Search found 585 matches

by jjustice
Thu Jul 16, 2015 1:23 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: AA help for 403b (TIAA-CREF)
Replies: 15
Views: 2700

Re: AA help for 403b (TIAA-CREF)

My retirement funds were in a TIAA-CREF 403(b). I have retired. At retirement I annuitized about half of my accumulation. Now I am a happy, secure retiree. The other approximately half of my accumulation requires me to take annual RMDs. I used only CREF Stock, TIAA Traditional, and TIAA Real Estate. It's simple, it's diversified, and it worked for me.

John
by jjustice
Thu Jul 16, 2015 9:53 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: AA help for 403b (TIAA-CREF)
Replies: 15
Views: 2700

Re: AA help for 401k (TIAA-CREF)

If she works for a nonprofit organization (school, college, church, hospital, etc.) and this is her retirement plan, it is a 403(b). I've not heard of the annuity accounts that you say she has (Traditional, Real Estate, CREF Stock) being in 401(k)s, but perhaps they can be. Does anyone else know whether the TIAA-CREF annuity accounts can be part of 401(k)s?

John
by jjustice
Thu Jul 16, 2015 9:20 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Shiller - The Mirage of the Financial Singularity
Replies: 17
Views: 3595

Re: Shiller - The Mirage of the Financial Singularity

Shiller makes me think of Larry Summers' famous opening lines: "There are idiots. Look around." Shiller is a bit more diplomatic than Summers.

John
by jjustice
Mon Jul 13, 2015 9:10 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: AA help for 403b (TIAA-CREF)
Replies: 15
Views: 2700

Re: AA help for 401k (TIAA-CREF)

Is this a 401(k) or a 403(b)? If it is the latter and you want simplicity, just use three annuity accounts: CREF Stock, TIAA Traditional, and TIAA Real Estate. You can allocate them to get any asset balance you want in safe, highly diversified accounts.

A benefit of this program is that your mother can annuitize as much as she needs (wants) of these accounts when she retires to get secure lifetime income.

John
by jjustice
Sat Jun 27, 2015 2:47 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: TIAA-CREF dramatically increasing Expense Ratios
Replies: 95
Views: 28013

Re: TIAA-CREF dramatically increasing Expense Ratios

Shilling, in case you were unaware, when you annuitize a CREF account it is moved to the cheaper R3 class, regardless of the class the account was in during accumulation.

It's hard, perhaps impossible, to beat the CREF accounts as variable annuities. I am a happy, secure annuitant with accounts in CREF Stock, TIAA Traditional, and TIAA Real Estate.

John
by jjustice
Mon Jun 22, 2015 2:49 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Life Expectancy Divisor for RMDs
Replies: 4
Views: 1118

Re: Life Expectancy Divisor for RMDs

As counterintuitive as it seems, I've now learned that half of us can never use the age-70 life-expectancy divisor for RMDs. It's not what I expected, or wanted, to hear.

John
by jjustice
Mon Jun 22, 2015 2:22 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Life Expectancy Divisor for RMDs
Replies: 4
Views: 1118

Life Expectancy Divisor for RMDs

I recently turned 70.5. When I went to set up required minimum distributions, I was told that the life expectancy divisor for my first payment would be 26.5--the divisor for a 71-year-old. The reason given was that I would be 71 at the end of 2015. This seems wrong. I am taking a required distribution from my total assets on December 31, 2014, when I was 70. Am I mistaken? What is the correct divisor?

Does one never get to use the age-70 divisor if his birthday falls in the last six months of the year?

John
by jjustice
Sun Jun 21, 2015 2:08 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Are Grantham and Hussman Correct About Valuations? [US stock market, Larry article]
Replies: 18
Views: 3772

Re: Are Grantham and Hussman Correct About Valuations? [US stock market, Larry article]

"Their underlying assumption is that the ratio has a strong tendency to revert to its historical mean of 16.6."

