Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 30 of 32

Thread: Would you opt-in to a 401k?

  1. #1

    Would you opt-in to a 401k?

    The company I was just hired at is offering a 401k through Fidelity Investments. They'll match 50% of my contribution that is up to 5% of my salary. I'm 28 now, would it be wise to opt-in or stay the hell away from a 401k?
    The Establishment hates Ron Paul because his honesty and integrity expose the rest of them for the moral reprobates they are. Their own conscience cannot bear the sight of him. His very presence condemns them. Their personal greed and ambition cringe at the very thought of Ron Paul.
 - Chuck Baldwin



  2. Remove this section of ads by registering.
  3. #2
    Opt-in? Not only No but $#@! NO.
    1776 > 1984

    The FAILURE of the United States Government to operate and maintain an
    Honest Money System , which frees the ordinary man from the clutches of the money manipulators, is the single largest contributing factor to the World's current Economic Crisis.

    The Elimination of Privacy is the Architecture of Genocide

    Belief, Money, and Violence are the three ways all people are controlled

    Quote Originally Posted by Zippyjuan View Post
    Our central bank is not privately owned.

  4. #3
    I would do it. The odds the government takes your 401k and gives you nothing is slim imo. Rewards outweigh the risk.
    What I say is for entertainment purposes only!

    Mark 10:45 The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.

    "If you want to make a lot of money, resist diversification." - Jim Rogers

  5. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by Free Moral Agent View Post
    The company I was just hired at is offering a 401k through Fidelity Investments. They'll match 50% of my contribution that is up to 5% of my salary. I'm 28 now, would it be wise to opt-in or stay the hell away from a 401k?

    If you're a taxpayer, it is >than a 3% pay raise. Are you willing to lock up 5% of your earnings for that?
    Pfizer Macht Frei!

    Openly Straight Man, Danke, Awarded Top Rated Influencer. Community Standards Enforcer.


    Quiz: Test Your "Income" Tax IQ!

    Short Income Tax Video

    The Income Tax Is An Excise, And Excise Taxes Are Privilege Taxes

    The Federalist Papers, No. 15:

    Except as to the rule of appointment, the United States have an indefinite discretion to make requisitions for men and money; but they have no authority to raise either by regulations extending to the individual citizens of America.

  6. #5
    You definitely want to contribute at least the 5% that they are going to match 50%. That's an instant 50% gain for you. If you want to contribute more or not is really up to you. Depends if you can afford it or not.

    Play around with this calculator a bit to see how much your money will grow over the next 40 years. If you put in $5,000 a year for the next 40 years at an inflation adjusted return of 7%, your account will be worth over a million at retirement.

    http://www.moneychimp.com/calculator...calculator.htm
    Last edited by brandon; 07-25-2011 at 10:16 PM.

  7. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by brandon View Post
    You definitely want to contribute at least the 5% that they are going to match 50%. That's an instant 50% gain for you. If you want to contribute more or not is really up to you. Depends if you can afford it or not.
    Agree with that. You also have the added benefit that you can buy and sell in the 401(k) and later a rollover IRA all you want without worrying about the tax ramifications every year.
    "Foreign aid is taking money from the poor people of a rich country, and giving it to the rich people of a poor country." - Ron Paul
    "Beware the Military-Industrial-Financial-Pharma-Corporate-Internet-Media-Government Complex." - B4L update of General Dwight D. Eisenhower
    "Debt is the drug, Wall St. Banksters are the dealers, and politicians are the addicts." - B4L
    "Totally free immigration? I've never taken that position. I believe in national sovereignty." - Ron Paul

    Proponent of real science.
    The views and opinions expressed here are solely my own, and do not represent this forum or any other entities or persons.

  8. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by brandon View Post
    You definitely want to contribute at least the 5% that they are going to match 50%. That's an instant 50% gain for you. If you want to contribute more or not is really up to you. Depends if you can afford it or not.

    Play around with this calculator a bit to see how much your money will grow over the next 40 years. If you put in $5,000 a year for the next 40 years at an inflation adjusted return of 7%, your account will be worth over a million at retirement.

    http://www.moneychimp.com/calculator...calculator.htm
    Calculators like those are figuring that the next 40-50 years will be as prosperous as the last 50. I do not have faith that stocks will give a 7-8% return in the coming years. If you believe that crap is going to hit the fan, that this depression will continue, or that America is in the beginning stages of decline, then there is a good chance you will lose money.

    My wife's employer just offered her a matching 401k. She said thanks, but no thanks. I took the tax hit and closed out my Roth IRA late 2007. Personally, I am done with all those investment shenanigans.

