تدريب Shadowing: The 4 Levels of Investors (Most People Are Stuck at #2) - تعلم التحدث بالإنجليزية مع YouTube

أدوات التظليل الصوتي

0% مكتمل (0/208 جمل)

I was recently reading an article titled, Only About Half of IRA Savers Contribute the Maximum Allowed.

⏸ متوقف مؤقتاً

السرعة:

عدد التكرارات:

وضع الانتظار:

مزامنة الترجمة:0ms

كل الجمل208 جمل

I was recently reading an article titled, Only About Half of IRA Savers Contribute the Maximum Allowed.

And that got me thinking, because based on the most recent IRS data, here's what we're seeing.

About 54% of people who contribute to a traditional IRA are actually maxing it out.

And here are the max limits for 2026.

And that pattern does hold across the board.

Under the age of 50, about 54% hit the limit.

Over the age of 50, about 53% hit the limit.

Even the averages make sense.

If we look at those in their early 20s, they tend to contribute on average around $2,000 a year.

For those in their later 40s, their average tends to be closer to $4,300 for the year.

Then once you hit catch-up age, for those ages 50 to 54, they're contributing an average of $4,900 a year.

For those ages 65 to 71, they're contributing on average a little bit over $5,000.

And honestly, I think all of these numbers are fairly as expected, but it does raise a bigger question.

Why aren't more people using an IRA to its full potential?

Hey guys, what's up?

I'm Erin and welcome back to the channel.

It's so easy to look at this data and then just shake our heads and say, people just aren't saving enough.

But if you really sit with these numbers, these quoted numbers, there's a lot more to the story than what it seems to be on the surface.

Because this really isn't about IRAs or if you're maxing out your IRA, it's about how you're saving and what type of system you're taking advantage of.

When you zoom out, there are really four different tiers of savers.

Tier number one, quite frankly, this is no system.

This individual has no retirement accounts, no consistent habit of saving, and generally, if they have cash, it's likely sitting idle.

For many people, this is really where the biggest risk lives, and it's only partially a knowledge problem.

It's also a system problem, which we'll get into.

Tier number two gives us the default saver.

Think 401k only.

They are contributing to an employer-sponsored plan.

Maybe that's a 401k, 457, 403b, TSP, you name it, an employer-sponsored plan type.

Some might only be contributing enough to capture the employer match, or others might be contributing pretty meaningful amounts here.

What really unlocks this level is automation and access, but there is limited flexibility because these accounts do come with a lot of rules.

Tier number three, maybe we'll call this the intentional saver.

They have an employer-sponsored retirement plan and an IRA.

Here we have an investor who's moved beyond just their employer-sponsored plan.

They're also opening and funding another investment account by their own accord.

So here we've got someone who's thinking about taxes and strategy and really long-term planning.

Then finally, we have tier four.

This is the system builder.

They have an employer-sponsored retirement plan, an IRA, and a brokerage account.

Here we have multiple accounts working together.

We have the ultimate flexibility and control and tax diversification.

This is where true financial control lives.

this is where we come up with a rock solid financial plan.

Now, here's the part that changed how I see all of this.

These tiers are not solely tied to income.

Primarily, they're tied to behavior because there are plenty of high income earners who are stuck at tier two, and there are plenty of modest income earners that work their way all the way up to tier four.

Let's start with tier one.

This is the group that doesn't have a system in place at all.

No retirement accounts, no consistent investing habits.

Maybe they have some cash sitting in a savings account and maybe not.

And I want to be very clear here, this is not a judgment.

Because when you look at the data here, it becomes very clear that it's not just a knowledge problem.

It's a system problem.

When you look behind the scenes, if someone doesn't have access to a retirement plan through work, only about 20 to 30% of them end up with any retirement savings at all.

This means the vast majority never even gets started because there is no structure.

There's no default.

There's no system automatically pulling them in.

And when savings requires you to open an account on your own, decide how much to contribute, and decide what to invest in, most people just don't.

