Do you have a 401K or retirement investment account?

If you DON'T have a 401K, IRA or investment account for retirement, how old are you and how come? Just purely curious, DH and I were discussing tonight why to not have one.

Message edited 5/4/2011 9:14:26 PM.

Re: Do you have a 401K or retirement investment account?

We have both....

Re: Do you have a 401K or retirement investment account?

We bith have 401 k, but if I didn't I would put into an Ira

Re: Do you have a 401K or retirement investment account?

We both have 401k/IRA.

I started when I was 25 yo.

Re: Do you have a 401K or retirement investment account?

I do and have had it for a few years, I'm 28.

However, my bf just started a 401K a few months ago. He was 28. It was bc his previous employeer didn't offer it and he never went and set something up on his own.

Re: Do you have a 401K or retirement investment account?

401K and money markets I think. I don't think we've done IRA yet. We wanted to be completely debt free (well other than our mortgage) before we invested money. So now that we are we'll move in that direction. We just paid off my car and DH's student loan.

Message edited 5/4/2011 9:22:27 PM.

Re: Do you have a 401K or retirement investment account?

We both have a 401k.

Why not To have one seems like an odd conversation.

Re: Do you have a 401K or retirement investment account?

We both do.

Re: Do you have a 401K or retirement investment account?

Dh didn't have a 401k until a few years ago, and he's 40. The reason is he owned his own business and so he didn't have the option - instead, he put his money into a SEP-IRA. Now, we both have 401ks and separate IRA accounts as well.

Re: Do you have a 401K or retirement investment account?

I have a 403b and a pension. Dh has a 401k. We really should be adding more to it then we do.

I am 31. Dh is 35.

Re: Do you have a 401K or retirement investment account?

DH and I both have 401Ks

Re: Do you have a 401K or retirement investment account?

Dh and I both have a 401k and dh also has a defined benefit plan (pension). Both of our employers offer them so we have had then since we were 22.

Re: Do you have a 401K or retirement investment account?

we have forms of all. And even with having a pension, I worry that with the attacks on public employees, it might not be there in the future and what if I didn't save? So there's one reason that people might not, but I could not.

Some people say if your company doesn't match, not to invest in the 401K b/c it limits your investment possibilities. DH matches, so we do. i have a 403b which doesn't match, but do it anyway, for safety. But you should be investing other places.


The tax benefits are too good to pass up. even though we are over the limit for the deductions, we can convert non-deductable IRA to a roth and be taxed at a lower tax bracket then we might in the future.

Re: Do you have a 401K or retirement investment account?

I had a 401 K with my jobs but when I left last year I rolled it into an IRA b/c mypart time job offers nothing.

DH also has a 401K.

Re: Do you have a 401K or retirement investment account?

I started my 401K, as soon as it was available to me, when I was 21. They match half of 6% that I put in. My supervisor at the time made me do it b/c he said he wished he did it when he was my age. And I'm glad he did that for me.

I also have a Cash Balance retirement plan, that only my company puts money into.

Anthony has the stocks with his company.

I don't see any reason not to have SOMETHING being put away for retirement.

Message edited 5/5/2011 8:20:19 AM.

Re: Do you have a 401K or retirement investment account?

OT
this thread has made me realize that i need to increase my contributions.

Re: Do you have a 401K or retirement investment account?

We have 401Ks and IRAs.

I think the main reason people don't have them is they don't think they can afford to put anything away or they have too many financial obligations in the present to think about the future.

It's tough, but I think it's true for a lot of people and I worry for them in the years to come because I also worry that SS will not be there.

Re: Do you have a 401K or retirement investment account?

I have one. It's still small right now, and I don't invest the max allowable, but I'm in my mid 20's. So that will change in the next 5-10 years.

DH does not have one.

Re: Do you have a 401K or retirement investment account?

I just want to remind those who have the option of investing in one where their employer also contributes but are choosing to not take part in the 401k that

taking part in such a program is like getting a tax free raise and that you're getting an automatic return on your investment.

Re: Do you have a 401K or retirement investment account?

I have a 401K and deposit 10% of my salary into it every week.

When I see that we have little in our personal savings account due to bad business this past year for DH, it makes me feel 100% better when I get my 401K quarterly statements.

I would never touch that money anyways and I feel blessed to know there's SOMETHING there at least towards the future!

Re: Do you have a 401K or retirement investment account?

I have a 401K DH has an IRA.

Re: Do you have a 401K or retirement investment account?

We have several between the both of us.