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I just don't want to pay an additional $100/month when I am charged $24/month by my employer with the health coverage being almost equal.

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Will probably work until I turn 70. That is my plan right now.

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In April I turned 65 and started Medicare by paying quarterly premium for Part A + B. My next premium will be for July - Sept. I started a new job and will receive healthcare through my new employer starting in September. How do I drop Part B as of October, since my premiums through my employer are ...

Thank you everyone for your input which was a lot more than I had anticipated.

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I have typed up an excerpt of the article from WSJ: 5 tax tips for those thinking about or getting ready for retirement. I have typed up an excerpt of the article from WSJ: 5 tax tips for those thinking about or getting ready for retirement. 1. Don’t forget about taxes when you look at the size of t...

Thank you, Stan1, for showing some understanding. And remember, I don't have to justify my reason to anyone, but I understand that you will want to know. And, no, as I mentioned previously, I am not moving my funds away from VG. I am just frustrated with some of the things VG does. At the end it'll ...

Poor definition.

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As far as I am concerned, VG did not.

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James SFO wrote: How were you given incomplete information? What other examples of this do you have? They provided notice reasonably well in advance of the new fund launching and described the proposed change. Having to come here and ask the question instead of VG giving me the complete info of the ...

zaboomafoozarg wrote: If you have TR and Life Strategy, you already have way more international stocks than you will bonds. Dale_G wrote: Successful long term investing involves playing the odds. Over the long haul, adding International bonds should improve risk adjusted returns. Only time will tell...

Thank you Stan for the info. I know the percentage and am not happy with it anymore. And I wont move away from VG. Also thank you for your suggestion. It is very much appreciated. Will look also at other balanced funds.

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Stan2 wrote:

Can you explain why you are unhappy these funds are adding international bonds? The 2 funds in question already hold international stocks.

I truly prefer not to hold any international funds and this is just adding more international funds to my holdings.

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minesweep,
I am sorry, I don't understand your posting since it doesn't answer my question.

Dandy,
Thank you for your explanation.

I am just very unhappy that VG is adding the international funds and will now be moving my funds away from TR and Life Strategy.

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I received an email from VG informing me that they will be: Adding international bond exposure We're adding a new fund, Vanguard Total International Bond Index Fund, to each of our Target Retirement Funds. The funds will apportion 20% of their fixed income allocations to the new fund. The internatio...

Hi to everyone who posted here during November 2012 to help me with finding just the right amount of money to convert from a Traditional IRA to a Roth IRA. I had finally found a job and earned approx. $4,059 in 2012. I went ahead and converted $4,500 from my IRA to my Roth IRA. And as you predicted,...

Just finished filling out my Medicare online application and, as I thought would happen, it did throw me a curve. The application asked if I was born in the U.S. or am I am naturalized citizen? Yes, I am a naturalized citizen. So now they wanted the date of the naturalization. Well, I finally found ...

mur44 wrote: For Almost there: You will be directed to SSA.GOV website to enroll into Medicare. Medicare enrollment means enrolling into Part A and/or Part B. Thank you very much for that info. ndchamp wrote: You could always stop by your local SS office (avoid Mondays) and talk to somebody about yo...

Someone wrote here approx. 10 minutes.

And God bless you for your parents.

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You are correct: Dratkinson Being blessed with a mind that, on its own, sometimes transposes things (when it doesn't forget them all together), I understood ETF to be EFT (electronic funds transfer). That was a typo on my part: I meant: EFT: electronic fund transfer. Sorry for this mishap. Almost th...

Thank you, sscritic, for your info. At this time I am working as a temp and will, hopefully, be hired by the company as a full-time employee (which will mean receiving health-benefits). I guess I will have to sign up for both A & B. I am still rather confused about it and will need to read the l...

My agent informed me that I would save if I bundle auto with homeowner's insurance. Perhaps you will want to look into that. Also, when I contacted both Liberty Mutual and Geico they were both very high. Presentely I am with ACIC. Their premiums are much lower and I pay 11 monthly premiums via ETF. ...

I went to the Medicare website to fill out an application 3 months before turning 65. However, I did not sign up since I don't know what questions to expect in the online "Medicare only" application. P.S. I will sign up next year for Social Security benefits. Can someone tell me what quest...

I received the following two notices while transferring the funds from VG: 1. A conversion is a taxable event. Generally, you'll owe taxes on the amount you convert from your traditional, SEP, or rollover IRA into a Roth IRA. When you convert to a Roth IRA, you may elect to withhold federal and cert...

Carl52 wrote: Refund $413 taxcaster would show $23 except that is incorrect since it apparently is not programed to give you the saver's credit which if you contributed $1800+2500=4300, you would be eligible for 50% of the first $2000 or $500 credit except there is a limit to the credit to not more ...

Grabiner wrote: But as others have pointed out, you don't actually need to contribute the full $2000, since it is impossible to get the full 50% credit. (You do need to contribute the full $2000 if you are in the 20% or 10% credit ranges, as the credit will then be less than your tax.) Thank you, Gr...

Karl53 suggested: So to get the biggest percentage saver's credit (50%) you need to have your AGI match 17250. That means you would convert $4677 to bring your AGI to $17250. To my scenario, I have added $4667 (meaning=this is the amount I would convert from IRA to Roth IRA) to Your Taxable Wages li...