Is this true? I think that I remember a discussion of GMO's forecast methodology by James Montier (or Ben Inker?) in which it was explained that their estimation of the mean to which CAPE might be expected to revert was higher than the historical mean as calculated by Shiller. Perhaps someone remembers what GMO's estimation of mean CAPE actually is? (I'm sure that it wasn't 24.7!)

John
by jjustice
Sat Jun 20, 2015 4:32 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Any equivalent to TIAA traditional elsewhere?
Replies: 6
Views: 1212

Re: Any equivalent to TIAA traditional elsewhere?

i don't understand. MN Finance mentions a bond fund, and Livesoft throws in a 529 plan. The OP asked a question that I had wondered about before. Is there another participating annuity with a guaranteed minimum that is at all comparable to TIAA Traditional? Is TIAA Traditional completely unique? It is definitely different from a SPIA, which pays a fixed rate depending on when you buy it and who you buy it from. TIAA Traditional has a minimum payment, but how much your monthly annuity payment actually is depends on how much you have invested in each of its vintages and how well Traditional performs as time passes. Is there anything else like it? I have a TIAA Traditional annuity (graded payment option), and I couldn't be happier. Every Janua...
by jjustice
Fri May 22, 2015 1:16 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Bill Gross Thinks the End Is Near
Replies: 54
Views: 11418

Re: Bill Gross Thinks the End Is Near

If you look at a chart of bonds from the summer of '81 until now, and a chart of stocks from the summer of '82 until now, they certainly look like strong 33-34 year bull markets. I don't know where they go from here, but the next 30+ years surely won't be a match the past 30+ years.

John
by jjustice
Fri May 15, 2015 1:23 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Aren't we overdoing electronic auto safety features?
Replies: 267
Views: 55108

Re: Aren't we overdoing electronic auto safety features?

My next car will have adaptive cruise control and crash mitigation. These safety features are worth a lot to me.
Browser, if you are behind me, I hope you will have the same.

John
by jjustice
Wed May 06, 2015 6:50 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: TIAA Trad/stable value and NO bonds?
Replies: 19
Views: 3781

Re: TIAA Trad/stable value and NO bonds?

I always kept 90% of my Traditional in the higher-paying RA, with 10% in the SRA for liquidity. (I shouldn't say always. They didn't start paying different rates until around 30 years ago. But since then.)

I did spend all of the liquid account on CREF Stock in the winter of 2009, but that was an exceptional opportunity for cash which isn't likely to be repeated often. I think people generally worry too much about the illiquid version of Traditional. When I retired I annuitized all of the RA with its very nice vintage rates.

Keep some in the SRA, but don't forego the higher rates. You'll be glad someday.

John
by jjustice
Sun May 03, 2015 7:05 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Will I want to/need to annuitize assets at TIAA-CREF?
Replies: 16
Views: 2121

Re: Will I want to/need to annuitize assets at TIAA-CREF?

Let's talk about emotions. For most people, beginning an annuity is a scary dive off the high board. Many can't bring themselves to do it despite rationally understanding the benefits. I think that the annuity decision was much easier for me because I was annuitizing portions of accounts with which I had long-standing relationships. The annuity was new but the underlying accounts were no strangers: CREF Stock, TIAA Traditional, and TIAA Real Estate. With the exception of TIAA Traditional where you lose some of its benefits as a late comer, in theory you could hold your money elsewhere until the day came to annuitize. But my guess is that very few people do this. It is too much change for ordinary humans. I would be curious to hear from peop...
by jjustice
Sat May 02, 2015 1:21 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Social Security Question:
Replies: 33
Views: 5337

Re: Social Security Question:

It definitely seems that delay is the better choice for your parents. Your mother is already 63 and still working. Your father can expect to live into his 90s. If your mother were only 62 and retired, and your father had an average life expectancy, then her starting at 62 would be better. This is the sort of situation that I was thinking of.

