# question for LEO, postal workers ect



## lotsoflead (Jul 25, 2010)

and anyone living on the tax payers teat.
Do you all think your pension will be always be there?
The nearest towns to me are mostly state, county workers,or retirees no industry.the factories left for China and the farms sold the cows.I ask this of many state, county and town workers and most are clueless of what's going on in the world or our debt, things haven't changed much here in seventy yrs. All I here is, the ck will always be in the mail.


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## AdmiralD7S (Dec 6, 2012)

Being primarily a federal employee (and also a state employee), my personal plan is multi-tiered:

1. Work until retirement and then enjoy my pension and 401K.

2. If pension goes away, I'll have saved up a good nest egg in the 401K, which I could live off.

3. If things are looking bad (401K value might plummet, go away entirely, etc), I'll pull all the money out that I can.

In the meantime, I'll keep getting more and more into homesteading. That way, if I'm ever "forced to support myself," my fiancé and I will be fine. She'll have her masters finished up spring of '15 and will start her career then, so it's not too far away where I might stop working anyway and just homestead to reduce costs while she brings home the cash.


Sent from my iPhone usi


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## lotsoflead (Jul 25, 2010)

AdmiralD7S said:


> Being primarily a federal employee (and also a state employee), my personal plan is multi-tiered:
> 
> 1. Work until retirement and then enjoy my pension and 401K.
> 
> ...


 MY SIL has been with the PO for about 28 yrs, A four person PO, sorts in the AM and delivers in the PM, He thinks the pension may not be there at times. He and my daughter have a nice homestead, their kids are out of college and gone, yet they don't use the land at all. Just work, and spend.when I get serious with him about prepping, he just says, we'll come to your house.

this is from another site..
Government Lays Groundwork To Confiscate Your 401k and IRA: "This Is Happening"

http://www.shtfplan.com/headline-ne...-your-401k-and-ira-this-is-happening_02132014


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## Sentry18 (Aug 5, 2012)

I live in a fiscally responsible state that tends to error on the side of caution when it comes to money management. I am truly not worried about my pension being available. But as we know the only two guarantees in life are death and taxes, so I also put away (invest) money each and every month. Sometimes this money is invested, sometimes this money allows me to purchase precious metals. If I do receive my pension that money will be used for vacations, visiting grandchildren and living the good life after leaving the workforce. If something goes horribly wrong and I do not receive my pension that money would allow me to survive at a reduced standard of living. That is not factoring in my wife's private sector retirement savings and profit-sharing investments, which will easily exceed the size of my pension. I believe redundancy is essential in retirement planning.


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## BillM (Dec 29, 2010)

I have a pretty good mutual fund that is contained in an annuity .
I have some cash, silver and gold
I have Social Security each month and some rental income
We own everything and we are adequately insured.
I still have a part time job teaching.

However, if SS, the job , and the rental property income, all went south, we could still get by.
It would not be fun and I hope that doesn't happen but I have prepared as best as I can in case it does.


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## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

lotsoflead, if the government decides it wants your cash (like in Cyprus), or wants your retirement (like in Poland) then working for the government may well not matter. If your retirement is derived from a city that files bankruptcy you may lose some of it but nothing is safe today. 

You can turn it into cash, or PM's, or food, or equipment but barry issued an executive order that said he can come onto your property and take that too. All we can do is our best to prepare but with the knowledge that no plan is perfect.


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## OldCootHillbilly (Jul 9, 2010)

If the goobernut pensions goway, ain't gonna matter what else ya had. It's all goona be gone. Money only be worth sumtin when folks believe in it. Diversity is good, it gives ya a chance ta get recover some but like Sentry said. Only gurantee be death an taxes. Even taxes could goway ifin it were bad enough.


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## valannb22 (Jan 6, 2012)

I'm an employee of a university, but my salary technically comes from the state. I will have a pension and a 401K. We're working at setting up our property to be as self-sufficient as possible. If all those sources of income evaporate, then we will hopefully be able to provide the essentials for ourselves.


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## hiwall (Jun 15, 2012)

It would really not matter if your pension was from a government entity or a corporation or a mom and pop business. Any pension can be lost. Any 401k can be lost. Any savings can be lost. The government can outlaw gold at any time like they did in the past. Diversify some and have some tangible assets seems to be the most popular advise today.


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## PrepN4Good (Dec 23, 2011)

hiwall said:


> *It would really not matter if your pension was from a government entity or a corporation or a mom and pop business*. Any pension can be lost. Any 401k can be lost. Any savings can be lost. The government can outlaw gold at any time like they did in the past.


