You plan for retirement. But what happens when the money you thought you were promised isn't there?
More companies are either freezing or defaulting on their pension plans. Many are not offering pensions to new employees. Do you think companies have an obligation to continue pensions? Is freezing a pension fair enough? Is this a new world, in which employees prefer 401(k) plans? Are you counting on a pension? How will you save for retirement if pensions are not part of the picture?
What I don't understand is why employees who are losing their pension plans didn't understand from the very beginning that they were investing in their own company. In essence, investing in a pension plan is not much different than investing in a company's stock. If the company gets in trouble and you own stock, the stock price goes down and you lose money. Why should company-funded pension plans be any different?
Chip said:
I would like to also add the Military has done the same thing in the retirement! Each person joning now has to put money away for his or her retirment years (TSP)Thrift Savings Plan! I personaly joined the military after being laid off from a Sheriff Department in Michigan. After finishing my degree and landing a job at the age of 30 I thought that would of been my last job until retirement, but I was wrong. So joined the military at the age of 31 and was able to roll over my 401k from the Sheriff Department and another job I had worked for 10 years and now I will have something to retire on in 20 more years. But if the military does not inform the younger generation joining now they will have a bigger problem at the end of their retirements with the economy!
gloria peck said:
Your 5 PM newcast seemed very lacking in tough-minded questioning of the Bush administration: on letting out port contracts to Dubai control (reassurance from Chertoff and Bush); on 75 deaths in Iraq being an IMPROVEMENT over 90 several months ago; on comparing that to deaths suffered on the taking of Iwo Gima in WWII. THAT IS NOT A RELAVANT COMPARISON! I now think of KING as a Bush adminstration apologist.
jp said:
It makes me laugh. It seems while Gloria thinks the local news is a Republican house-organ, others quip the teevee folks are left wing liberals. Truth be told; 15 different people will have 15 different takes on the very same story. True the comparison to Iwo Jima (thats ok kid; G and J sound the same) was a tad out in "left field". The local news is what it is: LOCAL. How could a local newsie ask tough minded questions of the Bush (or any President's) administration. Let it roll off your back. Let the national news handle the national news. Now about the weather forecasts..........
Steve said:
The employee takes on the risk that company will succeed/put away enough/ whatever to pay their pension. This seems like a bad bet to me. I would much rather have a defined contribution plan where the employer puts a certain percentage of my income into a 401k plan for me. I can then spread the risk across markets. From what I hear the government safety net for pensions really cuts them down.
krissypoo said:
What is the point of putting your money into anything if the company can just back out on a whim? You can be sure that the owners and the powers that be in these companies ar getting their fair share. So don't count on someone else to keep you out of trouble.
My husband is a Navy retiree and he started investing into TSP about 5 years ago. I am a government employee myself and also invest into TSP. The bottom line here is if you don't look out for yourself, no one will. It's all about priorities. People would rather spend their money on McDonald's hamburgers than put money away for their futures and the futures of their children.
My husband and I learned early on that we have to take care of ourselves and make sure that our children are also taken care of. I want to be financially independent when I retire. I don't EVER want to have to totally depend on Social security, because in a nutshell, there is nothing secure about it.
A great rule of thumb I read on an investing Web site somewhere is to never invest large sums of money in the company you work for, or even another company in the same industry. If the company experiences a downturn, you can get hit with a double whammy: first you can lose your job, and then, just when you need them most, your investments will be worth far less than you expected. Certainly the bulk of your retirement money should be invested in broad-market, global stock and bond index funds, not in a company pension or company stock. Neither should you count on Social Security -- if it's still around when you retire, consider it a bonus.
KING 5 News Up Front with Robert Mak 
You plan for retirement. But what happens when the money you thought you were promised isn't there?
More companies are either freezing or defaulting on their pension plans. Many are not offering pensions to new employees. Do you think companies have an obligation to continue pensions? Is freezing a pension fair enough? Is this a new world, in which employees prefer 401(k) plans? Are you counting on a pension? How will you save for retirement if pensions are not part of the picture?
What I don't understand is why employees who are losing their pension plans didn't understand from the very beginning that they were investing in their own company. In essence, investing in a pension plan is not much different than investing in a company's stock. If the company gets in trouble and you own stock, the stock price goes down and you lose money. Why should company-funded pension plans be any different?
I would like to also add the Military has done the same thing in the retirement! Each person joning now has to put money away for his or her retirment years (TSP)Thrift Savings Plan! I personaly joined the military after being laid off from a Sheriff Department in Michigan. After finishing my degree and landing a job at the age of 30 I thought that would of been my last job until retirement, but I was wrong. So joined the military at the age of 31 and was able to roll over my 401k from the Sheriff Department and another job I had worked for 10 years and now I will have something to retire on in 20 more years. But if the military does not inform the younger generation joining now they will have a bigger problem at the end of their retirements with the economy!
Your 5 PM newcast seemed very lacking in tough-minded questioning of the Bush administration: on letting out port contracts to Dubai control (reassurance from Chertoff and Bush); on 75 deaths in Iraq being an IMPROVEMENT over 90 several months ago; on comparing that to deaths suffered on the taking of Iwo Gima in WWII. THAT IS NOT A RELAVANT COMPARISON! I now think of KING as a Bush adminstration apologist.
It makes me laugh. It seems while Gloria thinks the local news is a Republican house-organ, others quip the teevee folks are left wing liberals. Truth be told; 15 different people will have 15 different takes on the very same story. True the comparison to Iwo Jima (thats ok kid; G and J sound the same) was a tad out in "left field". The local news is what it is: LOCAL. How could a local newsie ask tough minded questions of the Bush (or any President's) administration. Let it roll off your back. Let the national news handle the national news. Now about the weather forecasts..........
The employee takes on the risk that company will succeed/put away enough/ whatever to pay their pension. This seems like a bad bet to me. I would much rather have a defined contribution plan where the employer puts a certain percentage of my income into a 401k plan for me. I can then spread the risk across markets. From what I hear the government safety net for pensions really cuts them down.
What is the point of putting your money into anything if the company can just back out on a whim? You can be sure that the owners and the powers that be in these companies ar getting their fair share. So don't count on someone else to keep you out of trouble.
My husband is a Navy retiree and he started investing into TSP about 5 years ago. I am a government employee myself and also invest into TSP. The bottom line here is if you don't look out for yourself, no one will. It's all about priorities. People would rather spend their money on McDonald's hamburgers than put money away for their futures and the futures of their children.
My husband and I learned early on that we have to take care of ourselves and make sure that our children are also taken care of. I want to be financially independent when I retire. I don't EVER want to have to totally depend on Social security, because in a nutshell, there is nothing secure about it.
A great rule of thumb I read on an investing Web site somewhere is to never invest large sums of money in the company you work for, or even another company in the same industry. If the company experiences a downturn, you can get hit with a double whammy: first you can lose your job, and then, just when you need them most, your investments will be worth far less than you expected. Certainly the bulk of your retirement money should be invested in broad-market, global stock and bond index funds, not in a company pension or company stock. Neither should you count on Social Security -- if it's still around when you retire, consider it a bonus.
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