John
by jjustice
Sat May 02, 2015 9:16 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Social Security Question:
Replies: 33
Views: 5337

Re: Social Security Question:

Enkidu wrote: If they can find a low risk real return of 0.77%, then Annuity 2 is worth $0 more than Annuity 1.

Annuity 2 is never worth more than Annuity 1 in the current interest environment if the longevity assumptions are reduced.
Thanks for running these two options, Enkidu. It looks to me as if my intuitive judgement that the 10-year gap made the wife's early filing (Annuity 1) preferable was correct. You have to have both unusually low interest rates and a long-lived husband for the delay option (Annuity 2) to be better.

John
by jjustice
Fri May 01, 2015 1:22 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: CREF Stock R3 Fund - Variable Annuity?
Replies: 16
Views: 5980

Re: CREF Stock R3 Fund - Variable Annuity?

ResearchMed wrote: That is, one can use the T-C "Equity Index fund" instead of the CREF "Equity Index fund" (which has a higher ER), and later move the T-C money to the CREF fund, and *then* annuitize.
RM
Careful! Things have changed. The R3 class of the Equity Index annuity account has an ER of .29%, while the Retirement Class of the T-C Equity Index fund has an ER of .30%. An attractive feature of annuitized CREF accounts is that they all belong to the cheaper R3 class, regardless of the class rating of the institution through which you originally contributed.

John
by jjustice
Fri May 01, 2015 12:16 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: CREF Stock R3 Fund - Variable Annuity?
Replies: 16
Views: 5980

Re: CREF Stock R3 Fund - Variable Annuity?

The word "annuity" in the name is a historical relic. It's basically irrelevant. The fund acts pretty much like a mutual fund. I disagree. You cannot annuitize a mutual fund. These accounts, or any portion of them, can be turned into high quality variable annuities when you retire. Being an annuity account is a distinctive feature of CREF Stock as well as one of its most desirable features. I contributed to a CREF stock annuity account monthly for 35 years. Now I am happily retired and getting a monthly check from about half of the account that I annuitized. The remainder is paying RMDs. In addition to the CREF Stock annuity, I also have a TIAA Traditional graded-payout annuity and a variable TIAA Real Estate annuity. TIAA-CREF o...
by jjustice
Thu Apr 30, 2015 12:16 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Social Security Question:
Replies: 33
Views: 5337

Re: Social Security Question:

I think that most of us agree that an older, higher-PIA husband should delay social security to 70. What I am curious about is how much younger a lower-PIA wife should be in order to make her filing at 62 the best present-value strategy. I suspect that 10 years younger makes filing at 62 preferable. How about 9, or 8, or 7 years younger?

John
by jjustice
Fri Apr 03, 2015 1:46 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: early retiree, ACA "obamacare" MAGI ? but which numbers ??
Replies: 26
Views: 5938

Re: early retiree, ACA "obamacare" MAGI ? but which numbers

Unfortunately few people have the intelligence, foresight, and resources that tbradnc has. A man I helped this week with taxes had income below 138% of the federal poverty line and was turned away as ineligible to buy insurance at the healthcare marketplace, but he lives in Virginia where he could not get Medicaid. What a country!

John
by jjustice
Sun Mar 29, 2015 1:05 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Confused - ACA (Affordable Care Act) refund seems high
Replies: 11
Views: 1805

Re: Confused - ACA (Affordable Care Act) refund seems high

My daughter's experience was similar to that of Steve's girlfriend, but not so extreme. Their income turned out to be a bit less than they had estimated for ACA, and she got a substantial refund from the premium tax credit.

My conjecture is that the ACA architects decided that it would be better to give premium tax credit refunds to people than to demand repayments of excess advance premium credits. I doubt that they intended that if you projected your income correctly to the dollar, then you would have zero refund and zero repayment.

John,
by jjustice
Fri Mar 27, 2015 12:57 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Rick Ferri's 30 year market forecast 2015
Replies: 137
Views: 29041

Re: Rick Ferri's 30 year market forecast 2015

We'll probably have to wait 25 years to know how accurate he has been.

