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Beware of Retirement


Dbeasy

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25 minutes ago, Sbbruin said:

The biggest threat to retirement for me is my cost of living.  I am going to have to SERIOUSLY pare that shit down.  And when the kids are out of college, that should start to be manageable, provided we have raised them right.  But we fucking hemorrhage money right now. 

Serious question: On what? 

I'm just the opposite. I'm cheap as shit so I don't worry about having to spend a whole bunch in retirement. I KNOW I can live on 30K per year because I've done it for so long.

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11 minutes ago, Sbbruin said:

Yeah, that'll hurt.  Fortunately only one girl.  And I am pretty certain that no man will be good enough for her in my eyes, so I ain't paying for a wedding I don't approve of.

 

I see it going down thusly:

SBB's daughter:  daaaaaaddy I'm in love with (fill in the blank). and I want a biiiiiiiig wedding.

SBB:  Oh OK princess.

Not sure there's ever any other response....

Yeah, it'd be damn tough to pay a shit load of money for a wedding you don't want, and are sure will never last. We got damned lucky with the new son in law.

Edited by Onboard 2.0
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Just now, Okie State said:
12 minutes ago, Sbbruin said:
Yeah, that'll hurt.  Fortunately only one girl.  And I am pretty certain that no man will be good enough for her in my eyes, so I ain't paying for a wedding I don't approve of.

Let us know how that works out.

SEE:  Post #202

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The most important thing to do other than saving early and often is to retire with zero debt. House/cars payed off. Of course you never own your house in Texas because the tax man cometh, but you get the gist.

I see people in their 50s buying that new construction home because they finally can and get that 30 year loan.

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1 minute ago, DaysOff said:

The most important thing to do other than saving early and often is to retire with zero debt. House/cars payed off. Of course you never own your house in Texas because the tax man cometh, but you get the gist.

I see people in their 50s buying that new construction home because they finally can and get that 30 year loan.

I bought my home in 2011 on a 30 year note.   2 Years ago, I refi-ed to a 20 year note with the payment being about the same as the old note.  Annually, I put about a full payment and half extra against the principal so my hope is to have the house paid off in maybe 14-15 years.  I'll still be 5-7 years from retirement at that point but no house payment will be nice.

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5 minutes ago, DaysOff said:

The most important thing to do other than saving early and often is to retire with zero debt. House/cars payed off. Of course you never own your house in Texas because the tax man cometh, but you get the gist.

I see people in their 50s buying that new construction home because they finally can and get that 30 year loan.

Bingo. Be debt free is the best way to save for anything. Compounding interest is a bitch that takes your soul.

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The most important thing to do other than saving early and often is to retire with zero debt. House/cars payed off. Of course you never own your house in Texas because the tax man cometh, but you get the gist.

I see people in their 50s buying that new construction home because they finally can and get that 30 year loan.
This is my Dad. He's not even close to being debt free and is only a few years away from retirement. He seems to be okay with it, but I certainly wouldn't be. I plan to upgrade our house in 4-5 years and hopefully stay there for 20-25 years until I retire. I hope to have enough equity and cash to custom build or remodel something at that point that I can live in until I die.
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57 minutes ago, Cheeseweasel said:

Serious question: On what? 

I'm just the opposite. I'm cheap as shit so I don't worry about having to spend a whole bunch in retirement. I KNOW I can live on 30K per year because I've done it for so long.

<<<<<cheap bastard thread is thataway.

Our single biggest expense by a mile is private school.  Not going to go off on that tangent as shaggy had numerous threads discussing it, but suffice it to say public school where we live is not an option if you want to provide your kid with a quality education.

Add to that a boat- slip fees and maintenance are a pretty penny- and a stupid country club membership I would like to drop and it all adds up.  Fast.  And the problem is when I try to put my foot down on expenses, the boat gets thrown in my face, and I ain't giving that up, so here we are.

