Bogleheads.org

Sure, you just will owe taxes on the gains (if any) in the brokerage when you sell the shares

Check out Robert et Louise for a great experience!

This is quite a cluster. VIA messed up your enrollment and the only option to move forward and receive the subsidy is to have VIA correct it. 1. I would contact HR explain the situation and ask if you only have Part D coverage with VIA will that qualify for the employer subsidy. If you only need a Part D with them I would just proceed to #3 below. NOTE: Do NOT ask this to VIA as they want you to have your supplemental policy through them. 2. “…and was told they could not contractually contact UHC until 3 weeks had elapsed from the time the application was submitted.” This is insane. They are an insurance broker. They can contact carriers at anytime. This is a bizarre statement and seems like they just want to avoid doing the legwork. 3. I h...

The short answer is if you ever want to switch policies you can simply go with another agent/company, you just cancel the current policy once you get the new one approved. He will be the writing agent on your current policy until you cancel it, that just means he gets commission. Usually agents get 72 months worth of commission then it drops off substantially. As you know, if you call the company that you picked directly they will still charge you the same price (they just keep what they instead pay out in agent commission). He will be able to view basic information name, address, DOB, and whether the policy is active. He won’t be able to see usage, what doctors you visited, cost of care, etc. A few more points: If he’s an independent broke...

Lots of good responses here. This has the potential to turn into a giant cluster if she’s not careful. The short answer is: yes, it’s possible to unenroll in Part B. Some situations require it but it’s not really something I would recommend if it can be avoided. It’s certainly not something you want to keep turning “on” and “off” just because there’s so much that can get messed up. A la is she planning to work for a new potential company for another 5 years or 1 year? If she’s within 3 months of turning 65 she can turn on Part B fairly easily online, if beyond that she will need to use the SEP (special enrollment period) for Part B which requires a simple form to be turned in to social security stating she had credible coverage then lost it...

I’ll second The Last Lion trilogy by William Manchester. Simply incredible writing that doesn’t get stale, boring, or repetitive. All other Churchill biographies are compared to The Last Lion for a reason. Volume 2 “Alone” is from 1932-1940, it’s my favorite of the three and has really great commentary and history on the lead up to the war from the UK perspective.

How old are you today? 29
Portfolio Value Today: 420k
What is your portfolio target size for retirement in PV dollars? With 3m, I’d be comfortable stopping work completely or at least knowing it’s an option to early retire.
What age are you targeting full retirement? 60ish, I very much enjoy my work and would hope to continue to do something fulfilling part-time

I have TD which will become Schwab. The only major issue is TD only allows deposits via wire transfer. I have no idea if all SEP’s are like that but it’s enough of a yearly hassle that I’d avoid TD if I knew that in advance. Every other account with TDAmeritrade is standard ACH.

There isn’t a downside, except you can no longer contribute to an HSA. Be careful if contributing at all in the calendar year you turn 65, I think there’s a pro-rata contribution limit, if say, you get Medicare in October. Having Medicare Part A shouldn’t change anything on your health insurance. When your wife retires it’s the simple form listed above that says you’ve had credible coverage from xx/xx/xxxx- retirement. This is to avoid any penalties. The upside is you will have a Medicare card and Medicare number in advance. Recently, I have been hearing of people getting their Medicare card within days of needing it (rather than 3 months out). When you activate Part B your Medicare number won’t change but they will send you a new card that...

Go with Aetna N-plan. You are coming out $600 a ahead compared to the G plan. So you are saving money unless you are going to the doctors 30x a year.

Also you can ask your broker, but in my experience Aetna is 10x easier to deal with on the phone compared to UnitedHealthcare. Not that you’ll ever need to call but in case of a lost card etc.

You are spot on with the F to G note, those who want the most coverage are likely going with G. This will *hopefully* keep increases down a bit on the N plan.

Good luck!

471k to 377k. Even with pumping money in every month, stay the course!

Yeah, that’s a horrible plan for the cost. If I had to guess it’s $800 per person because your organization is not subsidizing the cost, like they do with group coverage.

Go with the G or N supplemental and a low cost drug plan. Keep in mind most of the most expensive drugs (those administered by a doctor, chemo, many injections, etc) do not even run through Part D they run through Medicare Part B and your supplement.

I’d guess people will stick with it because they think paying $800 a month is better than paying $200 a month but that’s simply not the case in this situation.

I’ll give you my quick 50k windfall story (which is how I ended up on Bogleheads). I received a small windfall in March 2021, I put 50k into a separate investment account that was basically going to be my “reach” portfolio with all these “cool” companies that had been on my list but hadn’t bought. Things like Pinterest, Skillz, Teladoc, GoodRx, Lemonade, among others. Well, as it turns out even though overall the companies share prices were a bit lower than their peaks in February 2021 they were still tremendously overpriced. By the end of 2021 50k was 37k and now current account value is ~22k. I’m not selling but the recovery, if ever, will be a long one. The upside is I’ve switched to index funds and just view it as a really expensive inv...

I have Lemonade for homeowners with a pool add-on, it’s extremely user friendly and easy to get set up. I personally think it’s a cool concept and they are taking their shot at disrupting home and eventually auto markets. Yes, they are burning a ton of cash and are unprofitable. I’ve never had a claim so I can’t speak in that respect. They were actually one of the few companies to underwrite at a reasonable price (house from the 1920’s, slate roof etc etc).

Find a local broker that you can meet with in person or at least has a local office (not a number on the internet). Tell them you want the High Deductible G plan with the lowest cost and they will be able to sort it by price. Because you are not Open Enrollment (6 months after signing up for Medicare), you will have to be approved by underwriting. Some companies now have instant decision underwriting where they enter your SSN and Medicare ID and within 5 minutes it shows whether you’ve been approved. If not, the insuring company will review your medical records and call you with any additional follow ups. If you have diabetes with significant insulin, cancer or heart attack in the last two years it’s nearly certain you be declined. Ditto if...

I got a Motley Fool subscription shortly after college (2015) and started putting ROTH contributions into recommended stocks. It worked with good luck and has been successful overall (The Trade Desk, Twilio, Zendesk, Apple, SVB Financial, Veeva) and the ROTH has beaten the market with much more volatility. Albeit I’m down 25% on the year. Unfortunately, in my brokerage I found myself “reaching” more and more and trying to catch the next big small-cap. Basically picking stocks that were on message boards rather than “official recommendations”. The SPAC’s and companies not making money. Relatively a total disaster. I’m back where I was in Fall 2019. At least I’m young enough for a full course correction. The upshot is it led me to Bogleheads ...