John
by jjustice
Tue Mar 24, 2015 11:09 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Divorced spouse filing for Social Security
Replies: 10
Views: 3432

Re: Divorced spouse filing for Social Security

Her best option is probably to wait until her FRA (66?) and then make a restricted filing for spousal benefits on your record. She can then let her own grow until she is 70. This is what my ex-wife did. If she files before FRA, she will likely just start her own benefit--as you said.

Perhaps she can also get a widow's benefit while waiting until FRA for the spouses' benefit? I don't know.

John
by jjustice
Mon Mar 23, 2015 7:48 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 403b taxes due after death
Replies: 5
Views: 786

Re: 403b taxes due after death

Another thought is that you may not need to spend all of her assets. If you spent the money market funds, the disability, and the LTD money, no income taxes would be owed. You could, additionally, take out a little more than $10,000 of the 403(b) without exceeding the single person's standard deduction and personal exemption. Then the remainder would be inherited tax free.

So it may be possible to have money remaining in the estate and no taxes owed.

John
by jjustice
Thu Mar 19, 2015 1:03 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Vendor transition from Vanguard to TIAA-CREF (bond question)
Replies: 4
Views: 872

Re: Vendor transition from Vanguard to TIAA-CREF (bond quest

The illiquidity of Traditional is compensated by higher rates. In a white paper, http://www.tiaa-cref.org/ucm/groups/con ... 025683.pdf, TIAA reports that Traditional has been returning 134 basis points more than 10-year treasuries and 45 basis points more than AAA corporate bonds. I'm satisfied with that level of safe performance.

John
by jjustice
Wed Mar 11, 2015 3:01 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: TIAA Traditional Annuity as sole fixed income component
Replies: 84
Views: 18931

Re: TIAA Traditional Annuity as sole fixed income component

You seem to be planning to move from T-C to Vanguard at the point at which T-C becomes superior: retirement. T-C's annuities are designed to get the most bang for your retirement bucks. Perhaps you are independently wealthy and have no need of lifetime annuity income?

John
by jjustice
Sun Feb 22, 2015 6:58 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: TIAA-CREF annuities.
Replies: 30
Views: 7943

Re: TIAA-CREF annuities.

RM's idea of transferring lnto the annuity accounts just before annuitizing will work. However, the annuity accounts in which I have invested have no good parallels in the TIAA-CREF mutual funds, or other mutual funds: CREF Stock, TIAA Real Estate, and TIAA Traditional. As Beth and Wizard said, you would loose the advantage of vintage rates by a late transfer into Traditional. The real estate account seems to be unique. You could imitate CREF Stock with a combination of mutual funds, but that seems unnecessary bother to me.

John
by jjustice
Sat Feb 21, 2015 8:44 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: TIAA-CREF annuities.
Replies: 30
Views: 7943

Re: TIAA-CREF annuities.

I have annuitized CREF Stock, TIAA Traditional, and TIAA Real Estate. I'm not sure what you want to know. I've been very happy. So far they have all increased their payouts annually. The Traditional is in the Graded Payment form, so it will always increase. The two variable annuities depend on the market, but it has been rising in recent years. I don't expect them to increase every year, but that is the nature of equity investments. I'm secure and happy in my annuities.

John
by jjustice
Sat Feb 21, 2015 6:38 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Social Security for a Younger Spouse, Delay to 70 still good
Replies: 19
Views: 3050

Re: Social Security for a Younger Spouse, Delay to 70 still

BahamaMan, what matters is the age to which you will live. 95 seems rather optimistic, but perhaps you have a family history and lifestyle that supports that. I wonder what the calculator would recommend if you put in 88, which seems to be its default age for the husband. I suspect that the issue may turn on whether you are still alive when she reaches about 80.

