It's recommended to save at least 15% of your income in a 401k. You can use online calculators to estimate how much you should save based on your age and income. Saving at least 15% of your income in a 401(k) can help ensure that you have enough money to retire comfortably. By saving this much, you can take advantage of compound interest and potentially grow your retirement savings over time.

I'm 54 and my wife and I are VERY worried about our future, gas and food prices rising daily. We have had our savings dwindle with the cost of living into the stratosphere, and we are finding it impossible to replace them. We can get by, but can't seem to get ahead. My condolences to anyone retiring in this crisis, 30 years nonstop just for a crooked system to take all you worked for.

Here is what I did when I retired last year. It’s called math. as long as my pension brought in more than I spent, I was happy not touching my savings or 401(k) or CDs or anything else.

I have two pensions. I would much rather have had a Roth 401k throughout my working lifetime. $500/month invested from 25 - 65 at 9% is $2.3mil. I hate my job but can't leave because of I won't get my state pension. What do you think about doing a 70/30 stocks bond ratio?

I have a pension working in the grocery industry. After 35 years it supplements my retirement along with my dividend income. I waiting a few more years until I apply for my maximum SS at 70. Working at a grocery store was not a glamorous job, but a lot of my friends who worked in other industry are envious of my defined pension.

Thanks for talking about a 457 Plan. Most, if any financial channels never mention it. More videos on how to maximize your pension! Thanks........

Thank you for talking about pensions! Very little financial info for us out there.

I enjoy your channel and am learning a lot!

I retired this year, so I consider my Annuity checks to be a form of Pension. WIth that and SS bennies, we NET about $6,500 (after taxes and Medicare), 25% more than we spend per month. With smart spending and good health, we can allow our other nestegg balances to grow. Now, an awesome '24 LUCID would be cool... but we're still weighing the Pros & Cons. And we've enjoyed not having a car payment in years!

Between two pensions and disability, I'll have about $5100 a month coming in when I retire the year I turn 59. This will go up roughly $100 a year until I hit 62, then it will jump up another 1.1k. I'll likely pull out 1500-1600 a month out of 401k until that's gone, then collect Social Security. I have free health care for life and my wife is covered for around 60-70 bucks a month. Looking forward to retirement.

I retired 5 years ago. My Pension, which won’t change if I pass, plus SSA is just under $100 K. I lived off savings for a year until I could get full SSA at 66. No debts and budgeting for EVERY expense is the key to happiness for us. Budgeting is an every day exercise.

Thanks Eric great advice!!

Took one pension as a monthly payment for life and beyond as the wife continues to receive it.. My other pension and the wife's were taken as lump sums and invested in annuities.. Retired last October at 64 and it's fantastic!!!!

Great Topic, Erik! Thanks for the discussion!!

The idea of retirement brings tears to my eyes. I deeply apologize to all those who have retired and are navigating the process of filing for social security during this challenging time, after dedicating countless years of hard work, only to face adversity through circumstances beyond their control. This situation is particularly tough for retired individuals.

Got a chuckle on your list of 4 things folks commonly want to do in retirement -- big trip, new car, home repairs or "just relocate" -- as if that last is a kinda minor thing. My wife and I have been trying/planning to "just relocate" for two years but the two historically worst years in US real estate (and now no better). It remains a goal of ours but it ain't just a "just"! Dollars and effort required!

what about comparing lump sum vs monthly payments

Having “too much” income later in retirement due to RMDs is a good problem to have. Yeah, your taxes go up because your income is going up. A lot of wealth managers think it’s a game to minimize how much you pay in taxes. Some even encourage you to give your money away to charity so you don’t pay tax on the RMD. That’s stupid. You’re giving away 100% of the RMD to avoid paying a percentage of it in taxes.

Any thoughts on Railroad retirement pension?

Those with pensions coming, do your calculations on Break Even points to help decide when to start your withdrawals. In our case, it made total sense to take it at the earliest age because the break even point was over 20 plus years out! Each year I delayed, the break even point was even further out . Made absolute no sense to wait.

Fewer workers still have pensions. I am lucky to have retired at 56 with a full pension (along with a bit in a 401K), so this info is greatly appreciated.

I'm a Union Construction Worker, and I'll retire next year in August with a pension at 58, monthly check plus a lump sum, the younger generation's needs to look into Union Construction Work.

Thanks for the graphic on pensions. I have that tax problem looming and the graphic demonstrates my need to either do some conversions or spend the pre-tax first before ever drawing SS. Fortunately our pre-tax accounts are not the bulk of our savings.

Pension, Social security, 401k, Roth. Looking at etfs to fund long term care. Cant pass the physical

My pension from my city job will be apx 3500 a month when I turn 67. This will continue on to my wife If I pass first. My est SS at 70 is also 3500. This will leave my wife 84000 before taxes if any when I pass. Theres no col increases on the pension. Still. 84000 with a payed off morgage is pretty good

People who are able to retire early are lucky . I have 15 months till 65 and need to look at calling it quits, my only fear is running out of funds much later, thus keen on investing. What could be the safest possible ways to invest for cashflow, in order to afford lifestyle after retirement?

