first post in money thread and a handy poll

[outside the box]

please let me know if you (ages 18-30) have a 401K and how long you have been contributing. Just want an idea how my demographic is really doing with this financial hotbutton.

thanks.

[WorkInProgress]

I have a 401(k) and I've been contributing for about a year ish. I waited until about 6 months after I was eligible to contribute (boo). The reason I'm even doing it is because my employer also matches to a certain percent and does some profit-sharing. If the company didn't, I'd find another, better mechanism.

But, I opened a Roth IRA as soon as a started working after college (even though it was just part time), so I've been contributing to that for a couple years now (and my, how it adds up).

[analogman]

I have contributed to my 401k for more than 5 years now. I started contributing to a RothIRA starting with 2004 tax year. I didn't know what a great deal RothIRAs were before then :(

[workaholic?]

I have a 401(k) that i've been contributing to for a little over a year...i have about $10,000 in it. my company matches a 2% contribution with 8%. i put in 3%, so i actually have 11% going into it every paycheck.

[jrwilheim]

I don't currently, but I have a rollover IRA from a 401(k) plan I had at my first job. Right now I contribute to traditional IRAs, but I have started a Roth and will start putting more into that next year when I don't have a looming huge tax bill hanging over my head that I want to get down a bit.

[blueyes]

Um, let's see...I've had a 401k for nearly a year (I think?) and that includes this year's rollover at the new company. I also have a RothIRA that I've been kicking into for a couple of years now. Which reminds me...once I make it through the holidays (which equals a couple of months here and me getting my feet under me), I will probably throw at least 2K into it (pre-tax-time).

[SmilesSoSweet]

401k since 2001, but when I started my new job in 2005 I couldn't contribute until this year.

I've had my Roth IRA since 2002 as well.

Oh and I'm 27 (just a month and half until Im' 28).

[Kitty]

403 (b) - basically, the same thing as 401k. I've been contributing for two years. I contribute 10% and my employer matches the full 10%.

[WorkInProgress]

403 (b) - basically, the same thing as 401k. I've been contributing for two years. I contribute 10% and my employer matches the full 10%.
That's awesome!

[Kitty]

That's awesome!

Yeah, kinda makes up for the fact that the pay isn't that great.

[Spinney]

Damn, I wish I had a deal like that. I've got an RRSP (which is the Canadian version of a 401k I think...contributing lowers your tax bracket etc) with around $1300 in it that I contributed during 2006. My previous employer was matching 50% of my contributions.

Unfortunately my new employer doesn't, so I may not be contributing for a while yet. I don't make enough money to pay more than 20% in taxes yet, and I have enough deductions from student loans and student loan interest to get all my taxes back for the next 5 years anyway.

[MollyMe]

I have been contributing to a 401k since I got a job after college (~2 years). I have been contributing to a Roth IRA since 2004 too.
I fully fund the IRA and contribute 10% + 5% match to the 401k.

[and1grad]

I added a poll...since the thread title suggested there would be one. :)

[wordsmith]

Nope. My employer offers 401K, but they don't match. Period. If they matched, I'd contribute. Nobody in my workplace does, we all think it's obscene that they don't match.

[asm198]

I've never had a 401k. And I have nothing saved for retirement. I guess I like living on the edge.

[outside the box]

thanks and1grad for the poll thingy.

sounds like and looks like 90% of us are walking the walk and for a good chunk of our career existence too.

I myself have been contributing to a 401(k) for five years now with the first 6% matched in full and i put in 10% of my check. No IRA yet, though I see that happening soon as my new job has no 401k yet, so I am looking into what Fidelity has got to offer amongst other brokers.
If anyone has any reccommendations for IRA brokers, online or not, let me hear them.

thanks again all
:)

[jrwilheim]

Nope. My employer offers 401K, but they don't match. Period. If they matched, I'd contribute. Nobody in my workplace does, we all think it's obscene that they don't match.

I think it's a good idea to contribute even if you don't get the match. Why pass up free money?

[TinyDancer]

I have a 401k and have been contributing for 2 years. I want to up my percentage as soon as I have my student loans paid off (end of this year hopefully?)

I have a Roth IRA, too. . . but sadly, I have not put much into it.

