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Old 12-05-2006, 09:51 AM
  #10  
USN(Ret)
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Joined APC: Aug 2006
Posts: 47
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Originally Posted by Spongebob View Post
If you did TSP you can/should roll that into a 401(k). As said before, put in the % required to get the maximum company match as it's free money. Also, 401's are a tax shelter.
In most cases, you are free to invest a 401 as you see fit. You are thinking of an ESPP (Employee Stock Purchase Plan) which lets you buy company stock at a certain % of the going price, with the company fronting the rest of the cost. These are OK, but if not used smartly, you'll end up like all those ENRON folks trying to sue their company because they were stupid.
I am a big fan of 401's because I like managing my money..but you can split it up between a bunch of mutual funds and be (almost) hands off.

The bottom line, you need to get smart about 401's and investing (read any of Jim Cramer's books to start) as they are not automatic like a traditional retirement. But the money is YOURS, and you don't have to worry about someone changing the rules on you down the road. I think you'll see a continued chipping away of the military retirement as we get older. Cola is a great example, as it's always time late......

HTH
Spongebob
The trick with the COLA issue, is to find a place to live where the inflation rate is less than the CPI-W rate increases COLA is based on. Of course there are other QOL factors in doing this, but if you want to maximize the value of your pension, that's the way to do it. Works for Social Security too, as SS and military retirement operate the same way COLA wise.

I've been doing this 11 years, and my retirement pay certainly goes further than it did at the start.
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