<p>Company pensions are a thing of the past. We hear talk of slashing future Social Security payouts.</p>
<p>Are you doing anything to help your kids plan or prepare for their retirement 30-50 years in the future?</p>
<p>Quite honestly, at the age of 49, I’m a little more worried about my own retirement. I haven’t given a single thought to my child’s retirement.</p>
<p>^What she said, except I’m older, and more than a LITTLE worried.</p>
<p>The real issue is ‘what is retirement’,and i think way too many people believe the big money managers/mutual fund companies that it,retirement, is sipping pina coladas on a desrted beach in the carribean…in reality,it is NOTHING like that…how many people can save the 20-25 times final year salary that is ‘necessary’ to live comfortable in retirement without running out of money??? Few,if any…Also don’t forget without us saving boatloads for retirement ,the money managers/mutual funds don’t make as much money…i am always leery of their viewpointa…</p>
<p>My motto is live for today,with an eye on tommorrow…who is to say you’ll live long enough to enjoy the fruits of your labor</p>
<p>I am sure my parents are more concerned about their retirement than mine, I don’t think they are expecting to be able to retire at all. I am getting the sense I will be in the same boat. That’s something my fiance is really worried about, I think he feels more pressure from that than paying our student loans in the near future-- which is saying something.</p>
<p>I opened an IRA for S1 when he was 19 or 20. I talk to them incessantly about saving. They are both very frugal, but getting them to fund an IRA has been difficult given what they’ve seen the markets do.</p>
<p>As they enter their full time careers, I’ll suggest 
they put in at least the max. their employer will match. People usually don’t miss what they don’t have, and there really are always people living on less. </p>
<p>I am amazed at the late 40’s/early 50 somethings that have nothing saved for retirement. They must be a lot more confident in Social Security than I am.</p>
<p>No, too worried about her finding a job after graduation.</p>
<p>I think the overall concept of retirement is changing. My parents just sold their business and in their mid-sixties but the idea of not working? Neither can imagine it at this point, they are just so much “younger” than their parents were at the same age.</p>
<p>My spouse is currently working on his doctorate with hopes to become a professor in part because many professors teach until they drop dead. I have no idea what retirement will look like when my son is of that age. I love to worry but this issue is still a bit too far in the future.</p>
<p>DS worked for us doing remodeling this summer and christmas and we paid him fair wages. Then for Xmas, I set up and gave him a $1000 Roth IRA as he had income this year. Although this will hopefully appreciate nicely over next 50 years, I did it more for other reasons:</p>
<p>He will have an account that is easy to add to, $100 here and there as he is able.</p>
<p>Gave us a good chance to talk about retirement (just what a college freshman likes to think about), compounding and ideas about investments in general.</p>
<p>Have him be reminded periodically about all these issues as he receives e-mails from Vanguard about this and that.</p>
<p>I also plan to add to his account as a Christmas present over the next few years as he goes through his schooling assuming he has some income in those years. It’s an easy present although I’m not sure how much he appreciates it at this point 
compared to a new video game. I figure he will think fondly of me in his retirement.</p>
<p>Most accounts seemed to require $3000 to start but I found 1 fund at Vanguard that only requires $1000.</p>
<p>Retirement is a 20th century artifact. Forget about it.</p>
<p>No; our son (first year after college) is SO much more aware of this than his parents were at the same age. I have been talking to him about finances since elementary school. He is fortunate that he has an employer match for his 401K. The fact that he is putting aside enough to get the full match (with no parental nagging) reassures me. He has also already paid off his student loans.</p>
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<p>Most of what we have done is to model the type of behavior that will enable a college student to achieve financial independence by age 45. </p>
<p>Live below your means and save or invest a substantial amount of everything you earn over your income earning years. 30-50% is a reasonable target.</p>
<p>Choose your life partner as if you made a solemn oath to stick with them whatever happens…for eternity. Make darn sure your life partner shares your values.</p>
<p>When DS graduates, I’d like to gift him a Roth IRA consisting of an appropriate allocation of low fee mutual funds or ETFs. </p>
<p>After that, he’s off the payroll.</p>
<p>Working on my retirement first!!! The main issue is to pay off the mortgage - then save like crazy… and hope the SS and state defined-benefit plan are still there. After all the teacher/civil service bashing on other threads, I’m not hopeful. (And YES, I contribute to my defined-pension plan with my dollars. This is NOT sponging off the public!!!) Sorry :(, feeling a little defensive here!</p>
<p>I have 3 kids 24 yrs old and younger. Two already have retirement savings they contribute to and are matched by their employers. It is never too young to start saving for retirement.</p>
<p>Admittedly, who knows what the world will be like in 40+ years. But no matter what, I’m sure it does not hurt to have funds saved. And it is better to start early because of the beauty of compounding. </p>
<p>Just read an article in the WSJ about how unprepared baby boomers are to retire. Most do not have enough saved to retire and will have to work into their 70’s
I do not want to work until I die!! So H and I (both professors) have saved. And we are encouraging our kids to do the same.</p>
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<p>I agree…I have family members running around now in their late sixties saying 'I don’t want to retire, what else would I do?" as if they are working by choice but it’s always the people who didn’t save for retirement. I think it’s a face-saving technique. And those approaching 70 are starting to look very tired. There’s nothing wrong with kicking back in your golden years and enjoying yourself a bit. One doesn’t need to work to stay busy and have an active life.</p>
<p>Son started working at hubby’s business from a very young age - cleaning, shredding paper, etc. He’s had a Roth IRA since he was about 10.</p>
<p>Defined benefit pensions are already becoming a thing of the past for younger workers. That means that they will have to be more savvy about financial investments than the present generation.</p>
<p>Is it hard to set up an IRA? What if the employer does not offer any type of help in this area? Can you do it yourself?</p>
<p>@skyhook: Yes, you (or your child) can set it up independently as long as they have earned income. I went through Vanguard Mutual Funds. DS had to be 18 before he could have an account. As I said, couple of places I checked required $3000 to open except Vanguard Star Fund which only required $1000. Just go to the website and follow the links for setting up an IRA. It’s easy. Recommend Roth IRA for a kid, rather than the traditional, as their tax rate currently should be non-existent to low.</p>
<p>IRAs are easy to set up.</p>
<p>I had heard a rule of thumb. If you save about 20% of your gross each year, you may have plenty of money. Another rule of thumb I had heard is that by the time you are 35 you should have 3-4 times of your salary in savings.</p>
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<p>We save too. We’re both under 45 and we already have a military retirement plus our own savings, which we started in our early 20s.</p>
<p>I think it was the 22 years in the Marine Corps, that make teaching until he drops so appealing to him. Even if it were for no pay, I know he’ll be like my uncle who retired and then worked basically full time for Meals on Wheels and tutoring for free for twenty years. I’m not quite as driven, although I wish I were.</p>