401k Goes Bye

[Mattnxtc 0]

and that leads to your "stock heavy" comment. What do you think is an appropriate allocation for a healthy 65 year old who only has SS, some equity in his house and a 401(k) plan?

You know as well as I do, that there isnt a correct answer to this question. Every situation will end up being different. The simple answer is that he needs to make sure that the percentage is low enough that it wont affect his standard of living in a time like this. So at 65 I would say on average 10-20% tops. But as I said, there are many other variables. What is his savings like? If he is having to rely solely on SS and the 401k then it doesnt sound like it was a wise move to retire just because he hit 65.

[El Guapo 8]

You know as well as I do, that there isnt a correct answer to this question. Every situation will end up being different. The simple answer is that he needs to make sure that the percentage is low enough that it wont affect his standard of living in a time like this. So at 65 I would say on average 10-20% tops. But as I said, there are many other variables. What is his savings like? If he is having to rely solely on SS and the 401k then it doesnt sound like it was a wise move to retire just because he hit 65.

That is just a ridiculous statement.Typical 65 year old allocation is any where from 70/30 to 50/50 depending on their specific risk tolerance and needs. 80 year olds have more than 10% in stocks.

[copernicus 0]

That is just a ridiculous statement.Typical 65 year old allocation is any where from 70/30 to 50/50 depending on their specific risk tolerance and needs. 80 year olds have more than 10% in stocks.

Yes...and exactly the kind of statement I expected. People totally underestimate the return needs for a 20 year life expectancy even in the low inflation world we've lived in for so long. With inflation heating up even more risk needs to be taken. Hence......DB plans...."There, I said it again". (Its a song that you youngn's wouldnt know.)

[Nimue1995 1]

I think we can all agree here that this is due to the failed policies of both Republicans & Democrats.

FYP

[hblask 1]

This whole discussion saddens me, when two of the more conservative people here are discussing to what degree the government needs to help us poor stupid citizens to make the decisions that are in our best interest. Because, you know, only bureaucrats are smart enough for that. People like Ted Kennedy, Nancy Pelosi, etc. They're the ones we should be trusting our future in, not ourselves.

[copernicus 0]

This whole discussion saddens me, when two of the more conservative people here are discussing to what degree the government needs to help us poor stupid citizens to make the decisions that are in our best interest. Because, you know, only bureaucrats are smart enough for that. People like Ted Kennedy, Nancy Pelosi, etc. They're the ones we should be trusting our future in, not ourselves.

If there is anything the general public has proven its that they cant invest.Countless millions have been spent by the free market on "investor education" and it doesnt work.

[85suited 0]

HB,please give us an update on the senate race in Minn.... Did the minny paper realy endorse the repub?

[El Guapo 8]

This whole discussion saddens me, when two of the more conservative people here are discussing to what degree the government needs to help us poor stupid citizens to make the decisions that are in our best interest. Because, you know, only bureaucrats are smart enough for that. People like Ted Kennedy, Nancy Pelosi, etc. They're the ones we should be trusting our future in, not ourselves.

Please don't misunderstand me I am not advocating a gov plan what-so-ever, but it would be nice to see corporation re-establish DB plans.

[JubilantLankyLad 1,957]

What are DB plans?

[El Guapo 8]

What are DB plans?

PENSIONS

[strategy 4]

PENSIONS

BE MORE ARROGANT

[strategy 4]

BE MORE ARROGANT

lg, reading as I typed it: BE MORE ANNOYING

[El Guapo 8]

BE MORE ARROGANT

why am I arrogant?

[FCP Bob 1,312]

why am I arrogant?

Not really arrogant but it might be helpful when you use shorthand to explain what it means as most people reading what you are writing won't understand what you're talking about.How hard is it to say that DB means a defined benefit pension which means that the amount of money that the person will get when they retire is fixed and doesn't change based on market conditions. This is the type of pension that was more common in the past but isn't common any longer since companies don't like them as the company will be exposed to a potential liability if the pension plans administrators aren't able to achieve the rate of the return that is assumed when they fund the plan. When you hear in the news that company X has an unfunded pension liability of $Y it's because the plan hasn't achieved the assumed rate of return. ( I hope the professionals in FCP won't find too many holes in my explanation )That fixed amount can also in some cases be inflation protected which is what all the Goverment ones here in Canada are which makes them very very sweet for the employees but also very expensive.