So they stay here.

And this is where the biggest financial risk lives because if you don't ever get started, compounding never gets a chance to work in your favor.

Now let's move to tier two.

And this is where everything starts to change.

This is a person who has access to an employer-sponsored retirement plan.

Think a 401k, 403b, TSP, any plan type like that.

These are the account types that overwhelmingly get used first.

And there's a simple reason for that.

There's a system built around them.

Right now, about 60 to 65% of U.S.

workers have access to one of these plans, but that access isn't evenly distributed.

If you're a lower income worker, only about 30 to 40% have access.

For middle income workers, it's closer to 60 to 70%.

And for those higher income workers, it's about 80 to 90 plus percent.

The same story with employer size.

If you work for a smaller company, only about 30% to 50% offer a retirement plan.

Larger companies, on the other hand, it's about 80 to 90 plus percent.

So already you can see how this starts to shape outcomes.

But once someone gets in one of these plans, well, all of a sudden, things become kind of powerful in your favor when it comes to investing.

We have automatic payroll deductions, employer matching, default investment options.

really this system is doing the heavy lifting.

In other words, once someone simply has access to one of these plans, here's what we tend to see.

For those who have access, 80 to 90 percent of households have retirement savings.

If you don't, only 20 to 30 percent do.

That gap is massive.

Every time I see that stat, I have the exact same reaction.

I don't think we have just a savings problem,

I think we have an access problem because once someone is in that system and actively contributing even if it's just

up to the employer match well they are saving they are investing they are building something are they optimizing

not necessarily are they maximizing their potential maybe not yet but they've crossed the most important threshold they are saving they're

in the system and most people quite honestly stop right here and that's not to say it isn't a perfectly fine approach for instance let's say you save 15% of your income,

that you capture a bit of an employer match on top of that, and you do this for decades upon decades.

Well, odds are by the time you get to retirement, you're going to be just fine because consistency, time, and staying invested for the long haul really matters far more than trying to optimize every single account along the way.

Now let's move up to tier three, the intentional saver.

This saver adds in an IRA on top of their employer-sponsored plan.

Remember the stat that only about half of those who are contributing to an IRA are maxing it out.

And when we look at what it takes to max out an IRA, depending on what year we're talking about, maybe it was $6,500, maybe it was $7,000, this year going up to $7,500, we look at those limits and they don't seem exceedingly high.

So it might leave us to just shake our heads and say, why aren't people saving more?

Why can't they max out this account?

But truly, the answer is a lot more nuanced.

First, you have to understand IRAs are not the primary retirement system in the US.

They are a secondary layer built on top of employer plans.

100

And the data makes this very clear.

101

Only about 10 to 15% of households contribute to an IRA in a given year.

102

but at the same time, about 35 to 40% of households actually own an IRA.

103

So what's actually going on here?

104

Well, the answer is most IRAs aren't being actively funded.

105

They're being held.

106

Roughly 90 plus percent of IRA assets are tied to rollovers, not new contributions.

107

So the majority of money that's sitting in an IRA comes from 401k rollovers, job changes, and retirement distributions, not from people intentionally sitting down saying, hey, I'm going to max this out this year.

108

And when you step back and think about it, it makes a lot of sense.

109

When we think about something like an employer-sponsored retirement plan, like a 401k, it's completely automatic.

110

It comes right out of your paycheck, goes into the investment account, and you don't even have to think about it.

111

With an IRA, you actually have to go set up this account.

112

Then you have to manually move money into it.

113

Of course, you can make this step automatic, but it does require you setting it up in the first place.

114

Then once that money is in that account, you have to decide how to invest it.

115

And just to be clear, none of this is hard, but it does require intention.

116

And when something requires effort, all of a sudden we see that participation drops off pretty quickly.

117

And here's another piece that matters.

118

IRA users skew towards higher income earners.

119

And a higher income household is already more likely to have access to an employer-sponsored retirement plan, to already be saving, and to already be actively engaged with their finances.