You got that right. Worked for Big Blue for 20 years, when they converted my pension from defined benefit to cash value.  :rant:


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## BillM (Dec 29, 2010)

*Uhh*



hiwall said:


> It would really not matter if your pension was from a government entity or a corporation or a mom and pop business. Any pension can be lost. Any 401k can be lost. Any savings can be lost. The government can outlaw gold at any time like they did in the past. Diversify some and have some tangible assets seems to be the most popular advise today.


Uhh, Gold is a tangible asset.

Just because the government says you have to turn it in doesn't mean every one will run willie nillie to the local federal building and do it.

Very little gold was turned in in 1933


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## hiwall (Jun 15, 2012)

> Uhh, Gold is a tangible asset.


Yes it obviously is but I stated above the very real risk of holding gold. Many put considerable money into guns which could also be seized/outlawed by the government at any time. Many buy real real estate but the government can tax that so heavy that it becomes a liability instead of an asset. Gold does have the some benefits- if outlawed there would likely still be a black market for it, it does not degrade and is quite small so can be hidden/buried easily and without worry it will rust/go bad. When dealing with the government ANY asset is at risk. They can tax, seize, and/or outlaw anything and they have a hundred years of experience at finding tax evaders.


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## JackDanielGarrett (Sep 27, 2010)

I have my head in the county government feed trough, ever since I was 40 yrs old. My plan is to retire at 65 and like others have said, we don't know if the money will be there. I have tried to get myself in position to not need much by then. I am dabbling in solar power too, anything to help not needing cash.
Four yrs ago we were given a perfectly good 8 month old male child. My wife has 4 and I have never had any children. SO my plans for the future have changed somewhat. I guess I am saying it may help to be less dependent on monies that may, or may not, be there. 
Jack


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## Sentry18 (Aug 5, 2012)

Sentry18 said:


> I live in a fiscally responsible state that tends to error on the side of caution when it comes to money management. I am truly not worried about my pension being available. But as we know the only two guarantees in life are death and taxes, so I also put away (invest) money each and every month. Sometimes this money is invested, sometimes this money allows me to purchase precious metals. If I do receive my pension that money will be used for vacations, visiting grandchildren and living the good life after leaving the workforce. If something goes horribly wrong and I do not receive my pension that money would allow me to survive at a reduced standard of living. That is not factoring in my wife's private sector retirement savings and profit-sharing investments, which will easily exceed the size of my pension. I believe redundancy is essential in retirement planning.


I was looking over my posts and others in this thread and should also reiterate the retirement income must also be offset by minimizing retirement expenses. And that's not something one can do with out planning ahead and taking action in advance. I am in my early 40's and have a decade on my spouse and we discuss retirement often. We have very little debt other than our home (mortgage) which will be paid in full long before I retire (let alone Mrs. Sentry18). We do not use credit cards, take out loans, pay unnecessary fees or in any other way allow large portions of our hard earned money to enhance the profit margins of a bank. We prefer our money to either sit or makes us money. When we retire we will certainly have expenses, but they will be minimal. I cannot imagine having to make car payments, mortgage payments, loan payments, credit card payments, etc. after retiring. I dislike the thought of that now!


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## JackDanielGarrett (Sep 27, 2010)

Sentry18, that is exactly correct.
A retired man once told me: "When you retire, your bills should retire too." I am 57, so I have about 8 more yrs, or as long as I chose, to keep working. My 4 acres is paid for, and I live a few miles from work. Next few years my job is to get to that "comfy spot" with my bills.
Jack


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## dirtgrrl (Jun 5, 2011)

'Bout the same as everyone else. Work until the minimum age to retire, pull out bank assets (401K, CDs, savings, etc.) and turn into tangibles, make sure I don't have any debt after retirement. Spend my dough on upgrading my home and BOL. I could work longer and get a bigger pension and SS, but a bird in the hand ...


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## JayJay (Nov 23, 2010)

lotsoflead said:


> and anyone living on the tax payers teat.
> Do you all think your pension will be always be there?
> The nearest towns to me are mostly state, county workers,or retirees no industry.the factories left for China and the farms sold the cows.I ask this of many state, county and town workers and most are clueless of what's going on in the world or our debt, things haven't changed much here in seventy yrs. All I here is, the ck will always be in the mail.


I worry about and pray about this every day.
I and Gene get SS; Gene gets VA disability.
We have two neighbors that only have SS, one has SS and pension.
One are totally on disability--been seen out of the house twice in 6 years.
What will we do? I am quite sure one of the three is not prepping.
One may have started, but as of two years ago, she sais she'd rather die...and I said, well, you will!
I have stored laundry detergent for years, stored supplies for years, not water, but 700 gallons so far, solar battery charger and batteries and lots of LED lights, many ways to cook, heating will be in one room--you get the picture.
Even if I pay next year's property taxes, what about the next year if TSHTF and we have a national economic collapse.

