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Poll: What % of your income are you putting towards your retirement?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
Heather McCrae
Heather McCrae  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 10:41
German to English
save with what? Aug 26, 2013

JanaB wrote:

James McVay wrote:

I am amazed that over 47% of those responding are not planning for retirement. I hope I don't offend anyone by saying this, but that shows an incredible lack of foresight.

Consider this a kick in the butt. If you aren't investing for retirement now, please start immediately -- even if you have to sacrifice dining out or an occasional holiday to do it.

You say you can't afford to save for retirement? I say you can't afford not to.


I was surprised as well, but the question is how should we save in the face of increasing costs for living, increasing costs for health insurance (which is mandatory and very expensive here in Germany), inflation etc.

When you are not part of some sort of national pension scheme you don't know for sure what's the best way to save for retirement. Saving at current interest rates does not seem to be that favourable, so what are the options? Gold, silver? Or simply stuffing your pillow with money? ... I don't know and it's really a difficult and little depressing subject for a freelancer.


Exactly, my health insurance (since I was forced to change from my inexpensive UK policy 4 years ago) costs me nearly 400 Euros. When I inquired into paying into a pension fund 12 years ago when I moved to Germany, they told me to get a pension of around 300 Euros a month !!!!! I would have to start paying in 400 Euros a month until I was 67.
Yeah, right!
btw, despite earning relatively good money, after all the bills come in, we consider ourselves lucky to afford a take-away and having a real meal out is a considered luxury. So, I pay in what I can afford to a savings plan and not to the government as it is not worth it. The government will have to provide me one day with social security or whatever as it is not allowed to let anyone sink below a certain level of poverty! so why pay in what I will not get back anyway?


 
Heather McCrae
Heather McCrae  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 10:41
German to English
TGIF? Aug 26, 2013

Allison Wright wrote:

Could this question not have been saved for a Tuesday?



LOL, wouldn't Friday be better or would that spoil the weekend??


 
Heather McCrae
Heather McCrae  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 10:41
German to English
lets hope Aug 26, 2013

the rest of the nuclear power plants are safer over there in Japan. We have too many here too for comfort. So why bother paying more money to the governments who in turn use it for 5 different brands of luxury mineral waters at their interminable meetings instead of investing wisely in pension funds?????

Julian
Maybe I was overcome by the lack of a nest egg. Gasp!

But I do have one in the form of a national pension that I see disappearing into the sunset with each passing day. I hope the Japanese economy hasn't sunk before I can start to claim.


 
Steve Kerry
Steve Kerry  Identity Verified
Local time: 09:41
German to English
Some hope! Aug 26, 2013

Heather McCrae wrote:

[Let's hope] the rest of the nuclear power plants are safer over there in Japan. We have too many here too for comfort.


Erm.. I think "safe nuclear power plant" is a bit of an oxymoron..

Steve K.


 
Szymon Metkowski
Szymon Metkowski  Identity Verified
Poland
Local time: 10:41
German to Polish
+ ...
Retirement? Why? Aug 26, 2013

Why should we even retire? It would be kind of boring, wouldn't it? Why not to expand the company, have others earn the money under our name and act as a mentor / patron for as long as we want to? The lawyers do it, why can't the translators do it? Anyway, that is exactly what I am going to do in 30-40 years.

 
Allison Wright (X)
Allison Wright (X)  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 09:41
The two working days before Monday Aug 26, 2013

Heather McCrae wrote:

Allison Wright wrote:

Could this question not have been saved for a Tuesday?



LOL, wouldn't Friday be better or would that spoil the weekend??



I don't normally pay much mind to what day of the week it is, but had just returned from the tax office, where "Monday morning" was in full swing. It was contagious, I guess.

@ Julian: a Facebook "like", for what it's worth.


 
Noura Tawil
Noura Tawil  Identity Verified
Syria
Local time: 12:41
Member (2013)
English to Arabic
Vera Aug 27, 2013

Vera Wilson wrote:

Noura, I can't imagine how difficult it must be to live there at the moment. Good luck to our colleagues over there and the people of Syria.
_____


Merci, Vera. I appreciate it. We do what we can and live as best as the circumstances allow as to. My own family has seen nothing compared to what others had to go through. At least we're grateful for that.


 
Elina Sellgren
Elina Sellgren  Identity Verified
Finland
Local time: 11:41
Member (2013)
English to Finnish
+ ...
Interesting! Aug 27, 2013

I was surprised by this question since in Finland it's mandatory for entrepreneurs to take a retirement insurance!

For the first 2 years it's a smaller %, but after that it has to be raised to about 22 %. However, you can determine yourself the amount from which the percentage is taken, so you can pay very little if you want to.. This amount that you pay every month will also determine your maternity leave pay, unemployment support, and other social security benefits. So if you pa
... See more
I was surprised by this question since in Finland it's mandatory for entrepreneurs to take a retirement insurance!

For the first 2 years it's a smaller %, but after that it has to be raised to about 22 %. However, you can determine yourself the amount from which the percentage is taken, so you can pay very little if you want to.. This amount that you pay every month will also determine your maternity leave pay, unemployment support, and other social security benefits. So if you pay only 5 €/month for the insurance and due to an illness you have to quit the profession entirely and become unemployed, you better have savings.
Collapse


 
inkweaver
inkweaver  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 10:41
French to German
+ ...
Exactly, save with what? Aug 27, 2013

Heather McCrae wrote:

Exactly, my health insurance (since I was forced to change from my inexpensive UK policy 4 years ago) costs me nearly 400 Euros. When I inquired into paying into a pension fund 12 years ago when I moved to Germany, they told me to get a pension of around 300 Euros a month !!!!! I would have to start paying in 400 Euros a month until I was 67.
Yeah, right!
btw, despite earning relatively good money, after all the bills come in, we consider ourselves lucky to afford a take-away and having a real meal out is a considered luxury.


My health insurance costs me well over 400 Euros, add to that taxes, the rent for the flat, utilities (my landlord just sent me a bill over an additional 700 Euros for last year), where the heck is all that money supposed to come from?

Well, I suppose I don't need to take my daughter on holiday once a year (the only luxury we allow ourselves), I suppose I don't even deserve one for working on weekends and holidays... I should really just work 365 days a year, shouldn't I, so I can pay taxes and all sorts of insurances like a good citizen?


 
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Poll: What % of your income are you putting towards your retirement?






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