Comments on: 2010 IRS Maximum Allowed 401k Contribution Announced

By: Thad @ Automatic Forex Trading

Thad @ Automatic Forex Trading — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 08:32:58 +0000

Not surprising to say the least. And in my personal opinion, contributions should be reduced.

Why? Because there are so many better places to park money than a 401k account. These funds are often mismanaged anyway, and anyone would be lucky to beat inflation once they reach their retirement age.

Financial education trumps financial “security” any day.

By: alex

alex — Sat, 14 May 2011 18:58:20 +0000

This isn’t true. I started funding my Roth 401k and Roth IRA a few months before my 35th birthday. Began maxing it out at age 36.

It took me a bit longer than most to get started since I didn’t graduate from college until 33 (starting late and obtaining an advanced degrees will sometimes do that to you) and my first year out of school was spent building up my emergency savings and saving for a down payment on a home.

I’m glad to say that I’m on track to retire quite comfortably despite the late start in saving.

By: Big Stockbroker

Big Stockbroker — Tue, 03 May 2011 18:34:29 +0000

Heyyy,

Try putting money in a non-tax deferred account.

What do you say? Try buying from me…

- Kid Icarus

By: Rob

Rob — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 16:26:42 +0000

Well I just got a kick in the you know where today. My wife and I invest heavily, 401k, IRA, mutual funds and do plan to retire early. This was the year that I was going for the $16,500. Last year I fell just short. I went to change my contribution and was told I went over my cap last year, it was $11,000. I had the confused look on my face and was told that if a company has a lot of employees making good money (over $100,000 and up), the government caps what you can put in. So here I sit, trying to be proactive in planning out my future, putting away money pre tax and now I am told that I cannot do as much as the “average joe” can. What a load that is. Thanks government, give me tools to help myself later in life then chop some of it off.

By: Simon

Simon — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 20:42:47 +0000

Just found this and thought I would share it with you. “80% of Suspended 401(k) Matches to be Restored by Mid 2011″ from Financial-Planning. com. Interesting??
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By: LRP

LRP — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 08:24:21 +0000

I have some news for some of you. If you have not started contributing to your 401K or IRA before the age of 35, its really too late to think you’ll have enough money to live on. And, sadly, that’s the case for most people in their 20s. Reason is, you will NOT be contributing the maximum into your 401K or into your IRA when you get to age ~55 and above. Why? You just won’t. Its not likely at age 60 and above that you’ll be making enough money to do that, and its much more likely that you won’t even be making 75% of what you made when you were in your 40′s and 50′s. People from age 62-71 just will not be making large contributions to their retirement accounts. So, if you haven’t started by age 35 or younger, IRAs are not for you.

By: Andrea

Andrea — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 16:56:10 +0000

How about protecting your money by creating your own bank? It will help you eliminate interest and minimize taxation. Did you know the average American pays 34.5% in interest each year and another 35% in taxes…subject to go up!

By: Gemma

Gemma — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 21:01:25 +0000

@JKhatun,

The 401(k) cap of $15500 (or $16500 for 2010) is only for employee contributions. Your company/employer can match or contribute more on top of that if they want to, and it won’t affect how much you can put in.

Sadly for me, I haven’t had a job where the company matched my contributions since I started making more than $30K/year.
So I got matched only when I couldn’t afford to make substantial contributions; now that I’m where a match would make a real difference, none of that “free money” is out there for me to grab.

By: Terri

Terri — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 01:04:12 +0000

Any speculations on whether the limit will increase in 2011?

By: JKhatun

JKhatun — Fri, 28 May 2010 10:58:38 +0000

Hi All i have a question regarding 401K max contribution?

the 401k cap (15500) does that include your own contribution or this falls under your own contribution PLUS the employer match as well? I am little confused with taht one. Thanks for your reply to this inquiry in advance.

so does the 15500 include my contribution amount + the matching amount?