Pension plans

[Rice_Cube]

I was reading about the NBA commish's plans to set a new pension plan for former players (Part of the story here) and it got me to thinking about why people who made such ridiculous amounts of money over their careers should even get a pension plan. (Admittedly I should probably do more research in the numbers etc. but I'm lazy today so maybe later)

At the minimum, players in the major leagues of all the major North American sports get paid a quarter million a year, and if you're even halfway decent you can score at least seven figures to start. If you save enough and get to the magic $1M retirement fund you can live off the interest alone for the rest of your life. Therefore, if you're smart and plan ahead, you don't really need a pension. Same is true for Congressmen and maybe even the ex-Presidents, who are usually so well off that they could probably pump some of that pension fund back into the country's revenue stream so they don't have to raise taxes all the time...what with the free mailing and plane rides etc.

The pension thing is different when you talk about union and middle American workers who make on average about $40K a year if that and do have to rely on pensions, mediocre retirement plans and Social Security if they are to retire (otherwise they just work for the rest of their natural lives).

I hope I don't sound too anti-capitalist or whatever but I don't see why ludicrously rich people need a pension of any sort.

[ThunderVamp9]

I completely agree. But you ask them and they'll hand you the tired old bullshit about how much they have to pay their agents, etc etc. 10%? Who gives a fuck?!? If you stay in the majors for even a few years, 10% of a couple mill is still leaving you plenty to live on if you actually try and live like a normal human being. Their fucking problem is they want to live in the lifestyle of the rich and famous even after the income flow pretty much stops, instead of trying to live like you and me, on an actual normal salary.