[CityGal]

18-25 Opened up s 401K about a few weeks ago...I think I have to wait until a certain date blah blah...haven't seen anything come out of it yet but the company matches 3% and I put in 3% once I am all settled with that after President's day 2007 I will open my roth. Where do most of you have your roths?

PS I also have a High Yield MMA which I contribute to on occassion...more so now that my credit card is paid off.

[Still Looking]

Yea I have been contributing to my 401(k) for about 3 years now and just recently opened a roth IRA. I gamble mostly in the stock market, but the risk and reward is usually a lot higher.

[asm198]

I do want to add that if I ever had the opportunity to actually have a 401k, I would have contributed and maxed out whatever matching the company would do. However, the only job I've had that even offered it, kinda screwed myself and half their staff out of that kind of stuff, all because of when we were hired.

[ebruening]

I contribute $197 pre-tax income every month to a mandatory 401(a) plan. My district supposedly contributes 101% of that, but I recently found out that they only contribute a PERCENTAGE of that money when you have worked in the district for at least 5 years. I have no control over where my money goes, or how much I want to contribute. The interest rate is a ridiculous 2.12%, since I got my FIRST statement 13 months after I'd worked for the district. I'd really like to know where people are getting the idea that public school teachers have a great retirement plan...the only thing "great" I see about my situation is that it is a FORCED contribution. Am I bitter? You bet.

[AshleyJordan]

My first job I didn't, because we actually had a quasi-pension system where the organization itself contirbuted 12% of my salary to a 403 (b). Now, I'm only contributing 3%, and after a year my org contributes 10%. I'm only 24, and considering the matches, I sort of justify my sluggish investing, but I should be contributing more. My plan is to up my contribution by 1% a month, until I'm at 10%, maybe the full 12 if I can swing it. Since it's tax-free, I know I should. . .also, on nonprofit wages, it takes a lot longer to save for retirement!

[yankeeyosh]

I contribute 4%, and I've only been contributing since July. I don't think that will change for a while. I get 33 1/3% match, but I really don't think much of it, since I am pretty sure I will be long gone well before I'm vested (I hope).

[analogman]

I think it's a good idea to contribute even if you don't get the match. Why pass up free money?

I don't quite understand this. If there is no match, then what's the free money she's passing up? Sure it reduces her taxes now, but the govt will tax her (probably much higher than now) when she withdrawals it.

[labrat2111]

I've started contributing to my 401(k) 6 months after I was eligible. I've contributed for about 3 years I think and because my salary sucks I only have about 10K in so far. I contributed 4% originally because that is the match (and vesting is immediate) but now contribute 8%. I also have a stock account I trade with although I should really convert 4K of it to a Roth but I'll do that I figure when I finally get another job seeing as mine is finally ending in 4-6 weeks.

[frogleggz]

I have been contributing for about 6 months, 6% since that's what my company matches (50%).

[meatwad]

I started a RothIRA when I graduated college although I haven't added more than $1000 to it since I bought my house 2.5 years ago. I also have a 401k at work that my company pays 4% into if I contribute 5%, which I do. All told I have just under one years salary in retirment funds and I turn 28 in November.

[Ciderhillnh]

Ive had a 401K for about 9 years. Started it when I got a big check upon graduating from college. Thats where Ive put Bday, graduation and part of my paycheck each month.

[Chameleon]

I started my 401k when I started working 6 years ago. The policy has changed over the years, but they currently match half of my contribution up to a 6 percent contribution. I'm currently contributing 7% and would like to go higher once things get more stable with the house. This is the first year I've really paid attention to the investment tools for my 401k (thanks to a couple co-workers mentioning how well their investments were doing) so for the first time in years the return on my 401k is not +/-2%.

[SmilesSoSweet]

All told I have just under one years salary in retirment funds and I turn 28 in November.

That's great!

I'm not quite at a year's worth of salary, but I'm more than half way there and I'm only 27 (28 in November as well). The 401k with my last job is now a Traditional IRA. I didn't want to roll it over to my new 401k because I wanted to see how this one was like first. I may just leave the Traditional IRA where it is for now. I can always roll it over at another time.

Another I've noticed is that I don't notice the money that's being taken from my paychecks to go towards retirement, so it really isn't a huge dip into my income.

[WorkInProgress]

Another I've noticed is that I don't notice the money that's being taken from my paychecks to go towards retirement, so it really isn't a huge dip into my income.

True that. The 401(k) and Roth contributions come right out of my check/account, so I don't worry about having to remember to write the check, etc.

[analogman]

I started my 401k when I started working 6 years ago. The policy has changed over the years, but they currently match half of my contribution up to a 6 percent contribution. I'm currently contributing 7% and would like to go higher once things get more stable with the house. This is the first year I've really paid attention to the investment tools for my 401k (thanks to a couple co-workers mentioning how well their investments were doing) so for the first time in years the return on my 401k is not +/-2%.

Saving for retirement is a two step process. First you have to put the money in, then you have to put them to work.

If your work offers a lifestage fund and you are not good at managing your own investments it might be worth looking into. You definitely want more than 2% gains, which might not even cover inflation.

[analogman]

All told I have just under one years salary in retirment funds and I turn 28 in November.

That is pretty good. It would seem that you are getting pretty good returns too! :)

[BlueEyedFunOne]

My company matches 5%, and I have 5% contributed. I started like 6 months ago, but have been with my company almost 3 years.

As much as I want to knock my contribution down to like 3% (just to have a lil extra cash in my pocket from each paycheck), I won't let myself do it. Seeing as there probably won't be any social security left when I (we) retire...I'd like to have a nice chunk of change for later on in life.

[WorkInProgress]

Seeing as there probably won't be any social security left when I (we) retire...I'd like to have a nice chunk of change for later on in life.
Yeah, I'm betting on a big fat nothing from SS. If I get something, great; if not, I wasn't planning on it anyway.

[Chameleon]

If your work offers a lifestage fund and you are not good at managing your own investments it might be worth looking into. You definitely want more than 2% gains, which might not even cover inflation.
I know, hence the whole paying attention to the investment tools comment :) I was in a "balanced fund" previously that didn't do much.

[jrwilheim]

I don't quite understand this. If there is no match, then what's the free money she's passing up? Sure it reduces her taxes now, but the govt will tax her (probably much higher than now) when she withdrawals it.

She's losing the opportunity to invest with the portion of her money that she's paying in taxes. And she's losing the tax-free growth the 401(k) provides.

For instance, if she were putting $1000 into her 401(k) this year, she would be saving $250 on her taxes, assuming she's in the 25% tax bracket. By not contributing to her 401(k), she not only loses the $250 tax savings; she loses the money the $250 would generate over the years (at a 10% return per year, that $250 would be worth $10,286 in 40 years). Do this every year for 40 years--not put the $1000 in--and the loses add up to $110,648 (again, with a 10% return every year).

[yankeeyosh]

She's losing the opportunity to invest with the portion of her money that she's paying in taxes. And she's losing the tax-free growth the 401(k) provides.

For instance, if she were putting $1000 into her 401(k) this year, she would be saving $250 on her taxes, assuming she's in the 25% tax bracket. By not contributing to her 401(k), she not only loses the $250 tax savings; she loses the money the $250 would generate over the years (at a 10% return per year, that $250 would be worth $10,286 in 40 years). Do this every year for 40 years--not put the $1000 in--and the loses add up to $110,648 (again, with a 10% return every year).

Yeah but the taxes come eventually...when one retires.

[wordsmith]

I think it's a good idea to contribute even if you don't get the match. Why pass up free money?

Mostly because at the small salary I make, I can't afford to contribute through work without some incentive. I know, everyone has theories that no matter how little you make (and I make significantly under 25k), you can afford to contribute something, but the truth is, I've budgeted, and I really just can't. If there were a significant incentive, I'd probably be motivated to scrimp even more than I already do somewhere in my budget to come up with the contribution, but as it is, nah. I do save.

[SpaceMonkey]

I'm 23. I have a 403(b). I contribute 7% of my salary, but I've only had it for a few months so there isn't much in there yet (and this is my first full-time job out of school, so no rollover money). My employer doesn't contribute anything yet. If I'm still here in 2 years, they will contribute an amount equal to 7% of my salary, irrespective of my contribution.

I also have a Roth IRA that I'm putting another 8% of my salary into every month. Sometimes a little bit more, depending on how my monthly budget worked out.

I also move another ~7-8% to a high-yield savings account. I'm at the point where I have the "emergency fund" of 6-8 months of expenses saved up, so that feels nice.