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Right. That clarifies things a bit. The only "pension" I've seen in Australia (and apparently UK, as my father's situation implies) is a fairly minimal "pension

Right. That clarifies things a bit. The only "pension" I've seen in Australia (and apparently UK, as my father's situation implies) is a fairly minimal "pension" payment to all retired citizens, and then huge incentives for people to pay into their own "Super" (short for Superannuation) plan, which is fairly similar to your 401K it seems - but they actively encourage paying more into it. Is the cap on any payment into the 401K or just the employer's contribution? I've not heard of nor experienced anything similar to the 'pension plan' concept you have, and my first job was in State Government, from whence I still have a Super plan... somewhere.

adventured 6y ago
How does Australia handle retirement pay for members of the military?
- stephenr 6y ago
  I've never been in the military so I don't know from personal experience, but when I had a government job, I just had a Super plan like everyone else.
greenyoda 6y ago
> a fairly minimal "pension" payment to all retired citizens The U.S. version of that is "Social Security" (which is funded by a payroll tax). > Is the cap on any payment into the 401K or just the employer's contribution? Yes, the maximum amount an employee can contribute yearly is limited by law. (You can make additional "catch-up" contributions if you're aged 50 years or older, which are also limited by law.)
- stephenr 6y ago
  Huh. Australia used to have “social security” (it’s now referred to as the cryptic “Centrelink”), but I thought it was essentially only unemployment/disability payments, and specifically not pension payments. Does the US S/S cover unemployment benefits as well as those who are retired? Re:401k wow. I cannot fathom a government preventing its citizens from saving more money for retirement. Seems bonkers to me.
  - greenyoda 6y ago
    > Does the US S/S cover unemployment benefits as well as those who are retired? No. Unemployment benefits are a separate program, run by the individual state governments. (Social Security is run by the Federal government.) > Re:401k wow. I cannot fathom a government preventing its citizens from saving more money for retirement. You can save as much as you like for retirement outside of your 401k. The limit on the 401k only puts a cap on how much you can save in tax-deferred accounts.

adventured 6y ago

How does Australia handle retirement pay for members of the military?

stephenr 6y ago
I've never been in the military so I don't know from personal experience, but when I had a government job, I just had a Super plan like everyone else.

greenyoda 6y ago

> a fairly minimal "pension" payment to all retired citizens The U.S. version of that is "Social Security" (which is funded by a payroll tax). > Is the cap on any payment into the 401K or just the employer's contribution? Yes, the maximum amount an employee can contribute yearly is limited by law. (You can make additional "catch-up" contributions if you're aged 50 years or older, which are also limited by law.)

stephenr 6y ago
Huh. Australia used to have “social security” (it’s now referred to as the cryptic “Centrelink”), but I thought it was essentially only unemployment/disability payments, and specifically not pension payments. Does the US S/S cover unemployment benefits as well as those who are retired? Re:401k wow. I cannot fathom a government preventing its citizens from saving more money for retirement. Seems bonkers to me.
- greenyoda 6y ago
  > Does the US S/S cover unemployment benefits as well as those who are retired? No. Unemployment benefits are a separate program, run by the individual state governments. (Social Security is run by the Federal government.) > Re:401k wow. I cannot fathom a government preventing its citizens from saving more money for retirement. You can save as much as you like for retirement outside of your 401k. The limit on the 401k only puts a cap on how much you can save in tax-deferred accounts.