Mar 26th, 2008
This is pretty apalling
I happened to overhear a conversation the other day between two 30-something guys talking about their jobs. One of them said to the other “I don’t waste money in my companies retirement crap.” A few years ago I wouldn’t have thought twice about it and I would have just gone along on my merry way, thinking about the weather. Unfortunately now, comments like that make my ears bleed. Its a good thing that one of them didnt say “yeah, we’ll live on social security” or else I would probably have created a scene, and no one wants a scene.
Here is the problem in my opinion. Everyone in Gen x, y, z that is of working age has put basically zero thought into what retirement will actually mean. I think instead most of the retirement thinking going on revolves around thinking about laying by a pool in Mexico drinking a pacifico and munching on chips and queso while their yacht is parked nearby. Some might contribute a bit to their 401k, but most dont max company contribution out (only 1 in 7 Gen yers!). Most don’t realize that unless they get on it early the closest they will come to that vision is cleaning that pool, and having a log on the beach to float around on.
If you haven’t maxed out your companie’s 401k match, go do it right now.
- 3 Comments
- Retirement
It surprises me that people leave free money on the table. Maybe if your company’s 401(k) only allowed you to invest in company stock…but almost all of them have halfway decent indexes and even if you get the match in company stock you can eventually move it.
I think in the UK people have started to worry about retirement accounts because some have gone bankrupt and therefore people have lost the money they have contributed as well as what their employers have put in. Pensions funds seem to be worth very little once people retire so I think it makes them feel that they may as well enjoy the money now.
I agree with you in general but you might need to take a look at the guy’s position at the time. I worked for a company one time that allowed you to only invest in the stock. I refused to take part in the program because I hated the company and did not plan to work there long enough to retire. I only stayed about ten months and I was glad I did not put my money into the retirement account because it was a hassle to get even my last set of paychecks. Maybe the person you overheard is in some similar position where they do not plan to stay long with the company so they do not see the benefit.
BTW I am contributing to my current company’s retirement account.