#retirement

I am writing this as a longtime Cisco employee. I am an individual contributor and have been for almost 20 years. I like Cisco, I like most of my managers and colleagues (not all, of course but that is true anywhere)

Am I worried about getting LR'd? A little but since I put this plan into place several years ago I am not worried about finances. Not one bit.

You can't change the wind but you can change the set of your sails. The most important of which are your financial decisions. Strive for financial independence now. It is not too late. jump to end for TL/DR version:

1. shift to maximum frugality.
   This is not the "latte factor" where your $4 coffee will change your life but rather an entire philosophical shift. Embrace frugality as a desirable and enjoyable lifestyle (it is). Focus on both the small rocks (the daily expenses like coffee, doordash and money su-kers). not to sound s-xist but money su-kers are typically gender aligned. Women spend a lot on nail care, beauty and the like. Men spend a lot on autos, gadgetry and beer. obviously stereotypical but you get the point.
   Eliminate, DIY or change the frequency.

2. Big Rocks.
   Housing, Healthcare, Transportation, Insurance & Education are typically the most expensive components. Start here. Be relentless. remember that New car smell is the most expensive fragrance in the world and no one really cares about what kind of car you drive anyway (except for you) get a reliable, safe used vehicle. strive to pay cash for a car as it will force you to save & research. Same concept applies with the other big rocks. The amount you spend on where you sleep at night and keep your stuff should be minimal. This is true whether you rent or own, strive to own a decent home in a good neighborhood.

3. Max out your 401K, open a Roth and build a freedom fund.
   What to do with all the money you save? Buy a boat? (no!)
   First, build a cash cushion of at least 6 months of expenses, the good news is that the more you relentlessly drive down your expenditures, the lower this amount needs to be. Put this in a Money Market (many are yielding 4+ %
   Then, Max out your tex deferred retirment account. the target date funds are a great one-fund set it and forget it option. you could balance that with a 100% stock fund (US Equity Index) say 50/50 so you are tilted toward more growth, especially if you are young. There are 1,000 asset allocation strategies you will be bombarded with, this is a good middle of the road, reasonable, strategy. It is way more important to get started and be consistent (autpilot) than to get all the knobs perfectly right. Most people do way more damage that way, especially you smart ones. (Doctors are notoriously bad investors because they think they are smarter than everyone else)
   also start a Roth IRA and fund it as well (Roth is post-tax but has significant advantages)

4. The best things in life are free.
   National Parks, Conversations with Friends, gardening, reading a used book (the paper kind) long walks with the person you love most. Do the rocking chair test; imagine you are 80, sitting on the porch in your rocking chair and ask yourself what you would have done differently back then. I guarantee the make/model of car will not enter your mind even once.

TL/DR
Reduce expenses relentlessly, start with the big rocks.
embrace a mindset of "frugal is wonderful" because it leads to financial independence.
MAx out retirement funds (401k/IRA/Roth IRA) with a simple set and forget it Asset Allocation
100% Target Date Fund (based on your retirement year) or 50% Target Date Fund + 50% US Equity Index if you are more risk averse.
Build a 6 month war chest full of cash

https://www.fierce-network.com/broadband/att-now-making-headway-its-copper-retirement-plan

It is not worth it! I have seen professionals work until they died and what is the point of that? The stress will ki-l you. Take some time for yourself as you near your golden years. You will also have time to hone your investment skills and manage your investments yourself. Pursue your hobbies while you have plenty of energy and never stop learning.

Two former TIAA employees yesterday filed an amended complaint claiming the company violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act by investing more than 28,000 plan participants’ retirement funds in a proprietary in-house fund that has failed to meet its market benchmark since 2009. Attorneys from the AARP Foundation then joined the complaint as co-counsel “on behalf of older adults enrolled in retirement plans offered by TIAA” to its plan participants, according to a statement from AARP.

The original complaint, filed on May 20 by former TIAA employee Bryan Byrne, alleged TIAA breached its fiduciary duties under ERISA by opting for high-cost investment options in the plan’s investment menu, despite cheaper alternatives, and by not removing its underperforming CREF Growth Fund from the plan. The complaint and the amended complaint are pending in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
The amended complaint adds two new plaintiffs, Charles David Sullivan and Sarah Johnson, both former TIAA employees. The plaintiffs are seeking class action status on behalf of all participants in and beneficiaries of plans that invested in the two affected fund classes: R3 share classes, starting September 16, 2022, and the growth fund class generally, starting May 20, 2019.

The complaint also alleges that plan participants were charged millions of dollars more than TIAA’s institutional clients in higher investment fees, while TIAA profited from fee income.

“By shaving five, ten, and even fifteen basis points in higher fees from the R3 class assets from around September 16, 2022, and onward, … defendants quietly pocketed millions of dollars for themselves,” the complaint states.

The suit seeks to recover the losses to participants’ retirement savings caused by the alleged breaches.

“When companies mismanage retirement assets and seek to maximize their own profit by charging exorbitant fees, they jeopardize the retirement security of older adults, particularly harming low-and moderate-income workers,” said William Alvarado Rivera, senior vice president of litigation for the AARP Foundation, in a statement. “AARP Foundation is fighting to ensure TIAA participants get the retirement income they’ve earned—and the dignity they deserve.”

A TIAA spokesperson responded to an email from PLANSPONSOR by saying, “TIAA believes the lawsuit is without merit. The company provides its employees and participants with quality products and services that deliver strong long-term performance at competitive costs. Our mission remains focused on helping those we serve, including our own employees, achieve a financially secure retirement.”

TIAA, its board of trustees and its investment advisory review committee are represented by Goodwin Procter LLP. The AARP is represented by Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight.

So many people retiring early! Are people leaving voluntarily or are they being forced out?

To a years of service + age = magic number for full retirement pension, a lot would just retire without a severance offer. Looks like this would cost the company less and get the salaries off the books and onto the pension program. Then they could hire 2 for the cost of 1.

I left State Farm about 2 years ago and had only worked for them 8 years. Last week I got a letter stating they were buying out my pension based on ERISA and IRS guidelines and gave me a link to a web-site for more information. Did anyone else get this? Obviously I have to take the money and they gave me a deadline of September 15, 20025. Thoughts?

Just curious how many of us at Oxy are ready to retire and can, but find it hard to walk away from the job because of the pay and benefits. I am still able to perform at a high level, but the routine of waking up so early and then working all day seems to be getting old fast lately. I have no complaints about Oxy, but it just seems I have lost my drive to keep chasing it all. Anyone else find this happening after the age of 60? My current goal is to make it to the next bonus round, and cash in my stocks and take the final bonus and make 2026 my final year working.

You can add additional funds to your HSA, above what you may have withheld, and transfer them to an investment account. Granted the investment account options from HSA Bank are limited but after separation from the company you can transfer those funds to Fidelity or some other account where you have a lot of investment options. This money is yours to keep and grows tax free and is not taxed on withdrawal IF used for allowed medical expenses.
When taking early retirement in 2018 my account was $53000. I paid Cobra health insurance premiums and later my Part B Medicare premiums using the HSA. Now in 2025 my HSA balance has grown to $90000 despite these significant withdrawals. (Note that withdrawals for normal health insurance premiums such as Obamacare or supplemental Medicare insurance premiums are not tax free.)
If you absolutely need the money you can withdraw it and pay the taxes, you are free to use it as you see fit.

For the legacy Wachovia retirement plan after you’re laid off how fast does it get paid out if it’s under a certain amount?

Most of the research employees are great but useless to the company’s bottomline. the projects are outdated. they do no real work.

why can’t we just shut our research companies once and for all. there is no technology in the world that a vendor cannot offer better services from than our current employees who are hanging on for retirement? its a genuine question m, does anyone know whats the reason we still have semi decimated research teams?

With age plus years of service equal full retirement pay as if you worked to age 62. Get these old timers out of here and off the books and onto the retirement plan. That's way cheaper than paying them to hang on till 62.

After reading these posts and the moral crushing from leadership, I am so glad I retired when I did. Besides a great severance and now being richer than sn-t, I no longer have to put up with endless layoffs and outsourcing to other countries. Best decision I ever made.

There's been a lot of discussion about EJ potentially going public or being acquired.
I don't want to spark a debate on whether it will happen, can happen, or if it should happen.
I'm just curious about what will happen to the LPs? This was one of the benefits many of us were relying on for our retirement.

Some of my colleagues confirmed last day 9/30/25. Most are ready to retirements

How have the hiring trends been at the firm lately or is there still lots of retirements and attrition ? So glad I took the lump sum at the end of 2021. Hope the pension gets funded and restricted lump sum is not on the horizon.

ive been here since STK. been working from home the last 5 years. Hardware service calls have dropped a ton. Took a service call Maybe once per month. Was planning on retiring at the end of the year. Mad as he-l that they picked me off. BUT if I left at the end of the year, i would have walked away without severance. This way I got the package. I wanted to leave on my own terms. Still Mad!!!

Got laid off last week, never seen one this bad, but I and many talented co-workers got swept up in this mess. Oracle really sc--wed up imo. It's really soured me on the tech industry. I'm in my early 50's, ~$4 million net worth, wondering if I should try this rodeo again, or just be done with it - go find something more meaningful to do (earning far less money) and just enjoy life. What would you do?

I work in a back office operation (50K-plus, no bonus, no client facing). If I just up and quit with no notice (other than on the day via letter, per se), there’s nothing they can do, right? What happens if you quit BEFORE using any vacation days? I am quitting with a view toward retirement/no more work.

I retired from CoP about 6-7 years ago, my time there was great, great team work and collaborations, good projects and great people. The management was less than desirable in Houston. I went through about 9 layoffs in 13 years. I EOI’d on the last one about 2018 and retired. The story keeps repeating itself over and over again. ConocoPhillips is a layoff company, period. Th

If you make $100k a year you will need $1.5 million to retire

https://youtu.be/lkOQNPIsO-Q?si=criEe4NpyKWGxNqE

Smartsheet CEO Mark Mader retiring; Apptio co-founder Sunny Gupta will take over enterprise giant as “acting CEO.”

https://www.geekwire.com/2025/tech-moves-icertis-names-new-ceo-as-samir-bodas-steps-down-smartsheet-adds-security-leader/

Has anyone here ever rolled your #retirement / #401K stock into another account? What did you do with your #gold goose

If so, was it a good move? I left a few years ago and need to do something with my account!!!

I have ZERO #confidence in the company. Sorry...

Does Halliburton have a #pension plan or some other #retirement option (aside from a classic 401k)