Before everything else I try to evaluate how I am spending my money. And that will be even more of an imperative when I am retired and my income is fixed. We think of so many things as essentials and in reality, so few things are.
I totally get this! I think the biggest thing for me is having small goals. When I remember that my small monthly savings goal will add up to something bigger over time, I feel much more optimistic!
Same here! It makes a huge difference at the end of each year.
I'm happy for everyone who has won! I would really appreciate winning something at least once! I've never won anything in my life. Saving is not goin good right now! Congrats to those who have won!
Set a budget and stick to it. Make adjustments if you need to and start out with small goals and gradually increase them over time.
Does anybody have a funny feeling that 401(k)s, IRAs, pensions, Mutual Funds and trading stock equity or securities is a scam? How about Federal Income Contribution Act taxes? Or Personal Income Tax through states?
What if you just opened up your own personal accounts and simply called them your retirement accounts but let nobody except you and only you have access to it and can pull them out whenever you want with no strings attached to how much, when and with no penalties?
I would assume the argument would be about taxes at this point. How about if you simply calculated the taxes as a fee? Or recategorized the taxes into a legally justifiable credit or deduction?
I am just curious because I can't see why so many people see 401(k)s and other such retirement methods as reasonable or acceptable. Especially, social security. To me, sounds like a joke. Delusion.
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With the executive order to have the employee portion to social security contribution deferred, social security doesn't sound too bad. As long as the deferred part doesn't come back and haunt us, that is. If the employee portion on the social security contribution remains deferred or eliminated, then social security is a good thing. I think. Not putting any money towards it, ever, but still being able to claim it at a certain age does sound more reasonable. Nearly sounds like free money at a certain point.
I don't know all the details and how it all works, but from what I've gathered, this seems to be the case.
With the executive order to have the employee portion to social security contribution deferred, social security doesn't sound too bad. As long as the deferred part doesn't come back and haunt us, that is. If the employee portion on the social security contribution remains deferred or eliminated, then social security is a good thing. I think. Not putting any money towards it, ever, but still being able to claim it at a certain age does sound more reasonable. Nearly sounds like free money at a certain point.
I don't know all the details and how it all works, but from what I've gathered, this seems to be the case.
Considering that we have to pay it back this year, I don't get the point of the deferral of social security taxes last year. I'm not affected, but I can easily see how some people that needed to use those deferred taxes to cover expenses last year could be in trouble with having to pay regular social security taxes and the repayment. At least they extended the repayment window to the whole year. As for being able to receive social security benefits without workers paying into it, that doesn't seem sustainable. And just because we aren't directly taxed for the program through social security taxes doesn't mean that we won't get indirectly taxed for it somewhere else.
I don't see articles or information explaining that the employee deferred portion of FICA would 'have' to be paid in 2021. I do see mentions of it being a possibility that the deferral could be, somehow, paid in 2021.
For instance, a stimulus payment check delivered to all Americans in the sum of $1,400 up to $2000 is being thrown around by members of Congress and President Elect Joe Biden. I can see how the deferral could be paid through actions such as these to address the employee FICA contribution deferral. So far President Elect Joe Biden has made mention of a 2 trillion economic plan that is extremely confusing to understand and I can't make sense of the flow of funding as much of the funding doesn't seem to even be for the Country of America or it's citizens and instead to other countries and ambiguous entities.
However, as far as the executive order from President Trump goes,
On August 8th, 2020 executive order to defer certain portions of the employee contribution of FICA.
Who was eligible?
The deferral shall be made available with respect to any employee the amount of whose wages or compensation, as applicable, payable during any bi-weekly pay period generally is less than $4,000, calculated on a pre-tax basis, or the equivalent amount with respect to other pay periods.
When did the payroll tax deferral go into effect?
September 1, 2020, through December 31, 2020.
Please keep in mind, this is a deferral of taxes. These taxes could be due. There is a clause in the Executive Order that states:
“The Secretary of the Treasury shall explore avenues, including legislation, to eliminate the obligation to pay the taxes deferred pursuant to the implementation of this memorandum.
