<p>I recently purchased head lamps for a race. Those worked extremely well. Do you think they would get the hint if I wore one to read the menu? Actually where they sit us is more bothersome than the menu print. We always seem to like being in the action and they seat us in the back quiet section. We dress well so not sure what that is about- I guess we are old.</p>
<p>@mcat2, for that problem (which I share) in remembering passwords, I use a product called RoboForm. It allows me to use usernames and passwords that are longer (20 characters or more) and more random than I could ever remember. All I have to remember is the master password and username for the software. It also fills in common data items (address, phone number, credit card, etc.). Itâs all encrypted, so nobody can listen in on my wifi and steal any of the information (my wifi is encrypted also, but thatâs a different topic). The username and password for RoboForm are in our safety deposit box, for when the time comes that my wife or kids really need to know. The same passwords are available on my PC, iPad, iPhone, etc.</p>
<p>I donât remember what it costs (iirc, maybe $20/year), but I love this software.</p>
<p>Thatâs an interesting site on the ss benefits. It sure makes a big difference when you start collecting them, but it would be nice to get them earlier.</p>
<p>âI recently purchased head lamps for a race. Those worked extremely well. Do you think they would get the hint if I wore one to read the menu?â</p>
<p>I donât think anyone would even notice if you did that around here (Seattle). That kind of gear, along with hiking clothes, might be worn anywhere.</p>
<p>My SS is $166 a month because I worked as a teacher in a state where teachers do not contribute to SS. My benefit from the years I did work user SS would have been $480 but is reduced by 2/3 due to the offset provision. And I can never collect off of my husbandâs earnings either. </p>
<p>And no. I do not have free health insurance for life!</p>
<p>But I did plan for this⊠Thus the two separate IRA accounts.</p>
<p>I just used the Social Security benefits estimator whose link was posted by notrichenough. (Thanks!) The amount for me, if I stop working now and start to collect SS at the age of 62, is slightly above 1800. I guess I am âabove averageâ here because I heard the average is slightly above 1200.</p>
<p>A company I used to work for could give their employee a pension as high as $2100 a month if he or she could work there for just 25 years and stopped working (but start to collect pension at the age of 65.) So it is almost about as generous as SS. Those kinds of companies seem to disappear one after another over the past few decades. It seems mostly only government employees may still have pensions in the future. Unfortunately, I was not able to work for that company for long.</p>
<p>@mcat2, that company was generous, but most pensions are not inflation adjusted, which makes them much less valuable than SS. My wife and I expect to get roughly equivalent amounts of SS and pension, and I know which one makes me happier. </p>
<p>For the amount of money extracted from you and your employer for SS (12.4%) a real pension would be at least twice what SS will pay you. Probably more.</p>
<p>It will take decades for SS COLAs to double the benefit, and in the meantime you would have gotten a whole lot more money.</p>
<p>@mcat2 - an $1800/mo benefit at 62 is very close to the max, so youâve done a whole lot better than just âabove averageâ.</p>
<p>@notrichenough, but SS never was intended to be a pension only; itâs a safety net. It provides disability and widow/widower benefits, which pensions donât, will pay an ex which pensions ordinarily donât, etc. Iâm just happy for every nickel someone is kind enough to give me. </p>
<p>
Interesting observation. I guess it is in general only the government (esp. the federal government) which is more motivated to establish the safety net (and âhealthcare safety netâ as well no matter how poorly-run/insufficient/inefficient the net may be) and is arguably more motivated to tax the rich and then turn around and give it to the poor. I am lucky to be not poor, but I think I know why the poor and the minority tends to like a large government which potentially âtax and spendâ even when many people may correctly argue that it is not efficient in this way. This is because, even when it is wasteful, the poor may still have some chance to get some. If it is all up to the way that the private business world operates, they more likely than not get almost none. So why would they risk this even if they agree (they may not though) it is more efficient to operate in the âprivate businessâ way?! In my whole life working for private companies in my area, the representation of the minority is extremely small (often almost non-existent.) The composition of employees in the kind of private industry I have been in is very different from the composition at government agencies like DMV or some other state government department.</p>
<p>I found this article on the secrets that rich and famous know.
<a href=â7 Secrets Wealthy People Know About Amassing And Maintaining A Fortuneâ>http://www.forbes.com/sites/abrambrown/2013/04/24/7-secrets-wealthy-people-know-about-amassing-and-maintaining-a-fortune/</a></p>
<p>Regarding Roth IRA.
</p>
<p>Regarding plans to retire. Maybe there is still hope for some of us!
</p>
<p>I think Peter Thiel needed the tax break. :)</p>
<p>I think my parents need to start a family business and pass it on to me. Unfortunately instead of making billions, it would probably be removing non native plants, for which they just arrested a volunteer for in my area. We could be a crime family, going around ripping up ivy.</p>
<p>Wouldnât it be so much easier to be a Gates, Buffett or a Walton?</p>
<p>
This deal smells to high heaven. There are rules against self-dealing, and selling your own property to the IRA is prohibited. Even if he didnât directly own the shares (which is directly prohibited), being able to buy shares of a company you founded and are CEO of, at a ridiculous price, is hardly an arms-length transaction.</p>
<p>1.7 mil x 0.3 = $510,000. Not a bad amount to have in your IRA an age 34.</p>
<p>notrichenough your post #2086 is exactly how the NJ pension is supposed to work. The employees contribute 7% and the State is supposed to contribute 4%. </p>
<p>notrich, the guy is a lawyer, so I assume he knows the law. This is just Forbes reporting, so not all the details are there.</p>
<p>My state (MA) is similar. Your pension tops out at 80% of your highest consecutive three years pay, which you can get around age 60 or so. You can retire at 55 (well, new employees have to wait until they are 60 I believe), and get up to around 50%, which is still higher than the amount SS will pay at 67.</p>
<p>As a pension plan, SS is terrible. Oh right, itâs not a pension plan. 
;)</p>
<p>Of course, our state pension plan is only 60% funded. Thereâs a 20 year plan to fix that, but politics could happen.</p>
<p>And new state employees get a significantly worse deal.</p>
<p>Many CEOs tend to load up tons of stock options from the company over the years. As long as he stays long enough, these options become vested and a regular stream of income follows month after month, even when the share value does not appreciate a lot (just because the size of the stock option is very large.)</p>
<p>I heard that when a person like Steve Jobs claims that his annual salary is just one dollar, you should be aware that those people rarely rely on the salary as their source of income.</p>
<p>
Yeah, maybe. Maybe the IRS never checks this stuff, because they have no way of knowing what is in the IRA.</p>
<p>Notrichenough, when comparing pensions to SS, Are you counting spousal benefits? Survivor benefits?</p>
<p>Inflation protection? If inflation increases 3 percent a year, how long does it take for SS to be better than pensions. </p>