reaching a retirement savings goal

[aprilgail2]

Really? My husband has an 8% match and I have a 4% 3% seems low.

My job doesn't match anything in 401k's- but they give us an actual really good company paid pension so any 401k is just extra for us.

 

[AquaDame]

I can't find any really reliable source for average match, so I don't know. Just know that 6 of the 7 companies matched dollar for dollar up to 3% of your salary. The 7th matched 50 cents on the dollar, the employer match capped at 3%, but you had to put in 6% to get that.
My wife's 2 employers were dollar for dollar to 3%. Her current employer however limits your contributions to 8% of your pay. Actually, they say the IRS limits it to 8% because they have a pension plan, but the 8% cap even applies to employees who are not covered by the pension plan.

Yep, thats how my company does it. .5% matching up to 6%, so we max out at them giving us 3% extra. Edited to add: they also do profit sharing every year (so far) but that is not guaranteed. This year it looks like it was about 2%, and they also do charitable donation matching of some amount, but i have not been lucky enough/wealthy enough to participate and benefit from that program yet.

There is a plus on the other end as well - the one huge expense for early retirees tends to be insurance. By offering cheaper insurance you can move out some people who can afford to retire except for expensive insurance, and free up some jobs - most likely up the ladder.

The downside being that us young 'uns are paying higher premiums to offset it, which leaves us less to spend and save as the boomers could. It will be interesting to see what the consequences are when my group is where y'all are.

Really? My husband has an 8% match and I have a 4%
3% seems low.

I hope not... its standard as far as I can tell with my peers. Pensions are almost unheard of unless you work for a .gov to boot. Even where they ARE still in place they are being knocked out - my husband's Union just voted to take it away from newhires hoping that would make the company less likely to cut back on insurance or try to take out pensions altogether. I don't think that is going to happen regardless but I'm a pessimist after what happened to Ma Bell and my parent's retirements.

 

[disney212]

We get 7 percent match to our 401k + an amount equal to 7 percent of our gross salary deposited to a retirement health benefit account. We also get a charitable gift match of 50 percent up to a certain dollar amount (can't remember that figure). I am aware we are very lucky.

 

[crisi]

The downside being that us young 'uns are paying higher premiums to offset it, which leaves us less to spend and save as the boomers could. It will be interesting to see what the consequences are when my group is where y'all are.

Don't feel bad - boomers are the generation that started their careers believing they'd get pensions - and then discovered too late to start saving young that they should have been putting aside their own money. Every generation gets screwed somehow.

 

[Gracie09]

We start at 7% match to 4% contribution (11% total). After 7 years it jumps to a 11% match to same 4% contribution.

When I took the job I took slightly less in salary for the 403b contribution. (I had two competing offers).

 

[abmitch01]

Affordable care act - commonly known as "Obamacare."

For people who want to retire early, its a boon - since it makes health insurance affordable. Especially if your post retirement income will be at a subsidy level.

that makes sense

 

[Gracie09]

We start at 7% match to 4% contribution (11% total). After 7 years it jumps to a 11% match to same 4% contribution.

When I took the job I took slightly less in salary for the 403b contribution. (I had two competing offers).

 

[tvguy]

We start at 7% match to 4% contribution (11% total). After 7 years it jumps to a 11% match to same 4% contribution.

When I took the job I took slightly less in salary for the 403b contribution. (I had two competing offers).

That's awesome. On the flip side, I know a few people that work for companies that have no match, they figure the cost of running the plan is enough.

 

[eliza61]

That's awesome. On the flip side, I know a few people that work for companies that have no match, they figure the cost of running the plan is enough.

more astonishing than that is how many people, don't participate in their companies 401K plan. I mean I have some serious super smart aka Sheldon from the big bang theory type scientist at my job and we still only have some thing like a 70% participation rate on our 401K/

which means we've got folks passing up 9% of their salary in free money.

We are seriously considering making the "default" 3% participation as opposed to default of not participating.

 

[jedijill]

more astonishing than that is how many people, don't participate in their companies 401K plan. I mean I have some serious super smart aka Sheldon from the big bang theory type scientist at my job and we still only have some thing like a 70% participation rate on our 401K/

which means we've got folks passing up 9% of their salary in free money.

We are seriously considering making the "default" 3% participation as opposed to default of not participating.

I shake my head too. I once was told by a coworker (with young kids) that he would rather *invest* his money in Thomas Kinkade paintings. I just shook my head.

Jill in CO

 

[tvguy]

more astonishing than that is how many people, don't participate in their companies 401K plan. I mean I have some serious super smart aka Sheldon from the big bang theory type scientist at my job and we still only have some thing like a 70% participation rate on our 401K/

which means we've got folks passing up 9% of their salary in free money.

We are seriously considering making the "default" 3% participation as opposed to default of not participating.

I had a co-worker in his 60's, refused to put any money away for retirement because he planned to work until he died. He didn't plan on an illness that would make it impossible for him to work, and forced him into retirement.