Good video. Thanks

I was able to retire at 48 and was blessed with three pensions all with annual COLA increases and two are tax-free (I have a very good lawyer). I'm single with no kids and keep $200K in my money market account. I don't live a lavish lifestyle and enjoy life (Although, I purchased a new home in 2020 that is worth double what I owe and the monthly payment is a mere $1176. I also paid cash for a new car in 2020 which I still currently drive). Other than the mortgage, I carry no debt. The freedom is liberating. I'm now 55 and when I try to engage younger folk about finances they are clueless. Growing up, I didn't have the internet or the information to make sound financial decisions. Now, there is so much information online that there is no excuse for not planning. I have ZERO sympathy for these younger generations.

Where were you 20 years ago with the advice on the Roth 20 years ago? Lol. It is good advice. I opened a Roth 8 years ago and funded it here and there while stacking money in my 457. Now with my Pension and various investments I am just shy of the 22% tax bracket. A small win, I had about 9k of room in the 12% bracket this year because of the Trump tax cuts so I took a 9k disbursement and put it in my Roth. Thanks for passing on the information.

I have a pension, and I use it to cover monthly expenses. Major expenses such as a new car, big trip, etc. would come from savings. It’s so nice to have a constant monthly income and not worry about where to do withdrawals, etc. I’m not a fan of annuities, but if I didn’t have my pension I’d seriously consider one for an amount similar to my pension.

retired this year at 62 with a state pension, taking SS at 63. doing ok do far.

Can you talk about early 401k withdrawals penalty free for first responders?

I’ll be retiring in 1 1/2 months. I will have 2 pensions and social security

Wife and I both have a pension which itself should cover most core expenses. Social Security should put us at a $1,000+ surplus income (for a modest lifestyle). Saving in a Roth IRA for added flexibility. Goal is to max Roth yearly, probably won’t happen for a few years.

Finally! Thank you for having my content for those of us that will be getting pensions! Great content! When I retire from my career in local government, my hubby and I discussed me taking my full pension and maybe we purchase a term life insurance policy? We’ll both have pensions but mine will be more than his. We were thinking that we could do a first die policy so in the event of our death, we’d be kept financially whole. Any advice or other recommendations? We are debt free and will be renting (we sold our house recently) with no plans to own a home. We have a good amount of liquidity as well.

The investment you choose isn't right or wrong, just depends on the kind of business person you are or simply the kind of person you are. However, the end game is investing money long term creates wealth every time. Just pick what you like and understand, invest and it will pay off. A lifetime of investing for 5 mil is not hard to accrue.

Planning on retiring next year, my pension will be around 3 k per month

401k, Roth, high yield dividend account, and pension. I have no hope of SS being there by the time I need it. If it is, great. But I am planning on not being there.

One of my issues is something you mentioned in the video. My pension is going to bump my 457b distributions into a higher tax bracket. I need to see a FA about this. I don't really know how I can minimize getting hammered in a higher bracket on my investments. I'm actually going to be living off my 457b for 3 years before my pension kicks in, so I will withdraw as much as I can up to a certain amount. Haven't done the math on what makes the most sense tax-wise. Regardless, I will still have plenty leftover in my 457b, that once my pension kicks in, will be taxed at a higher rate.

Planning on retiring this year from a state job and the most important thing I can say is do the math before selecting an option. Example one option I have is take a $300 less per month payment so that if I die first my spouse would receive the same amount the rest of her life. I looked into this and I can get a good $250000 20 year term life insurance policy for $36 per month.

It's amazing to see AMC doing well after all the doomsday analyses from naysayers. The stock market is a device for transferring money from the impatient to the patient - warren buffet. It's good to remind people of this right now; you buy on fear and sell on greed or just hold through it all for the long term. It’s easy but lots of people forget.

In my taxable account I went into dividend investing route. In my Roth I did the buy and hold route with an S&P 500 etf and total market etf along with some Berkshire B stock and SCHD.

I have a 457 that I'll be using at 55 when I retire and a reserve military pension I can get at 60, combined that should put me at $100k/year, I have no debt, house paid off. Wife will have her pension and IRA's. It'd be nice to not even touch investments, IRA etc that I have been contributing to since 18.

True today as Wilkins Micawber said it back in 1850: "Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds nought and six, result misery."

If you really don't need to make withdrawals from your non-pension accounts to fund your retirement, when it becomes necessary to make RMD's then donate the amount to a charity of your choice and it will not be taxable income (it won't be a deduction either, but you can't have it both ways.)

More and more people might face a tough time in retirement. Low-paying jobs, inflation, and high rents make it hard to save. Now, middle-class Americans find it tough to own a home too, leaving them without a place to retire.