See IRS Notice 2020-65, which was issued with the executive order. It prescribes repayment of the deferred taxes over the period of 1 January 2021 to 30 April 2021. I know there was something that expanded the repayment period to the entire calendar year, which at least shrinks the amount of each payment.
I feal that way too, but I think we all do from time to time. It's what drives me to move forward also because I hate to fail, even though I often do. I try to look at it this way if I do get to retire great, but if it's a dream at least I'll be a blind 90 year old driving a brand new flying jaguar in the wrong lane and going way to slow. Win win really.
See IRS Notice 2020-65, which was issued with the executive order. It prescribes repayment of the deferred taxes over the period of 1 January 2021 to 30 April 2021. I know there was something that expanded the repayment period to the entire calendar year, which at least shrinks the amount of each payment. - Aaron G.
I see that in the Notice. Thanks. I don't know if I would have found that ever.
How do you feel about Social security, 401(k)s, IRAs, mutual funds, pensions, FICA, FITW, SDI, Medicare and stock/security equity holdings?
I don't think Social Security is going anywhere in the near or intermediate future. There is just too much at stake politically for Congress to go against what a vast majority of the public wants or thinks it wants. They'll continue to find ways to fund it. That being said, while I'm in a position where I'm supposed to receive social security, I'm looking at those payments as pure gravy and not counting on them for retirement.
I'm a fan of the 401(k) and IRA, both the traditional and Roth versions, because of the tax benefits and how those savings can boost investment returns. My wife and I max out our annual contributions to both, and I'm fortunate to have an employer that matches 5% of my 401(k) contributions. Of course, these are not without their own specific issues. Not all 401(k)s are equal, and I'm sure that there are some plans out there that aren't worth contributing to because of fees or poor investment options. In terms of the Roth options, I'm not ruling out Congress changing the rules of untaxed qualified withdrawals somewhere down the line.
I think mutual funds, and ETFs for that matter, are a good thing too. Low-cost brokerages have been competing with each other to lower costs to investors, and mutual funds and ETFs offer an easier way for most investors to diversify investments and mitigate the risk of individual stock picking.
What's wrong with pensions? It's great if you get one, but the number of employers that still offer them is shrinking. Even if you get one, there's no guarantee that it'll last. Like everything else, plan for multiple sources of income in retirement to protect yourself against the risk of any one of those sources going away.
I have no problem with FICA taxes. Social Security and Medicare are part of the societal safety net that these taxes fund. Everyone seems to want Social Security and Medicare, but nobody wants to pay for it; that's not a sustainable situation. I'm guessing FICA taxes will need to be increased to cover funding shortfalls.
FITW is a necessary evil. Humans, in general, just aren't good at setting aside money to cover expenses. Same with SDI.
good point nolan
I'm feeling an ominous sense of worry about retirement. I'm in my early 50s, just got a good job again after being unemployed for most of 2020, and I'm putting as much as I can into my Roth IRA and the company 401(k). But I only have about $150K saved so far, and most retirement calculators say I should have around $1M by age 72, my guess at the age I'll retire. I'll keep plugging away, but it's hard to imagine I can store up the funds needed, and often think about being elderly and indigent.
Final.
I feel like that sometimes. Just have to remember perseverance.
I feel like no because if I would have got to make it tomorrow retirement it would have been a blessing but you know sometimes circumstances do certain things where that gets turned out another way so that's how I feel
.
Sometimes even the best plans go bust. I planned to work until I died. I wound up caring for my mom until she passed. (Something I will never regret). Even so, I was unable to find another tech support job at my age and had no choice to but to begin drawing on my Social Security retirement at age 62. Not the ideal retirement income, but better than nothing.
Retirement is just a dream.
For my generation, yes
I totally feel this!! I sometimes think there's no point because it just doesn't seem to add up to much, but I still strive to try and save
I don't want to work all my life. I want to live comfortably. I dont know what retirement will look like for me.