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Why take on a 30 year note with rates so low? 15 is the way to go for younger folks nowadays. Two of my sons did that several years ago and will have theirs paid off 10 years before retirement age rolls around.

Upgrading the "old" house? #2 son does that for a living, so it won't be that much of a burden.

#3 son (blue collar tech guy) went for a 30 year loan 6 or 7 years ago, but his payments are less than a 1 bedroom apartment in a low rent Austin 'hood. Unfortunately his house has appreciated 100%+, so his taxes are heading upwards.

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57 minutes ago, DaysOff said:

The most important thing to do other than saving early and often is to retire with zero debt. House/cars payed off. Of course you never own your house in Texas because the tax man cometh, but you get the gist.

I see people in their 50s buying that new construction home because they finally can and get that 30 year loan.

Agreed.  This is one area I won't budge on.  My wife is constantly pushing for a new house.  And my answer is always the same- no.  We have a modest sized house in a great neighborhood (schools excepted).  But each kid has their own room and it's plenty big for me.  I refi'd to a 15 yr, 2.75% fixed a couple of years ago, and am taking real bites at that principal.  If I sold and re-bought my house, my property taxes would double (thank you Prop 13).  As it stands my retirement and my house being paid off are lining up nicely.

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I'm not worried about my retirement (socially/work, financially might be a different story), I'm the type that is always involved in something, Church, Texas Exes, whatever, so I'm sure I'll find something to keep me social and keep my brain engaged.  My father on the other hand, I don't know what to do with him. 

 

He's 73 and literally, I think his brain is atrophying and has been for some time.  He last held a full time job when he was 49.  He got laid off and financially secure enough that he could just do some consulting on the side, which he did on and off for about 8 years.  He finally admitted he was retired around 2002.  His last full time job was as CFO of a fairly large jewelry manufacturer.  He got canned shortly before it went in the toilet.  He could have found another full time job and worked easily another 10 years at his max earning capacity, but like I said, he didn't need to.  Instead, he and my mom bought a travel trailer and they traveled anywhere from 3-6 months a year as the consulting became less and less.  They loved those trips and as he likes to tell it, hit 46 of the lower 48, plus several parts of Canada.


I could see that his mental capacity was decreasing even then.  Outside of managing his investments and planning his next trip, he just didn't have any intellectual stimulation.  He eventually started volunteering with the AARP to do taxes (he's a CPA).  That's good, but it's only about 6 weeks total a year.  Part of me has always felt that it was a mistake for him to retire so early, regardless of how much they enjoyed their travel, but then my mom died about 2 years ago.  She'd been sick for close to 2 years (F Cancer).  In retrospect, if he had worked until 65, they'd have been a hell of a lot richer, but they would have only had 2-3 years of travel time. 

Would his brain be in better shape? Almost definitely, but is that worth not having those nearly 20 years of travel? If he was objective enough to admit what's going on with his brain, I think he'd say it was worth it.

The question though is what to do with him now?  He's spent 2 years liquidating his house in anticipation of moving .... somewhere.  He wants to be near a university so he can attend cultural and intellectual things, but he really doesn't like Austin, where he actually would have a good in on those things.  My brother and I have contemplated involving him more in our business (Home building), but he doesn't want a full time job and frankly with his speed, or lack there of, combined with his propensity to launch into hour long stories, I'm not sure we could survive his help!  He alternatively berates us for 'never taking his advice' or 'not asking for his help', when in reality we did ask for his help a couple times and only once was he really interested.  

So, yeah, not sure what to do with him.  Haven't read through this thread yet as its fairly long, but I'm going to and see if maybe I can pick up some ideas.  I fell like his brain would recover if he were simply engaged in something, as his physical health is largely fine.

 

 

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My dad retired for a 2nd Time and just relaxes and hang out. No major hobbies but to try to tackle that goddamn clutter of a garage.

