IRA Contributions Poll

[fabsroman]

Just want to take a anonymous poll to see what people are doing about saving for retirement.

[M.T. Pockets]

Fabs, I rent part of my office building out to a tax preparer. He does 250-300 returns a year. I asked him how many clients maxed out their IRA's, he said he could count them on his hands. He estimated that only 20% had one at all.

These aren't poor people either.

[fabsroman]

I do about 30 returns, have about 100 clients total between legal and accounting, and would probably agree with your renter based upon what I have seen from my clients. I've read articles that say less than 50% of US workers are saving anything for retirement, whether through employer plans or IRA's. That is why I posted the poll. I just find it rather astounding. At first I thought it was only my clients, but the more I read and the more I talk to other people, it seems as though this is the norm.

The next poll I post might ask how much credit card debt people carry from month to month when they don't pay off their credit card balance every month. I have a lot of clients that are in credit card debt, and that also astounds me.

[Rapier]

My wife and I do a full IRA each plus we both do the "catch up" max.
Ed

[skeet]

Well we put in an IRA what is allowed. Being retired...and the slut I am married to quit werkin(it's all right...I call her that to her face too) We can only put so much in a reirement plan...but we do what we can. The laws would not allow me to do any retirement investing till 4 yrs before I retired. Almost wasn't worth it by then. The only thing I wish I could put money in right now is one of those health plan accounts...but my tax guy said i couldn't do it individually. But I do get an exclusion on my costs for health insurance this year. Federal law gave it to public safety people...cops and firemen..at least up to 3000 bucks. All you cops and firefighters make sure that you all get that exclusion this year!! BTW...that darn woman quit werkin...just when i needed the money the most!

[Rapier]

Things must be very different in NW Wyomin, round my house you would go to sleep and never wakee, wakee.
Ed

[indyhntr]

I do a full 15% into 401k and would put into an IRA if I wasn't paying for my sons college.

[Aim to maim]

No contribution. Already retired.

[fabsroman]

Aim to maim, you are killing me. I should have excluded everybody that has already retired. I just didn't spend enough time thinking about the poll.

[Valigator]

Got to be honest Fabs....I had to get creative...depending what age you are, depends on your investments

[BILLY D.]

Originally posted by Aim to maim
No contribution. Already retired.

Me 2. Is it possible to make another contribution and start another retirement fund? Gee I make $26k a year on my SS and military retired pay combined and I don't know what to do with ALL that money. I'm just crappin' in high cotton.

I'm part of the single penalty for tax purposes.

Best wishes, Bill

[Aim to maim]

Originally posted by fabsroman
Aim to maim, you are killing me. I should have excluded everybody that has already retired. I just didn't spend enough time thinking about the poll.

Don't beat up on yourself too hard. A poll including every possible permutation would have run 50 pages.

If it helps any, I did make the max contribution each year (5%) to the U.S. Thrift Savings Plan, which as I understand it is sort of the equilvalent of a 401(k).

[Andy L]

My wife contributes a big part of her check to a retirement plan thru work. I put whatever my CPA tells me to into whatever he tells me to each year.

No more than gives me a tax advantage.

[gun_nut2]

Only had a small IRA when retired over 9 years ago. Were not available where I worked til the last year of service. Retired from the phone company after 30 years of service.

[Rocky Raab]

Starting to pull from mine, too. Put a good chunk of IRA money into a really good annuity so that I can get a monthly check from it and never deplete the total that's still there. Will likely do the same with some more of it over the next few years, just to keep ahead of inflation.

Thirty-five years of arduous investment pay off, boys and girls. Don't know about dumb, but I'm sure fat and happy!