  9. #8
    Depends on match
    My company doesn't match
    No 401k here



  10. Remove this section of ads by registering.
  11. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Aden View Post
    Calculators like those are figuring that the next 40-50 years will be as prosperous as the last 50. I do not have faith that stocks will give a 7-8% return in the coming years. If you believe that crap is going to hit the fan, that this depression will continue, or that America is in the beginning stages of decline, then there is a good chance you will lose money.

    My wife's employer just offered her a matching 401k. She said thanks, but no thanks. I took the tax hit and closed out my Roth IRA late 2007. Personally, I am done with all those investment shenanigans.
    You can put whatever return rate you want in the calculator, it doesn't have to be 7%. I agree there certainly is a chance that America is slipping into a decline and the next several decades won't be that prosperous. But I think it's still a chance worth taking. If we are wrong and America is prosperous, I'd hate to face my retirement having completely missed out on all the gains.

    The important thing is to diversify. If you fund your 401k, buy some property, buy some metals, and keep some cash you should be reasonably protected.
    Last edited by brandon; 07-26-2011 at 07:38 AM.

  12. #10
    musicmax
    Member

    No. A 401(k) puts your money into the "system". You are given limited investment options, and the scum of Goldman/TIAA/BOA/Pimco get their cut. Based on the combination of inflation, the likely tax rate when you withdraw, and the probability of .gov confiscation (in return for "safe" Treasury instruments) there is no way in hell that a liberty-minded individual can feed the beast by throwing their money into a 401(k).

  13. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by brandon View Post
    You definitely want to contribute at least the 5% that they are going to match 50%. That's an instant 50% gain for you.
    Not true. That "instant gain" is in the hands of bankers and untouchable for 30 years. There is nothing instant about it. It is also one of the riskiest investments in terms of the possiblility of government confiscation. A stroke of a pen in Washington and it is gone, baby.

    I was so anxious to get out of my IRAs that I willingly paid the penalty and am glad I did.
    The proper concern of society is the preservation of individual freedom; the proper concern of the individual is the harmony of society.

    "Who would be free, themselves must strike the blow." - Byron

    "Who overcomes by force, hath overcome but half his foe." - Milton

  14. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by Acala View Post
    Not true. That "instant gain" is in the hands of bankers and untouchable for 30 years.
    That's not true at all. You can pay a 10% penalty and get your money at any time, as you also pointed out.

  15. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by brandon View Post
    You definitely want to contribute at least the 5% that they are going to match 50%. That's an instant 50% gain for you. If you want to contribute more or not is really up to you. Depends if you can afford it or not.

    Play around with this calculator a bit to see how much your money will grow over the next 40 years. If you put in $5,000 a year for the next 40 years at an inflation adjusted return of 7%, your account will be worth over a million at retirement.

    http://www.moneychimp.com/calculator...calculator.htm
    Agree. Not only is your employer going to contribute cash to your retirement account that will grow tax free until retirement, but your contributions to the plan come out of your salary pre-tax, meaning you lower the amount of salary on which your taxes are calculated. Obviously it's pretty challenging to contribute the maximum per year of $16,500 to the plan, but if you did and let's assume your tax rate including Fed Income Tax, SS, Medicare, SALT were 30% all-in, that'd be $5,000 less you'd remit to Uncle Sam per year, and it'd be an investment fund earning money (hopefully).

    Look, if the entire world goes to pot in a worldwide collapse, well, we're all doomed. But if we muddle along, and in the next 40 years we have some sort of breakthrough or right the ship, it'll be good to be invested. You just can't watch it day to day or you'll go bonkers.
    "Your mother's dead, before long I'll be dead, and you...and your brother and your sister and all of her children, all of us dead, all of us..rotting in the ground. It's the family name that lives on. It's all that lives on. Not your personal glory, not your honor, but family." - Tywin Lannister


  16. #14
    I would opt-out. I cashed out ROTH, 401K etc 3yrs ago.

  17. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by brandon View Post
    That's not true at all. You can pay a 10% penalty and get your money at any time, as you also pointed out.
    I'll bet you can't withdraw the matching funds. Otherwise you could put 5% of your salary in, get the matching money and then take it all out, pay the penalty, and be ahead. I haven't looked but I'll bet you dinner that there is a rule the prevents it.
    The proper concern of society is the preservation of individual freedom; the proper concern of the individual is the harmony of society.

    "Who would be free, themselves must strike the blow." - Byron

    "Who overcomes by force, hath overcome but half his foe." - Milton

  18. #16
    If the company matches, yes. I do.

    If the company does not match, no, I wouldn't.



  19. Remove this section of ads by registering.
  20. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by Free Moral Agent View Post
    The company I was just hired at is offering a 401k through Fidelity Investments. They'll match 50% of my contribution that is up to 5% of my salary. I'm 28 now, would it be wise to opt-in or stay the hell away from a 401k?
    It's a no brainer. Where else are you going to get a guaranteed 50% return on your money?

