Retirement

caliotter3 · Oct 2, 2010

None of the places I have ever worked had retirement plans as far as I know. Nobody lasted long enough to need one from those employers.

Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN · Oct 2, 2010

Retirement plans vary widely depending on the employer...that is, if the employer offers them. Many don't, and some that used to have cut back on them or dropped them entirely.

You're better off preparing for retirement on your own, such as opening up your own IRA and setting aside savings, then to rely primarily on an employer-provided retirement plan that may not even be there.

OCNRN63, RN · Oct 2, 2010

Most of the time, you are responsible for your own retirement planning. Some hospitals may contribute to a retirement fund depending on how much your contribution is. It's a waste not to take advantage of this; it's free money.

himilayaneyes · Oct 2, 2010

A lot of places don't offer a pension anymore. Some places still offer plans like the 401k and 403b. So take advantage of these plans. Your best person to talk to would be a financial adviser b/c you still want to open up an IRA.

Otessa, BSN, RN · Oct 2, 2010

Have a defined benefit pension plan. Not vested for several more years.

nurse2033, MSN, RN · Oct 2, 2010

401K here..

klone, MSN, RN · Oct 2, 2010

Places I've worked have offered 401(k)/403(b). Some will offer partial or full matching up to 3-5%. Like someone else said, it's stupid not to contribute to those ,because it's free money. However, places that offer matching often offer partial vesting (usually on a tiered basis, increasing each year) until you've been there a certain number of years. You don't lose your own contribution if you quit before that time, but you will lose all or some of the employer contribution.

The place I work now does offer a pension, as well as IRAs, as a quasi-governmental agency (university).

manncer · Oct 3, 2010

Don't trust your employer. If they offer a plan, don't be surprised if they suddenly don't contribute to it anymore, or even stop offering completely. Get a good financial advisor and build up your own account. I am facing retirement in a few years and am in trouble because of the recession and the lousy plan the hospital arranged. I can't emphasize the importence of having adequate monies when you are done working. :twocents:

Otessa, BSN, RN · Oct 3, 2010

Don't trust your employer. If they offer a plan, don't be surprised if they suddenly don't contribute to it anymore, or even stop offering completely. Get a good financial advisor and build up your own account. I am facing retirement in a few years and am in trouble because of the recession and the lousy plan the hospital arranged. I can't emphasize the importence of having adequate monies when you are done working.

How true! Just like I can't count on social security to benefit me when I am 67 or 70-something-can't count on my company actually having my pension when the time comes. Have been saving on my own since graduation 18 years ago.

llg, PhD, RN · Oct 3, 2010

Every hospital I have ever worked in had some sort of retirment plan. The most common are defined contribution plans (e.g. 403B or 401K plans), but a few still have defined benefit plans.

In a defined contribution plan (403B or 401K), you invest a portion of your paycheck and it goes into a special account set aside for your retirment. In many cases, the employer also puts some money into your retirement account -- which varies from employer to employer. My employer contributes an amount equal to 4% of my annual pay into my retirment account.

Flying ICU RN · Oct 3, 2010

Retirement forecast meter

Here's what scares me about retirement, this guy used to be 16 years old. Now geriatrics across the country have reentered the workforce, an indicator of the cost of living.

Despite good planning on my part, it's got me rethinking the long term plan a bit with a semi-retirement scheme. It's for that reason, and that reason alone that I may entertain the notion of NP for that decade.