Nursing retirement question

BloomNurseRN, ASN, BSN, RN · Jul 17, 2013

I think every facility is going to be different so this is going to be hard to find answers. You need to look at each facility and what they offer on their own merits. Many financial advisors point to contributing to whatever retirement plan your employer offers up to whatever they match (assuming they match) and then having a separate retirement plan outside of work (such as a Roth IRA). It's really best to figure out what tax implications they would have (like the employer contribution coming out pre-tax and lowering your tax load at the end of the year) and what's going to be best for your saving needs. Always best to go to a professional! :-) Good luck!

elkpark · Jul 17, 2013

There is no "nursing retirement." Every individual employer has its own program, some good, some not so good, and people are certainly welcome to save for retirement on their own. It has been decades since I've encountered a healthcare employer with a traditional pension ("defined benefit") program -- most of them have gone to 401(k)/503(b) type programs, where you decide how much you want to put in and how much you eventually receive depends on that and how the market fares over the years.

I would certainly not recommend not saving diligently for retirement on your own because of your boyfriend's benefits. Lots of things happen in life that we weren't expecting ...

green34 · Jul 17, 2013

Kind of crappy. 403(b) with a max of 3% employee-matched contributions. It's the same for everyone. I am contributing as much now because catch up is near impossible. I would recommend contributing as much as possible as early as you can. The money you put in earlier will be better.

llg, PhD, RN · Jul 17, 2013

As previous posters have suggested ... the quality of your retirement will depend upon YOUR actions. If you start young and save diligently, you have the opportunity to grow a large nest-egg to fund your retirement. I will retire in a few years with about $1,000,000 in my retirement fund (and that's with having taken 7 years off from work to go to graduate school twice). But if you decide that vacations, fancy cars, and gourmet kitchens are more important than savings ... then you will probably end up with very little money saved and face a rough retirement. Your employer will not take of everything for you: you have to make those choices yourself.

Save diligently from each paycheck the moment you start your career. Don't wait "until later" to begin saving. Educate yourself about the various options. Take FULL advantage of programs/contributions offered by your employer. (Mine contributes an additional 4% of my salary to my retirement account. I contribute the maximum amount allowed by law.) Don't take more time off than is sensible to have kids. Don't dig yourself into a hole with debt. etc. etc. etc. If you do those things, you can have a well-funded retirement. If you don't ... well ... that was your choice.

Good luck to you! I hope you have a great career ... and a great retirment.

P.S. Are you in the US? ... or Canada?

MrChicagoRN, RN · Sep 8, 2013

As others have said, start early. If you need to invest 6% to get 3% match, Do It.

That's 3% free money that you are just leaving on the table otherwise.