Retirement thoughts Past Present Future

[Jstpssng]

Seeing people getting hyped up about stocks that are trading at 100 times earnings reminds me of the dotCom crash. Nobody ever learns. As soon as you hear "analysts" saying "It's different this time.", it's time to head for the exits.

I have most of my 401k in cash. It may be losing money to inflation, but will always be there. When things settle down or even if the market crashes, I will move some into stocks, leaving enough to pay off all of my bills in the worst case scenario. I'm 63 and hopefully won't be touching that money for at least 9 more years. There will be a lot of changes between now and then.

 

[ultrarunner]

About 25 years ago I brought mom slips of California Mission Fig...

One of the rentals under management had a decrepit, neglected 100+ year old Fig in the yard sourced from California Mission San Jose.

Mom planted them and soon people were asking where did she find such good figs?

For many years she would sell or trade flats of figs at the organic produce market...

One tree yielded about $800 at .25 cents a fig...

Now we just give the away but she was known as the fig lady...

 

[oosik]

Today I reflect on my past. I have been most fortunate. I was able to and did retire early. I've been doing what I want for the past 40 plus years. My only regret - my wife of 45 years is not here to share it with me.

 

[JethroB]

About 25 years ago I brought mom slips of California Mission Fig...

One of the rentals under management had a decrepit, neglected 100+ year old Fig in the yard sourced from California Mission San Jose.

Mom planted them and soon people were asking where did she find such good figs?

For many years she would sell or trade flats of figs at the organic produce market...

One tree yielded about $800 at .25 cents a fig...

Now we just give the away but she was known as the fig lady...

There is an interesting article in a recent Smithsonian magazine issue about figs and their history in California:

In California, the Search for the Ultimate Wild Fig Heats Up

A booming market has specimen hunters tracking down rare new varieties of the ancient fruit

www.smithsonianmag.com

 

[Fuddy1952]

I had a fig tree next to the back door that got tremendously big and loaded with figs. I had to cut it down. I still have to spray Roundup if I see a leaf.
It was to the left of this rose bush.

 

[JethroB]

Probably a very smart move. A pension is not guaranteed against the underlying fund going insolvent. My dad lost most of his pension and all of his insurance after one of those fancy acquisition maneuvers. The retirees formed a class action and won a lawsuit, but there was less than $1 a piece left in the fund to pay them. I don’t remember the percentage, but the guaranteed portion was quite small compared to the original amount.

There is the federal run PBGC (Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation) that insures against pensions going bust. I believe most companies with pensions have to pay into it like unemployment. Thankfully I never had the need to investigate it much.

 

[MossRoad]

There is the federal run PBGC (Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation) that insures against pensions going bust. I believe most companies with pensions have to pay into it like unemployment. Thankfully I never had the need to investigate it much.

I sound like a broken record, but I bring this up about every time I hear about this, because I've seen the effects of one losing their pension in the form of very old men and women having to work until they die due to Studebaker's pension going bust.

From here:

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

"No insurance for defined contribution plans[edit]​

One reason Congress enacted ERISA was "to prevent the 'great personal tragedy' suffered by employees whose vested benefits are not paid when pension plans are terminated."[26] When a defined benefit plan is properly funded by its sponsor, its assets should be approximately equal to its liability, and any shortfall (including benefit improvements) should be amortized in a relatively short period of time. Before ERISA, employers and willing unions could agree to increase benefits with little thought to how to pay for them. A classic case of the unfortunate consequences of an underfunded pension plan is the 1963 shutdown of Studebaker automobile operations in South Bend, Indiana, in which 4,500 workers lost 85% of their vested benefits.[26] One of ERISA's stated intentions was to minimize underfunding in defined benefit plans."

 

[ultrarunner]

I sound like a broken record, but I bring this up about every time I hear about this, because I've seen the effects of one losing their pension in the form of very old men and women having to work until they die due to Studebaker's pension going bust.

From here:

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

"No insurance for defined contribution plans[edit]​

One reason Congress enacted ERISA was "to prevent the 'great personal tragedy' suffered by employees whose vested benefits are not paid when pension plans are terminated."[26] When a defined benefit plan is properly funded by its sponsor, its assets should be approximately equal to its liability, and any shortfall (including benefit improvements) should be amortized in a relatively short period of time. Before ERISA, employers and willing unions could agree to increase benefits with little thought to how to pay for them. A classic case of the unfortunate consequences of an underfunded pension plan is the 1963 shutdown of Studebaker automobile operations in South Bend, Indiana, in which 4,500 workers lost 85% of their vested benefits.[26] One of ERISA's stated intentions was to minimize underfunding in defined benefit plans."

And there have been others falling through from restructuring...

Knew a commercial pilot where all according to plan until it wasn't...

 

[MossRoad]

And there have been others falling through from restructuring...

Knew a commercial pilot where all according to plan until it wasn't...

I knew a guy that lost his Studebaker pension, went to work for another company here in town, and lost that one, too. He worked part-time as a pressman until he couldn't, then switched over to being one of our watchmen/security greeter. Several of our watchmen were from Studebaker. All worked until they died. They weren't bitter about it, at least from outward appearances. Nice guys, all of them.

 

[MossRoad]

"The Most Glorious Story of Failure in the Business": The Studebaker-Packard Corporation and the Origins of ERISA

https://digitalcommons.law.buffalo.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1147&context=journal_articles