retirement savings in OC

[nosuchreality]

We have more in retirement accounts that will be mandatory distributions than we earn in yearly salary now. Add in Social Security (assuming it hasn't been yanked) and we definitely have more income in retirement than we make now.

We don't have a lot of deductions since we have no mortgage.

OK, I give up.  Me and my wife are professionals yet compared to lots of the TI members we don't have much assets.  We have no debt other than housing and even for the houses that I am looking to purchase my Debt ratio is significantly higher than lots of the members here.  Eventhough we will be working lot more years I can't ever imagine our retirement account would pay us more than we currently earn.  We don't have lots of money to invest in stocks like other members here.  We drive modest cars and spend thriftly.  I can't figure our what we are doing wrong?

The big question is your age.  I would guess, even here that the number of people like R2S that is figuring mandatory distributions greater than their prior income to be quite small.

Time is huge, at mid 50s, a mid 30s should have 8x in their fund than at their 30x without contributing another penny after their 30s.

During the 90s and early 2000s stock compensation was common quite far down the professional ranks.  It seems most of that has pulled back to the high tech and bio firms.  Bonuses have significantly shrunk and shifted upward (for mid level mgmt and down) and major reductions in the number of firms offering them at all.

 

[Bullsback]

@jumpinjacks - i would argue you should look at the % of tax that you are paying. If i contributed to a roth 401k now i would pay a blended rate of about 42-43% for state and fed. If i pay it later, im probably going to pay a significantly lower blended rate. Have you acrually run a real scenario to approximate under which method you are better off?  Everything ive read pretty much says a regular 401k works out better.

You also need to account for compounding returns from the higher principal in the traditional 401K (vs. the Roth).  So even tax rate in isolation isn't a definitive answer. I do traditional max out and than do some additional through the backdoor IRA to Roth conversion. 

 

[Bullsback]

We have more in retirement accounts that will be mandatory distributions than we earn in yearly salary now. Add in Social Security (assuming it hasn't been yanked) and we definitely have more income in retirement than we make now.

We don't have a lot of deductions since we have no mortgage.

OK, I give up.  Me and my wife are professionals yet compared to lots of the TI members we don't have much assets.  We have no debt other than housing and even for the houses that I am looking to purchase my Debt ratio is significantly higher than lots of the members here.  Eventhough we will be working lot more years I can't ever imagine our retirement account would pay us more than we currently earn.  We don't have lots of money to invest in stocks like other members here.  We drive modest cars and spend thrifty.  I can't figure our what we are doing wrong?

It doesn't sound like to me you are doing anything wrong. Plus this is the internet, you have no idea what people actually have put away. From what you've described, you should be extremely pleased with where you are. The hell with everyone else.  Even if everyone on this forum is as smart with there money as they claim, they are still the minority. Reality is most people are stupid with there money (yes, even those who make a lot of it...sometimes they are even dumber with there money because they don't realize one day it might stop coming in). 

Reality is, too many people don't save for retirement and blow there money on fancier cars and other depreciating type assets.  Just worry about what makes you and your family happy and live within your means. 

 

[zubs]