Bogleheads.org

Restored from cache: HardKnocker wrote: Whether you pay in cash, borrow the money, work while attending, or whatever, the actual cost for a private college education is ridiculous. It only makes sense for those smart enough to get academic scholarships or those talented in other ways (athletics, sp...

The Sam Adams brewery has a nice tour and very good tasting activity at the end if you are into beer. You can get there via the subway. If you do the Sam Adams tour, skip the gift shop and go get free glasses at Doyle's Pub when you buy a pint: http://doylescafeboston.com/Sam_Adams_Trolley.html :sh...

When the market is performing poorly there tend to be more "switching to more conservative AA" posts. In the midst of the current well -performing market, I'd like to become more conservative - but moreso due to retirement horizon and lowering need for risk. I'm 50 and currently at 75/25,...

The whole need vs ability vs willingness to take risk, or in this thread, need vs capacity vs tolerance, is still very tough to figure out if someone appears to have high levels of ability and willingness, but a low level of need. In our case, I'm 50 and DW 49. Up until about 10 years ago, we were 1...

Laughed to tears! Thanks.

[Split from old thread that was only tangentially related to this (it asked for a new subforum for retirement issues) - admin alex] I realize that this is an older thread, but when I first started reading it, I did think, "Yeah, that's a good idea". Then as I read further, I understood an...

Oh, I thought you were both teachers.

Either way, double pensions is very

Are you sure about your pension being based on "final year's salary"? Most that I've heard of are based on average of last 3-5 years. Are you in a different PA pension system from this? http://www.psers.state.pa.us/nearingretirement/retirementestimate.htm Final Average Salary The most comm...

My wife and I have been discussing a very similar situation lately, hoping to retire in our mid-50s in 5 years. We both have pensions that we'll get starting right at retirement and we're pretty sure we can live off just that (~$100k, non-COLA though). We may have to set aside part of our portfolio ...

Ok... Larry suggests that "One can have a high ability and willingness to take risk but little need. In that case, the answer is simple: Because the marginal utility of wealth is likely low, the need to take risk should dominate the decision". I'm probably reading this wrong because I'd h...

Ok... Larry suggests that "One can have a high ability and willingness to take risk but little need. In that case, the answer is simple: Because the marginal utility of wealth is likely low, the need to take risk should dominate the decision". I'm probably reading this wrong because I'd h...

Ok... Larry suggests that "One can have a high ability and willingness to take risk but little need. In that case, the answer is simple: Because the marginal utility of wealth is likely low, the need to take risk should dominate the decision". I'm probably reading this wrong because I'd ha...

Yes - although I still like "age in bonds" unless you really need to take the additional risk. What if you also have the ability to assume additional risk" (i.e. his and her pensions and SS, survivor benefits, no debt, etc)? If you don't have the need but do have the ability, then wh...

So if a person has -$400k in home equity and has $100k saved, then by this poll's definition, their net worth would be just $100k? Another person has +$400k in home equity and the same $100k saved, and their net worth would also be just $100k? Though I understand the reasoning to not include home eq...

Steve, I wouldn't discount the emotional benefits. There are MANY people at this forum who have paid off their mortgage and are very happy about it. +1. Paid ours off last year, just before I turned 50. Rate was 5.75%. We were still funding retirement accounts, paying kids college costs, etc.. Sure...

Thank you both for the further explanations. I do get the insurance aspect. Maybe I've just been looking at this too one-sided? I mean, most insurance premiums don't set one back $100k upfront. :wink: But then, nor do they immediately start paying me "claims"; they wait til I suffer a loss...

Bertilak: We do not, and never intended, to buy SPIA's on a yearly basis. We bought our first SPIA (Aviva) in August 2006; we bought our second (Genworth) in May, 2007, after being pleased with our first purchase and to maximize our state guarantees. We, of course, investigated Vanguard's SPIAs at ...

Thanks Watty. So would I. :wink: My father-in-law has been handling his investments his whole life with local bankers. He doesn't even own a computer. And I'm not really trying to stick my nose in too much; just trying to understand how whatever he may want to do might affect my wife. I really only ...

Maybe he doesn't have to withdraw the whole thing. I'm really not familiar with annuities (obviously). Once it matures, can he just leave it with them? Will it earn anything? What provisions are there for how frequently he can withdraw from it, and what portion is taxed when doing so? These were som...

A couple of thoughts. My understanding is a SPIA is used to ensure that one does not run out of money. IF SS+pension is enough to serve this function, then I don't see the utility in it. Agreed. But are there tax advantages? If his cost basis is around $200k of the $300k balance, then $100k will be...

