I have somehow avoided using Uber and Lyft my entire life.
But, recently, I joined the club of roam and… it was pretty cool.
My driver for the return trip home was a retired highschool coach.
I think he might have taught gym class or something.
Anyway, heck of a nice guy.
I guess for some reason I didn’t expect to see an older dood driving for Uber. It sorta sounds like a young person’s game.
Maybe it’s the name or something, I dunno.
Anyway, so we get to talking and I ask him why he drives for Uber and how long he’s been doing it.
He tells me he just started.
It’s a side gig for him… but really something he does to supplement his teacher’s retirement plan.
Weird.
I know teachers don’t get paid a lot in the public school system, but between Social Security and a government pension… and maybe a 403(b) plan.. I mean… I guess I thought they’d be at least somewhat OK.
And then I remembered…
Many years ago when I used to work with older folks and transfer pension accounts… I remembered that a lot of problems stemmed from the 401(k) plans, IRAs, and 403(b) tax-sheltered annuities plans.
These are all either personal pension or what they call “defined contribution plans.”
They do not guarantee a specific payout. Instead, you put in money and hope you get more back out of it.
Doesn’t always work.
I mean… on the accumulation side it worked out OK.
Problem was at the back end… after taxes… you didn’t see the return you thought you’d see.
And so this guy was stuck in that situation… on the back end… living out the reality of tax deferral.
Had he paid all his taxes on the front end… he wouldn’t have to worry about all that jazz and would likely have had more moolah.
But, it is what it is.
I remember telling him something like, “you never really retire.”
To which he chuckled and said “No, I guess not.”
At least he found a solution to the problem.
At the same time, if he stops driving, has a heart attack or stroke, or just gets to a point where it’s too draining to work…
Well… he’s going to feel the pinch.
There’s a BIG difference between working because you WANT to and working because you HAVE to.
This is where a life insurance policy helps and can make all the difference (especially on the back end with taxes).
The right insurance policy design can offset stock market losses, or completely eliminate them.
If that kind of thing interests you, here’s more info about my services: