Talk:Bogleheads' Guide to Retirement Planning

=Discussion=

Chapter 7: Single-Premium Immediate Annuities (Dan Smith)
This chapter makes extensive use of the term SPIA (Single Premium Immediate Annuity). The chapter correctly defines this term as the surrender of a capital payment in return for an immediate lifetime income stream. However, this income stream can come in one of two forms:
 * A fixed income stream (either fixed, graded, or inflation-indexed) based on an insurer's general account ( a Fixed SPIA), or
 * A variable income stream based on a set of subaccounts ( a Variable SPIA).

The chapter never considers a Variable SPIA, and furthermore continually misappropriates the term SPIA to mean a Fixed SPIA. --Blbarnitz 22:31, 6 October 2009 (UTC)

Chapter 10: Funding Your Retirement Accounts (David Grabiner and Ian Forsythe)
As the author of Table 10.2, I concur with the posted correction. The last entry on the third row should be $1,000, not $1,333. I have this table from the drafts and the number was $1,000 in the draft table.Grabiner 23:50, 4 October 2009 (UTC)

I also checked the numbers and concur with the Social Security correction.Grabiner 03:09, 11 October 2009 (UTC)

Chapter 11: Understanding Social Security (Dick Schreitmueller)
Changes to Table 11.3 concurred by chapter author rschreit via Mel Lindauer. Change entered by LadyGeek 01:55, 10 October 2009 (UTC)

Taxation of Social Security benefits contains the formula references for Chapter 11 and is easier to use than the IRS guides. Grabiner created the wiki page. LadyGeek 02:32, 13 October 2009 (UTC)

Chapter 14: Income Replacement (Lee E. Marshall)
This chapter has been updated by the author, on the Wiki to include a new definition of life insurance and a worksheet to help families determine life insurance needs.

Please see Life Insurance. --LadyGeek 20:19, 18 October 2009 (UTC)

Chapter 15: Health Insurance (Lee E. Marshall)
Emergency Room Care From EmergDoc, a clarification to the last paragraph of page 246, ending on page 247:
 * Emergency departments (and hospitals with emergency departments) are NOT required to provide any level of care for most medical problems. They are required to 1) Determine if an emergency (including labor) exists and 2) if it does, to stabilize it. Patients will receive a bill for the visit, which is sent to collections if it is not paid.

Response from Lee Marshall:
 * I tend to disagree with doc's interpretation of the remarks on emergency room care. Federal law requires that patients receive screening, emergency medical care and transfer, if appropriate. This certainly constitues 'minimal care' and 'some level of treatment ' for everyone. Also, from a practical standpoint, many ER's provide care beyond the minimum required. Also, this section does not imply that ER care is free. Of course ER's bill insurance and individuals. Also, the context of the chapter is showing ER's as a last choice or option for those who may not have care available anywhere else. LadyGeek 21:32, 6 October 2009 (UTC)

Medicaid From David Grabiner, correction on p. 253:
 * "You will not qualify for Medicaid if you transferrred assets at less than full market value to family members during this period. You could gift the assets at full value, but that might result in a gift tax."  If you transfer assets at full market value, that is not a gift, so gift tax does not apply.  However, transferring assets at full value does not help you meet the wealth limits, as you would just trade an asset worth $100,000 for $100,000 in cash.  I would suggest deleting the "You could gift the assets at full value" sentence.

Response from Lee Marshall:

David, I fully agree with your astute observation. The 'gifting at full market value' statement was a late-stage edit by a member of the Bogleheads book committee. They made a number of edits that changed the meaning of what I originally wrote. I requested removal of all of these late edits, but my request was denied. At the very end, I tried to re-edit out as many of these errors as I could, but obviously I missed some. Here is my original language in my final recommended draft in the February 28, 2009 version:

"Recent federal law has increased Medicaid's Lookback Rule to five years. If you transferred assets for less than full market value during this period, you will not qualify for Medicaid. Another problem with gifting, or giving away assets to family members is that once given away, they are irrevocably gone.  You can't get them back if your situation changes, or if you change your mind."

As you can see, there is no mention of gifting at full market value as that is a contradiction in itself. Do you like my original language shown above? If so, I suggest it be changed here, and in future editions of the book itself.


 * I agree with your re-wording. You might write, "you will not qualify for Medicaid until you, or they, pay the value of the gifts toward the care that Medicaid would have covered."  Your wording is also reasonable.Grabiner 22:44, 12 October 2009 (UTC)

Response to David Grabiner from Lee Marshall


 * I agree to go with my original wording in paragraph two above.

Health Savings Accounts From LadyGeek, pp. 247-248:

There is no mention of Flexible Spending Arrangements (FSAs). While similar to Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), there is an important difference in that the employer sets the contribution limits, not the IRS. I was expecting FSAs to be covered in this section. The reader might be misled into thinking that IRS contribution limits apply to FSAs. LadyGeek 23:55, 12 October 2009 (UTC)

Response from Lee Marshall, LadyGeek, you are correct. I had to cover the entire U.S. healthcare system in about 10 pages or one half a chapter (the other half on long term care). I decided not to cover FSA's/cafeteria plans to keep the chapter within boglehead book committee guidelines. On second thought, FSA's should be addressed in about a paragraph.


 * Descriptions could be added to Health Savings Account, which is also missing FSAs/cafeteria plans. This section could then refer to Health Savings Account for further info. LadyGeek 02:49, 13 October 2009 (UTC)

Lady...I guess my question, of a more general nature, is what these changes on this Wiki discussion board will bring about. The book is already out. Will these discussions result in changes to future book distributions? If not, I don't quite understand what we are trying to accomplish. If we just want to create or beef up cafeteria plan, FSA info on the Wiki then a full and thorough section would be better.


 * Lee, my thoughts are that the wiki could supplement book material to further educate the reader (note Grabiner example in Chapter 11 above). LadyGeek 21:56, 13 October 2009 (UTC)

Flexible Spending Arrangement - FSA has been added to the wiki. LadyGeek 20:24, 16 October 2009 (UTC) =References=

How to Cite
You can link to this page from the Bogleheads Forum by copying and pasting the following text into your forum posting: "Please see &#91;url=] (discussion page)&#91;/url] on the &#91;url=http://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Main_Page]Bogleheads Wiki&#91;/url]."