$25/month as a pension? That’s like a monthly lunch with a friend - going Dutch.
Yeah, it’s about playing the long game when just starting out. The projection tools are quite compelling.
We’ve told our kids to max out theirs if they can. Or put away enough to get to the highest company match percentage as that’s like free money. Barring that, we’ve told our kids to at least “pay themselves something” first, and then work with the remainder to cover their bills.
My first year at work, when it came time to fund my 401K for the year, I called the plan manager to tell him that I was going to skip contributing my first year to catch up on expenses. He told me that would be the stupidest thing I could ever do. So I sucked it up and maxed out my contribution. And have done so every year since. That was a smart move…
Another problem with Pension is not guaranteed. The company can shut down very easily. How many 100 year old companies still exist. Imagine banking your retirement on a pension only to find out the company shuts or didn’t fund the pension appropriately.
Yes, this cratered one merger that I know of.
Most pensions in the US are guaranteed by the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation in the case of the company going bankrupt. With some limitations.
what a guy.. good man.
I retire end of this year, the above is my wife’s plan for my retirement. Mine is slightly different 
but to be fair, she has been cooking for us for decades, it is my turn after all. There will be some weeks in there when I’ll be out gallivanting, guess I’ll have to freeze some dinners for the home crew.
used to be a driven kind of guy, needed to be on an adventure or planning one all the time. with age comes the ability to be more of a coffee shop kind of guy.. honestly on Sat mornings it can take me all morning to drink coffee and read, and it feels fine. Looking forward to being able to do that any day.
more volunteer work than I can ever get done, don’t expect to be bored. trail maintenance, help with races both trail and tri, church things.
canoe, fish, hike, backpack, camp.. it’s a full life.
You can convert your 401k into an annuity, which then functions like a pension. That is, it allows you to protect against the (financial) risk of living a long life. Don’t know if there are tax differences between a pension and a 401k-annuity.
I had that same option, only it came too late in my career to take full advantage. And even if you just have a pension, I think anyone can open their own IRA?? Of course no matching funds, but you can choose one to give you your best tax advantage when your retire according to your position…
And barring the black swan events purported about pensions, I would take one over the 401k any and every day of the week. And my plan has 80 billion in assets, so I’m going to have to live a very long time for someone to screw that shit up…
Anyone can open an IRA but there’s a lot of downsides compared to a 401K. Pre-tax vs post, contribution limits (401K is $23,500 or $31,000 over 50, IRA is $7,000 or $8,000 over 50), deductibility income limits on IRA, no employer matching.
Count me in as another that was fortunate enough to have my employer offer a pension and later a 401K. I have to admit that I was horrible at saving money when I was young and even after marrying my wife who was working full time before kids we blew money like no tomorrow.
Fortunately, kids make you rethink your whole life and that is when I started contributing minimally to my 401K that was 100% matched. But, with kids came a change in our financial situation because we choose for my wife to be a stay at home mom. That meant single income and now two more mouths to feed, clothe, and pay for all those kids activities. We were definitely living paycheck to paycheck in those early years with no money to put to savings (except for the 401K).
Fast forward to when kids leaving house and start thinking about retirement I start running the retirement calculators on the company’s HR website and realize that pension is going to save our asses - if I stick around to 40 years of service. That sounds easy when your younger but holy shit there is a lot of pressure those last 10 years to stay relevant and dodge all the changes happening in the workplace.
Fortunately, I maxed out my pension and even got to exit with a semi full parachute due to a ERTO. But, my 401K would not provide the comfortable retirement we are enjoying now. My 41 year pension provides the bulk of our income supplemented by SS and I haven’t needed to rely on my 401K. I’m not sure how long that will last with inflation and I’d like to think I’ll be able to pass on some wealth to my kids.
Bottom line: I’m extremely lucky to have a pension because saving for retirement was the last thing I was thinking about in my youth. Someone was looking out for me!
Companies phased out pensions because it saved them money, period, full stop. Mine ended theirs a little over a year after I was hired and I did not have enough years to stay in it unfortunately, or I would be set.
For 2026, 401k annual contribution limits go up another $1000 from what’s listed here. And if you’re close to retirement age there are “catch-up” contributions allowed which let you put more in.
Even with catchup’s I think it would be difficult to entirely fund a (lavish) retirement solely from a 401k unless it’s been growing since the start of one’s career.
For young folks just starting a career I don’t think pensions are even a possibility these days from companies.
I am partially retired. I work 15-17 hours a week. I start the day with coffee, then walk the dog for at least 45 min. Then go to the gym with hubby or take him to his neverending medical appointments. I do all the yard work here as he is disabled. Then a walk or a hike may happen. Try to get to the gym 4 days a week and walk long(4 miles)at least twice a week. Walk the dog again for another 30 min. Cook dinner and feed the Ole man before 5 pm.
When i fully retire, I am finding a yoga class twice weekly. I have simple hobbies. I would like to foster dogs maybe, or wild life rescue?
Working all these years have reduced my ability to connect with friends outside of work.
And I dont think it has been mentioned yet, but SSI is really like a pension, and a lot of folks I know on it are getting 3 to 4k+ a month. Add that in with a well funded IRA over 30 years, and you would be very close to doing anything you want within reason. And then you get medicare at 65 and that is usually a big raise for most folks(more take home $$).
My wife and I have seven figures each in our individual 401(k) plans. As you suggested, I started mine when they introduced it back in the mid-80s, and my wife ~ten years later. Let 'em ride for the duration, through thick and thin.
As a Union Carpenter in NYC, you’re made to appreciate the pension and what we called our annuity right from the time you start because all the older guys drill it into you head. Our ‘‘annuity’’ is really a forced tax differed savings that when I retired 14 years ago I was putting over $12 an hour into. With the pension and, if you were a succussful worker, maxed out Social Security, you end up with a comfortable retirement.
My pension, my SSI, and my wife’s SSI pay all our bills. Now that I’m taking RMD’s it’s like I’m getting a bonus. Like I said early in this thread, retirement is great. It’s not hard to be busy, but it is important that you stay busy and keep moving forward. I loved work and still dream about work all the time, but this is way better!
One thing that a lot of us are finding out now with RMD’s is that we probably would have been better off paying the taxes in the old days instead of now and trying to avoid going into higher tax brackets.
This is why I am in the process of converting my SEP to a Roth IRA: between Social Security and pensions, my RMD would likely keep us in the 24% tax bracket for decades. Instead, we’ll be there for 4-5 years, and then no tax on that forever.
Define lavish.
While I think it’s possible to fund a lavish life-style, with some smart and lucky investments, I don’t think the person who lived the life-style to fund as large 401k is all of a sudden start living like the rich and famous once the retire. And also, the working person who lived the lavish life-style spent it all along the way won’t have it when they retire.
Some doctors are a good example. They feel that they have to live the ‘‘doctor’s life-style’’ and just keep on spending along the way.