My FIL retired in 1998 but my MIL wouldn’t let him just retire so he works at a high school as an in-school suspension teacher/babysitter and umpires baseball games. He’s getting old and tired but the MIL worries that he’ll just sit in his chair and live a slow death.

I personally would retire to a big city with a vibrant city life, walkable areas, events and will act like a 20-something again to keep me going. I would downsize everything. Sitting stagnant can kill you.

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4 hours ago, DaysOff said:

The most important thing to do other than saving early and often is to retire with zero debt. House/cars payed off. Of course you never own your house in Texas because the tax man cometh, but you get the gist.

I see people in their 50s buying that new construction home because they finally can and get that 30 year loan.

Yeah, we started with a 30 year note in 2001 and refi'd in  2003 to a 15 year note. Yeah, it was a higher payment, and back then it wasn't always easy on us, but never really too hard, either. 

Just paid it off in March. Not quite retired yet. Paying that mfer off really changes your outlook on a lot of things.

My dad had a house payment pretty much til the day he died. I can't understand that shit, or people who feel the need to constantly upgrade and start a 30 year note in their 40s or 50s, or even later. Fucking nuts.

I remember when we bought the place, everyone including the builder said it's a nice starter home, but you won't live here long.  We disagreed, & they laughed. 17 years later, we're still here in our first house, have added two brats, & paid off the house.

Edited by wood
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2 hours ago, GottaB said:

My biggest concern with retirement is the cost of healthcare. I have no idea how much I’ll need because I have no idea how much healthcare is going to cost

That is one big reason I left the US, although I have a Texas state retiree plan when I turn 65.

Here I can buy most meds otc, and seeing a doctor and getting a course of antibiotics costs about $15. Most surgeries run less than $5000 so most expats self insure for accidents and emergency surgery as it is cheaper than a policy. If I did get something requiring treatment in the US I would just sign up when I get back and look for a job. Hospitals hold people hostage here for payment so you need to have cash or credit cards to get released.

I do have a Cigna Global policy that in theory covers everything including US visits and repatriation for $250 A month. But I am thinking about dropping it as I have heard from other expats that they seldom reimburse you, and do not directly pay the hospital outside Europe and maybe the US.

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My biggest concern with retirement is the cost of healthcare. I have no idea how much I’ll need because I have no idea how much healthcare is going to cost

Estimates are a couple that is 65 will spend ~$250-275k+

 

https://www.kiplinger.com/article/retirement/T039-C001-S003-how-much-you-ll-spend-on-health-care-in-retirement.html

 

That doesn’t include LTC

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I always hear that stat and am sceptical. Thomas Jefferson and Ben Franklin lived to 83 and 84 and maybe had some leaches put on them for blood draws occasionally. My FiL hasn't been to a doctor in 50 years. How can that number not include long term care if you aren't into doctors. Those same people aren't going to be into the whole end of life money suck scam. We need to get back to being born in the farm house and dying in the farm house.

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7 hours ago, RayDog said:

That is one big reason I left the US, although I have a Texas state retiree plan when I turn 65.

Here I can buy most meds otc, and seeing a doctor and getting a course of antibiotics costs about $15. Most surgeries run less than $5000 so most expats self insure for accidents and emergency surgery as it is cheaper than a policy. If I did get something requiring treatment in the US I would just sign up when I get back and look for a job. Hospitals hold people hostage here for payment so you need to have cash or credit cards to get released.

I do have a Cigna Global policy that in theory covers everything including US visits and repatriation for $250 A month. But I am thinking about dropping it as I have heard from other expats that they seldom reimburse you, and do not directly pay the hospital outside Europe and maybe the US.

I use Cigna global (the portal is through cignaenvoy) and it is absolutely painless.  All online claims even with foreign receipts and I get reimbursed in 2-3 business days.  Never had a single denial

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Stumbled across a very relevant Reddit post about happiness. Psychologists describe two types of happiness: hedonic and eudaimonic. Hedonic is short term pleasure: hobbies, entertainment, etc. Eudaimonic is overall life satisfaction from longer-term pursuits and goals.

