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There are some muni bonds that are only available to accredited investors. They are usually for very small issuers (e.g., a school district with fewer than 100 total students) or for more complex offerings (e.g., some CA tobacco bonds where the assets are shared over time with a public entity such as a hospital). The muni market is big enough that there isn’t a need to wade into the accredited investor corner of the market, so I avoid it.

Reviving this thread. I’m starting the process to have my home air-sealed, insulated, and possibly radiant barriered. Seems like in 2023 there is a tax credit up to $1,200 for adding insulation. Am I reading that correctly, or is there an income limit?
Also, for the rebate programs that have an income limit have we figured out what counts (and doesn’t count) as income? For example, must 401k contributions be added back in when determining someone’sincome?

@Weathering. Thank you for responding. I'm not sure about the interest in 2022 "as a Puerto Rico muni -tax exempt in every state" - on tax form listed under "other state: DE", and not under "PR". I don't see anything that specifically says "all" interest in 2022 was as a Puerto Rico muni. How do you know all interest in 2022 was as a Puerto Rico muni? Wondering if listed under tax exempt page because of federal exemption status. Still working on getting a clarification from brokerage, yes -will let you know if/when I get more info. My Detail for Tax Exempt Interest from Vanguard shows the bond PR ST HIGHWY 5.25 070136 with a state of PR and payments on 01/01/2022 and 07/01/2022. I don’t see any menti...

Did Saudi Arabia just lose lots of $ on CS, or are they staying invested somehow with UBS?

@Weathering. Just came across the issue regarding PR bonds issued showing state being Delaware but can't find any information regarding if they are to be treated as Delaware muni bonds or if holders in other states can still treat them as tax free. Did you ever find more information on this topic? Would really appreciate knowing. The security description still labeled starting with PR. It is very confusing. I haven’t looked into it yet. Will need to figure it out before March 2024 for 2023 taxes (all the interest in 2022 was as a Puerto Rico muni - tax exempt in every state). There isn’t an official statement for the new bonds - that is where the state of issue would be found. I asked Vanguard to get me an offer (bonds were trading slightl...

MnD wrote: ↑Fri Mar 17, 2023 7:55 am I went out at the top of the GS pay grid at 56 with 36 years including SL credits.

Quick question: by going out at age 56 did you lose access to FEHB?
I will only have about 6 months of SL at age 57 (with 35 years service) because of using several months in the past as maternity leave. But, if SL counts toward reaching MRA, then I could retire at the end of the calendar year before my 57th birthday. I doubt I’ll do this but it would be good to know.

Deleted because information in thread below resolves the question I was commenting on

I'm interested in this thread because I'm in a similar situation, only a few years younger. Thank you for posting the question. I've racked my brain over when to retire because I love my job, but I can't see myself continuing to work until age 62. Therefore, I'll retire once I turn 57 (possibly at the end of that calendar year). OP, I think the annuity's actuarial neutrality fails if retiring between 57 and 62 (e.g., 58, 59, 60, 61). This is because there are fewer years of retirement than someone who retires at 57, yet the annuity percentage is still 1.0% - not gradually increased from 1.0 to 1.1%. I think if you take the supplement out of the equation, then age 57 retirement and 62 will be equal in total dollar amounts. The supplement see...

OP, you should check the current yield and the yield to maturity. The current yield can be calculated by dividing the monthly payouts by the fund share price. You will find it is closer to 5.8% than 7+%. Some will say the fund earns the 7% yield to maturity when it sells bonds; however, with an inverted yield curve, the shorter-term bonds sold by the fund may require a higher yield-to-maturity than the longer-term bonds they purchase. If that is the case, the fund will not earn the stated yield-to-maturity for the bonds in its portfolio but some percentage less.

Are there now interesting investment opportunities in the banking sector?
Here are two examples, one good and one bad:
1.) As of yesterday, Charles Schwab had the highest-yielding CD offerings (FDIC insured) in the Vanguard CD inventory of offerings. Good thinking Charles as it's a great way to bring in those deposits.
2.) The preferred stocks of the regional banks have occasionally dipped into bankruptcy territory this week, but generally, they yield less than 7%. That seems like a far cry away from providing the return necessary for taking on the risk of being a junior creditor.

Anyone seeing any babies being thrown out with the bathwater?

I’m seeing news that Goldman Sachs bought the treasury portfolio of SVB just before the collapse. They sold $21B in treasuries for $19.2B, then tried to raise $1.8B to cover the shortfall. That may mean it is too late for SVB to benefit from the new loan-against-treasuries program. It also means Goldman Sachs made off like a bandit.