[El Guapo 8]

Not really arrogant but it might be helpful when you use shorthand to explain what it means as most people reading what you are writing won't understand what you're talking about.How hard is it to say that DB means a defined benefit pension which means that the amount of money that the person will get when they retire is fixed and doesn't change based on market conditions. This is the type of pension that was more common in the past but isn't common any longer since companies don't like them as the company will be exposed to a potential liability if the pension plans administrators aren't able to achieve the rate of the return that is assumed when they fund the plan. When you hear in the news that company X has an unfunded pension liability of $Y it's because the plan hasn't achieved the assumed rate of return. ( I hope the professionals in FCP won't find too many holes in my explanation )That fixed amount can also in some cases be inflation protected which is what all the Goverment ones here in Canada are which makes them very very sweet for the employees but also very expensive.

It had been mentioned numerous times earlier in the thread, I didn't feel the need to keep typing out something that has a commonly acknowledged acronym.Hell half of Copernicus acronyms I have to Google because I have never seen them before.

[FCP Bob 1,312]

It had been mentioned numerous times earlier in the thread, I didn't feel the need to keep typing out something that has a commonly acknowledged acronym.Hell half of Copernicus acronyms I have to Google because I have never seen them before.

Yup the acronym db had been used but the words Defined Benefit hadn't been used in this thread so I assume that is why the Lanky Lad asked. Not really that important but I bet a lot of people who read your conversation with Cop didn't get a lot of what you were talking about.

[El Guapo 8]

Yup the acronym db had been used but the words Defined Benefit hadn't been used in this thread so I assume that is why the Lanky Lad asked. Not really that important but I bet a lot of people who read your conversation with Cop didn't get a lot of what you were talking about.

Pretty sure I had said defined benefit, maybe it was in another thread. Meh, JLL can suck it.Ouch.

[David_Nicoson 1]

If there is anything the general public has proven its that they cant invest.

As compared to who else?

[copernicus 0]

As compared to who else?

Im not sure I understand the question, but my comparison was 401(k) plan participants behavior before and after massive education efforts.

[David_Nicoson 1]

Im not sure I understand the question, but my comparison was 401(k) plan participants behavior before and after massive education efforts.

The question is, who invests better than the general public?

[copernicus 0]

The question is, who invests better than the general public?

Investment professionals and those who use them. But thats irrelevant to the discussion, which is about retirement policy for the general public.

[hblask 1]

If there is anything the general public has proven its that they cant invest.Countless millions have been spent by the free market on investor education' and it doesnt work.

People are bad at dating, too. And shopping. And eating. Federal intervention required, yes or no?As for people making bad investment choices, first, it'd be nearly impossible, if not actually impossible, to pick a portfolio that goes down over a typical 40+ year worklife. But I could live with a program that limited retirement investments to a diversified portfolio based on age if it meant we could finally get rid of the economically harmful SS system.

[hblask 1]

HB,please give us an update on the senate race in Minn.... Did the minny paper realy endorse the repub?

http://www.kimt.com/news/local/33333464.htmlYeah, they endorsed Norm Coleman (Republican) over Al Franken (Democrat). It's kind of shocking, I think the Star-Tribune is somewhere left of the New York Times on the political spectrum. I guess it shows how bad Franken is. Franken appears to be a total idiot, with nothing meaningful to say except empty promises.The race I'm really sad about here is Michelle Bachmann, a Republican running for congress. She's one of the few Republicans that actually has principles and sticks to them. She's one of the Republicans who voted against the Welfare For Bankers Bailout. But she put her foot in her mouth by saying something about Obama being anti-American, and has been dropping in the polls since (as if it's so terrible to say bad things about the other party in the US?). As of the latest polls I could find, she is in a statistical dead heat, but slightly behind (you know how polls work).She's not in my district, I'm stuck with some old style insider Republican-welfare-is-better-than-Democratic-welfare type.... sigh.

[copernicus 0]

People are bad at dating, too. And shopping. And eating. Federal intervention required, yes or no?As for people making bad investment choices, first, it'd be nearly impossible, if not actually impossible, to pick a portfolio that goes down over a typical 40+ year worklife. But I could live with a program that limited retirement investments to a diversified portfolio based on age if it meant we could finally get rid of the economically harmful SS system.

People being bad at dating, shopping and eating don't have the social and financial impact of people not saving and investing poorly. The comparison is as asinine as your lack of understanding of SS. And GRA's are proposed to be in addition to SS, not instead of.

[hblask 1]

People being bad at dating, shopping and eating don't have the social and financial impact of people not saving and investing poorly. The comparison is as asinine as your lack of understanding of SS. And GRA's are proposed to be in addition to SS, not instead of.

Really? Cuz I know some people who were pretty successful before they started dating the wrong person. Another friend was three days from losing a restaurant that had been in the family for 60 years due to bad dating. Poor eating habits is the leading cause of death in the United States. And shopping doesn't have a social and financial impact? LOL.