What % of your income do you save for retirement?

• thePITman

  

  gut;1167799 wrote:People that don't contribute enough to their 401k to max the company match are literally leaving money on the table and saying "no thank you, you already pay me too much". The numbers who don't do so, especially among younger 20-somethings, are just astounding and highlight a failure to teach are young people about basic principles of saving and finance.

  Totally agree. Our company matches up to 6%. When I first started, I was contributing 6% and getting 6% match, and I've kept increasing my contribution amount. I think 12% (18%) is a good spot. My Fidelity Investments team says that 12-15% is average/what I need for retirement, so I want to be more than ready.
• HitsRus

  

  Max for 401k is now 17,000...just FYI

  unless you are over 50 in which case it is now $22,500....and that's per person. So, husband and wife can put away $45,000.
• gut

  HitsRus;1168422 wrote:unless you are over 50 in which case it is now $22,500....and that's per person. So, husband and wife can put away $45,000.

  You can really sock it away if you are self-employed. Not sure how the percentages actually work, but up to like $49,500 to a SEP IRA.
  
  So a nice way to save if you really need to catch-up would be go contract your last few years of work and you could dump an extra $50k in pre-tax. Or, I suppose, you could just work 1 year longer.
  
  Seems a bit unbalanced. My guess is that goes back to the days when a lot of jobs had good pension and retirement. Still, I don't begrudge the self-employed that for taking the risk and the stress that comes along with being 100% responsible for your paycheck. Not to mention the volatility of their income stream might mean they max it out in a good year, but have nothing left to put in during bad years.
• j_crazy

  

  jmog;1167643 wrote:Max for 401k is now 17,000...just FYI .

  
  Since when?
• HitsRus

  

  Look at it this way ,gut....It was damn near impossible for me in my younger years to sock anything away because I was building a business, which involved taking on considerable debt.
• Wildcat24

  

  About 17-20% of the gross.
• hasbeen

  

  Just was talking about this today. I'm currently an educated unemployed so 0% of $0.
  
  However, my uncle is going to retire from the public sector at 51 and earn 70k a year. He's never saved a dime.
  
  My dad is 57, works in the private sector. Had saved every nickel and won't be able to retire for another 8 years.
  
  Dad isn't happy.
• sleeper

  

  pnhasbeen;1168461 wrote:Just was talking about this today. I'm currently an educated unemployed so 0% of $0.
  
  However, my uncle is going to retire from the public sector at 51 and earn 70k a year. He's never saved a dime.
  
  My dad is 57, works in the private sector. Had saved every nickel and won't be able to retire for another 8 years.
  
  Dad isn't happy.

  What field are you looking for work in?
  
  I won't commend on the public/private shit. It's a freaking joke.
• hasbeen

  

  sleeper;1168462 wrote:What field are you looking for work in?
  
  I won't commend on the public/private shit. It's a freaking joke.

  
  A field you don't think too highly of...teaching.
  
  But considering going to grad school to build on my mathematics degree.
• sleeper

  

  pnhasbeen;1168466 wrote:A field you don't think too highly of...teaching.
  
  But considering going to grad school to build on my mathematics degree.

  lol, who says I don't think highly of teachers? I can't help you find a job in education, but yes grad school would absolutely work.
• hasbeen

  

  sleeper;1168467 wrote:lol, who says I don't think highly of teachers? I can't help you find a job in education, but yes grad school would absolutely work.

  
  Fuck I don't know.
• sleeper

  

  pnhasbeen;1168468 wrote:Fuck I don't know.

  I'll ask LJ. I think he knows.
• hasbeen

  

  sleeper;1168469 wrote:I'll ask LJ. I think he knows.

  
  I don't think my thoughts are on google. We're fucked.
• gut

  HitsRus;1168436 wrote:Look at it this way ,gut....It was damn near impossible for me in my younger years to sock anything away because I was building a business, which involved taking on considerable debt.

  Fair enough. Hadn't considered that. And with many getting company matches, it's only double, anyway.
• Polar Bear 73

  I contributed 16 percent most of my career, and my employer matched the first 5 percent. I just retired and my wife and I will be able to live farily comfortably. Of course, I am also going to have a military reserve retirement based on nearly 40 years of service, so that will really help.
  
  I've always remembered something my dad told me many years ago. He said, "I've never heard anyone say they wish they hadn't saved so much for retirement". I always followed that advice and saved as much as I could afford, I am now planning on reaping the benefits of following that advice.