Pensions?

[sendagain]

Having a pension is a wonderful thing because it pays a steady monthly sum no matter what the investment markets are doing. Still, none of these financial securities are bullett proof. I remember hearing about a guy who killed himself during a big crash a few decades back, only to have those same investments rise back to their previous level in about a year.

 

[tasky]

tasky-
I will rescind any perceived anger in my initial post.
I agree with Brownmonster. If it comes out of your check then you never see it and learn to live on what your check actually provides. BM is right.......the savings appears small at first but once it gets "rolling" it will snowball.

You are in a very enviable position right now.
I know you don't need a "father" but here are some suggestions from a person that wishes he had it to do over again:
-if you can get tuition reimbursement without going into PT management then go to school for a marketable skill. A "marketable skill" may be defined as one that won't get "outsourced" to India in the near future and will probably be "service" oriented instead of "product" oriented.
-considering PT management? Look around and see if all the PT supes aren't working harder than you are right now and ask yourself. "is it worth it?"
-you can go into PT or FT management anytime. Don't let the company stroke your ego and lure you into it. Stay the course and get your degree....it stacks the deck in your favor.
-when you reach the legal drinking age be careful. Party less and study more. It's easy to get caught up in the social scene (chasing the girls) with your buddies.
-don't succumb to the glitter, gloss and dollar signs of going into package cars like alot of us did. Where are we now?........just hanging on, hoping to reach "retirement" .......whatever that might be.
You seem like you've got your head on straight. Make wise decisions.
GOOD LUCK!
-

Don't worry about being a father to me, I lost mine six years ago--I'll take any advice you throw at me (with a grain of salt, of course).
-I am enrolled in college right now, I'm studying Computer Science and am going to get my networking certificates this summer (hard to setup/run/configure/debug servers in America from across the globe).
-I have no intentions of going into management, and I have heard from plenty of hourlies in my hub and on this forum that they will try to entice me into it. I'll "just say NO"
-I've never been a "social person", partly due to the fact I lost my father at a young age, partly due to the fact I was overweight growing up (thanks UPS, lost 25+ lbs in 4 months), and partly because I was in the "gifted" program throughout elementary and middle school.
-I want to drive, but I haven't decided if I will go the package car route or feeder route. Or I may get sucked into Network/Systems Management, but I assume that wouldn't be an hourly position.

Thanks for the luck, but from what I've seen I'm gonna need more than that to make it at UPS

Having a pension is a wonderful thing because it pays a steady monthly sum no matter what the investment markets are doing. Still, none of these financial securities are bullett proof. I remember hearing about a guy who killed himself during a big crash a few decades back, only to have those same investments rise back to their previous level in about a year.

Agreed. A pension would be nice, but I don't want to disappoint myself if things fall through. And once I invest my money in 401k, I don't bother checking it's value except for maybe once a quarter. Things will work out. I might take the advice of others on this forum and take my investments elsewhere, my mom has a good investor at Edward Jones who's been managing my dad's life insurance/401k... he's been able to break even, maybe return a profit, even though we've been pulling out of it for years to live off of...but that's a whole other story.

 

[rod]

I don't know if there is any truth to it but I was told that Edward Jones has more "extra fees" than any other major invesment company. Check then all out before turning your $ over.

 

[clr1390]

Should the full time people be as lucky as the part time. We had a clerk retire with 31 years. She is getting 1650 a month,and paying 100 a month for her insurance for her and her husband. For any full time person who did not have their 25 years in Nov. 2003, you will be lucky to ever see anything close to that. The UPS pension plan is over 100 percent funded. Their money is not going to every out of business trucking company's pocket like ours is.

 

[gambler]

Thank God for Ron Carey otherwise we still would be getting a thousand a month for a hundred tears here

 

[HazMatMan]

Should the full time people be as lucky as the part time. We had a clerk retire with 31 years. She is getting 1650 a month,and paying 100 a month for her insurance for her and her husband. For any full time person who did not have their 25 years in Nov. 2003, you will be lucky to ever see anything close to that. The UPS pension plan is over 100 percent funded. Their money is not going to every out of business trucking company's pocket like ours is.

Is that 31 Full time years??

 

[satellitedriver]

I'm glad you see it the same way I do, and aren't taking this thread off track. I've drawn some inspiration from you--just uppped my contribution to 17%

Now you are talking. The earlier you invest the most you can ,the better you will be off later.

 

[satellitedriver]

Thank God for Ron Carey otherwise we still would be getting a thousand a month for a hundred tears here

What? Could you clarify your post for me.

 

[scratch]

What? Could you clarify your post for me.

I didn't quite get his point either. Ron Carey was IBT President during the '97 Strike that kept my wonderful Central states Pension heading for the shape it is in today.

 

[RockyRogue]

Edit: You really think the pension will be around in another 30 years?

I'd have to agree, Tasky. I think we'll see the pension system disappearing as more and more of the defined benefit plans wind up under government control. I think 30 years is very optimistic for the MULTI-EMPLOYER pension plans (ie Central States). Those'll probably be gone in 10 or less and under government control at that. The UPS pension plan...I can see that lasting a looonnnng time as its overfunded right now. I forget the poster now but somewhere on here I saw something about 30 years ago and the pensions disappearing, etc, etc. I think that this time, they will, seeing as how MESSED up they are!! JMO. -Rocky.

