Do you have a pension?

[disneysteve]

No pension. . .I am self-employed but my wife gets a small one.

This is one of the other reasons I oppose dissolving SSI. . .it is some comfort there is a "gov't pension" awaiting me, to supplement and create a "ground floor" of my retirement.

I don't think of SS as the "ground floor" of my retirement planning. I think of it more as the icing on the cake, or really the whipped cream on top of the icing. If it comes, it will make things a little sweeter, but if it doesn't, everything will still be just fine due to our own saving and planning along the way.

[Snave]

I have a pension, but don't even count it in my retirement calculations. I just pretend it is not there. My past employment also had one and I will collect about 18K a year from that at 65. I was there 9 years. My current employer pays a % of salary that increases every few years. Currently it is 4.25% of my salary and goes to 15% the longer you stay. This is in addition to the company match to their 401k plan.

[Scanner]

I don't think of SS as the "ground floor" of my retirement planning. I think of it more as the icing on the cake, or really the whipped cream on top of the icing. If it comes, it will make things a little sweeter, but if it doesn't, everything will still be just fine due to our own saving and planning along the way.

While that is probably the best attitude to have during accumulation, I find it incorrect. I used the term "ground floor" but probably the cliche "safety net" is the best term.

You think you could never lose your retirement savings?

You sure about that?

What if a child of yours got a serious illness and you needed experimental treatment?

What if your child called and said, "Hey Dad, I'm in jail for. . ."

What if you were the victim of a frivolous lawsuit and got sued beyond policy limits?

What if a parent of yours had Alzheimer's for 10+ years like Ronald Reagan?

You think your retirement is 100% secure?

Think again.

That's why SSI is actually the "ground floor" or "saftey net" of your retirement. As much as this forum is full of "planners" there are always possibilties that can lay waste to the best plans laid.

[disneysteve]

Scanner, I totally agree with you. The best laid plans...

I do like the term "safety net" much better than "ground floor" though. The first implies SS is a back-up if my plans don't work out whereas the second sounds like I'm depending on SS as my basis and building from there. It is all semantics in the end. One just makes me feel like I'm more in control.

[tripods68]

With the regard to the article, the state legislatures thought were going to do a lot better contribution in defined contribution (401(k). But that didn't happened as a result. Many teachers hardly had enough retirements saved up. Too many didn't contribute enough so the legislatures pressured to the union. But I also think, 401K is really not a good retirement alone for state or local government since public pay do not compensate well compared to private.

[Bookie]

I am retired and have a pension from the state.

I supplement that by working several mornings a week, and I have income from my retirement savings. When I must, I'll draw Social Security.

[safari]

I have a pension through my company. It's fully funded by the employer. Recently they changed it from annuity to lump sum payment. Based on the estimate, if I continue working there until retirement, I'll get about $1 mil. This is in addition to 401(k).

[FrugalFish]

While this is true in theory, it is not necessarily true in reality. Companies and even governments (usually only municipalities) can go bankrupt - or at least get in a financial mess to where they can't afford their pension liabilities - especially if the pension fund underperforms considerably. It is unlikely, but certainly not impossible.

I just saw an interview with Dick Morris last week and he was explaining what was going on with oil prices- and that he is confident that oil is the next bubble. He said the real problem will emerge that a lot of pension money was held in the oil funds by the big firms that are driving up the price without being the consumer/recipient of the commodity. End result: some pensions will crash and burn when the oil bubble bursts. I don't know how true it is, but if it does happen, there will be a bunch of people questioning why the gov't deregulated commodities in '99 and allowed this abuse to occur.

My DH does not have a retirement or pension. He does have a 401K to which he contributes.