A recent retiree has many opportunities for hedonic happiness but has just lost a major element of eudaimonic. Without a balance of both, a recent retiree will feel unsettled and unhappy. New, meaningful goals must be set and pursued.

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That is one big reason I left the US, although I have a Texas state retiree plan when I turn 65.
Here I can buy most meds otc, and seeing a doctor and getting a course of antibiotics costs about $15. Most surgeries run less than $5000 so most expats self insure for accidents and emergency surgery as it is cheaper than a policy. If I did get something requiring treatment in the US I would just sign up when I get back and look for a job. Hospitals hold people hostage here for payment so you need to have cash or credit cards to get released.
I do have a Cigna Global policy that in theory covers everything including US visits and repatriation for $250 A month. But I am thinking about dropping it as I have heard from other expats that they seldom reimburse you, and do not directly pay the hospital outside Europe and maybe the US.

Where is “here” if you don’t mind me asking?
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4 hours ago, 52-80 said:

I use Cigna global (the portal is through cignaenvoy) and it is absolutely painless.  All online claims even with foreign receipts and I get reimbursed in 2-3 business days.  Never had a single denial

How much does that coverage cost?

Edited by wood
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On 5/30/2018 at 1:24 PM, Hellraiser97 said:

 Haven't read through this thread yet as its fairly long, but I'm going to and see if maybe I can pick up some ideas. 

Don't bother, the only good idea is the guy who moved to Thailand and spends a couple hundred dollars each month fucking a new whore every night.

 

 

 

Edited by Hugh G. Rection
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1 hour ago, Hugh G. Rection said:

 

Last year my home base was Varna Bulgaria with extended trips to Romania, Ukraine, and Thailand. This year I decided to start in the Philippines and travel around SE Asia but ended up staying and traveling around PH. There are lots of good options where someone can live on $1500 or less a month. Travel and girls will inflate that number.

And no, I do not pick up a girl every night although they try to pick up me every night. My friend who does $14 girls tries to do 2 a day, but that and a little stock trading is all he does.

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I'm not worried about my retirement (socially/work, financially might be a different story), I'm the type that is always involved in something, Church, Texas Exes, whatever, so I'm sure I'll find something to keep me social and keep my brain engaged.  My father on the other hand, I don't know what to do with him. 
 
He's 73 and literally, I think his brain is atrophying and has been for some time.  He last held a full time job when he was 49.  He got laid off and financially secure enough that he could just do some consulting on the side, which he did on and off for about 8 years.  He finally admitted he was retired around 2002.  His last full time job was as CFO of a fairly large jewelry manufacturer.  He got canned shortly before it went in the toilet.  He could have found another full time job and worked easily another 10 years at his max earning capacity, but like I said, he didn't need to.  Instead, he and my mom bought a travel trailer and they traveled anywhere from 3-6 months a year as the consulting became less and less.  They loved those trips and as he likes to tell it, hit 46 of the lower 48, plus several parts of Canada.

I could see that his mental capacity was decreasing even then.  Outside of managing his investments and planning his next trip, he just didn't have any intellectual stimulation.  He eventually started volunteering with the AARP to do taxes (he's a CPA).  That's good, but it's only about 6 weeks total a year.  Part of me has always felt that it was a mistake for him to retire so early, regardless of how much they enjoyed their travel, but then my mom died about 2 years ago.  She'd been sick for close to 2 years (F Cancer).  In retrospect, if he had worked until 65, they'd have been a hell of a lot richer, but they would have only had 2-3 years of travel time. 
Would his brain be in better shape? Almost definitely, but is that worth not having those nearly 20 years of travel? If he was objective enough to admit what's going on with his brain, I think he'd say it was worth it.
The question though is what to do with him now?  He's spent 2 years liquidating his house in anticipation of moving .... somewhere.  He wants to be near a university so he can attend cultural and intellectual things, but he really doesn't like Austin, where he actually would have a good in on those things.  My brother and I have contemplated involving him more in our business (Home building), but he doesn't want a full time job and frankly with his speed, or lack there of, combined with his propensity to launch into hour long stories, I'm not sure we could survive his help!  He alternatively berates us for 'never taking his advice' or 'not asking for his help', when in reality we did ask for his help a couple times and only once was he really interested.  
So, yeah, not sure what to do with him.  Haven't read through this thread yet as its fairly long, but I'm going to and see if maybe I can pick up some ideas.  I fell like his brain would recover if he were simply engaged in something, as his physical health is largely fine.
 
