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I know Elvis had a few motivational songs, and Louis Armstrong and others and surely you are familiar with the Beatles sang Yesterday Yesterday, sixty-five it seemed so far away Now it’s come today, it’s here to stay I wish I had a 4-0-1 k Suddenly, I’ve not half the cash I used to see The bill collectors shadow me Retirement came suddenly My sa-vings are so low, I don’t know just where I’ll stay I did something wrong, should have saved and put away 4-0-1(k)s, oh it’s such an easy way to save now I need a place to hide away and it’s too late for a 4-0-1 k My sa-vings are so low, I don’t know just where I’ll stay I did something wrong, should have saved and put away 4-0-1(k)s, oh it’s such an easy way to save now I need a place to hide away and it’s too late for a 4-0-1 k .....................................................

I like to put up a slide of a homeless man going through a dumpster and saying "Don't let this be your retirement Plan".

And welcome to the business world, and having the smarts to ask, and even finding the web site. If there were only more people out there that had the sense to realize saving now will make a difference, especially with a generous match like your company has! so if you can manage it, defer at least 6% and get the maximum match you can.

Be cognizant of the fly in the ointment - if you have a relatively small plan and have to buy annuities, especially deferred annuities, and doubly especially if you have a general lump sum option, it is EXTREMELY CHALLENGING to find an annuity provider (recent discussions in this forum will attest to that). And be aware of 45 day advance notice requirement on annuity purchase.

Nothing new but here are a few of the slides I have in my master template: Social security stats - avg payment Estimated budgets based on nationwide averages, contrasted to avg ss payment, creating a deficit. solving to meet that deficit by saving in the 401k Pre-Tax vs. Roth "Take control of your retirement" i.e. don't count on pension, SS Tax deferred growth vs taxable growth Saving in a taxable savings account vs 401k & net effect on paycheck (401k = higher paycheck for same savings amount) How your investment decisions are crushing your retirement account (for advisors) Debt payoff strategies Explaining 'jargon' stats (i.e. you need 80% of your income per year in retirement; you will withdraw 4% per year; you need 10-20x your annual income as a retirement balance) Usually spend 15 minutes explaining my company, what we do, what the 401(k) Plan rules are. Then throw in 15-20 minutes worth of these slides. Then 10 minutes on how to enroll. What's everyone's average time spent during an enrollment presentation? Feels like I lose them too quickly to drive home any poignant information.

I'd STEAK my life I've HERD some of this before, but it beHOOVES me to stoop to such standards. Besides, I'm too much of a COWHERD, and I'm sure it PASTURE time to even care. thanks for the morning chuckle.

A MOOving response which is UDDERLY ridiculous. You are MILKING this situation for all it is worth. Although your knowledge puts you in the CREAM of the crop, and your responses are legenDAIRY, there's no point in trying to BUTTER me up here. However, in spite of all the BULL, I appreciate you STEERing me in the right direction, and not succumbing to the HERD mentality. This could go on and on, but I lack the time to COW-tow any further.