Recent content by ChrisC

I agree, the OP is not doing enough large annual conversions. We're at the very bottom of the 24% bracket on pensions, social security, and modest fixed income/cash. We've been doing conversions since we retired at 59.5, and at that point we had zero in Roth and all in TDA. After 10 years of...

I've gone through several diagnostic protocols before treatment for my prostate cancer: PSA, Exosome Test, MRI, Fusion Biopsy, and PetSCan. The game changer for me was the Genomic Testing (there are two prevalent types, Decipher and Oncotype DX) -- this resulted in more aggressive treatment for...

Ok. I'm on the waitlist for these two: https://thecypressofcharlotte.com/ https://www.southminster.org/ We're strongly favoring the first one because of its equity ownership feature, dining plans and services, and a better feel of the place for us, some of which based on personal interactions...

True, but the Newsweek rankings have some surprising entries -- though I haven't studied them in depth. I will point out that the 2nd ranked CCRC on this list recently emerged from Bankruptcy in 2023 and I believe the Dallas Morning News reported on its saga of high growth, unrealistic...

Never bothered to find out. I retired in 2013, and wasn't eligible for SS retirement benefits in 2013, as I didn't have enough credits (or quarters of coverage, as we used to say, back in the day). I worked several days in 2015-16, as a 1099 consultant, and met the earnings requirements for SS...

I'm ok with WEP. My WEP reduced payment is $350 per month, and I crawled over 10 years in SS credits. And my wife got half of my WEP reduced payment when she was able to file a restrictive application and spousal benefits on my account, when previously allowed several years ago under the old...

An issue with any of the analysis of prior years is that you can't really forecast future sustainability in the event of black swan events, like a pandemic, which resulted in several luxury level CCRCs in TX and IL going into Chapter 11 -- and all this occurred with significant Government...

Time2, Well, I agree that biopsies can be an unnecessary procedure but seriously PSA screening! So, you get a PSA baseline and if it doubles in two years, keep watching it. And if it spikes a lot higher in one period -- yes, go get some other test: like the EXoDX urine test, which I'm told is...

Your journey seems very similar to mine this summer, except we used a different genetic test (Oncotype DX, known as Genomic Prostate Score or GPS) and my treatment will likely be hormonal therapy with radiation EBRT, which is likely to be my best chance for controlling the localized prostate...

I think I have a good idea to this question but I’ll ask anyway: Does the second person fee stay with the couple if one or both go into the assisted living or skilled nursing quarters of your CCRC? And if home care for assisted living in your unit for one person is provided by the CCRC, is that...

We stayed in this hotel for 2 days after a river cruise in France and before heading out to Mallorca for a week, several years ago. It was off the major tourist spots, a block away from the metro/subway and across the street from a giant mall. The hotel itself was unique (when we were there...

I don't think that's true based on my limited, recent experience with a Fidelity brokerage account I funded several weeks ago. I funded the account with a wire into the account from a bank account. The cash was parked in the default core position, SPAXX, for this taxable brokerage account, which...

Just a counter point here, I'm a retired Fed at 69.75 years old and wife at 72. We've had Federal LTCi policies since 2003. The policies afford us with options for LTC, including residence in a CCRC, which I didn't know about when we took out the LTCi policies but we heard about CCRCs when we...

There are also Type B contracts in which CCRCs will gladly take LTCi. These facilities also require a entrance fee and offer discounted rates for skilled nursing care if needed on campus. Here are two of them in my area, each has a different business model for its CCRC, but the contacts are...

There are CCRCs that have Early Admission programs in which for a specified fee you gain admission to the CCRC but wait for permanent move into the CCRC while you age in place at your home, take in all the benefits and amenities of the CCRC, and avail yourself of any home care assistance that...