 
Get him a 50 y/o girlfriend and some viagra.
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On 5/30/2018 at 1:24 PM, Hellraiser97 said:

I'm not worried about my retirement (socially/work, financially might be a different story), I'm the type that is always involved in something, Church, Texas Exes, whatever, so I'm sure I'll find something to keep me social and keep my brain engaged.  My father on the other hand, I don't know what to do with him. 

 

He's 73 and literally, I think his brain is atrophying and has been for some time.  He last held a full time job when he was 49.  He got laid off and financially secure enough that he could just do some consulting on the side, which he did on and off for about 8 years.  He finally admitted he was retired around 2002.  His last full time job was as CFO of a fairly large jewelry manufacturer.  He got canned shortly before it went in the toilet.  He could have found another full time job and worked easily another 10 years at his max earning capacity, but like I said, he didn't need to.  Instead, he and my mom bought a travel trailer and they traveled anywhere from 3-6 months a year as the consulting became less and less.  They loved those trips and as he likes to tell it, hit 46 of the lower 48, plus several parts of Canada.


I could see that his mental capacity was decreasing even then.  Outside of managing his investments and planning his next trip, he just didn't have any intellectual stimulation.  He eventually started volunteering with the AARP to do taxes (he's a CPA).  That's good, but it's only about 6 weeks total a year.  Part of me has always felt that it was a mistake for him to retire so early, regardless of how much they enjoyed their travel, but then my mom died about 2 years ago.  She'd been sick for close to 2 years (F Cancer).  In retrospect, if he had worked until 65, they'd have been a hell of a lot richer, but they would have only had 2-3 years of travel time. 

Would his brain be in better shape? Almost definitely, but is that worth not having those nearly 20 years of travel? If he was objective enough to admit what's going on with his brain, I think he'd say it was worth it.

The question though is what to do with him now?  He's spent 2 years liquidating his house in anticipation of moving .... somewhere.  He wants to be near a university so he can attend cultural and intellectual things, but he really doesn't like Austin, where he actually would have a good in on those things.  My brother and I have contemplated involving him more in our business (Home building), but he doesn't want a full time job and frankly with his speed, or lack there of, combined with his propensity to launch into hour long stories, I'm not sure we could survive his help!  He alternatively berates us for 'never taking his advice' or 'not asking for his help', when in reality we did ask for his help a couple times and only once was he really interested.  

So, yeah, not sure what to do with him.  Haven't read through this thread yet as its fairly long, but I'm going to and see if maybe I can pick up some ideas.  I fell like his brain would recover if he were simply engaged in something, as his physical health is largely fine.

 

 

We basically have the same dad.  I was nodding my head through this entire post.

He was the CFO of a government agency and retired at soon as he possibly could at 62.  Spent the next 10 years watching nonsense on TV and the Internet and it's been yeas since I've had an adult conversation with him.  It's hard to deal with sometimes.

The brain is as important as the body in retirement.  You have to work hard just to maintain.  If you don't, you go downhill hard and fast at that age.

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My grandpa was a brilliant engineer, but fell into the trap of sitting and watching TV after my grandma passed away. It's sad to watch him struggle to remember or process things. He also gets very frustrated with himself. For a while he got into cooking and that seemed to really help a lot. He's in his 90's now so his mobility is pretty limited and it's back to watching TV all day.

