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View Poll Results: Portfolio or Pension ?
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$2 million portfolio
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33 |
41.77% |
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$80,000 yearly pension with COLA
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32 |
40.51% |
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Not sure
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14 |
17.72% |
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10-23-2010, 05:37 PM
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#1
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Gone but not forgotten
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Sarasota,fl.
Posts: 11,447
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Pension or Portfolio ?
Which would you rather have a 2 million dollar portfolio or an $80,000 pension with cost of living adjustments but no health care ? . The pension receiver has no other assets .
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10-23-2010, 05:52 PM
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#2
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: May 2004
Location: SW Ohio
Posts: 14,404
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Who is providing the pension (Styrofoam Lawn Ornaments, Inc or the US Treasury)?
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10-23-2010, 05:57 PM
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#3
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Gone but not forgotten
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Sarasota,fl.
Posts: 11,447
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 Quote:
Originally Posted by samclem
Who is providing the pension (Styrofoam Lawn Ornaments, Inc or the US Treasury)?
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Great point ! The pension is from the federal government .
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10-23-2010, 06:05 PM
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#4
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: LaLa Land
Posts: 4,698
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I think age might sway my choice but at 61 I voted for the 2M. This way there should be some money to leave to the kids. JMHO
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10-23-2010, 06:07 PM
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#5
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Moderator
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Flyover country
Posts: 25,362
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I'm confused. Are you specifying that with the pension you have no portfolio (i.e., no savings, just the pension)?
__________________
I thought growing old would take longer.
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10-23-2010, 06:08 PM
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#6
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: midwestern city
Posts: 4,061
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This is a tough question. I voted "not sure" and look forward to the discussion under this thread...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Moemg
Great point ! The pension is from the federal government .
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__________________
Very conservative with investments. Not ER'd yet, 48 years old. Please do not take anything I write or imply as legal, financial or medical advice directed to you. Contact your own financial advisor, healthcare provider, or attorney for financial, medical and legal advice.
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10-23-2010, 06:08 PM
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#7
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: North Oregon Coast
Posts: 16,483
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At what age? At 55, I take the pension. At 70, I take the cash.
__________________
"Hey, for every ten dollars, that's another hour that I have to be in the work place. That's an hour of my life. And my life is a very finite thing. I have only 'x' number of hours left before I'm dead. So how do I want to use these hours of my life? Do I want to use them just spending it on more crap and more stuff, or do I want to start getting a handle on it and using my life more intelligently?" -- Joe Dominguez (1938 - 1997)
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10-23-2010, 06:11 PM
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#8
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: May 2004
Location: SW Ohio
Posts: 14,404
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That's a tough choice, but I picked the USG pension with COLA.
Better than either choice: split it equally in order to diversify and protect against various risks. $1 Million in savings and a $40K COLA'd pension.
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10-23-2010, 06:15 PM
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#9
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: North Oregon Coast
Posts: 16,483
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Quote:
Originally Posted by samclem
Better than either choice: split it equally in order to diversify and protect against various risks. $1 Million in savings and a $40K COLA'd pension.
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I would probably vote for this in a borderline case, not knowing my age when I was given the choice. Which speaks well for a FERS-style retirement plan.
__________________
"Hey, for every ten dollars, that's another hour that I have to be in the work place. That's an hour of my life. And my life is a very finite thing. I have only 'x' number of hours left before I'm dead. So how do I want to use these hours of my life? Do I want to use them just spending it on more crap and more stuff, or do I want to start getting a handle on it and using my life more intelligently?" -- Joe Dominguez (1938 - 1997)
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10-23-2010, 06:31 PM
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#10
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: May 2008
Location: No fixed abode
Posts: 8,765
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I'll take the dollars. I'm 54, and unless I shuffle off this mortal coil sooner than I expect to, I should be able to grow my chunk of cash over the long run. I can do my SWR and still have the adjusted principal to leave to my heirs (DD and D Uncle Sam  ). With the pension it ends when I do.
__________________
"Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement." - Anonymous (not Will Rogers or Sam Clemens)
DW and I - FIREd at 50 (7/06), living off assets
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10-23-2010, 06:32 PM
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#11
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Gone but not forgotten
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Sarasota,fl.
Posts: 11,447
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Quote:
Originally Posted by braumeister
I'm confused. Are you specifying that with the pension you have no portfolio (i.e., no savings, just the pension)?
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Yes , you only have the pension . This is just hypothetical .
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10-23-2010, 06:33 PM
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#12
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Gone but not forgotten
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Sarasota,fl.
Posts: 11,447
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ziggy29
At what age? At 55, I take the pension. At 70, I take the cash.
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A great point I did not even think about I should have put in an age . I decided not to add an age so we could all relate it to our own age . I'd go with samclean's choice and take a little of each .
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10-23-2010, 06:38 PM
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#13
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Administrator
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: N. Yorkshire
Posts: 34,130
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I looked at it from from my current age of 55 and voted for the pension assuming it was 100% survival for spouse. I reckon I could save enough to leave a reasonable legacy if we wanted, given that DW and I expect a decent sum from SS also.
__________________
Retired in Jan, 2010 at 55, moved to England in May 2016
Enough private pension and SS income to cover all needs
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10-23-2010, 06:47 PM
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#14
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Gone but not forgotten
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Sarasota,fl.
Posts: 11,447
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Alan
I looked at it from from my current age of 55 and voted for the pension assuming it was 100% survival for spouse..
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Another great point . I guess it has to be 100% survival to make it a reasonable choice . The reason I was wondering about this is because I have a pension and assets but during the melt down it was the security of the pension that let me sleep at night .
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10-23-2010, 06:49 PM
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#15
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 2,171
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I'm almost 55. Since my current earnings are less than the pension, I'd take that. Barring the (IMO) unlikely fall of the U.S. government, I'd be guaranteed never to outlive my money. I have no spouse or kids, so it doesn't really matter to me that the pension stops when I do. Anyway, since I wouldn't need the whole pension to live on, I could always set aside some of my benefit to leave to my nieces and/or to a favorite charity
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10-23-2010, 07:03 PM
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#16
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: North Oregon Coast
Posts: 16,483
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One interesting thing about this poll is that I'll bet if you asked it in (say) 1998, the results would be a LOT different.
__________________
"Hey, for every ten dollars, that's another hour that I have to be in the work place. That's an hour of my life. And my life is a very finite thing. I have only 'x' number of hours left before I'm dead. So how do I want to use these hours of my life? Do I want to use them just spending it on more crap and more stuff, or do I want to start getting a handle on it and using my life more intelligently?" -- Joe Dominguez (1938 - 1997)
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10-23-2010, 07:17 PM
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#17
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Bossier City
Posts: 2,183
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ziggy29
At what age? At 55, I take the pension. At 70, I take the cash.
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I agree with this.
__________________
“Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.”
-John F. Kennedy
“Hard work never killed anybody, but why take a chance?” - Edgar Bergen
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10-23-2010, 07:19 PM
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#18
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 35,712
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Voted not sure.
It's too bad there is no 3rd choice: half and half, meaning $1M in the pocket and $40K/yr COLA'ed.
I am sure someone here has that half-n-half combination.
__________________
"Old age is the most unexpected of all things that happen to a man" -- Leon Trotsky (1879-1940)
"Those Who Can Make You Believe Absurdities Can Make You Commit Atrocities" - Voltaire (1694-1778)
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10-23-2010, 07:23 PM
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#19
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 5,350
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ziggy29
At what age? At 55, I take the pension. At 70, I take the cash.
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If the pension starts by age 55 then i'll take the pension otherwise i'll retire at 55 or earlier with the $2Million
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10-23-2010, 07:33 PM
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#20
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Waimanalo, HI
Posts: 1,881
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$2M. Because of the control it gives you. You can diversity your investments, shift money from one asset type to another, make some large capital investment, ... I'm a control freak.
__________________
Greg (retired in 2010 at age 68, state pension)
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