College Planning Upper Middle Class

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know we’ve gotten off topic by discussing OP’s astronomical retirement savings, but another reason it doesn’t make sense is that if the funds are truly in retirement accounts, then you’ve been limited in your contributions. Right now, a dual earning couple can contribute 40-some thousand to 401ks and IRAs. The limits were even lower earlier in OP’s career, so even with compounding, the numbers don’t seem to make sense. Does one of you have very generous employer matching? We are in our early 40s and have been maxing 2 401ks and IRAs for since our mid-20s and we are a bit north of 1.5 million in retirement accounts. For the past five years, one of us has had very generous employer matching.

The IRS max is $56,000 (when you combine individual and company match/profit-sharing). So many people think it's just $19,000 per year max.

+1 Also in this area you have people who can combine apply to a 403b/401k, a 457 (govt employees), and then add in an IRA. If you add in employer contributions, it adds up to far more than 40k a year for a household. If both people in a household are in this situation and you can afford it you can have additions of >100k year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would focus on undergrad and that’s all for now. Who know what your kids will decide to do, if undergrad at all. And as PPs have said, there are a lot of employers who will pay or contribute towards grad school. My DS is premed, we’re funding undergrad, but for medical school - assuming he makes it - he’s on his own.

Who are these employers contributing to grad school? What I know of it's just a token sum. I do know Wall Street firms will cover the MBA expenses of their favorites but that's about as likely as winning the lottery if you're 18 and thinking into the future.

OP said she and her husband both had grad school fully covered by tuition remissions but refused to explain more when asked about it and wouldn't even tell us their occupations because it was too personal.

Point is, no one should plan on employers paying for grad school. If you're lucky you might get a thousand or so if doing a part time masters while still working full time. The grad degrees that promise to return big bucks are the ones least likely to have employer remissions for tuition, methinks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know we’ve gotten off topic by discussing OP’s astronomical retirement savings, but another reason it doesn’t make sense is that if the funds are truly in retirement accounts, then you’ve been limited in your contributions. Right now, a dual earning couple can contribute 40-some thousand to 401ks and IRAs. The limits were even lower earlier in OP’s career, so even with compounding, the numbers don’t seem to make sense. Does one of you have very generous employer matching? We are in our early 40s and have been maxing 2 401ks and IRAs for since our mid-20s and we are a bit north of 1.5 million in retirement accounts. For the past five years, one of us has had very generous employer matching.

The IRS max is $56,000 (when you combine individual and company match/profit-sharing). So many people think it's just $19,000 per year max.

+1 Also in this area you have people who can combine apply to a 403b/401k, a 457 (govt employees), and then add in an IRA. If you add in employer contributions, it adds up to far more than 40k a year for a household. If both people in a household are in this situation and you can afford it you can have additions of >100k year.

So OP and her husband are CIA or something similar, eh? Would explain why she's so cagey.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know we’ve gotten off topic by discussing OP’s astronomical retirement savings, but another reason it doesn’t make sense is that if the funds are truly in retirement accounts, then you’ve been limited in your contributions. Right now, a dual earning couple can contribute 40-some thousand to 401ks and IRAs. The limits were even lower earlier in OP’s career, so even with compounding, the numbers don’t seem to make sense. Does one of you have very generous employer matching? We are in our early 40s and have been maxing 2 401ks and IRAs for since our mid-20s and we are a bit north of 1.5 million in retirement accounts. For the past five years, one of us has had very generous employer matching.

The IRS max is $56,000 (when you combine individual and company match/profit-sharing). So many people think it's just $19,000 per year max.

+1 Also in this area you have people who can combine apply to a 403b/401k, a 457 (govt employees), and then add in an IRA. If you add in employer contributions, it adds up to far more than 40k a year for a household. If both people in a household are in this situation and you can afford it you can have additions of >100k year.

So OP and her husband are CIA or something similar, eh? Would explain why she's so cagey.

Or they work for corporations. Not everyone in DC works for the government.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would focus on undergrad and that’s all for now. Who know what your kids will decide to do, if undergrad at all. And as PPs have said, there are a lot of employers who will pay or contribute towards grad school. My DS is premed, we’re funding undergrad, but for medical school - assuming he makes it - he’s on his own.

Who are these employers contributing to grad school? What I know of it's just a token sum. I do know Wall Street firms will cover the MBA expenses of their favorites but that's about as likely as winning the lottery if you're 18 and thinking into the future.

OP said she and her husband both had grad school fully covered by tuition remissions but refused to explain more when asked about it and wouldn't even tell us their occupations because it was too personal.

Point is, no one should plan on employers paying for grad school. If you're lucky you might get a thousand or so if doing a part time masters while still working full time. The grad degrees that promise to return big bucks are the ones least likely to have employer remissions for tuition, methinks.