I used the calculator for us both living to 90, and it said that she should claim at 62. Of course our age gap is over 5 years greater than yours. Another factor for us is that my wife would enjoy having a monthly check coming in starting at 62. We would need to be quite confident of my living to a very old age to overcome that consideration.

John
by jjustice
Sat Feb 21, 2015 10:33 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Social Security for a Younger Spouse, Delay to 70 still good
Replies: 19
Views: 3050

Re: Social Security for a Younger Spouse, Delay to 70 still

My wife is 13.3 years younger. I delayed until 70, but she will start at 62. It seems likely that I will die before her delayed benefit would be superior to her taking the early benefit.

I wonder at what age gap, assuming equal PIAs, is it better for the younger spouse to start at 62. I feel fairly sure that in our case the early filing is better, but I don't know about an 8-year gap. Does anyone know of any thinking on this? I've been curious.

John
by jjustice
Mon Feb 09, 2015 1:50 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: SS paid a month later - what about Medicare Part B?
Replies: 10
Views: 6459

Re: SS paid a month later - what about Medicare Part B?

Perhaps you'll get a reply from someone who knows the rules. But until then, here is my own experience.

I started social security in December, which meant that I got my first automatic deposit in January. That, I know, is according to the regulations.

I had paid for Medicare Part B through December, and they withheld a Part B payment from my first deposit, which came in January. So my inference is that while the social security payment is for the preceding month, the Part B payment is for the month that the deposit is made.

John
by jjustice
Thu Feb 05, 2015 3:56 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Creating an aggressive TIAA 403b portfolio
Replies: 8
Views: 1932

Re: Creating an aggressive TIAA 403b portfolio

I have friends who have invested for retirement just like your dad: 100% TIAA Traditional. While I don't recommend it, they have been very satisfied and have lost no sleep. I bet your dad is well satisfied also. It's not at all a foolish way to go. I do sympathize with your desire to be more aggressive. Like other posters, I think that the Target 2055 is sufficiently aggressive. But I think that the day will come (retirement day) when you would be very happy to have put your retirement funds into TIAA-CREF annuities. To be aggressive, emphasize the CREF Stock variable annuity account and the TIAA Real Estate annuity account. I wouldn't shun TIAA Traditional altogether. But you can be more aggressive while still investing in excellent variab...
by jjustice
Tue Feb 03, 2015 6:40 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 1099 non-employee compensation question
Replies: 8
Views: 1589

Re: 1099 non-employee compensation question

I would report it on Line 21, other income. It's a one-off compensation--not a business. That it was reported on Line 7 of the 1099-MISC does not mean that it has to go on Schedule C.

My source is Pub 4012, page D-4, note 2.

John
by jjustice
Tue Feb 03, 2015 4:42 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: TIAA CREF jump in fees
Replies: 11
Views: 1987

Re: TIAA CREF jump in fees

ResearchMed wrote:
Where did you find these details?

RM
In a supplement to the prospectus: https://www.tiaa-cref.org/public/pdf/cr ... pectus.pdf

The account sizes are below $20M, $20M-$400M, and above $400M.

John
by jjustice
Tue Feb 03, 2015 4:21 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: TIAA CREF jump in fees
Replies: 11
Views: 1987

Re: TIAA CREF jump in fees

The new three-class structure is only for the CREF variable annuity accounts. The TIAA accounts and the TIAA-CREF mutual funds are unaffected. Annuitized accounts get the new lower R3 ER, as do accumulating accounts at institutions with large accounts. Middle-sized institutional accounts get the R2 ER, which is basically the same as current ERs. The OP must have an accumulating account at an institution with a relatively small account--below $20M I believe.

HR should be able to tell him what options he has other than the CREF VAs.

John
by jjustice
Fri Jan 30, 2015 10:15 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: I just filed a Restrictive App at the SS office
Replies: 39
Views: 14003

Re: I just filed a Restrictive App at the SS office

Only about a dozen states tax social security income, but Cody's state, Minnesota, is one that does.

