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Writer's pictureLauren Howard

Don’t Make Pension Decisions in a 401k World

Written By: Lauren Howard



Don’t make pension decisions in a 401k world. 


It comes up in our LBee Health groups a lot. 


There is this look of desperation and guilt that a lot of our members come in with. They want to leave their jobs. They need to leave their jobs. But they often, like REALLY often, feel bad about even starting the process to leaving, even when it’s absolutely the right thing for them. 


What about my team? What about all of the work I've done? What about what I've built? What about all of the people who rely on me?


We have been conditioned to believe that people of good character stick it out, even through the worst environments. That you need to show many years on every job experience because leaving a job means you couldn’t hack it and reflects poorly on you, not them. 


Except that’s not it at all. 


Our attitudes toward work and longevity were built for a world where, if you stuck it out for thirty years, you could retire with a full pension that often amounted to 100 percent of your salary. There was a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. You tolerated your awful boss or your inhospitable work environment because there was an actual reward. 


It wasn’t a moral decision. It wasn’t a reflection of character or dedication. It was a financial benefit that you got for tolerating whatever they threw at you, and it made sense. 


Now, you may get a 401k that you contribute to. You have to continue to get substantial raises in order to increase your contribution to it in hopes that it will actually cover your retirement. 


You are not failing by leaving a job that is bad for you. You are not disloyal by looking for a new role when your old one is taking everything out of you. 


It was never about character. It was always about money. Our parents and grandparents tell us that in their day . . . except in their day, they could afford to live even in retirement because the system was built that way.


Leaving a bad environment is not a failure. There are good reasons to stay in a job that isn’t good for you. Security, insurance, flexibility, tuition reimbursement, and on and on. 


Old world pressure in a landscape that doesn’t even exist anymore isn’t one of them. 



 


Founder & CEO at elletwo



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