I've got to agree with PP. While I'm not an expert, the big co's where I have worked it is undergrad that is contributed to, and even that is rare. It actually works against a company to pay for someone's grad degree without a work contract (which in many states is unenforceable so non-existent) because once you get the MS/MBA you are GONE.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know we’ve gotten off topic by discussing OP’s astronomical retirement savings, but another reason it doesn’t make sense is that if the funds are truly in retirement accounts, then you’ve been limited in your contributions. Right now, a dual earning couple can contribute 40-some thousand to 401ks and IRAs. The limits were even lower earlier in OP’s career, so even with compounding, the numbers don’t seem to make sense. Does one of you have very generous employer matching? We are in our early 40s and have been maxing 2 401ks and IRAs for since our mid-20s and we are a bit north of 1.5 million in retirement accounts. For the past five years, one of us has had very generous employer matching.

The IRS max is $56,000 (when you combine individual and company match/profit-sharing). So many people think it's just $19,000 per year max.

+1 Also in this area you have people who can combine apply to a 403b/401k, a 457 (govt employees), and then add in an IRA. If you add in employer contributions, it adds up to far more than 40k a year for a household. If both people in a household are in this situation and you can afford it you can have additions of >100k year.

So OP and her husband are CIA or something similar, eh? Would explain why she's so cagey.

Or they work for corporations. Not everyone in DC works for the government.

No need to be cagey when working for a regular corporation. Saying "I'm a VP for accounting" gives away nothing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know we’ve gotten off topic by discussing OP’s astronomical retirement savings, but another reason it doesn’t make sense is that if the funds are truly in retirement accounts, then you’ve been limited in your contributions. Right now, a dual earning couple can contribute 40-some thousand to 401ks and IRAs. The limits were even lower earlier in OP’s career, so even with compounding, the numbers don’t seem to make sense. Does one of you have very generous employer matching? We are in our early 40s and have been maxing 2 401ks and IRAs for since our mid-20s and we are a bit north of 1.5 million in retirement accounts. For the past five years, one of us has had very generous employer matching.

The IRS max is $56,000 (when you combine individual and company match/profit-sharing). So many people think it's just $19,000 per year max.

+1 Also in this area you have people who can combine apply to a 403b/401k, a 457 (govt employees), and then add in an IRA. If you add in employer contributions, it adds up to far more than 40k a year for a household. If both people in a household are in this situation and you can afford it you can have additions of >100k year.

If you have a GS15 employee at the very top of the pay scale they could contribute $18500, the employer match would be $8500 and a Roth IRA would be $6000. That is around $33000

So OP and her husband are CIA or something similar, eh? Would explain why she's so cagey.

[Anonymous]

You figured us out we are actually part of the secret service :/. Seriously not going to give anymore personal info.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You figured us out we are actually part of the secret service :/. Seriously not going to give anymore personal info.

It does make things more intriguing. If you were career government workers you'd have to be contributing such a high percentage of your government salaries from when you first started to work that it makes you wonder how you managed to live, had a family, bought a house and paid it off and all that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You figured us out we are actually part of the secret service :/. Seriously not going to give anymore personal info.

It does make things more intriguing. If you were career government workers you'd have to be contributing such a high percentage of your government salaries from when you first started to work that it makes you wonder how you managed to live, had a family, bought a house and paid it off and all that.

Jesus F**ing Christ! PP and everyone else.. Just answer the OP, will ya!

Here's what the OP said "Wondering how much you were planning on contributing towards your children's college education. We make about $275K per year and have $3M in retirement assets so I'm assuming we won't get a dime of aid. We currently have saved $220K which I thought would be enough..but now DD is contemplating medical school. DD is a HS junior and if we want to pay for medical school, we need to start savings NOW. We also have child #2 that's 4 years younger who also has $220K in college fund. Hopefully, he doesn't want to go to grad school :/. "

How they got to $3M is not relevant nor whether it's in a 401k or otherwise. JUST ANSWER THE QUESTION "how much you were planning on contributing towards your children's college education"...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You figured us out we are actually part of the secret service :/. Seriously not going to give anymore personal info.

Nah. If you were in CIA or the Secret Service you wouldn't be deliberately vague. You'd automatically make up a generic position. Lawyer, project manager, accountant, proposal manager, whatever, to deflect attention. I suspect like a lot of internet posters you inflated your salaries/net worth.

After all, you claim to have 3.5 million in savings and a fully paid off house and a 275k income and you're asking what's the fair amount to contribute to kids' colleges? Those numbers mean you can pay for undergrad and grad and still have plenty left over for a generous retirement. So why are you asking?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your children pay for grad school. Without that financial incentive, they will make poor decisions.

Do you have any idea how expensive grad school has become? Duke Law is $103K per year. No way my kid is racking up $310K in debt.

What?!? I am just getting my head around DD's college tuition.

No one should be paying $103K/year for law school. Geesh!

[Anonymous]

Saving for retirement is really a 21 to 55 year thing. Money can double every ten years but earlier years is big savings.

The real pain in college is when second kid starts. My second starts next year so will have two in college and a third one after that.

We have around 1.6 million in our 401Ks. I am ten years from retirement. Even if I just did the min 6 percent next ten years and diverted more to my kids college it would not be derailing my retirement plans.

[Anonymous]

Elizabeth Warren wants 2% of that $220,000.
Vote - November 2020.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Elizabeth Warren wants 2% of that $220,000.
Vote - November 2020.

Warren's proposed wealth tax is 2% on assets over 50 million.