GP813 wrote: ↑Tue Mar 14, 2023 10:27 am Is this the formula for calculating a purchase before the May fixed rate reset with what we know so far?

.004+(.008+.0324)+(.004*.008)+(.004*.0324) = .0445616

4.46%

Was February's CPI calculation for I Bond .40 or .60?

.004+(.014+.0324)+(.004*.014)+(.004*.0324) = .0505856

5.06%

I'm hoping you get an answer to this question. I've been under the impression that the next rate reset will be in the range of 3%, so hearing it could be above 4% would be good news.

SIVB may actually have considerable cash now. Think about it. They can lend out 10 times the amount they have in deposits. Instead of making lots of loans they made some loans and used the rest to buy treasuries (probably multiples of the amount they have in deposits). When the treasuries declined in value it hurt SIVB. But, now that the Treasury is allowing banks to borrow at par against their own treasury holdings (so they don't need to sell before maturity) SIVB could be flush with cash. Don't buy SIVB stock or their bonds! However, as an observation, the bonds are up to 50 cents on the dollar from 30 cents on the dollar last Friday, so even bond brokers (these are professionals, not consumers) think there is more cash in SIVB than the a...

I agree with everything said above and have thought about what YTM it would take for me to switch to the F fund from the G. Looking at the chart above, I’m thinking 5.25% YTM for the F fund might the optimal time to make the switch (but if I start switching then I’ll switch back and then again, etc. Easier to just stay with G.)

jeffyscott wrote: ↑Mon Mar 13, 2023 1:35 pm You can just make the contributions yourself and deduct them.

I'm not a retired fed, but am retired, collecting a pension, and deducting HSA contributions each year. For us this increases our Roth conversions as it provides a little more space in the 12% bracket.

Thank you. Very good to know.

Question for retired Federal workers: Can HSA contributions be deducted from the FERS annuity while in the early years of retirement (before age 65)? I'm planning for retirement in less than 5 years (when I reach MRA I'll have 35 years of service) and just thought about continuing HSA contributions while in early retirement. Assuming I stay on an HDHP (e.g., GEHA HDHP), would I be able to have HSA contributions taken out of my monthly annuity payment pretax? Or, is the annuity considered income such that personal contributions to an HSA are deductible against the annuity when filing annual taxes? Or is the annuity unearned income, in which case HSA contributions would not reduce the annuity income? If I could do this, then I could lower my ...

SIVB senior unsecured bonds are trading around $0.45/$1.00 (about 45 cents on the dollar). So, there must be some belief that bondholders will get something after all the assets are sold off and liabilities paid.

FRC does not seem to have any bonds on the market (maybe all are in private hands, or they use a different method)

Do you still hold SIVB shares?
If so, you will need to decide how to sell them in order to capture the capital loss. SIVB shares may never trade again, so ‘worthless securities’ actions may be in your future.

How will businesses respond this week? Will every business re-evaluate how much they keep in deposit accounts vs. other type of accounts? I doubt the average person’s banking changes next week will affect banks, but if every (big) business changed their deposits in a meaningful way then it could be a bumpy ride for the next month.

You are heading into a good time of year to be in Michigan and a bad time of year to be in Charlotte (I know because I have family there). Enjoy the coming spring+summer in Michigan and continue taking calls for opportunities in the southeast. Consider Tennessee at Blue Oval City.

Did you have a prior year in which you contributed under the HSA limit?
I believe your tax software will ask you that question and allow you to designate the over contribution this year toward the previous year.

How do SVB deposits above the FDIC limit rank in credit priority? Are they above secured senior bonds, at parity with secured bonds, above senior unsecured bonds, at parity with senior unsecured bonds, or a lower ranking credit?

My guess is that all deposits get paid back, but SIVB stock and preferred shares get wiped out while the senior unsecured bonds will get a big haircut. This assumes deposits rank higher than bonds in credit priority.

Consider having her contact your state's unemployment office. They may be able to guide her on what she needs to do to quit while still qualifying for unemployment (e.g., potentially, she would need to put specific wording in her resignation email referencing her quitting for a specific reason that is not her fault).

In case you ever wanted a lesson in "I know nothing, and therefore I should not pick stocks," then look at how JP Morgan maintained their "overweight" rating on SIVB (Silicon Valley Bank) on 3/09/2023 (also Piper Sandler maintained their "Buy" rating on the same day). What were they thinking?
One day later and the bonds (still with an investment grade rating) are saying the equity will be worth $0 and the bonds will only recover $0.66 on the dollar.

mceagle555 wrote: ↑Wed Mar 08, 2023 9:17 am My rule of thumb has always been 20-30% increase to make company jump worth it.

