For everyone looking for a company to work for, read this......

I agree. You shouldn't put your eggs in one basket. I think one should invest in a 401k as well as other investments, whether you have a pension or not.

 

Whats a pension?

 

Pensions and Social Security are both Ponzi Schemes. Yeah, if you got on early enough, you will benefit. But it's mathematically impossible to pay 20 years into it, and expect to get 30+ years of living expenses out of it.

Oh yeah... And those people that manage these pension accounts.... You'd have to be out of your freaking mind that they also rely their retirement off of them... They got all their eggs in 401ks, Roth/Traditional IRAs, bonds, ect.

I set 15% of my paycheck aside each pay cycle so I don't die financially when my body can no longer keep up with the physical aspects of this career field.

 

I would much rather have a pension than a 401k. Let me see which is better? Having my employer pay for my retirement which I get for life (pension) or a crappy 401k which when it runs out that's it.

For the record I'm one of those poor saps who work in the private sector non union (401k) and contribute a good percentage.

My mom worked for the govt (nurse) and her pension has taken care of her very well. And for the nay sayers I know a lot of retired folks on pensions and not a single one of them was denied a cent because they "ran out of money"

Guess it doesnt really matter since most truck drivers are poor and will end up dying destitute anyway

 

With all due respect sir, depending on your employer to take care of you after you leave is insane.

We get screwed enough as it is on the job... To expect a company to keep their word after you leave is naive.

I am a for hire driver. I put in my labour and collect my checks. I don't expect much more out of whoever hired me. Anyone that thinks a company has your long term interests in mind is a fool. And I am not trying to insult you. But you gotta have your own strategy. Look at companies like CF or many others that just shut their doors.

 

You are very uninformed, some retired members have taken a third cut in their benefits. Once you have set your fixed budget, getting by on 1/3 less is a big hit. And that fix moved the bankrupt date from 9 years out to 12 . So you may very well out live your pension.

 

I have complete control of my company pension including determining which funds I am invested. Company can only make deposits. Call it a employee retention incentive

 

I went to work not expecting a pension. The best one could hopeful should the body begin to break down enough at a certain point you cannot carry on your work is to file at SSA for SSdI among other things.

That was what happened to me at a certain age in life when the spine started going out. Even today Sitting on 4 times the usual dose of medicine while hurting at the spine makes for a bad day. You can expect that amount of medicine is inadequate today.

I am glad to have it. And I am glad the diagnosis that I have been given (Small number of them, about 8 in total) which are very accurate and chronic in nature. It will never go away. But with that said, I will die a trucker. One interesting diagnosis has to do with excessive bone spurs growing on the vertebra. The doctors like to take a xray now and then to confirm that the spurs and so on are still in place as they should be. Should they suddenly vanish, the next most important problem is a pending Aortic Anrusym should that balloon develop on your large Aortic heart vessel leading to your brain and burst, you are dead in about 20 seconds. So that's not a problem. When it's time it's time. However I consider it preventable.

As far as pensions go, lucky are the few who collect it. The rest, the majority of people who pay into it will never see a penny. Because the states, corporations and the Federal Goverment has across the board consistently underfunded it for decades. The amount of underfunding is systematic and staggering in it's scope. Everyone expect the pension to be there when they get to a certain time after working enough years. But if it is not there anymore due to the underfunding that has been chronic for decades... then it's jut not going to be there period.

If you are smart, you will find another way to build something you can fall back on should your working years end today. Sometimes people are out of the work force and then =realize that they are not sick enough for SSdI, too early in life to get SSA and so for some the Military and or Federal Checks are not going to be enough, if any at all arrive.

During my grandfather's time two people worked hard for all their lives for hardly nothing. One made clothing by the piece at home during the 1800's and the other worked for a department store that had nothing of that kind in those years. My Grandfather after he came back from world war one, used a small portion of his really small income (Some of which led to the Army Pension March against DC post WW1 which led to some shooting back in those days) to support the two individuals who were family members in their declining years with some dignity. Keep in mind Social Security did not exist at all until FDR signed it into law during world war two but did not really take off until the mid 60's under a different law.

I am the last of my generation who takes SSA. I do not expect anyone younger than say 35 working now will be able to live long enough to see either a Pension or SocialSecurity in their life time. It is both a blessing and a curse. Congress is due to fix some of the minor issues related to SSA this year., They have not yet gotten to it.

 

The thing that kills me is when people only have a 401k option at work (no pension), are offered a very healthy match by the company, yet choose not to participate in it for whatever reason. There are guys in their late 50's at my company who have never contributed a penny despite being there many years. I don't get that.

Meanwhile, guys who maxed their 401ks out last year got over $5,500 from the company. The way I look at it is the free money from the company helps to cushion my own contributions from market downturns.

What sucks is that the 401k was originally meant to be a supplement to traditional retirement plans (pensions) when the statute was created by the government. It was never meant to be the sole means of retirement. Therefore, almost nobody is contributing enough to sustain their lifestyle through retirement. Most of us are far behind where we should be. When I do one of those 401k savings calculators like the one Fidelity has on their website, it shows I am around $300,000 behind where I should be for my age. Well that's gonna be tough to make up...