John
by jjustice
Sun Jan 18, 2015 7:40 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: MediCare and ? What are your out of pocket costs please.
Replies: 39
Views: 6763

Re: MediCare and ? What are your out of pocket costs please.

Medicare Part A is free. Everyone without a very large or very small income pays $104.90 per month for Medicare Part B. That goes up a little most years.

In addition, I have Medicare Advantage (aka Part C) for which I pay no premium ($0). My out of pocket costs (for co-pays) for 2014 were $100. For many of us health care becomes much cheaper after 65.

John
by jjustice
Sun Jan 04, 2015 11:21 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: First Social Security Check After Turning 70
Replies: 9
Views: 5580

Re: First Social Security Check After Turning 70

If you apply online, as I did with no problem, you will be given an application number and invited to check back to learn of your application status online. I found that my application was reported as "no decision" until a month before my first check was due. The pending status worried me because I had no warning that it would take so long to get the online confirmation.

Another thing is that if you want tax withheld, you have to download and print out a W4-V and mail it in to your local SSA office. Your only choices for withholding are 7%, 10%, 15%, and 25%.

John
by jjustice
Sat Dec 06, 2014 11:02 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: TIAA Cref Funds--their place in my asset allocation?
Replies: 32
Views: 3382

Re: TIAA Cref Funds--their place in my asset allocation?

Morik, Traditional is a guaranteed annuity account--not a mutual fund. Among the differences from mutual funds is the fact that there is not a published expense ratio for Traditional. Some people are bothered by the unique nature of Traditional, but I've found that its uniqueness mostly makes it better.
John
by jjustice
Sat Dec 06, 2014 10:01 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: TIAA Cref Funds--their place in my asset allocation?
Replies: 32
Views: 3382

Re: TIAA Cref Funds--their place in my asset allocation?

I'm not sure what you are comparing Traditional to. It has done as well as the Barclays Aggregate Bond Index with a much higher Sharpe Ratio. (I can't get the table to line up under the headings, but it's not hard to decipher. The data on each line are for the four periods listed on the top line.) TABLE 2. AVERAGE RETURNS TO TIAA AND BARCLAYS AGGREGATE Returns as of December 31, 2013 5 years 10 years 20 years 30 years TIAA Traditional Average Return 4.5% 4.3% 5.9% 7.4% # of Negative months 0 0 0 0 Sharpe Ratio 2.0 Barclays Aggregate Bond Average Return 4.3% 4.4% 5.6% 7.5% # of Negative months 17 38 77 106 Sharpe Ratio 0.3 The table is from this very informative report: https://www.tiaa-crefinstitute.org/public/pdf/rd114a_program_features_re...
by jjustice
Fri Nov 21, 2014 10:25 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Social Security 62 vs 66
Replies: 58
Views: 23534

Re: Social Security 62 vs 66

It is not as easy to match or beat the value of delay by investing early social security payments as it appears at first sight. It could be done, but it is improbable and becomes virtually impossible if you were to live to 90 or so. Michael Kitces has done a very careful analysis of this matter.

http://www.kitces.com/blog/how-delaying ... y-can-buy/

John
by jjustice
Sun Nov 09, 2014 3:26 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: "Easy" social security question...
Replies: 50
Views: 6393

Re: "Easy" social security question...

Mike Piper has always been an exceptionally valuable member of this forum, but he had become even more valuable with the recent absence of sscitic. I miss the contributions of sscritic. Is he just taking some down time?

John
by jjustice
Fri Nov 07, 2014 2:08 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: "Easy" social security question...
Replies: 50
Views: 6393

Re: "Easy" social security question...

I suggest a #5 for Mike's list: you are the lower-earning spouse and much younger (say at least 10 years) than your spouse. Your benefit would probably be increased as a result of your spouse's death before your delay became advantageous.

Question: How much younger would a lower-earning person with a normally healthy spouse need to be for an early start to be best?

