How many in pre-retirement make catch-up contributions to 401K

[Wingo]

I would love to max out my catch up, simply don't have that much in my paycheck after bills and expenses are paid to even come close.

 

[SC Maintenance]

Financial flexibility. Say a couple saves 5 yrs to buy a house and they then want to make up for those years in 401k contributions. There's a laundry list of reasons for wanting such flexibility

I hear what your saying, but that isn't how the tax code works. For example - 501b savings for college are capped, and you can't even deduct education expenses after your AGI is I think $175K. Child tax credits are capped by AGI. You mentioned saving for a house - should that be tax deductible?

I would love to pay no income tax and personally would love 401K's be unlimited, and I think the government squanders most of it anyway - but that's not the point. Why should a 401K not be limited and the above deductions are?

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

I hear what your saying, but that isn't how the tax code works. For example - 501b savings for college are capped, and you can't even deduct education expenses after your AGI is I think $175K. Child tax credits are capped by AGI. You mentioned saving for a house - should that be tax deductible?

I would love to pay no income tax and personally would love 401K's be unlimited, and I think the government squanders most of it anyway - but that's not the point. Why should a 401K not be limited and the above deductions are?

USG has gotta maintain its bond rating!! Lol

 

[Donald]

I plan on retiring in a state with no state income taxes

Well in FL the state has no income tax but does have pretty high property tax. And high homeowners insurance. And high healthcare costs.

DE has very low property tax and low-ish income tax and no sales tax.

And some states with an income tax do not tax you on SS.

NY has no state income tax on federal and NYS pension. That's pretty common amount states.

Finding a state to retire in is usually not just a single criteria.

 

[SC Maintenance]

Well in FL the state has no income tax but does have pretty high property tax. And high homeowners insurance. And high healthcare costs.

DE has very low property tax and low-ish income tax and no sales tax.

And some states with an income tax do not tax you on SS.

NY has no state income tax on federal and NYS pension. That's pretty common amount states.

Finding a state to retire in is usually not just a single criteria.

Excellent post.

South Carolina does not tax social security. That, amongst other things, has lead to a flood of transplants from the NE. We have a sales tax but property taxes are fairly low for owner occupied. So this flood has lead to underfunding of infrastructure and a increase in housing costs like everywhere else relative to income for your typical job.

There are a whole bunch of states that tax neither SS or 401K/IRA - making again the roth a poor choice for even more people. Florida is one of those states I believe. They also have a huge infrastructure issue.

At some point someone in these states will need to pay the piper. It looks great now, but when a significant percent of the population is paying a very small portion of the taxes, it will start looking no different than NY or CA.

 

[centertex]

One shouldn't be forced to accept risk they're not comfortable with in order to save for retirement.

If you want to save half your pretax income for retirement you should be allowed to.

I agree people shouldn't be forced to accept risk, but still, everyone who works is forced to accept the risk. Best to let everyone do as they see fit.

 

[Donald]

Smart.

I kinda sorta know it's coming. Because well all told yeah, at 65 we have over $3M in IRAs. I don't want to think about it right now......ahahahhaha

But I am doing a LITTLE about it. Moving into stable, semi-stable and even some funds (bond) that I really am not worried if rates tick up and they lose value. You notice I'm not jumping on the Investing Blog thread crowing about 20% gains!!

I've always known taxes seem to be attached to my keester like stink on rice no matter which way I turn. I'm living with some abuse in muni funds right now.

One thing if kids inherit the IRA's they have to spread it 10 years, used to be actuarial table estimated lifespan.

The amount of money you need is not the same for everyone. If your SS monthly checkbis towards the max you need less and if you have a defined pension you need less. My wife and I don't need any money in a 401K or IRA to retire. Our SSA and defined pensions cover all living expenses.

 

[John105]

The amount of money you need is not the same for everyone. If your SS monthly checkbis towards the max you need less and if you have a defined pension you need less. My wife and I don't need any money in a 401K or IRA to retire. Our SSA and defined pensions cover all living expenses.

I have two defined benefit pensions which aren’t too good, my first and second jobs. But it’s not nothing. Maybe they negate a car payment. Or property taxes. So it’s something. Just not anything to consider for living expenses.

What’s a hard pill to swallow is the sum total of my work isn’t enough for a 911? A Z06? A 5 bed 6.5 bath home? The answer is that’s true. It wasn’t. If you told me that in high school that it would pan out this way, I’d laugh.

The other thing is realizing the future is not wide open, it’s somewhat set.

 

[Donald]

I have two defined benefit pensions which aren’t too good, my first and second jobs. But it’s not nothing. Maybe they negate a car payment. Or property taxes. So it’s something. Just not anything to consider for living expenses.

What’s a hard pill to swallow is the sum total of my work isn’t enough for a 911? A Z06? A 5 bed 6.5 bath home? The answer is that’s true. It wasn’t. If you told me that in high school that it would pan out this way, I’d laugh.

The other thing is realizing the future is not wide open, it’s somewhat set.

Most private pensions suck. Only the state and federal ones are good. And maybe only for those in the lower tiers (lower tier means been with the state for a long time. Newer state employees are in the higher tiers).

 

[Dave Hess]

I get 2 pensions from a crusty, very old ‘has been’ type company from the past.

Luckily I got 35 years with company, get the regular pension and voluntary pension, plus a 401K.

 

[Donald]

I got a small pension from my first real employer whom I worked for 11 years. But it has a COLA. At this point it's a car payment. I get a much larger pension from my employer of 25 years but no COLA. Probably in 20 years my small pension with COLA will pay more than my (now) larger pension.