 

[Dfigtree]

You would be better off sticking your money into ROTH IRA's. the Teamsters offer no matching so why would you invest in their 401k so that they can make more money off of your money. You would make out better if you just kept it int he bank on your own in your own plans. get yourself a financial planner and they will set you straight the right way. A good FP will not charge you either since they make commission from the companies they work thru instead of tak ing money from you.

A good financial planner will charge you ; either by the hour or for putting together a plan or by commissions. Those that don't charge for planning and charge by commissions are called insurance salespeople. Select wisely.

 

[canon]

offer no matching so why would you invest in their 401k

The money comes out before taxes do.

 

[Dfigtree]

FROM TAX GUIDE FOR INVESTORS: Creditor Protection

Federal laws concerning retirement savings provide sturdy protection for employer plans (that is, 401Ks,etc) from creditors of participants. You may lose some or all of your account in a divorce, but it's generally protected from being seized by credit card companies or other claimants.
The amount of protection afforded to the owner of an IRA depends on state law. Some states provide no creditor protection at all for IRAs; many others provide only limited protection. If the possibility of bankruptcy is a concern, you should determine the kind of protection your state provides to IRAs before choosing an IRA over an employer plan for your retirement savings.
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Also, look at the overhead for UPS' 401K versus any IRA. UPS' plan has a very low cost structure.
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You might also want to take into account how you will receive your money when get gray hairs and who the beneficiaries are.
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FPs earn their money. When you engage someone to provide additional value to your financial situation, ask them what they did before to make a living. I have seen pizza makers that call themselves FPs. Ask for their professional designations. A CFP or Registered Investmemnt Advisor are good designations. There are others. And ask the FP where she got her financial training from. ASK LOTS OF QUESTIONS.

 

[Cezanne]

To reply to the previous post about the UPS Pension Plan being over 100 percent vested. The Plan is basically set up for the part time union employees in the Central States area. Now consider all the part time employees who are vested in that trust and the current pay out to those who were lucky enough to collect a benefit. Any benefit trust fund would be considerably healthy if it did not have any large amount of retirees drawing from it's investments. The plan pays yearly an amount to cover the promised benefit.

If you study the Ohio Rider in the Central Supplement, you will find the retirement formula for FULL TIME clerical workers. They are under the company pension plan also and it breaks down to currently 1,700 a month, before the spousal reduction and health and welfare costs. We have a union full time clerk in our building with over 37 years, who if they retired today would get less than a member who worked part time for 35 years (1,950 a month).

I believe that is just one of the reasons that the union might be worried about losing total control of the pension trusts

 

[benschreivogel]

10% is good and all but if you can slowly add a percent every year you get a raise until you are maxed out at 20% then you will be doing even that much better. Its easier to make the increases if you do it this way.

I agree with Financial planner 100 percent.

 

[tasky]

10% is good and all but if you can slowly add a percent every year you get a raise until you are maxed out at 20% then you will be doing even that much better. Its easier to make the increases if you do it this way.

I agree with Financial planner 100 percent.

I'm going to just leave it at 17% right now and adjust my lifestyle accordingly. If the money never touches my hands I won't miss it.

 

[Dfigtree]

I'm going to just leave it at 17% right now and adjust my lifestyle accordingly. If the money never touches my hands I won't miss it.

Are you using any method to properly diversify your 401K portfolio? If you invest, say, only in the S&P 500 index you may not be properly diversified when you take class diversification into account. All LARGE CAP STOCKS in your portfolio may not represent adequate diversification.

 

[tasky]

Are you using any method to properly diversify your 401K portfolio? If you invest, say, only in the S&P 500 index you may not be properly diversified when you take class diversification into account. All LARGE CAP STOCKS in your portfolio may not represent adequate diversification.

I know nothing of financial planning, but here is how my portfolio is set up:

Government STIF 20%
Stable Value Fund 10%
S&P 500 Equity Index Fund 40%
Russell 2000 Index Fund 15%
Bright Horizon 2045 Fund 15%

I'm open for suggestions, however.

 

[brownmonster]

Go Russel 2000, Mid Cap, S&p 500 and International. You're too young for Stable and Gov. Horizon Funds diversify within the fund depending on the time horizon. Just an opinion. I know nothing. BM

 

[beentheredonethat]

I know nothing of financial planning, but here is how my portfolio is set up:

Government STIF 20%
Stable Value Fund 10%
S&P 500 Equity Index Fund 40%
Russell 2000 Index Fund 15%
Bright Horizon 2045 Fund 15%

I'm open for suggestions, however.

I got tired of the returns these funds above and the other funds available were giving. I switched over a lot of my 401K dollars to the Self Managed Account and bought Mutual funds by Quality companies, (Fidelity, T Rowe Price etc) that have shown good returns over the last 1yr, 3 yrs and 5 yrs. Also since I'm still quite a way from retirement I tend to invest a little riskier then I will when I get closer to retirement age. If you have a way to go, the Govt STIF and Stable Value Fund won't give a large return. However, my best advice is not to do solely on what someone on this forum says, or a friend or anyone. Take their information as a starting point only, and research, research, research, research, until you feel confident you have invested wisely based on your proximity to your retirement. Good luck.