Anonymous wrote:OP - do you have kids? Everything gets f'ed up once little ones show up. i mean seriously...

Anonymous wrote:I predict SS will be OK...to many senior voters. But Fed benefits are an easy target. Everyone thinks feds are overpaid and lazy.. (I am a hard working fed so I don't think so but...)

Anonymous wrote:Try to put as much as possible in as soon as you can. I started out at 7%, I think, and would just raise it 1-2% every once in a while. That made very little impact on my paycheck and I have now been maxing for several years.

Also, don't depend too heavily on FERS. All of my calculations make it seem like it's not that much of a contribution. For instance, I'm a GS-14 and have been a fed for about 10 years. So, I would get something in the ballpark of $10k each year from FERS, which is nice, but not a huge contribution as far as I can tell...

Anonymous wrote:The SS and FERS doomsayers are drastically overstating their cases. It is possible that SS gets adjusted down from current scheme, but it's essentially a neglible possibility that you get nothing. Same with your FERs pension -- it may move to "high-5" payout or some other tweaks and adjustments but it won't be wiped out completely.

Given that you are in line for 2 pensions and 2 SS streams, you really are OK if you just continue with 10% total (5+5 match) into the TSP.

Given conservative projections, the TSP should hit something like $1M in 30-35 years. Conservatively, you're looking at another $50k+/year in 2 FERS pensions for 2 30-35 year careers, probably more depending on your income growth. Very conservatively, you'd also get another $40k per year in 2 SS payouts.

Those are all 2018 dollars. Even if you adjust the SS and FERs by 2/3, you're talking $60k per year plus whatever you can draw from your TSP. At the 4% rule, you could expect to take $40k per year from the TSP.

That gives you $100k per year in annual retirement income. That is the figure in 2018 dollars (the nominal number would be higher).

Even after taxes, given your current income and spending (and especially if you pay off a mortgage in the next 30 years), that puts you on track for a secure retirement.

Tl;dr: if you have extra room in your budget, by all means increase your TSP contributions. But if money is tight, then just stay the course. You are doing OK. As you get raises, make sure to increase your retirement contributions with each pay increase.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The SS and FERS doomsayers are drastically overstating their cases. It is possible that SS gets adjusted down from current scheme, but it's essentially a neglible possibility that you get nothing. Same with your FERs pension -- it may move to "high-5" payout or some other tweaks and adjustments but it won't be wiped out completely.

Given that you are in line for 2 pensions and 2 SS streams, you really are OK if you just continue with 10% total (5+5 match) into the TSP.

Given conservative projections, the TSP should hit something like $1M in 30-35 years. Conservatively, you're looking at another $50k+/year in 2 FERS pensions for 2 30-35 year careers, probably more depending on your income growth. Very conservatively, you'd also get another $40k per year in 2 SS payouts.

Those are all 2018 dollars. Even if you adjust the SS and FERs by 2/3, you're talking $60k per year plus whatever you can draw from your TSP. At the 4% rule, you could expect to take $40k per year from the TSP.

That gives you $100k per year in annual retirement income. That is the figure in 2018 dollars (the nominal number would be higher).

Even after taxes, given your current income and spending (and especially if you pay off a mortgage in the next 30 years), that puts you on track for a secure retirement.

Tl;dr: if you have extra room in your budget, by all means increase your TSP contributions. But if money is tight, then just stay the course. You are doing OK. As you get raises, make sure to increase your retirement contributions with each pay increase.

Anything is possible with a stroke of a pen. Don’t be surprised if republicans try to attack FERS and SS. If not now, later....especially if we continue to elect neo-fascists in office.

Anonymous wrote:The SS and FERS doomsayers are drastically overstating their cases. It is possible that SS gets adjusted down from current scheme, but it's essentially a neglible possibility that you get nothing. Same with your FERs pension -- it may move to "high-5" payout or some other tweaks and adjustments but it won't be wiped out completely.

Given that you are in line for 2 pensions and 2 SS streams, you really are OK if you just continue with 10% total (5+5 match) into the TSP.

Given conservative projections, the TSP should hit something like $1M in 30-35 years. Conservatively, you're looking at another $50k+/year in 2 FERS pensions for 2 30-35 year careers, probably more depending on your income growth. Very conservatively, you'd also get another $40k per year in 2 SS payouts.

Those are all 2018 dollars. Even if you adjust the SS and FERs by 2/3, you're talking $60k per year plus whatever you can draw from your TSP. At the 4% rule, you could expect to take $40k per year from the TSP.

That gives you $100k per year in annual retirement income. That is the figure in 2018 dollars (the nominal number would be higher).

Even after taxes, given your current income and spending (and especially if you pay off a mortgage in the next 30 years), that puts you on track for a secure retirement.

Tl;dr: if you have extra room in your budget, by all means increase your TSP contributions. But if money is tight, then just stay the course. You are doing OK. As you get raises, make sure to increase your retirement contributions with each pay increase.

Anonymous wrote:The SS and FERS doomsayers are drastically overstating their cases. It is possible that SS gets adjusted down from current scheme, but it's essentially a neglible possibility that you get nothing. Same with your FERs pension -- it may move to "high-5" payout or some other tweaks and adjustments but it won't be wiped out completely.

Given that you are in line for 2 pensions and 2 SS streams, you really are OK if you just continue with 10% total (5+5 match) into the TSP.

Given conservative projections, the TSP should hit something like $1M in 30-35 years. Conservatively, you're looking at another $50k+/year in 2 FERS pensions for 2 30-35 year careers, probably more depending on your income growth. Very conservatively, you'd also get another $40k per year in 2 SS payouts.

Those are all 2018 dollars. Even if you adjust the SS and FERs by 2/3, you're talking $60k per year plus whatever you can draw from your TSP. At the 4% rule, you could expect to take $40k per year from the TSP.

That gives you $100k per year in annual retirement income. That is the figure in 2018 dollars (the nominal number would be higher).

Even after taxes, given your current income and spending (and especially if you pay off a mortgage in the next 30 years), that puts you on track for a secure retirement.

Tl;dr: if you have extra room in your budget, by all means increase your TSP contributions. But if money is tight, then just stay the course. You are doing OK. As you get raises, make sure to increase your retirement contributions with each pay increase.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We aren't making the assumption that pension and SS will still be around when we retire.

This is ridiculous. If the Federal Government reneges on its SS and pension obligations then bonds and stocks will probably also be worthless.

It really isn't. Plan for the worst and hope for the best OP. You should max out and invest aggressively (in stocks) if you are young and plan to stay in the govt. I just crossed 1 mil point and kicking myself for not being aggressive and not starting full contribution sooner. Nobody told me when I was young. Don't make the same mistake.

Anonymous wrote:I would not assume that social security, or government pensions, are any less secure than money invested in a 401k. Quite the opposite. The Cntral government is usually the last thing to fail. That said, property/real estate may be safer.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Max out. You never know what the future holds with pensions.

Sure you do.

You really are stupid. No certainties in life other tax/death.

I think the point is that if government pensions and SS fail, then the money in the 401k is probably lost also. If you want to protect from a crash that causes the US government pension scheme to fail, you probably need to "invest" in gold, bitcoin, or guns and hide various currencies under your mattress.