such as a union) to force them to defer their compensation until later in life. We have wanted the freedom to make that decision ourselves. Some of us have chosen to build strong retirement accounts: others have chosen not to.
Also -- those other occupations (teachers, policemen, etc.) are paid by the taxpayers -- who have "deep pockets." Nurses are usually not. We are paid by hospital corporations who are always trying to save as much money as the can. In addition, the taxpayers recognize the contributions that teachers and policement make and are willing to pay them well for doing their jobs. Nursing is not equally recognized by society as deserving of high compensation.
As I have written on allnurses many times, my sister is a public school teacher -- who semi-retired at the age of 52 with a pension that pays 60% of her former salary for the rest of life, adjusted annually for inflation. It also gives her access to the same group health care coverage she had as a full time employee. However, when she was working full time, she never brought home as much cash as I did as a nurse with the same level of education and experience. She settled for the lesser paycheck in exchange for the good pension. Nurses have never been willing to make that exchange of less cash for better retirement plans.
However, in the long run ... we can make out just as well (except for the access to group health insurance) if we volunteer take some out of each paycheck and build our own retirement funds.