  21. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by Acala View Post
    I'll bet you can't withdraw the matching funds. Otherwise you could put 5% of your salary in, get the matching money and then take it all out, pay the penalty, and be ahead. I haven't looked but I'll bet you dinner that there is a rule the prevents it.
    The rules are regulated by federal regulation. He is probably 100% vested after 5 years.

    Taking the money out before he retires also incurs a penalty of 10% plus the regular income tax that he isn't paying.

    By biggest regret about leaving the workforce is my 401(k) contribution. I would be a millionaire a couple of times over when I retired if I didn't have a husband that I now know can't $#@!ing hold a job.

  22. #19
    I would and do, but with one caveat, as soon as it gets built up enough to buy a vehicle, a good battle rifle or down payment on a house, I would borrow half of it out as soon as I could. Of course my 401K plan matches 100% up to 6% of my income so I stop at the 6%, so I am doubling my money right out of the chute. This way when I borrow half, I am basically getting all the money I invested and exchanging the FRN's for property of real value, if as rumors have it, in the event of an economic collapse, TPTB say sorry you lost all your money that you had invested in your 401K, I will laugh and tell them I already got mine. Right now I hear they are trying to pass legislation to keep people from doing what I keep doing because it really pisses them off when they see people getting their money back in this way and buying things that TPTB do not want you to buy.

  23. #20
    I have worked alongside people who lost all their 401k during the .com bubble in their mid 50's. I would rather invest the money in my own way. I use tools...software, hardware, mechanical, electrical. They make me money. Firearms and fishing gear provide food where I am if I need to hit the wilds to procure protein and fats.. Mind you all my work is either for the company I own or for freelance clients. I would buy property and dwelling cash and no mortgage, then silver, then gold. (as has been done already) Then I would retire young and let my hobbies pay the bills when I need some spare spending cash. Live simply, work with joy, love abundantly and the rest takes care of itself.

    Rev9
    Drain the swamp - BIG DOG
    http://mindreleaselabs.com/
    Seeking work on Apps, Games, Art based projects

  24. #21
    Quote Originally Posted by musicmax View Post
    You are given limited investment options, and the scum of Goldman/TIAA/BOA/Pimco get their cut.
    That is the one big caveat. Most big companies have 401(k) plans with good options, including a brokerage account where you can invest in almost anything. But not all companies are like that, and some 401(k) options are really lame, especially at smaller companies. That being said, I have signed up for 401(k)s at small companies with bad options with the knowledge that I wasn't going to stay long, and that I would soon be rolling the money into an IRA at my brokerage where I could then invest in anything I wanted. When that was the case, I just put my money into the 401(k)s cash equivalent option as a temporary holding spot until I rolled it out of there.
    "Foreign aid is taking money from the poor people of a rich country, and giving it to the rich people of a poor country." - Ron Paul
    "Beware the Military-Industrial-Financial-Pharma-Corporate-Internet-Media-Government Complex." - B4L update of General Dwight D. Eisenhower
    "Debt is the drug, Wall St. Banksters are the dealers, and politicians are the addicts." - B4L
    "Totally free immigration? I've never taken that position. I believe in national sovereignty." - Ron Paul

    Proponent of real science.
    The views and opinions expressed here are solely my own, and do not represent this forum or any other entities or persons.

  25. #22
    Quote Originally Posted by Revolution9 View Post
    I have worked alongside people who lost all their 401k during the .com bubble in their mid 50's.

    Rev9
    I wonder about that. Nobody lost all their money in any of the stock market crashes, unless they were invested 100% in a company that went out of business. The Enron debacle ended those mandates - no company can insist that you only invest in their stock now.

    The dot-com bubble didn't even last that long - it was only about 5 - 7 years. A guy in his 50's shouldn't have lost his life savings over a 5 year investment.


    I would still guarantee that those 50-somethings were still up about 100% over their initial investment if they had only been in 10 years. If they had started in the 80's, then they're still up even more.

    Not to mention that if they kept buying stocks through 2009 and 2010, they're making quite a bit of it back now.

    And the truth of the matter is, people in their 50's shouldn't be in the stock market with all the money they can't afford to lose. A loose rule of thumb is to subtract your age from the number 120, and have that percentage in the stock market. So, a 50 year old should have already had 30% of his capital and capital gains locked in.

    I'm not saying that you should invest exclusively in the 401(k) but you're pretty much a fool if you aren't taking advantage of the company match. Like it or not, 401(k) plans are the most viable solution to Social Security.
    Last edited by angelatc; 07-26-2011 at 01:25 PM.

