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Yes, JW. Thanks for the correction. I've written SSIP another query and will report back if they have anything interesting to say.

JW Nearly Retired: Option 1 is not as good as the plan MMSS and SSS came up with because my spousal benefit from age 66 to 70 will be $450/month, which is greater than the $300 differential between my wife's own benefit ($900) and her spousal benefit ($1200). So if she were to step up to her spousa...

Penguin has pointed to the exact provision in SSA's Program Operations Manual that exposes SSIP's error. That is exactly what I needed to see. RS 00202.025: "A spouse entitled to a [Retirement Insurance Benefit] ... receives his or her own [Retirement Insurance Benefit] ... plus the difference ...

I thought only one spouse can take a spousal benefit. No. One spouse at a time. All three optimizers agree that we can both take spousal benefits ... in different time frames. What I think is fishy is the extra $300/month. I think at 72 she gets $1188 or $1200 and that's it. i.e., your calculation ...

"This would compare 74 months from 66 to 72: 72 x 900 = $64,800." shoulda been: "This would compare to 74 months for 66 to 72: 74 x 900 = $66,000." By the way, the extra two months come from the fact that she was born in March and I was born in May, so we are not exactly 2 years ...

"My wife files and suspends at 66. (2103) I file for spousal benefits at 66. (2015) My wife files for retirement benefits at 70. (2017) I filed for retirement benefits at 70. (2019) My wife takes spousal benefit when I turn 70. (2019.)" If you wife takes your spousal benefit when you are ...

I have received conflicting advice on our best claiming strategy from three online social security optimizers: Maximize My Social Security, Social Security Solutions, and Social Security Income Planner. The basic facts: My wife is about to be 66; I am two years younger; my PIA is $2,400; hers is $90...

One thing is as true as always - the more things change, the more they stay the same. I expect the balance between local and remote resources to continue to fluctuate based on technology and need. InternetJanetPlanet nailed it. The dialectic between local and central computing power never ceases to...

Thank you all for your comments. I'm going to share them with the committee. We can add two or three more funds to the list so your suggestions are very helpful. The suggestion about adding the total U.S. market fund (and even dropping the S&P 500) makes sense to me on several grounds. The simpl...

Wowie kazowie. I managed to wind up with a seat on the committee that is rolling our own menu of fund options for participant-directed investments in a 401(k) plan. Often enough in this forum, I've seen complaints about company plans that do not provide adequate options. Our goal is to provide enoug...

Yes, I did confuse the TIAA-CREF Social Choice Equity Retirement Class (ER 0.47%) with the Retail Class (ER 0.32%). As for its tracking of the Russell 3000, as you can see, there is no great premium for the SRI screening. Performance Data as of 01/16/2009 Average Annual Total Returns as of 12/31/200...

I don't know about "terrible costs" -- some SRI investments may have terrible costs, but TIAA-CREF Social Choice Equity Retail seems OK. It is low-cost (ER .47%) compared to actively managed funds and tracks the Russell 3000 very closely, as it is intended to do. The Vanguard SRI fund trac...

No. This self-directed 401(k) operates with Schwab's regular brokerage fee schedule so there are no breaks on transaction fees. I realize that going forward, I will probably be best off investing my monthly contributions in the NO FEE Schwab Fund, maybe moving it into one of the other funds once a y...

To execute on asset allocation plan, I have to invest in TIPS in my 401(k) which is held in a brokerage account at Schwab. I am fairly well convinced that I do not have the attention span or interest to manage a portfolio of individual TIPS so I am considering plunging into one of the three low-cost...

Thanks, Robert. That makes good sense.

I am working on a reallocation that will result in TIPS funds -- Vanguard Inflation Protection Securities Fund (VIPSX) or equivalent -- filling my 401(k), my Roth IRA, and my wife's Traditional IRA. The only other investment I need to squeeze into one of these three accounts is Vanguard REIT Fund. T...

DCAing in may just match my comfort level. Ordinarily, I think of DCAing as a mathematical wash unless you think you can see into the future: bad if the future is good; good if the future is bad. I am beginning to understand why Bogleheads recommend reading the books on investor psychology. I think ...

I'm a rank newbie to the Boglehead philosophy, but I think, if anything, its most basic principle is to think and act for the long-term. In your case, you and your wife could have a very long future. From your brief comment, it's impossible to tell how important your IRAs are in your total financial...

Thanks for raising the diversification issue, OptionAl. It had crossed my mind, but I forgot to mention it. I suppose we could diversify by splitting the investment between the California fund and the Vanguard Intermediate-Term Tax-Exempt Fund (VWIUX) which has the same yield (currently) although we...

Our taxable account is so much larger than our non-taxable (IRAs + 401k) that, to meet our asset allocation of 40/60, 1/3 of our entire portfolio has to go into bonds to be held in our taxable account. We live in California so the Vanguard California Intermediate-Term Tax-Exempt Fund Admiral Shares ...

Thanks, Chip. Your perspective is very helpful. I've been pouring over my Excel spreadsheet in obscurity and it is very encouraging to get thoughtful feedback. 1. Equity allocation is very personal, so you have to make the choice. But if you can stick with 55% through a down market, it's not at all ...

Hi folks - I've been lurking on this website for a couple of weeks and wolfing down books--two by Rick Ferri, one by Jack Bogle, one by William Bernstein, one by Bob Clyatt--to make up for a lifetime of inattention to financial matters. It's time to redeploy our resources soon and I've roughed out t...