retirement! What is everyone doing to financially secure it?

**MelinaG** · 12-30-2005, 05:34 PM

So far we are lucky that randal's boss matches 300% of his 401B contribution. I now havea Roth IRA. Being that sahm's don't get a 401k...lol! or 401B or 403B.....whart are we suppost to do for retirement!!! LOL. I'm excited about my Roth IRA. I recieved it as an x-mas present from DH!!!! Every coupon clipped every penny saved is going into it baby! (We don't owe any debt)

What is everyone elses retirement plans look like? I would love to learn more.

**Telephus44** · 12-30-2005, 09:51 PM

Congrats on the Roth! I've had mine since 2000, and have always maxed it out.

For retirement plans: I have a 401K at work - my employer matches 100% for the first 3% I contribute, and 50% for the next 2%. Right now I'm contributing 5% to get the entire match - after we buy a house (hopefully Xmas 06) I plan on upping it to the full 15%, depending on what our budget allows. DH also has a 401K at his job and is currently contributing 10% - again, we hope to up it to 15% in the future. I also have my Roth IRA that I fully fund every year - I'm counting on this as the cornerstone of our retirement. I also have a pension fund at work (which is company paid - I don't contribute anything).

Currently we have about $22K across all accounts. Since we're still pretty young (27 & 31) I'm not sure what exactly we'll need for retirement, but I figure that this is a good start. I don't plan on social security being there for me.

**bee9984** · 12-30-2005, 11:55 PM

Currently we are putting $250 a paycheck (Pretaxed) into rrsp's ( registared retirement savings plan for Canadians) we have been doing this since oct. Dh retired from the military this past march and he put a good chunk of his severence pay in there. Dh also gets a pension now for his service in the military for over 20 years so that helps

. We still have 2 children at home 12 and 14 and since we hit our 40's it is like a light went off and we need to seriously start planning. I sure wished we had started sooner then later but we can't go back so we are finally trying to take control

**frugalfarmwife** · 12-31-2005, 01:38 AM

Hubbies company finally started a 401k this last year but with no match. Starting in 2006 they'll match 100% up to 4%, 50% for the next 3%. I started by putting in 2% but have it set for 4% starting now. Not much but its a start!

We're also lucky in that we have Railroad retirement which hubby has been paying into for 14 years, before long he'll be fully vested. I also have a (God forbid) widows pension.

We're also socking away in high yield savings/CDs, but our biggest investment is our land. We fully own 36 acres and have a mortgage on about 1/2 the value of the other 48 acres/house and barns. Our land is just a mile from town and the value is going up yearly and the developments are fast moving in on us. When we retire I plan on having it fully paid off and when we can no longer work the farm I'm sure that selling it will MORE than fund a wonderful little cabin with a few acres somewhere.

Kris

**MelinaG** · 12-31-2005, 08:00 AM

Wow!

I need to get going and saving even more!! I'm 27 and DH is 34 and we nly have our 401k for 2 years and a roth for oh...a good week! We are buying a home next year.....but with only a 15% down.....boston housing is EXPESIVE and I rather pay pmi than rent. But 25% would have been nice.

Thanks for sharing...I need to save more!

Melina

**staceyy** · 12-31-2005, 08:50 AM

We put $10,000 a year into dh's 401K which includes the $1500 his company matches. We are building the equity in our home and expect to get something from social security. We will also probably work part-time for a number of years after retirement. We might down-size our home as it is large and has 4 bedrooms and there are just the two of us. And if push comes to shove we could always consider a reverse mortgage. We figure we'll have several hundred thousand put away if everything goes according to plan and we can take part of this to pay off our existing mortgage. Dh has twelve more years before retirement but we are practicing frugality now to help us better cope for the future.

**sunshine** · 12-31-2005, 09:16 AM

I have a company paid pension fund ( we don't have the option for a 401k or any other type retirement fund, there).

I have a personal retirement fund (not an IRA) that I contribute to monthly.

Dh has nothing- he's on social security disability now.

**ironmaiden** · 12-31-2005, 10:46 AM

When I worked - 13 years - I contributed to 401Ks. Some matched, one company just put in a random amount into it each year. DH started his when I started going out with him and insist that he do it. I'll get $150 a month pension someday - my craft money

And DH will get a much better pension someday.
We continue to put in 10% of DH's pay into his 401K. I do have a rollover IRA and a ROTH IRA which I haven't added to in a while. We'll have the house paid off in another 7 years (4.5% mortgage) - assuming that we don't move if we lose the fight on having a mall across from us!!! When I go back to work, I'll contribute to my 401K again.

DH plans to retire the day that DS graduates college - she's 3 now.

One suggestion. When you sign up for a job, figure out how much you can afford to put into a 401K. Then when you get that 3% raise the next year - split it 1.5% MORE into the 401K and the rest in your take home. And just do that until you reach the max.

**Telephus44** · 12-31-2005, 12:51 PM

Originally posted by ironmaiden One suggestion. When you sign up for a job, figure out how much you can afford to put into a 401K. Then when you get that 3% raise the next year - split it 1.5% MORE into the 401K and the rest in your take home. And just do that until you reach the max.

Excellent idea!

**Mojjo** · 12-31-2005, 01:59 PM

DH and I are both contributing to our pension which the state matches. We also have his deferred comp which he puts 10% into. We'll start mine this summer. Our first priority is buying a house...but after that we'll get a ROTH and work towards maxing both our deferred comps.

DH is 15 years older than I am so he may get Social Security but neither of us is counting on it.

The plan is to be retired (me) in 26.5 years. DH I'm hoping (with his health) to get him 14 more years or so.

**peanut** · 01-01-2006, 09:12 PM

Panicking?! We're Canadian and dh is 53. I'm a SAHM and have been for 15 years. Means I have no CPP (government pension - same as social security).

We have RRSPs which we've been contributing $200/mth to for some years. Dh also has a work pension worth about 70% of his annual pay from the last five years of work. If he dies, I get about 60% of that, putting me well below the poverty line.

Our goals are to create income streams for retirement. No way around it. Otherwise I won't be able to live in old age.

Also we're thinking of rolling dh's insurance over so there is something for me if he passes away. This is imperative as I will probably need some sort of long term care.

We will also be saving money out of RRSPs by laddering GICs. That is, buying one one-year GIC a month until we've bought a full year's worth, and then having them all roll over when they come due and get reinvested until retirement.

We're looking at a current budget shortfall of $70,000cdn. if dh retires early as he wants to. So we're playing catchup as fast as we can now. Key to that is paying out our mortgage ASAP. Hence a revised budget and increased amount into our EF. Once the EF is more than the outstanding mortgage, we'll use it to pay the mortgage off.

Jean