@tom1944, there is no richer person than one who loves his work. It is rare. I sometimes get depressed reading (mostly on Bogleheads) of 30-year old people who are figuring out just how soon they can retire. I gave up my job to be a SAHD, and while that is very fulfilling, I still miss my job.
You are wise to have many legs on your retirement stool. I hope that your coworkers are as wise.
^ Thanks, @IxnayBob, for the response. If I follow, an automatic dividend reinvestment may cause a tax loss harvest action to be disqualified because of the wash sale rule? That is a good point and would not have occurred to me.
I am very much a âbuy and holdâ person (mainly due to laziness and an interest in keeping things simple) and do not trade or bother with tax loss harvesting. For the same reasons I use Vanguardâs average cost accounting. Mainly wondered if I am paying a significant price for my laziness.
Roughly 90% of H and my investments are in tax sheltered retirement accounts â we threw everything available into them from when our careers started. So I guess that part is easy to keep simple, although we will be hit with taxes once we start drawing on those accounts. We have relatively little in Roths, as there were only a few years between when they were available and when we no longer qualified for them due to income cutoffs. We are 64 and have not converted any tIRAs to Roths.
Again, your input into this tread is very helpful and I try to stay on top of your posts. Thanks for your contributions to the forum.
tom1944, I know that it is painful. It is almost impossible to see the how these kind of pension changes will actually benefit any of the workers, no matter when they start. You just need too much to replace an actual pension. Perhaps for workers who start with the state when they are 20 and work for 45 years, maxing out the contributionsâŠthey would be better off, but they donât change these plans to benefit the employees, thatâs for sure. This is definitely what the private sector has been doing all over them place, and it is frustrating for people who have signed on for one thing, taking lower paychecks, because of the promised pension benefits. Though I realize that many of the states have overextended themselves, as far as pension and health care obligations.
Right now my company is proposing we take a pension freeze and a higher 401K contribution, pretending like itâs a great change for us. Fortunately the union isnât stupid, and asking why we would accept the same deal as bankrupt companies, when our companies stock is at an all time high, and they are making money like crazy. Everyone else is trying to shed their pension obligations, so they are all just trying to join in. Of course, management generally still gets to keep their pension benefits.
About reinvesting dividends; Does reinvesting count as trading and incur trade fees if applicable?
Tom1944, if you are in favor of the change, then I am in favor of the change.
Is the state actually going to fund its share of the pension this time?
Is pay going to be adjusted or is this just a pay cut?
I donât think heâs in favor of losing part of his pension, and eventually, perhaps his job. People are only in favor of other people losing their pensions and jobs.
Busdriver11, how likely is your pension going to be changed? Is your union strong enough to prevent a change? If there is a change, is it likely to affect newer hires only?
I donât know, dstark. Iâd say this is an issue that the union would fight hard on. But we donât have a very unified crew force, so holding the threat of a strike is laughable, and the company knows this. We should have had a contract a long time ago. It would seriously affect new hires, as they would have no pension at all, but a high 401K contribution. Unfortunately, not high enough to replace the pension. I am guessing that I would lose 26K in annual pension payouts (times two because my husband is in exactly the same situation), but gain 27K/yr in additional 401K contributions. The math doesnât work out, unless I pretend to work until 65, and get a massive return.
So I donât think Iâm paranoid to be concerned. Anything can happen, especially if you end up in binding arbitration. I realize itâs still a good pension, but with no COLA increases built in, that amount can shrink pretty quick in decades to come. Guess Iâd have to downsize the dogs 
Iâm in our state pension fund and they have increased our contributions up to 12% this year.
I guess itâs up to the company holding the account, but Iâve never been charged and it would take some serious cojones for a company to charge for it. That said, you see some dubious behavior sometimes 
Busdriver11, I wouldnât go crazy, but I would be concerned.
âBusdriver11, I wouldnât go crazy, but I would be concerned.â
Exactly what I think. Actually, if they did this five years from now, it would be a great deal for us, as weâd still get the max pension payout, plus the additional contribution to our 401K. Which is probably what all the old guys are thinking, but I donât like to throw the young guys under the bus, in order for the old guys to get an even better deal.
The dogs are safe. For now.
Wish I had a pension! 
After grad school I stayed with my first big bank employer for nine years, and they had 10 year vesting. I stayed with my last employer for just over 10 years, but they had no pension. I should be ok with my savings, retirement savings (IRAs) and eventually social security, but a pension would have been nice.
Oh man, NJres! A year shy of being vested? Would you have gotten a pension if youâd made 10 years??
My DH will get a small (as in SMALL) pension for 20 yrs of service with a big company. His brother has one of those very sweet old , now long gone, govt pensions . I know where our tax dollars are going!!
Really, seems like it would have been worth staying the extra yearâŠbut then again, you never know how things are going to work out.
DW will get a small (around $300/month) pension from a company she worked at many years ago.
Theyâve offered her a buyout of about $27K.
If I use the Fidelity annuity calculator to buy an annuity paying that amount when she turns 65, it would cost about $36K.
Anyone have any insight on why there is such a large difference? Itâs a giant company, hundreds of thousands of employees, so I wouldnât think there would be huge mortality differences between the companyâs retirees and the population as a whole.
Maybe employees take the buyout often enough so the company does not have to offer more.
Maybe Fidelity charges too much.
Maybe the rates that are used are different.
The pension amount after only 10 years might be quite small, especially since your first real job is not likely to be high-paying.
My W was at her job that is giving her the pension I mentioned for around 8 years (7 year vesting), and it got her $3600/year. Itâs not nothing, but itâs not much either.
@dstark I donât know what rates are being used, but I would imagine both are adjusting the rates to be the most profitable (for Fidelity) and the least costly (for the company).
Perhaps thatâs enough to make a 33% difference. I donât know the actual rates being used.
Did you adjust for survivor benefits/ annual increase/ start date, etc?
As in Wells Fargo refusing to turn over a small account of $300 to a widow to deduct monthly fees?