120

For context, remember, when it comes to high earners, 80 plus percent have access to employer plans.

121

When it comes to lower earners, only about 35 to 40 percent have access.

122

And access alone increases retirement participation by 30 plus percentage points.

123

So when you really look at this, we see that the typical IRA user is not starting from scratch.

124

They likely already have an employer-sponsored retirement plan, they're likely already saving, and then they come in and use an IRA as a consolidation tool or as a way to diversify their investments.

125

Or maybe it's simply an overflow of investments or a way to diversify their tax strategy.

126

So when we see low IRA numbers, it's not that people aren't saving, it's that this is not the savings tool that they're prioritizing.

127

For most households, the IRA is not the foundation.

128

It's the next layer up.

129

And that brings us to the more important question, does it really matter if you're not maxing out your IRA?

130

And the honest answer is no, not really, as long as you're saving elsewhere.

131

Because IRA contributions on their own tells you almost nothing about total savings habits.

132

If we dig into the data, this is the pattern we tend to see.

133

When it comes to lower income households, Some may have an IRA, if anything.

134

Some are not saving at all.

135

The barriers here are limited cash flow and a lack of access to an employer-sponsored plan.

136

Then we move into the middle-income households.

137

For these households, the core focus is the 401 , often up to the match or maybe more.

138

When we look at IRA usage, here it might be inconsistent, it might be secondary, or simply not used at all.

139

Then we move into the higher income households.

140

These are the households we often see maxing out their 401k, and then also utilizing an IRA, even a Roth or a backdoor Roth.

141

Then they're layering in things like a brokerage account or any additional strategies.

142

So this really shows us something important.

143

For those who are actively contributing to an IRA, they're also likely the same people who are saving and investing elsewhere.

144

So what we're seeing here is that we're moving up the income in the wealth ladder and we're starting to stack accounts.

145

Then we have tier four.

146

This investor is the system builder because here we're adding in a brokerage account.

147

Now let's talk about one of my all-time favorite accounts, the brokerage account.

148

I love this account because this is your ultimate freedom fund.

149

You can contribute as much or as little as you want.

150

You can contribute whenever you want.

151

There's no income restrictions.

152

There's no age restrictions on when you access the money that's in this account.

153

This truly is your freedom fund.

154

And so long as you're contributing to index funds or ETFs, this can still be an incredibly tax efficient account.

155

But here's what's really interesting when you look at the data from the Federal Reserve, about 58% of households have a retirement account, but only about 21% have a taxable brokerage account.

156

So right away you can see this is not where most people start.

157

And the fact of the matter is most people who have a brokerage account already have a retirement account.

158

Let's look at the data from the Investing Company Institute.

159

Among households that have IRAs, about 40 to 50% also have brokerage accounts.

160

Compare that to the general population.

161

Only about 20% have brokerage accounts at all.

162

So IRA users are more than twice as likely to be investing in a taxable account.

163

And let's look at just a little bit more data from the Employee Benefit Research Institute and the Federal Reserve.

164

Among high-income households, the majority have a 401k or similar plan type, an IRA, and a taxable brokerage account.

165

In many cases, three or more account types is the norm for these higher income households.

166

Once somebody moves beyond just using their employer-sponsored plan, they are account stacking.

167

building a system, a system that will ultimately give them a lot of flexibility.

168

It's not just about one account anymore.

169

You now have a 401k that's doing the heavy lifting.

170

Your IRA is adding to the tax strategy, and then your brokerage account is giving you flexibility.

171

This is really the investor who's optimizing.

172

This is really the investor who's asking, how do I create the most flexible, the most efficient system that allows me to hit all of my goals?

173

So here's the very clear pattern in how people build.

174

Most people don't start with a brokerage account.

175

They go for a 401k because it's automatic or any other workplace sponsored plan.

176

Then they do an IRA and this is an intentional choice.

177

And then they move on to a brokerage to offer some optimization within their plan.

178

And once you have that brokerage account in there, oh, you've given yourself so many options.

