Comments on: Figuring Out Your Retirement Contributions for 2010

By: anna

anna — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 23:23:03 +0000

Laura, I have a friend that has worked for Walmart for thirteen years. And she just call and wanted me to find out if she can retire from walmart and will she still get to keep her discount card. I believe she is 62. She work at williamson wv.

By: Bob Nelson

Bob Nelson — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 13:00:35 +0000

I am glad to see people who have jobs putting money away. Where I live I think unemployment is really at 30%. When I go to Walmart and find a robotics engineer with 30 years exp. and a welder machine repairman with 10 years stocking shelves things are hard.

By: John

John — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 05:56:03 +0000

My take on Roth IRA: As long as you are investing money taxed at 15%, Roth is the only way to go. If you are in the 25% bracket it’s not quite as clear-cut.

My brother is now the sole income for himself, his wife, and 2 kids. He is investing 100% of his retirement savings in Roth because he is in a low tax bracket.

I am single and I am borderline between 15 and 25% brackets. I am maxing out my company match and that is all for the first half of this year. I am in debt repayment mode right now. In 8-10 months I will know far more about my tax situation and will have all of my critical debts paid. Then I will have some flexibility in allocating funds to a Roth or traditional IRA.

By: Dan

Dan — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 23:04:25 +0000

Laura,

Does your income exceed the limits for a deductible IRA? I’ve run some numbers of my own, and I’m no longer convinced that the Roth is the savior that those in the PF blogosphere think it is.

By: Laura

Laura — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 23:02:45 +0000

I’m impressed with how much many of you are putting in towards your retirement. I’m also happy many of you are increasing your contribution which I hope is an indication of solid financial circumstances.

By: Floridian

Floridian — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 19:14:47 +0000

I rebalanced our holdings a few months ago and now we’re holding steady. We are maxing out both ROTH IRAs again and 9% of my salary is contributed to a pension plan by my employer (a defined contribution, not defined benefit – I am fully vested and control it much like a 401K or IRA). I may have to start funding a portion of that defined contribution pension myself come July, as there is talk about the state (my employer) cutting back on its contributions to the pension plans – bummer. I hope I am as lucky as keanie beanie and get all benefits reinstated when the economy is in full force again…but I doubt it Ah well, we are still on track to retire very comfortably at 55 (just a *short* 22 years away! ugh….)

By: Chris

Chris — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 18:01:24 +0000

I’m surprised to read that your husband’s 401k has no low cost index options. Have you considered taking this issue to company 401k manager? I’m also curious what closest-to-index funds are available.

By: keenie beanie

keenie beanie — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 17:21:40 +0000

In Jan 2009, my employer suspended our 401K match and cut my salary by 10%, so I squeezed the budget for all it was worth and came up with 3% more into the 401K to make up for the lost match. In January 2010, my salary was restored (but not the 401K match). I’ve set the goal of topping out my 401K contribution at $16,500 for the year, since the 10% “raise”, after a year of doing without, leaves me feeling flush. The 401K investment percentage has been revised to meet that goal and I will continue to fund the max into my Roth. There is a risk I might lose or leave my job this summer due to a merger, so even if I don’t hit that goal, I will have front-loaded the contributions for the year.

By: Petunia

Petunia — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 16:55:07 +0000

In 2010, I will contribute $1800 to my employer’s plan and will receive $1350 in matching. Additionally, I will contribute 5k between my Roth and traditional IRAs. Currently I am considering exactly how I want to split that up, and welcome any opinions.

I make 45k, receive another 6k in child support. (Single mom with 1 minor child left in the nest.) I would love to contribute more, but it is a stretch for me to contribute $6800.

Excluding my employer’s plan, I invest primarily via index funds at Vanguard. I also have a bit in Vanguard’s TIPs fund, which is not an index.

By: savvy

savvy — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 16:06:50 +0000

@ BG – Having a job does not preclude you from being self-employed. In our case, DH has a business (sole proprietorship and licensed in our county) that he does in addition to his full-time job. That income is reported on Schedule C. As such, he is self-employed.

By: BG

BG — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 15:14:39 +0000

How can you have both a 401k and a SEP-IRA? Doesn’t a job through an employer that offers a 401k, preclude you from claiming to be “self-employed” to qualify for the SEP IRA…?

By: savvy

savvy — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 14:16:57 +0000

We’re holding steady. We’ll max out both 401k’s (first priority), DH’s SEP-IRA and then both IRAs.

By: Nickel

Nickel — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 14:16:40 +0000

Laura: We’re aggressively funding my employer plans (including a SEP-IRA for my side income), and will also be maxing a non-deductible, traditional IRA for my wife and then immediately converting it to a Roth (we’re beyond the income limits for Roth contributions). Still trying to figure out the best IRA strategy for me. I’d like to do the same as my wife, but that SEP-IRA is full of non-deductible contributions, which makes the tax consequences a bit more complex. I may wind up rolling that into a Solo 401(k) to facilitate the Roth conversions.