If you retire early while in your 50s, you will need to put enough into your regular stock & bond accounts so you have something to live off without any early withdrawal penalties. Ditto if you plan on waiting till 67 to start Social Security.

I retired at 51 with a pension 2 years ago. I’m also receiving disability from the VA. My mind set is going to be different in a way because I’m moving to South America. If you’re bringing in almost $7k, you can curb those U.S. money issues, and only use 1/4 of that to live on elsewhere. How much of a lifestyle can you have with the rest, or save towards real estate? Not everybody wants to be an expat, but some people never thought about it being an option.

My pension is going to be about 90k a year when I retire at 66. My 401k is projected to be 3.2 mil. Social security is supposed to be around 40k a year. Do I need to invest anywhere else? My spouse will have about 500k in 401k and 35k a year in SS.

I retired with a decent pension and never put a cent into an IRA or 401K. I just saved the money. Consequently I don't have to worry about RMDs.

Something that needs to be addressed is Government pensions. Defined Benifit pensions are rare in the private sector, and a pension with a COLA is non-existent in the private sector.. so it's really unsustainable to provide Government workers with far far greater compensation than the taxpayers.... especially since the majority of American's don't pay Federal Income Tax.

Be aware what’s deducted. My husband took an early retirement. His pension has so many deductions. Healthcare, life insurance, have to pay spousal charge to give me 1/2 his pension if he dies before me and we are having taxes deducted. Wish I would have done better research , because after deductions, his pension is minuscule. Had to take more out of TSP to keep our standard of living.

I retire last year at age 53 with a state pension of about $4200 a month. The pension will pass to my wife without reduction. The private sector needs to bring back pensions for their employees.

I'm less than two years from 100% Replacement Income from my Pensions. I'll be 63, but without Health Insurance. So, I either need to keep working until 65 & Medicare Eligible... Or Travel Internationally for at least two years. I choose travel .Travel Medical Insurance is about the same as my share of Premium Costs. SE Asian Medical Cost run less than 15% of US. The Philippines runs about 8% of US costs for comparable services. Basing myself in the Philippines & traveling to other Asian destinations as funds allow makes sense to me. At 65 I can return to the US, if I haven't acclimated. Downsides: The Philippines is a Developing Country, with areas of abject poverty. Upsides: Skill Nursing runs less than 25% of US Costs. Meds CASH PRICE are less than most plans CoPays.

It's amazing to me in my profession where we do not pay into social security and have a governmental pension that so many co-workers do not realize what the windfall elimination provision (WEP) aka windfall act is. Thus meaning any social security you may have obtained through another job you will get penalized severely as Uncle Tom is taking 60% of it. So kiss social security good bye. 😂 Only nice thing is I'll be fully retired by the age of 50 with a full pension and several years of maxed out 457B deferred Comp maxed out Roth IRAs etc... I wish more videos would talk about the WEP because it's amazing how many people don't know what it is and how greatly it's going to cripple their social security if they're eligible for it.

By the time my QDRO reduced pension gets me to 72 or so that RMD will only make up for that inflation reduced benefit I will keep getting for life. 😅

You can also leave half of your pension to your kids

Union Labor

The best way to avoid taxes is to not save for retirement. However, if you did save in your 401K, then you will get more than when someone did not save anything. The taxes are progressive, so sure if you make more, they will take more, but you still have the same tax rates at the lower income levels, and if everything worked well, the tax will hit only 24% after you and your spouse earn more than 190,000 after all of your deductions. Not many Americans have this problem of paying the 24% tax rate and that is only for the stuff beyond $190K. So don't worry about it because for 90% of Americans, it won't be a problem.

With pension planning I’m surprised that you didn’t mention implementing a solid insurance plan that helps the individual with the pension to maximize income while still protecting a surviving spouse and other beneficiaries.

We can't take a lump sum with a Railroad Retirement pension, but considering how good it is there's no reason you'd want to.

If you don’t have a pension, then make your own. Invest in monthly paying ETFs. Get active and start researching and start building your stock portfolio. Don’t depend on social security.

No pension I use my own money 💰 don’t let them control you 🇦🇺👍😃😉

To any young people I would tell them try very hard to get a Government job that offers a pension. its not a sexy job in a start up nor do they throw tons of perks or large salaries at you, but generally its a steady and secure job and 5,10 15 years just flies by, and here I am now 56 years old and 37 years of employment. you will get a good pension till you die....its always going to be there, and then SS will come your way also.

Pension, SS, 401K rolled into an IRA.

Tip number 1 take the lump sum. Tip number 2 take the lump sum.

Ugh…hard to understand

Live without debt. Pay off your mortgage BEFORE you retire. Have NO car payment. Period! Not that hard if you are disciplined. Most people are not.

It's Creme de la Creme - so no wonder nobody listens to this.

Yeah - quite the blow that you have so much money you don't need it - and run into an RMD. Which simply says - for 'public employees' - these pensions are a travesty to the taxpayers. Great I give my money to some loser's PENSION. W T F!