Given COL is basically a wash as you say...I'd shoot for

($150k + $7k MBA) x 130% = $204k
$15-20k signing bonus to negate 401K unvested
Relocation expenses covered

My guess is they'll come back somewhere around $180-190k, at which point you'll need to make a decision.

100% agree with this one above.
Say, "I'm looking for a total compensation package of just over $200k. plus I have unvested incentive plan compensation of just under $20k."

HueyLD wrote: ↑Thu Mar 09, 2023 5:15 am Your state premium tax is deducted from your premium in the year you buy an immediate annuity (or convert your deferred annuity into an immediate annuity).

In addition, if you move out of a premium tax state into a non premium tax state, annuitize your policy, and move back to a premium tax state, you will not be charged with premium tax on your existing annuity.

Does this mean that if a MYGA is purchased, held to maturity, and withdrawn then there is no state premium tax? That a state premium tax is only charged if the annuity is to be paid out over time. Just want to make sure I understand this.

I started looking into MYGAs. They could be a very good fit for me within the bond portion of my holdings while deferring tax until I retire in a lower tax bracket. However, I'm in California, and this statement on the CanvasAnnuity.com website has caused me to seriously doubt the value I would gain from an annuity: "California has a specific premium tax — a sales tax assessed on insurance premiums — that applies to annuities. This tax is charged to the insurance company and can be passed along to the annuity owner. ...For non-qualified annuities, the premium tax is 2.35%" source: https://canvasannuity.com/blog/annuities-in-california Does this mean any funds I eventually withdraw from the annuity will be reduced by the 2.35% tax ...

To follow up on my post for closure: The lease inspection went well. The inspector was incredibly thorough. Finding many things I wasn't aware of (e.g., scratches on passenger side roof from repeated purse placement/removal) and all of the things I was aware of (tires, passenger visor stains, etc.). However, on the plus side, the estimated repair costs were lower than I anticipated, and 95% of items were considered normal wear-and-tear. My $500 lease-end credit for repairs more than covered the $300 inspection result (one tire below spec - the other three tires were borderline but passed according to the inspector). I'm glad I didn't do a lot of costly things to prepare my car for lease return, but I am glad that I washed and vacuumed the c...

Ponzi's will never die away completely. Here is an example: I have a friend I go on walks with. Whenever I see him, he mentions how his financial advisor (associated with our church) is doing great things with his money. It is in 'private placements' with a real estate group that includes the children of a very well-known senator. Then he offers to introduce me to his financial advisor. I decline gracefully. He follows up with an invitation to an event (MLB game, broadway musical, etc.) to which he has free tickets from the financial advisor. I decline again. Ugh, when will people get the hint?! In the end, I'm expecting my friend won't get 100% robbed (maybe I'm naive), but he will certainly underperform a low-fee index investing plan. The...

Keep your house. Air BnB vacations when BOTH of you are retired: sell your house RENT for at LEAST 1 year in the new location If you really do want to live there full time after a year, start looking and find what you want. No rush. If it takes you 5 years to find what you want, so what? I agree with the above. My only addition would be that if you are itching to try out the VEC then possibly rent a place there starting in your last year of working in SDT. Your partner could visit VEC more during that final year, you could do very frequent long weekends in VEC, and the apartment would be ready (furnished/decorated) before you are there full time to start your retirement. Then make your decision to buy about 1 year after your retirement (18...

Buy a home in Lake Tahoe on the Nevada side. My recommendation would be Zephyr Cove in South Lake Tahoe (state line area). My parents have owned a vacation home there for 15 years and many of us go a few times per year to unwind. It is great in summer (possibly better) as well as winter.
Then, you could try to spend more time there to get past 6 months/year at which time you could consider NV state residency to cash in some capital gains absent CA state tax (only NV state tax which is zero). If the tax aspects of NV aren’t beneficial to you then buy on the CA side of the lake because it’s much cheaper.

Hyperchicken wrote: ↑Fri Mar 03, 2023 1:04 pm Why the rush? If your bonus takes you into the 22% territory, and you wish to stay under the 22% threshold, you can always do more pre-tax contributions through the rest of the year. Plenty of time to adjust.

