Retirement plans
godlike master sticky
Hey guys.
I'm currently researching a bit about retirement plan possibilities and its bit of a problem for me to decide which road to go.
Basicly, how can i know what will be in 40 years? I just cannot, its totally impossible for me to even say "in 5 years i'm going to do ...".
It is completely open if i stay here and go from project to project as i do right now or maybe join a cool team for a longer period of time somewhere on this planet, basicly i'm not bound to a place. i like working freelance be it on or offsite, i like the freedom but i could also be a inhouse guy if the team and the project is cool, but nothing stays forever.
And thats a problem as any german retirementplans are bound to germany, i dunno how it is with other countries, but in the end i'll have to return to germany to have something from the money invested here, are there any other possiblities?
Of course who knows if the euro collapses, or the dollar or whatever happens and the money i invested is worth nothing, but i'd like to stay flexible and don't want to commit myself to a country i might not live in, in 40 years.
So what are you guys doing?
I'm currently researching a bit about retirement plan possibilities and its bit of a problem for me to decide which road to go.
Basicly, how can i know what will be in 40 years? I just cannot, its totally impossible for me to even say "in 5 years i'm going to do ...".
It is completely open if i stay here and go from project to project as i do right now or maybe join a cool team for a longer period of time somewhere on this planet, basicly i'm not bound to a place. i like working freelance be it on or offsite, i like the freedom but i could also be a inhouse guy if the team and the project is cool, but nothing stays forever.
And thats a problem as any german retirementplans are bound to germany, i dunno how it is with other countries, but in the end i'll have to return to germany to have something from the money invested here, are there any other possiblities?
Of course who knows if the euro collapses, or the dollar or whatever happens and the money i invested is worth nothing, but i'd like to stay flexible and don't want to commit myself to a country i might not live in, in 40 years.
So what are you guys doing?
Replies
Maybe a swiss bank account
Is it really true that the german retirement fund is bound to living in germany?
Isnt it that you only pay into it aslong as you work here but you get the ammount you are
supposed to get from working here regardless where you live?
I've invested in a 401k at each company that offered it, and moved the funds from place to place. Also some other investments. Compounded interest is very real.
Sure the stock market plunge was a mess, but as any advisor will tell you, you have to look long-term. The rate of return, long term, is positive. And you will need some sort of income when you want to stop working.
a kind of privat assurance is one way and as long as you're working in the eu it's not a big deal to get pension money from each contry you worked in for the time period you did.
but non eu is something else.. buying ammo could be really worth is.. (metro 2033)
maybe someone like pior or spacemonkey knows more
At the end of the day, the key is to diverisfy. Don't put all your eggs in one basket.
QFT - Been buying silver too, pretty much anything real (as opposed to paper/electronic) will generally keep its value, you may not get massive returns , but you also won't get wiped out if we have another few rounds of bank failures in the next 40 years.
Fix't
My plan, C.P.P as many call it. I havent thought of others yet. =\
Hey Gav, are you saying you won't get the money you put in? AFAIK any money you contribute is yours but the percentage the employer matches isn't completely yours until a certain amount of time passes. If you move back to Canada, just keep it in the 401k, it still earns, just get an RRSP while in Canada. If you ever go back to the US you can just roll your 401k into one at your new employer while letting your RRSP sit there and earn.
I hope you began 10 years ago because you'd be RICH!
Unfortunately, no.
One thing to add about the precious metals. I read a story once where an elderly man who survived through WWII in Poland was reminiscing about taking jewelry, watches, and other valuables to a farm and leaving with some very expensive vegetables. Worth is subjective.
I'm still betting on the euro. if it collapses it's not just the EU who's fkced but their trading partners too and every country which has euro reserves.
But when a currency collapses you're fkced anywhere. Gold...yeah though about it. But with gold prices on all time highs it doesn't make that much sense to invest right now, unless you're a pessimist.
I have my own autonomous plan (2 actually) that I control and contribute too. I never have to do anything with the money when and if I change jobs. Its in the hands of someone I explicitly trust and he's done an amazing job of looking after my money though this down turn. The two times I've switched jobs and had to do something with 401k's I just dropped it in my private plans.
I'm pretty Leary of gold right now. Everything has to peak and there's a big chance that if you buy into a company that claims to trade in gold they aren't actually gold standard. There is a good chance if something goes wonky in the gold market they could screw ya over. When your average joe is telling you that "gold is a no lose bet, get in now", I think its time to get out. Kind of like how everyone was flipping houses like crazy up until 1-2 years ago. You gotta ask yourself is there really enough gold to support all the trading going on or are they trading in some hinky way? I just don't know enough about it, and it looks like its about to tip and go the other way. We might be looking at another bubble about to burst...
The other thing is what form you buy it in, not many have the cash all at once to lay down a big fad wad to buy a bar, so if you're buying in smaller amounts, you can find a lot of good condition gold coins, which generally have a higher value than their melt price and stay desirable (if maintained in good condition).
The job...
And how I'm getting away...
my professional status also allows me to save for retirement, so this is more of a complement to it. the plan being to put money on this account every year so that it keeps growing, and that I can get enough money from it, exactly like a retirement plan, except the government can't take it back if something happens to you, it goes directly to your sucessors, and that you know exactly what you'll get back, because in france, you pay for other peoples retirement, not for yours (then others do it) which means you're more likely to never see as much as you paid.