I don't see China (that is gonna end up with our mortgages just like they ended up with the JPM vault and bldg. for millions when the value was billions) kicking out millions to the street.
I just have no answers and pray to God to protect us when this all goes down.


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## JayJay (Nov 23, 2010)

If pension goes away, I'll have saved up a good nest egg in the 401K, which I could live off.

You actually think plans aren't being played out right now for those???

this is from another site..
Government Lays Groundwork To Confiscate Your 401k and IRA: "This Is Happening"

http://www.shtfplan.com/headline-ne...-your-401k-and-ira-this-is-happening_02132014
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Many put considerable money into guns which could also be seized/outlawed by the government at any time

And that is when the revolution starts.


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## tc556guy (Apr 28, 2011)

The state pension plan is run fairly well here.
Of course nothing is set in stone
The places that are having issues now tend to be the ones where the employers were not contributing their share of pension costs.
of course if that happens you aren't going to remain viable.
I also believe that you shouldn't rely on one source of funding.
My plan for retirement includes 3 pensions, and IRA, a deferred comp plan, Thrift Savings Plan and Social Security


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## JayJay (Nov 23, 2010)

tc556guy said:


> The state pension plan is run fairly well here.
> Of course nothing is set in stone
> The places that are having issues now tend to be the ones where the employers were not contributing their share of pension costs.
> of course if that happens you aren't going to remain viable.
> ...


You aren't reading or comprehending?? 
Topic was/is.._*Do you all think your pension will be always be there?*_I don't care how diversified it is, when one goes, they all go.

this is from another site..
Government Lays Groundwork To Confiscate Your 401k and IRA: "This Is Happening"

http://www.shtfplan.com/headline-ne...-your-401k-and-ira-this-is-happening_02132014


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## tc556guy (Apr 28, 2011)

JayJay said:


> You aren't reading or comprehending??
> Topic was/is.._*Do you all think your pension will be always be there?*_I don't care how diversified it is, when one goes, they all go.


I would disagree.
Just because some pension plans are run poorly doesn't mean that they all are.

I was pointing out that I am not relying solely on a pension or on social security and that everyone should plan along the same lines and not on just one egg in the basket


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## lotsoflead (Jul 25, 2010)

when and if the markets crashes or there is an economic crash, hyperinflation, everyone loses, even the people with 100% tax payer funded pensions, I agree people may get a ck of some kind, but it may not buy anything.


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## hiwall (Jun 15, 2012)

tc556guy is obviously correct that some pension plans are better run and in much better shape than others. While this is true today pension plans are not sitting on a all that cash, it is put somewhere. Where the cash goes is everywhere. Often the stock markets(both here and abroad) or in various bonds(again both here and abroad) or a mix of both. So even if the pension is rosy today it could be in deep trouble if the stock market or bond market tumbles.


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## Gians (Nov 8, 2012)

I don't agree that when one pension goes, they all go, any more than when one city goes bankrupt they all go bankrupt. If things ever got that bad then pensions aren't all that will go away...think farm subsidies, military pay, etc. It won't matter who's at the public watering hole or whether it's viewed as worthwhile or not. At that point money won't matter anyway, it's value will be equal to TP :scratch actually TP will be more valuable.


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## partdeux (Aug 3, 2011)

tc556guy said:


> The state pension plan is run fairly well here.
> Of course nothing is set in stone


The actuary and ROI values are not based in reality... none of them are.

On another note, it's being proposed that Detroit Pensioner's will take a 34% reduction. "Unsecured" bond holders... think 401k, pension investments, IRA's, etc are taking an 80% cut.


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## Geek999 (Jul 9, 2013)

Private pension plans, which are slowly disappearing, need to meet the standards of ERISA, which limits the range of assumptions for ROI and requires certain funding standards when funding is inadequate. Furthermore, they are protected by PBGC which provides a minimal guarantee in case the plan fails. These are weak standards but they are something.

Plans covering public employees are not covered, funding tends to be weaker, etc., and the plans are at the whim of whatever legislature is responsible.

In the event of wide spread economic crisis, all of these plans will be stressed and at risk. In the event of a company or local government crisis, the plan is likely to take a hit.

With a 401(k) the risk is in investment returns. If the investments don't provide adequate return you could lose value. IRAs and all other savings type programs have the same risk.

Hard assets are basically exposed to deflation. While broad deflation has not been experienced in the US since the 1930's, the recent drop in the housing market is an example of deflation of a particular class of hard asset.

Nothing is risk free, but the risks are different depending on what approach you take.


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