  26. #23
    Quote Originally Posted by Cowlesy View Post
    Not only is your employer going to contribute cash to your retirement account that will grow tax free until retirement, but your contributions to the plan come out of your salary pre-tax, meaning you lower the amount of salary on which your taxes are calculated.
    Good point.

    Thanks everyone for the feedback, I'm going for the steady 5% w/ 50% matching.
    The Establishment hates Ron Paul because his honesty and integrity expose the rest of them for the moral reprobates they are. Their own conscience cannot bear the sight of him. His very presence condemns them. Their personal greed and ambition cringe at the very thought of Ron Paul.
 - Chuck Baldwin

  27. #24
    Quote Originally Posted by Aden View Post
    Calculators like those are figuring that the next 40-50 years will be as prosperous as the last 50. I do not have faith that stocks will give a 7-8% return in the coming years. If you believe that crap is going to hit the fan, that this depression will continue, or that America is in the beginning stages of decline, then there is a good chance you will lose money.
    I don't even discuss retirement options for this reason. Just give me my paycheck so I can go to the coin shop and I'll bury some gold in the back-yard or something.
    Quote Originally Posted by timosman View Post
    This is getting silly.
    Quote Originally Posted by Swordsmyth View Post
    It started silly.
    T.S. Eliot's The Hollow Men

    "One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors." - Plato

    We Are Running Out of Time - Mini Me

    Quote Originally Posted by Philhelm
    I part ways with "libertarianism" when it transitions from ideology grounded in logic into self-defeating autism for the sake of ideological purity.



  28. Remove this section of ads by registering.
  29. #25
    I think it depends on if they let you take it out. I don't have a full time job, I'm still a student but I always envisioned that the company would match me and then I could take out those funds, maybe pay a small penalty and invest them wherever I want. It almost seems like free money. I know you'd probably be hit with a tax and an employer fee but besides that I think it'd be good, assuming those costs aren't too much.
    -Ancap-

  30. #26

    Absolutely.

    In addition to the tax protection and the generous match afforded by your company you also take advantage of dollar cost averaging. Every week you are buying the same dollar amount of shares in whatever you are investing in be it bonds, individual stocks, or mutual funds. When the market is down you buy more shares, when the market is up, you buy fewer shares, which tips your average cost downward.


    If a Roth 401K option is available I would take that over a traditional 401K. This is because your contributions are made with after tax dollars and gains will not be taxed at retirement. You can also withdrawal all of your contributions, tax and penalty free at any time.

  31. #27
    If they offer matching funds (and yours does) -go for it. That is extra money they are giving to you. But one caution- don't put all your 401k into your company stock. If the company goes bust, you not only lose your job but also your retirement. But today most 401k's offer diverse options and are transferable when you leave the company. Put in as much as they match and then invest any other money into other options. My company offers no matching funds so I do not participate in our 401k program.

  32. #28
    no one has asked the fundamental question what are your options within the 401k? its it like GM? lol. American companies?
    Rand Benedict Paul.
    Not only did he sell us out, this douche bag did it to his own father! I'm more upset him selling his father out. I don't care who i think is going to win i would never sell my father out. If his willing to sell his father out what else is for sale?

  33. #29
    Quote Originally Posted by Free Moral Agent View Post
    The company I was just hired at is offering a 401k through Fidelity Investments. They'll match 50% of my contribution that is up to 5% of my salary. I'm 28 now, would it be wise to opt-in or stay the hell away from a 401k?
    I would definitely opt in all the way up to that 5% level, but not beyond.

    If you want to invest more than that, then you can get an IRA or Roth IRA (depending on your income IIRC), or buy PMs if you want. And whatever you do you'll have greater freedom than in that 401k.

    But the matching is something I wouldn't want to pass up.

  34. #30
    Just some quick random numbers. Say you get paid $40k a year. You put aside 5% of that and the company gives you 50% matching. You saved $2000 and the company gave you another $1000. Without any return on your investment itself, you just made 50% off that money. That money is also not taxed- until you take it out later on. More info on the subject: http://money.cnn.com/magazines/money...y101/lesson23/

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast


Similar Threads

  1. Replies: 21
    Last Post: 01-25-2016, 06:13 PM
  2. Looks like BO wants the 401K'S & IRA'S
    By Sarge in forum U.S. Political News
    Replies: 8
    Last Post: 05-04-2010, 04:07 PM
  3. PMs: 401K's and IRA's in danger?
    By bluemarkets in forum Economy & Markets
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 01-15-2010, 12:19 AM
  4. what to do with 401k...
    By Minarchy4Sale in forum Personal Prosperity
    Replies: 21
    Last Post: 05-25-2009, 07:32 PM
  5. Brace if this goes through 401K
    By Sarge in forum Grassroots Central
    Replies: 9
    Last Post: 10-08-2008, 04:31 PM

Select a tag for more discussion on that topic

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •