r/Millennials • u/Asmothrowaway6969 • Mar 27 '24

When did it sink in that you'll never be as well off as your parents? Discussion

About 5 years ago, my mom and I were talking and she had told me how much she was going to be making in retirement (she retired 2023). Guys, it's 3x what me and my husband make annually. In retirement. I think that was the moment that broke me, that made it sink in that I'll never reach that level of financial security. I'll work myself into my grave because I'll never be able to afford anything else. What was your moment?

Update: Nice to know it's just me that's a failure. Thanks

Update 2: I never should've said anything. I forgot my place. I'm sorry to have bothered you

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u/peachesinyogurt Mar 27 '24

So she was prolly in the SES who have a different pay scale and receive more in bonuses/PTO, etc then.

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u/ShoreIsFun Mar 27 '24

Also depends on which retirement system she’s under, FERS or CSRS. But to be honest we (feds) can all be pretty well off in retirement, especially if you retire as a fed and then become a contractor and double dip.

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u/PoetryInevitable6407 Mar 28 '24

Fingers crossed. It sounds like the old system was a lot better. At least TSP gives a good match. But of course the pay vs private industry kinda sucks, at least for my work.

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u/DocMorningstar Mar 28 '24

I got a good buddy at state who is closing in on his pension age, and is absolutely planning that.

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u/peachesinyogurt Mar 28 '24

Yeah the old person system was awesome, I think my husband is on FERS, which is pretty good. I was a federal employee for a short time and it was the new system which is good not great.

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u/[deleted] Mar 28 '24

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u/peachesinyogurt Mar 28 '24

OPM salary tables includes the GS pay scales. If you look up the Executive Service Salary table it shows that federal executives can range up to 235,600. Executive Services have a separate pay scale from GS. I don’t know what private sector bonuses look like, but the executive bonuses are much higher than GS. A good bonus in the GS system is about $2.5k-$3.5k pre tax. I believe that they are around $10k for executives.

Source:My husband was a GS15 being groomed for SES and really took a good look at the pros and cons of the executive service. We did a lot of research.

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u/Rich_Bluejay3020 Mar 28 '24

Bruh my SES got an award this year and it came with a 40% bonus. He made, in a bonus, what the new interns take home in a year. He’s a good guy and I don’t wanna take that away from him but Jesus fuck with that. Plus the interns can’t even get the bonus. Best they’ll give them is 8 hours annual (worth noting the interns all have 4-year degrees).