10% rule

10% RULE

i was a late bloomer
i was 40 years old before i finished college medical school residency and a three year obligation to the national health service
as it turned out i only had about 20 years to save and prepare for my retirement since i had to suddenly retire at 60

why at 40 3 of my siblings had retired from the military and one had retired from the fire department
they all had second careers and some a second retirement

so the 10% rule didnt work for my wife she and i
it was more like the 30-40% rule for us
plus adjusting our lifestyle down to the level we are in now in retirement
doing all that has allowed us to retire in comfort

i do think a lot about the generations behind us
the pensions are going away
being replaced by 401ks which they fund themselves mostly
or
if you have a pension like my wife she it doesnt really increase with a cost of living increase
or
like some folks their pensions have been cut significantly
or
like some folks they have lost their pensions all together
then
there is the issue with social security which it seems congress wants to mess with
not for the best im sure

so
i read this article this weekend about the 10% rule

it says starting in your 20s you should save 10% of you income so that you will have enough to live on in retirement
think of it as a tax on yourself that you will get back with interest and growth in 40 years

eg
if your employer puts in 3% of your income in your 401k then you put in 7%
so you get taxed by yourself at 7%

when i look at folks now working so many will not have pensions
they are gone or going away
if you are expecting one well it may get taken away
so
what you or most of you get left with is your 401k or ira or some type of self retirement plan

i suspect that social security will be there for these folks but it may not be as good
they have to do some changes to make it survive
like
increase the income levels more on what they tax for social security say maybe up to 500 k
change the cost of living rates some
i dont like increasing the retirement age
remember our age at which we die in the united states is decreasing some each year
i dont like using the social security money for private investments

so the 2 or 3 generations behind me are at risk for not having money to live on in retirement
many will live in poverty
maybe the 10% rule should be forced on folks
maybe like if your company puts in 3% you have to put in 7%
yea
i like that
we usually have to be forced to do something in the us like this since we wont do it ourselves

i look at my close relatives and friends in retirement
unless they are wealthy they rely on a pension plan like the military retirement or teachers retirement or some get one from the private industry
social security
401ks or 403bs or iras
some even have to keep working you know like you see at retail stores where those old folks are working stocking or greeting folks or checking you out

yes
i say do a forced 10% rule on folks now

if they we dont do something then they we will live in retirement in poverty

the organicgreen doctor