Thread: FedEx 401K
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Old 05-05-2011 | 12:42 PM
  #35  
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Flaps50
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From: B777 FO FDX, C130 ANG
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Originally Posted by finedavefine
Not really true because of the Required Minimum Distribution that's associated with all traditional IRA's, which require you to make calculated withdrawals on an annual basis, once you reach (I believe) 70&1/2 years old. So in effect, depending on how large your IRA has grown to, you could actually find yourself in a situation where your taxable income could be higher than it was when you were actually working, thereby increasing your tax bracket, and of course then increasing the taxes you pay.

That's another reason for starting out with a Roth IRA, because (again, I believe) you aren't hindered by having to ever withdraw funds, if you don't want to, and if you do withdraw, it's tax free, both for you as well as your heirs. A real cool deal.

The best way to retire comfortably is to: 1) stay married to the same spouse (no matter how much it hurts; 2) regardless of what house you own, pay off the mortgage as quickly as you're able; 3) eliminate all other debt, starting with credit card debt, then going on to student loans, etc, etc, until you're completely debt free; 4) Unless you're living hand-to-mouth, make sure that each and every month you pay yourself first... that's to say you should be saving as much as you can by contributing to your company's 401K plan, using payroll deduction, so you don't miss those monies; 5) Review your financial situation every 5 or 6 months, making sure that you're invested in a way that allows for some growth as well as preservation of assets, but that also allows you to be able to sleep at night; 6) If an investment sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
If you are a FDX Widebody Captain making 250K+/yr. and are debt free at retirement with about 1.5M in your Vanguard account at age 65 with 130K/yr - (spousal annuity fees) coming in for life from the A plan. I am not sure the amount, but I would guess you would not be forced to take out an additional 130K/year from your tax differed retirement putting you in the same tax bracket you were in when you retired. Let me know if I'm wrong, but the max you can even contribute to a tax differed retirement per year is somewhere in the mid 40K range. Not to mention that you are probably in the highest tax bracket anyway, and it is very likely that it will only go up with how broke the government is right now putting you in an even higher tax bracket when you retire with the same income level. Not much control over that anyway however I think we agree that if you are dangling around a bunch of frivolous debt deal with that first.
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