With existing investments annuities at New York Life and Jackson, I think we know where the banker's interests lie/ly/lay. I think I get your drift, but could you please elaborate? Typical high commission, low return insurance? If he hasn't been receiving a monthly payment from these, and instead t...

Thanks for the further clarification Taylor. Pardon my continued confusion with this statement: We have generally adjusted our living expenses to our income (our social security; my federal pension, portfolio distributions, RMDs, and occasional sale of portfolio shares). Do you mean that you've alte...

Thanks for sharing your story Taylor. I had seen several threads and even some articles on other sites that mentioned you and Pat's SPIA strategy. If you don't mind me asking, did you have a gap between your living expenses and your other income at the time (i.e. pensions/SS) and that was the reason...

A couple of thoughts. My understanding is a SPIA is used to ensure that one does not run out of money. IF SS+pension is enough to serve this function, then I don't see the utility in it. Agreed. But are there tax advantages? If his cost basis is around $200k of the $300k balance, then $100k will be...

Yesterday, my wife and I and her two brothers joined her father at a local bank (who setup his current retirement investments) to discuss some of his financial goals for him, his 83 YO wife and eventually his children heirs. At this meeting, the banker suggested an SPIA (i.e. "$1,000/month"...

Do you want to leave money to family/charity?don't put this money in SPIA I would change this to Do you want to leave this money to family/charity?don't put this money in SPIA You can put this money in an SPIA and leave that money to family/charity. Having an annuity and leaving money to family/cha...

P.S. You'll see language to the effect that the annuity payouts are subject to "the claims-paying ability of" the insurer. If you go the annuity route, you want to educate yourself on this aspect. In addition to the financial strength ratings the insurers tell you about, you need to under...

I agree with the public school for undergrad approach. Sometimes, the best way to avoid debt is to take advantage of your tax dollars, especially given how many students end up changing their majors. Not everyone plans to attend grad school. For those who plan to obtain their undergrad degree, then ...

Bump for a couple more questions. Thanks.

Are you both vested in the pension system? I would factor my pension into my investment decisions but until you're vested, you can't assume that it's going to be there at retirement. Life happens and until you actual vest into the pension program, I would be putting money into the 457 "just in...

Yes, bobcat, I meant Medicare, not Medicaid. Thanks. You're right JW; this IS getting quite complicated (at least my wife's). Thanks to all for the WEP/GPO info. I'd never heard of WEP, and yes, unfortunately, it will affect my wife's SS. From what I can tell at first glance, it looks like her 90% n...

BTW, I ran the SS Retirement Estimator and plugged in 55 for retirement age; the revised age 62 benefits would be 1593 for me and 1230 for my wife. Thanks again for pointing this out. One more thing to verify..... your wife does teach in a social security state doesn't she? SS tax is taken out of h...

It's not based on your current income, it's based strictly on evening out Social Security income in retirement. So let's look at it with your current pension assumptions instead. You haven't said what your current income is, so I don't know what fraction of it those SS numbers would be. Your pensio...

My wife's teacher pension froze COLAs but they could return (doubtful). Mine does not adjust.

Wife and I use Discover anywhere it's taken - mostly gas, groceries, restaurants and other home essentials (Target, Walmart, etc.), about $3k/month.

What percent of our current income does your strategy use? 100? 80, 70? With no more college tuitions (that we currently pay out of current income), no more need to save for retirement, no mortgage, and nonextravagant lifestyles, even with a little increased travel perhaps, we're thinking in the 75%...

... Here's the catch: At least right now, that level of income would require around $940k to buy an equivalent TIPS ladder, and that's without accounting for the years until your pensions start. Double-check to see when you're closer to retirement -- the interest rate environment will hopefully hav...

AGES:I am currently age 50 and wife is 49. We plan to retire at age 55 and 54. SS: Mine: At full retirement age (67): $2,540 a month At age 70: $3,188 a month At early retirement age (62): $1,738 a month I just want to suggest you check your numbers for someone who stops work and SS contributions a...

I don't really see how this is a group think issue. There are countless studies that show over the long-term (decades) that active fund investing will lose to passive fund investing (after expenses, taxes, turn over etc.). Will there be a few active funds that do better? Yes. However, finding these...

Thanks for the reply. Our strategy has always been to kind of ignore SS and try to cover ourselves with pensions and retirement. I've started to become more concerned with it now because of my wife's teacher pension raid (uh, I mean "reform" :annoyed). It's made us more aware that even ben...

[I moved this post to a new thread, from Social Security - Why Delay ? . See below in blue --admin LadyGeek] These seem to be the two most pertinent counterpoints to me: 1) Approximately: Assume you have $25,000. You can go and buy an inflation protected annuity with survivor benefits that pays you...