Added in edit: Perhaps it would always be best for a younger and lower-PIA spouse to start early. Either they would allow the delaying spouse to get spousal benefits, or the age difference would be so great that delay probably would not be advantageous. Could this be the answer?

John
by jjustice
Thu Sep 11, 2014 2:15 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What do you pay for comprehensive and collision on your auto
Replies: 7
Views: 1226

Re: What do you pay for comprehensive and collision on your

Nothing. I buy insurance only for risks that I can't afford. I can afford to total my car. I suppose that I would buy cheap insurance for a risk that I could afford, but no one sells insurance cheap.

Some might call this self-insurance, but insurance is usually a way of spreading risk across a large number of buyers. Since I'm only one person, I'm simply refraining from buying insurance.

John
by jjustice
Tue Sep 09, 2014 9:36 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: need help choosing options at TIAA-CREF
Replies: 34
Views: 2848

Re: need help choosing options at TIAA-CREF

There is a TIAA-CREF "white paper" on the nature and performance of TIAA Traditional that is very helpful for anyone who is trying to learn about this rather unusual annuity account:
http://www.tiaa-cref.org/ucm/groups/con ... 025683.pdf

One interesting tidbit from the white paper: "The mean spread over 10-year Treasuries for the
[past 24 years] is 134 basis points."

John
by jjustice
Wed Aug 20, 2014 6:50 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: POLL: Age for Collecting Social Security Benefits
Replies: 103
Views: 11168

Re: POLL: Age for Collecting Social Security Benefits

To a very close approximation, nobody applies later than age 66. Ergo, most Bogleheads are nobodies.

http://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R41962.pdf

John
by jjustice
Wed Aug 20, 2014 12:45 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: POLL: Age for Collecting Social Security Benefits
Replies: 103
Views: 11168

Re: POLL: Age for Collecting Social Security Benefits

If you're concerned only about the breakeven point, you should study the second chart at the link below. A breakeven point is only a single moment in time--the time at which things start going the other way rapidly. The second chart at this link is for filing at 62 instead of 66, and it uses a PIA of $1,500, but its point generalizes to other filing/delay ages and PIAs.

http://www.fool.com/retirement/general/ ... about.aspx

John
by jjustice
Sun Aug 17, 2014 1:19 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: TIAA-CREF blog for members?
Replies: 1
Views: 441

Re: TIAA-CREF blog for members?

I assume that you are looking for the Morningstar forum for TIAA-CREF.

http://socialize.morningstar.com/NewSoc ... 00044.aspx

John
by jjustice
Sat Jul 12, 2014 2:12 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Delaying SS while working past age 70
Replies: 135
Views: 14405

Re: Delaying SS while working past age 70

bobcat2 wrote:
I priced a $200/month $2,400 a year real life annuity at Income Solutions for a 66 year old single woman.
BobK
BobK, shouldn't you have priced an annuity for a 67-year-old woman? Social Security pays her $32,400 when she is 67.

I am in complete agreement with your analysis. This is only a minor correction.

John
by jjustice
Tue Jul 08, 2014 1:37 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Delaying SS while working past age 70
Replies: 135
Views: 14405

Re: Delaying SS while working past age 70

Thanks BobK, sscritic, and Mike Piper, "terrific key contributors." You each, at various times and in various places, have encouraged us in our plan for the husband to delay to 70 (nearly there) and the lower-earning, 13+ years younger wife to begin at 62.

John
by jjustice
Tue Jul 01, 2014 4:07 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Another when to start Social Security question.
Replies: 13
Views: 1497

Re: Another when to start Social Security question.

I was working on the assumption that if she filed in August, she would get no social security for the last five months (Aug. - Dec.) that she was working. I assumed that her salary would be higher than the earnings permitted for any benefit. After she quit, then her reduced--because of starting 3 years and 5 months before FRA--benefits would start coming.

In other words, I assume that whether she files in August or in January, her first benefits are for January. They'll be somewhat reduced for 3 years if she files in August.

John