179

You have the chance to access that money early before the age of 59 and a half.

180

Maybe you have the option to retire early.

181

Maybe you have the option to control your taxes and be a little bit more intentional with income.

182

It just opens up a world of possibilities and it gives you a more comprehensive strategy.

183

So the whole goal when you do this account stacking, when you have multiple different account types, is to find the best way for all of these account types to work together.

184

So should you focus on maxing out your IRA?

185

maybe if that aligns with your goals.

186

But no matter what, you do need to be investing and building for your future.

187

And how you get there and how many accounts you use and how much money you put in each account, well that comes down to your personal situation and how to best build a plan that suits your needs.

188

So what are your thoughts on these different account types?

189

How many account types do you have?

190

I'd love to hear.

191

Let's get the conversation started in the comment section.

192

I post new videos every single week.

193

If you got anything at all out of this one, please give it a like.

194

If you're new here, please consider subscribing or if you know of someone who might get something out of this type of content, please consider sharing.

195

I'll see you soon.

196

Bye.

197

Any account type like that, any plan type like that.

198

It's a dreary day.

199

Feel it in my bones.

200

There's a saying for it when you're in Australia.

201

What is the saying?

202

I'm just feeling a little flat today I would say that's how I'm feeling you have a tax strategy or

203

taxes strategy we come up one of these plant

204

well they're in saving there they're in saving every single year we have a juice Or salad.

205

That was awful.

206

Let's try again.

207

The Benefit Research Institute.

208

Forgot a word there.

YouTube

4.9/5 على App Store و Google Play

Shadowing English
على الجوال

تعلم اللغة الإنجليزية في أي وقت وفي أي مكان مع تطبيق Shadowing English. حسّن مهارات التواصل لديك اليوم!

تتبع تقدمك في التعلم

تقييم الذكاء الاصطناعي وتصحيح الأخطاء

مكتبة فيديو غنية

امسح للتنزيل

Download on theApp Store

GET IT ONGoogle Play

ما هي تقنية التظليل الصوتي؟

التظليل الصوتي (Shadowing) تقنية تعلم لغة مدعومة علمياً، طُورت أصلاً لتدريب المترجمين الفوريين المحترفين. الطريقة بسيطة لكنها قوية: تستمع لصوت إنجليزي أصلي وتكرره فوراً بصوت عالٍ — كظل يتبع المتحدث بتأخير 1-2 ثانية. تُظهر الأبحاث تحسناً كبيراً في دقة النطق والتنغيم والإيقاع وربط الأصوات والاستماع والطلاقة.

☕ اشترِ لنا قهوة

يظل ShadowingEnglish مجانيًا بنسبة 100% بفضل دعمكم. تكاليف الخوادم والذكاء الاصطناعي مرتفعة — قهوتكم تبقينا مستمرين! 🙏

التبرع عبر PayPal

ShadowingEnglish.com – تمرين التظليل الصوتي للإنجليزية

تحدث الإنجليزية بطلاقة باستخدام تقنية التظليل الصوتي. استمع لفيديوهات يوتيوب الأصلية، كرر جملة بجملة، وابنِ نطقاً حقيقياً وطلاقة — يستخدمها متعلمو IELTS حول العالم.

تدريب Shadowing: The 4 Levels of Investors (Most People Are Stuck at #2) - تعلم التحدث بالإنجليزية مع YouTube

Shadowing English
على الجوال

السياق والخلفية

أفضل 5 عبارات للتواصل اليومي

دليل خطوة بخطوة لطريقة التظليل

ما هي تقنية التظليل الصوتي؟

تدريب Shadowing: The 4 Levels of Investors (Most People Are Stuck at #2) - تعلم التحدث بالإنجليزية مع YouTube

Shadowing English على الجوال

السياق والخلفية

أفضل 5 عبارات للتواصل اليومي

دليل خطوة بخطوة لطريقة التظليل

ما هي تقنية التظليل الصوتي؟

Shadowing English
على الجوال