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Americans Are Putting Billions More Than Usual in Their 401(k)s

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Re: Americans Are Putting Billions More Than Usual in Their 401(k)s

#441

Post by krapp »

zaroth wrote: post #440
greedo wrote: post #310

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you use Medicaid, you're expected to first deplete almost all of your financial resources to pay. It's not unusual to even have your home become an asset that will be eventually taken by the government.

After ACA this is no longer true in Medicaid expansion states. There is no asset test, and there is no paying back benefits if you are under 65 when you took them. Medicaid expansion is quite literally the best insurance that money can't buy. In CA, for example, a family of 4 earning less than $33,500 gets MediCal [1]. If you just want free coverage for the kids, you can earn $64,600. [2] [1] - http://www.dhcs.ca.gov…

ACA is likely about to be repealed.

Re: Americans Are Putting Billions More Than Usual in Their 401(k)s

#442

Post by anigbrowl »

chrisabrams wrote: post #255
knz wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Social Security is an authoritarian play, or a power play A more charitable view would be that social security is an attempt to provide a minimum standard of living for all seniors and the disabled. How do you propose that society cares for these people, particularly the disabled, if it's not done at a societal level? Retirement also benefits the young/middle aged by ensuring jobs open up.

I think the older generation should give way to the younger generation. After all, it is the younger generation that is required to run the world while the older retires. However, as it is currently, the older generation is robbing the younger generation. The younger generation is paying for entitlements that it knows it will never receive. That is not sustainable, fair, or in my opinion: necessary. It should not be…

Well, find a way to stop retirees from voting then.

It should not be the governments job to manage retirement funds.

Sez you. I'd like to outsource that job to them as private financial advisers often seem to put their own interests ahead of their clients', and I really don't know how to evaluate competing investment vehicles except int he most shallow way. I'd really like to delegate that job to someone, and I'd really like to join up with enough other people to feel the same way to delegate it to the same entity and enjoy the resultant economies of scale.

If enough people decide they want government to perform some function on their behalf, and it seems like a majority of people over several generations of western democracy in multiple countries do want the government to run a pension system, then it damn well is the government's job.

Re: Americans Are Putting Billions More Than Usual in Their 401(k)s

#443

Post by zaroth »

krapp wrote: post #441
zaroth wrote: post #440

Earlier quoted context omitted.

After ACA this is no longer true in Medicaid expansion states. There is no asset test, and there is no paying back benefits if you are under 65 when you took them. Medicaid expansion is quite literally the best insurance that money can't buy. In CA, for example, a family of 4 earning less than $33,500 gets MediCal [1]. If you just want free coverage for the kids, you can earn $64,600. [2] [1] - http://www.dhcs.ca.gov…

ACA is likely about to be repealed.

And maybe that's a good reason why it should be.

A progressive tax system should not be paired with a regressive subsidy as massive as ACA. It adds up to nearly a 100% tax on the first $60,000 of income for unhealthy / chronically ill families, and a 60% effective tax rate for healthy ones.

Re: Americans Are Putting Billions More Than Usual in Their 401(k)s

#444

Post by pcardh0 »

eli_gottlieb wrote: post #324
pcardh0 wrote: post #309

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How are MS-13, Bloods, Crips and other various street gangs enabled by Trump's election? I am confused.

You actually think street gangs are worse than neo-Nazis ?

I think Darth Vader is worse than neo-Nazis and equally likely to affect affect my life in any measurable way.

Street gangs have done several killings near where I live, neo-Nazis and Darth Vader, not so much.

Re: Americans Are Putting Billions More Than Usual in Their 401(k)s

#445

Post by anigbrowl »

chrisabrams wrote: post #399
tunap wrote: post #325

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Probably" see better results? I don't have, nor will I fetch for, the number of people who are solely reliant on SS, but my father is one of them. And he said the exact same words as you to me when I was a sprout. Now, after some bad decisions, and health issues as a direct result of long arduous work, he is glad to have that net. Please, don't tell me about my duties as a son, I've supported two family members thro…

That's great that you've recognized your duty to your family, but what happens when your children retire? What process is in place to help them? Current projects barely keep things solvent for the retiring baby boomer generation. Robbing Peter to pay Paul isn't sustainable [1], but that's what social security is. Social security is not a guaranteed solution. If we have to raise taxes or collect additional taxes, that…

We already have a sustainable solution: admit more people to the workforce via immigration. As more of the baby boomers die off over the next `03 years, the pool of retirees collecting social security will shrink back towards the mean. You seem to be under the impression that the demographic bulge is a one-way thing.

Re: Americans Are Putting Billions More Than Usual in Their 401(k)s

#446

Post by dlp211 »

djrogers wrote: post #332
chrisabrams wrote: post #269

Am I the only one that is scared of 401ks? It sounds nice: put your money into an account tax-free, let it grow tax free over 30-40 years. When you retire, you have this nice large fund to pull money from. My biggest fear is that in 30-40 years the US government and/or 401k funds are so poorly run that they tax 50/60/70% of the income (withdrawals) out of the 401k to sustain theirselves. Lots of people tell me "that…

You don't quite understand 401ks. You can choose either contribute tax free (traditional) or have tax-free growth (Roth). You can't do both in the same account. This doesn't change the fact that the rules may be changed at some point, but given the ridiculously low limits on 401k contributions anyway you might as well put some money in one. Worst case scenario is you wind up paying taxes on t anyway, but then again y…

Nitpick, but both a traditional and Roth provide tax-free growth. A Roth allows tax-free distribution is what I believe you intended to say.

Re: Americans Are Putting Billions More Than Usual in Their 401(k)s

#447

Post by anigbrowl »

entee wrote: post #161
chrisabrams wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bingo! This is the best attitude I have seen in the whole thread. Social Security is an authoritarian play, or a power play. Another way to look at it: if every single US tax payer had to manually pay their taxes, instead of them being auto-drawn from their respective W2 employer, you'd see more people asking the question "who's money is this really?" This is why the fair tax or similar plans will never pass. The pow…

Is that true? It's certainly true that under many of these alternative tax structures, we can't fund what we do right now. If instead there was a list that said, "Here is the amount of money that went to each of the major federal departments", maybe people would say, "really? that's cheap!" or "really? we spend that much on defense???" Who knows, but they'd be better informed. As I recall to a rough first approximati…

If instead there was a list that said, "Here is the amount of money that went to each of the major federal departments"

Yes...we could call it a 'budget.'

Re: Americans Are Putting Billions More Than Usual in Their 401(k)s

#448

Post by anigbrowl »

merpnderp wrote: post #215
DoodleBuggy wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "I'm not planning on Social Security being around by the time I'm old enough to tap into it" You need to change that attitude or your complacency will allow politicians to take it from you. The fact is you pay ~16% of your paycheck into social security and medicare, it is designed to be like a pension. It is not an entitlement, it's your money.

But it isn't your money. They take your money today and then tomorrow ship it out to someone on social security. Your money is well and long spent on Depends and Ensure by the time you retire at which point some other sucker is on the hook to pay for your dotage. And like every pyramid scheme, if the bottom becomes too small it will fail spectacularly.

Again, assumes we can't adjust things on the input side. and that the output side only ones in one direction.

Re: Americans Are Putting Billions More Than Usual in Their 401(k)s

#449

Post by h4nkoslo »

djrogers wrote: post #339
h4nkoslo wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

... And you can roll your trad IRA into your company 401K before doing the backdoor Roth, thus avoiding the tax hit.

No - no you can't. Someone has given you some odd and confusing advice.

I have personally done so.

https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/investing/rollover-ira-to-40...

http://www.kiplinger.com/article/retirement/T047-C000-S004-m...

Re: Americans Are Putting Billions More Than Usual in Their 401(k)s

#450

Post by dlp211 »

pillowkusis wrote: post #121
temp246810 wrote: post #35

Even though I'm doing all the right things like maxing out 401k etc., I can't help but feel that I will regret it later. It feels like everyone grew up hearing the same thing (people are poor planners, people go broke in retirement) and now as adults have vowed that will never be them. The problem is that now everyone thinks this way - index funds are on the rise, people are saving into their 401k, I can't help but t…

I've been feeling the same way. Having millions of people and billions of dollars blindly dumped into index funds leaves me uneasy. Many view index funds as a "7% return machine". The conventional wisdom is "buy and hold", blindly, regardless of what the market does, what companies fail, or who you're investing in. Most 401k users probably couldn't name more than 10 stocks that their fund is comprised of. Stock marke…

The whole point of index funds is to insulate yourself from a single company failing. What happens when 1 of the 500 S&P 500 companies even declines is that it is substituted for with another, stronger company. Index funds are not static, they just sometimes appear that way.
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