Karl53 wrote: Using these quoted deductions I believe you mistyped the credits. Should be $107. Then 107 credits plus 336 withholding - zero taxes yields a $443 refund. Yes you are correct. The numbers are as follows: Total Income $12,583.00 Total Deductions $10,666.00 Total Exemptions $3,800.00 Tax...

Again, thank you to everyone who contributed to my questions: Earlyout wrote: If your filing status is single, your adjusted gross income must be $17,250 or less to obtain a 50% credit. If you put $1500 in your IRA and your AGI is $17,245 you get a tax credit of 50% of you IRA contribution or $750. ...

Carl53 wrote: I wonder if you have mistakenly entered your Roth IRA contribution into Taxcaster as a traditional IRA contribution. Taxcaster does not appear to care about Roth contributions. I did indeed. I thought that was one and the same. Also, thanks for the Heads up for: Also note that your med...

Earlyout wrote: Just a suggestion that when you use Taxcaster always click on the "Review" button at the bottom of the results panel. The detailed Results Screen that appears will show you the numbers used by Taxcaster and you can then correct any data entry mistakes. I entered your number...

Grabiner wrote: Note that if you contribute between January 1 and April 15, 2013, you must designate the contribution as made for 2012 or 2013 when you make it; your brokerage will usually have a form or checkbox for doing this. Yes I know. I have contributed $1800 and will add $2500 next year for 2...

Thank you everyone for your input. I truly learned a lot. I finally took the time to find out all the correct numbers and ran another TaxCaster 2012. They are some bugs in that program. I am filing as Single, no children The calculation results are as follows: Total income: $12,583 (earned income: $...

Thank you Grabiner for all the time and effort you put into answering my question. It looks as though it will be difficult for me to figure out exactly how much to convert from IRS to Roth IRA in order to take advantage of the tax break. I am 64 and plan to retire at 70. From age 66-70 I will be col...

Grabiner wrote: Are you single or married? If you are single, then you will probably be in the range in which $1 of income makes 50 cents of SS taxable, because the $25,000 limit of half your SS plus your other income is not indexed to inflation. Given the numbers you presented, your total is $25,40...

Thank you Epsilon Delta who wrote: You can recharacterize (i.e. undo) a Roth conversion until Oct of next year. This means you can convert a large chunk (or all) of your IRA now, in 2012, and then decide how much you really wanted to convert in, say, March of next year when all of your other tax dat...

Thanks Houseblend. I have written myself a note for when I do my Income Taxes. I use HR Block which helps me with my income tax and I will make sure that I stay within the 10% marginal bracket. I just looked at my 2011 Federal form and my AGI was $33,855 of which $31,200 was Unemployment compensatio...

Thank you earlyout and Houseblend for your input. Houseblend wrote: Another subtlety to watch out for is that you may be eligible for a fair number of tax credits. An example is the retirement saver's credit--to be eligible for this, you need to have made an IRA or other retirement plan contribution...

Thank you Alan S for your additional input. Finally got to my computer and went to the Turbo Tax site (thank you earlyout). Based on my input of Total Income minus Total Deductions and Total Exemptions, I will have "0" Taxable Income. I will also receive a $600 refund and my Marginal Tax R...

Thanks early out. Will take a look at it when I am back on my computer.

I have been unemployed for most of the year and just started back to work and will earn a total of $4000/year. Would this be a good year to convert some of my money held in my VG IRA account to VG Roth IRA account? How do I decide how much to move without paying too much on taxes?

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In the October 2012 issue of AARP’s Bulletin, page 30 on Scam Alert gives the following information on how to protect yourself: • Ignore instructions to text “STOP” or “NO” to prevent future texts. This is a common ploy by scammers to confirm they have a live, active contact for more cell phone spam...

I think sscritic was correct in what he wrote: So forgetting remarrying the ex, what does the sentence say? You are the divorced wife or divorced husband and you marry someone, unless that other person is someone entitled to benefits as a wife, husband, widow, widower, father, mother, parent or disa...

Thank you sscritic and Penguin for your insights: Reading 404.332 (3) perhaps pertains to me, though I am not quite sure if I understand this correctly. § 404.332. When wife's and husband's benefits begin and end. (a) You are entitled to wife's or husband's benefits beginning with the first month co...

Don't mean to be rude Lucky 3, but I wish you had started a new thread since your question differs from mine.

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Thank you sscritic for your deep input, though I am still somewhat confused. Sscritic wrote: (1) You were validly married to the insured under State law as described in § 404.345 or you were deemed to be validly married as described in § 404.346; and (2) You were married to the insured for at least ...

Thank you earlyout for your deep input, though I am still somewhat confused. Earlyout wrote: Yes, you can receive just your spousal benefits as a divorcee at your FRA and then collect delayed retirement credits until your 70th birthday. File and suspend is not necessary and IIRC would mean you could...

Hello, Just came across this info on the Social Security site and thought I would bring my question here (sscritic?): The following is stated on the S.S. site for divorced people: If you are eligible for retirement benefits on your own record we will pay that amount first. But if: • you have reached...

Gee, I wonder why - LOL.

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I want to thank everyone for their response. Yes, I have basic cable (no HBO etc). Last year when I looked into going to Verizon for phone and internet and Comcast for TV, I would have paid much more than I do now. Perhaps, I will call Verizon again and see what they can do. I just wish I have a cho...

Hi everyone,

How much do you pay for the bundle: TV, Phone, + Internet? My bill with Comcast was $99/month and it changed to $115 in June.

I wish I could use Verizon, but it is not available where I live.

Any help with lowering the bill is appreciated.

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