Agreeing with above.
Consider doing this every year. Normal contributions into regular (adjust to Roth throughout the year based on expected tax bracket) and one-time bonus contributions into Roth. In the end (retirement), you will probably want some in post-tax accounts and some in pre-tax accounts. That way you can withdraw from each in retirement while keeping your overall tax burden low.

investingisart wrote: ↑Wed Feb 22, 2023 12:23 pm Sorry if it is a silly question.

A lot of discussion around 3 months to 1 year T-Bills. Yes, the yields are spicy for sure. But at what point do you guys plan to lock-in into a 10Y, 20Y or even a 30Y treasury? They might look juicy after 3-4 years when Fed cuts the rates back to 1-2%. And those 10Y/20Y we lock-in might also shoot up and give much more than the 5% APY yield during those couple of years (similar to how bonds lost 20-25% last year?)

So how and when are you planning to capitalize that opportunity?

Thanks!

There isn’t a 5% APY 10Y/20Y Treasury available currently. 10Y is 4%. If 5% 10Y or 20Y becomes available it will be very tempting.

I've confirmed that the settlement date for agency bonds purchased via Vanguard with a transaction date before the 'dated date' is the dated date (said another way, "settlement date = dated date for agency bonds purchased via vanguard before the dated date"). I just purchased a small amount of CUSIP 3130AV4S8 at 99.875 (plus $0.10 commission, so total is $99.975/$100). It has a dated date of 3/10/2023, and my settlement date on the transaction is 3/10/2023. This Federal Home Loan Banks agency bond has an interest rate of 5.9%, but what made it attractive to me is that its first call date is March 2025 (guaranteeing me at least two years of interest before it could be called). But this bond has a maturity of March 2043, so anyone w...

Only if there is a time limit on the agreement. For example, an annual renewal. My expectation is the company will invalidate the agreements when it is in their best interest. Therefore it would be best that it is regularly signed again by both sides.

For an existing employee to sign this contract I would expect compensation (e.g., a one time bonus or a raise).

How far away (travel time) is the club, less than 30 min?
Does your wife golf?
Does your wife want to be a member of the club?

If you answer Yes to at least 2 out of 3 then sign up for the club.

Bond funds with constant durations behave slightly different than holding a 7y bond whos duration gets reduced with every year that passes. One ETF series I've seen that makes the ETF behave more like a fixed duration bond is the iShares iBonds fund. It holds fixed duration US Treasuries of a specified year and when the bonds finally all mature the ETF closes down. The fund may lose money in the interim but at the end you get the book value. There are a US Treasury, US municipal, and US dollar denominated corporate bonds. The only downside for some/many is that they are US dollar only. Does anybody know of any more global or even non-US version of this style of ETF? One year of the US Treasury series (2027): https://www.blackrock.com/us/in...

Hoping for 4%+ as a March rate on the G fund. Should know the new rate tomorrow.

I'm seeing more-and-more agency bonds being sold in the secondary market before their dated date (i.e., before they start earning interest). I see one (cusip: 3130AV4R0 Federal Home Loan Banks Agency) being offered in the secondary market today (2/27) at par pricing (100/100) that doesn't start earning interest until 3/15. That means anyone who buys it today is essentially lending money that doesn't start earning interest until more than 2 weeks in the future. It is offering a 6.19% yield but has a first call date of 9/23. Seems odd to me. Are you sure that trade will settle prior to 3/15? I recently bought a Federal Farm Credit Bank new issue at Auction through Fidelity. CUSIP 3133EPCA1. I just received my Trade Confirmation in the mail a...

5 stocks make up >75% of Berkshire Hathaway's portfolio. That is an asymmetric risk.
https://hedgefollow.com/funds/Berkshire+Hathaway
On a personal note, I believe BH is participating in merger arbitrage as of late (e.g., ATVI) even though they try to say they aren't.

For purchases of Tbills and Tips, at auction and the secondary market through Vanguard, does Vanguard track the accrued interest I Paid? Will the amounts paid as accrued interest show up on the 1099B for tax purposes? I need this information for tax purposes as an offset to interest Income on schedule B. The accrued interest paid is shown on a Vanguard 1099-INT for the year the treasury is purchased. In my case, I purchased a treasury in the secondary market (paying accrued interest), but I did not earn any treasury interest within that account in the same year (2022). The result is my tax software will not allow me to enter the 'Taxable accrued Treasury interest paid' because the first line of this particular 1099-INT (interest income) is...