 

On the flip side, my Dad's Mom has kept busy and is still relatively active for her age. Only recently have we noticed her struggling to remember things, but it's a pretty stark contrast to what we've seen with my grandpa.

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9 hours ago, Aqua Buddha said:

We basically have the same dad.  I was nodding my head through this entire post.

He was the CFO of a government agency and retired at soon as he possibly could at 62.  Spent the next 10 years watching nonsense on TV and the Internet and it's been yeas since I've had an adult conversation with him.  It's hard to deal with sometimes.

The brain is as important as the body in retirement.  You have to work hard just to maintain.  If you don't, you go downhill hard and fast at that age.

Yep.   Use it or lose it.   The brain atrophies just like muscles do. 

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Talked to a retired friend of mine earlier today. I've mentioned him before on the scat board, he takes jobs at campgrounds and parks as a gatekeeper. He's in Colorado right now, gig lasts until September. I think generally he can kind of pick and choose where he wants to be, as far as east coast, west coast etc... 

He's a rock hound so he's worked New Mexico, Utah and now CO. Seems to be having a good time and is getting paid a little bit to do what he'd be doing anyway. 

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On 6/2/2018 at 6:03 PM, El Diablo said:

Talked to a retired friend of mine earlier today. I've mentioned him before on the scat board, he takes jobs at campgrounds and parks as a gatekeeper. He's in Colorado right now, gig lasts until September. I think generally he can kind of pick and choose where he wants to be, as far as east coast, west coast etc... 

 He's a rock hound so he's worked New Mexico, Utah and now CO. Seems to be having a good time and is getting paid a little bit to do what he'd be doing anyway. 

A family friend does that. She's single and heads up to Yellowstone to be a park volunteer, casually pounds a few of the older park rangers along with some beers, and comes back to Austin for the winter.  Livin' the retired single life the way it should be done.

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On 5/30/2018 at 7:13 PM, GottaB said:

My biggest concern with retirement is the cost of healthcare. I have no idea how much I’ll need because I have no idea how much healthcare is going to cost

This is the topic that always comes in our age group among those with the means to retire early. There would be a lot more people retiring early if it wasn't for healthcare cost/fears.

I was at a 1st birthday party a while back and most of what has been discussed in this thread was thrown about among a group with a 40+ year spread in ages.  Retirees with guaranteed pensions were very happy to have them but were jealous of the freedom the subsequent generations have from their retirement being in IRAs, 401/403, etc. with no need to hit X years with the same company.  A couple of retired execs said it never occurred to them, when being involved in the decision to moving their entities from pension plans to contributions/matching contributions, that all company loyalty would be thrown out the door with that but they too were jealous of the freedom of your retirement contributions go with you.  

Edited by ShaggyBevo RIP
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12 minutes ago, ShaggyBevo RIP said:

This is the topic that always comes in our age group among those with the means to retire early. There would be a lot more people retiring early if it wasn't for healthcare cost/fears.

I was at a 1st birthday party a while back and most of what has been discussed in this thread was thrown about among a group with a 40+ year spread in ages.  Retirees with guaranteed pensions were very happy to have them but were jealous of the freedom the subsequent generations have from their retirement being in IRAs, 401/403, etc. with no need to hit X years with the same company.  A couple of retired execs said it never occurred to them, when being involved in the decision to moving their entities from pension plans to contributions/matching contributions, that all company loyalty would be thrown out the door with that but they too were jealous of the freedom of your retirement contributions go with you.  

Problem is those with the self-elected retirement schemes don't often save sufficiently.  

Social responsibilities and whatnot....

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14 minutes ago, ShaggyBevo RIP said:

A couple of retired execs said it never occurred to them, when being involved in the decision to moving their entities from pension plans to contributions/matching contributions, that all company loyalty would be thrown out the door  

They sound pretty fucking stupid.

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