I'm seeing more-and-more agency bonds being sold in the secondary market before their dated date (i.e., before they start earning interest). I see one (cusip: 3130AV4R0 Federal Home Loan Banks Agency) being offered in the secondary market today (2/27) at par pricing (100/100) that doesn't start earning interest until 3/15. That means anyone who buys it today is essentially lending money that doesn't start earning interest until more than 2 weeks in the future. It is offering a 6.19% yield but has a first call date of 9/23. For you all that have the ability to buy agency bonds as "new issue" (I'm assuming you can put in for these future offerings and keep your money in a money market fund until the dated date while also not paying ...

xtallographer wrote: ↑Fri Feb 24, 2023 1:09 pm

junior wrote: ↑Fri Feb 24, 2023 1:06 pm Are you afraid to ask your employer because you won't like the answer you'll receive? My guess will be they will tell you you need to sign it to get severance.

On the day when I was told to leave, HR told me I do not have to sign to get the lump sum payment. I repeated this and got confirmed that day. Now in the document I found this. I contacted HR and now he said I have to sign, different to what he told me that day.

They may have meant "you do not need to sign it today."

I'm sure on that day the HR person was dealing with a lot of things having to be done on that day. Your signature on the form was not one of those things having to be done on that day.

OP, I understand it is callable in 12 months, but I am curious as to the maturity date and whether you bought in secondary market or new issue. If in secondary, I am also wondering what the YTW was (assume with a coupon of 6.25% you paid a premium for that security)? Seems like an attractive security. I bought from a broker (secondary market I think) that had it listed on the bond offerings page within Vanguard. The issue date is Feb 27, 2023 so I don’t believe the bond begins accruing interest until then. I paid $100/$100 face value (par value) plus a vanguard commission of $1 per $1000 of face value. My yield to worst is 6.15% (if it gets called in Feb 2024) due to the commission charge. The longer it goes after 2/2024, the more my yield...

It must have been a glitch because the AAA for Moody's is back on the Vanguard description

Yesterday, I purchased some of this agency bond: 3133epbt1 (6.25% interest, not callable until Feb 2024). At the time, it showed a rating of AAA/Moody's and AA+/S&P. Today, it didn't show up in my agency bond search (limited to investment grade rating for both Moody's and S&P), so I checked by specific CUSIP. Now, it shows the AA+/S&P but no rating by Moody's. It seems unusual for the bond rating to change overnight or even for Vanguard to pick up on a bond rating change overnight.
Why would this particular bond not carry the same Moody's rating as other Fed Farm Banks bonds or is it a glitch and it does carry a AAA Moody's rating?

A google search also turned up this helpful article: "Vanguard Federal Money Market Fund: How to Claim Your State Income Tax Exemption"
https://www.mymoneyblog.com/vanguard-fe ... me%20taxes.

I think that I just found it, but I'm still interested in responses to make sure this is correct (and I think it will be helpful for others who may be missing out on the state tax aspect of Federal Money Market Funds). At the end of the 1099-DIV entry within FreeTaxUSA the following question is asked, "Is this a mutual fund that has U.S. Government interest income?" That is where I need to answer yes and then enter in the percentage of the Federal Money Market Fund that is exempt from my state income tax. This also means I need to enter my dividend income from the Vanguard Federal Money Market fund as a separate entry from my other dividend income. I had entered all dividend income based on the aggregate data of the 1099-DIV (boxe...

TL;DR: How do I designate that Vanguard Federal Money Market fund dividends are partially tax-free on my state tax return? I can't believe I've done my own taxes (and used tax services some years) for 35+ years, and I'm asking this question, but here it is below. I've looked at Vanguard statements, the web, my tax return software (FreeTaxUSA), and yet I can't figure this out. I see that dividends from the Vanguard Federal Money Market Fund are mostly from US treasury obligations and therefore are partially exempt from state taxes. However, on my Vanguard tax forms, I only see Vanguard Federal Money Market Fund dividends without any corresponding statement about US Treasury interest. Fortunately, this year my total dividends from Vanguard Fe...

The website changes by Vanguard are bothering me more and more. The latest one is they have removed the latest 5 transactions on each holding page. As an example of why I don't like this, it is now very difficult for me to figure out if a dividend has been paid on a particular holding (note: transaction history at Vanguard does not show transactions for the current day, so that also isn't helpful on the day a dividend is paid). Vanguard seems to be removing the information user's would want when deciding to execute a transaction and replacing it with general descriptions about each investment type (i.e., brochure information). There is no reason to fight change, except through voting with my feet. As a result, I will move 50% of my assets f...