Recent content by nun

If interest rates go down the payout rate will follow, but the rate will increase the older I get and the amount in the account will also increase and obviously how long I live is a factor. But at 9.45% I'm tempted just to take it now, have the extra bit of income and pay the tax and remove the...

Yes that's what I was thinking - on my annuity quote I have the following note: "Your TIAA Traditional Income Payout Rate is 9.45% (vs. 7.4% payout rate for new contributor.)" Even though the rule of thumb is to leave tax free money alone until it's either needed or RMDs are needed I think I...

I have a small amount in TIAA from a job early in my career. It's just been sitting there compounding. I don't really need the money, but just wanted to clean up the old "zombie" account. I was going to leave it until I was closer to RMDs, but the pay out rate of 9.45% has focused my mind...

I was looking to close out my TIAA account as it doesn't have much in it and did a double take at the payout rate and wondered if others had seem something similar.

I have a small balance in TIAA Traditional and just did an online quote to turn it into a single lifetime annuity starting at age 63 and a payout rate of 9.45% was quoted. I've been with TIAA for over 35 years so I think I'm getting some uplift for having an old contract, but this seems amazing...

I retired 7 years ago, although I still do some part-time consulting work and I put the max I can from that into a solo-401k. My AA has drifted to 80/20 and I can't be bothered to rebalance because I'm living off rent and a small pension so I'm sanguine about the risk. I've started to gift money...

This is timely for me as well. I'm single and all my family lives overseas and none of them are US citizens so their being executors is problematic. My only options are friends and the estate planning attorney. My friends are all around my age and I don't really want to burden them with all the...

Yes the attorney I talked to often acts as executor as having a beneficiary do it can lead to conflicts and family arguments. He said the ideal person is a close friend who is financially literate and has no vested interest other than any agreed fee.

If you know when you will die then you can time the gifts just right. I'm already giving some money to my nieces and their children, but it isn't making a big dent in the value of the estate yet. But if I do get a heads up that the "grim reaper" is around the corner I can see me making $15k...

I have actually talked to a couple of estate lawyers and they all agree that my situation is very simple apart from the non-citizen heirs and potential executors. The one that seemed most thorough recommended a will, a revocable trust for the house and rental apartment to avoid probate and the...

That sounds sensible. One thing I didn't mention is that my heirs are all back in the UK and so they don't know about US stuff and importantly it can be difficult for non-US citizens to navigate the US system. I think that really pushes me into using a lawyer as the executor. I have some good...

I know this is good advice...what sort of fees are reasonable for an attorney to be the executor. I know when my mother died I was glad that the attorney did everything as dealing with taxes and selling the house were the last things I wanted to do, but that was in the UK.

I'm 59 and have been retired for 7 years. I've become comfortable with my retirement finances and now I'm worrying about wills, estate planing and inheritance. I'm single and don't have any children so I will be leaving money to my nieces and some charities. I have a basic will from a long time...

The value of an annuity depends on the numbers and your circumstances. They have been very poor value for a long time because pf low interest rates. Just before I retired I got the chance to use DC pension money to buy into my employer's DB pension plan. I looked at the numbers and I found I...

For the first 3 years of saving/investing life I had money in a bank saving account and all my retirement money in TIAA Traditional. Thirty years later and I still have that TIAA Traditional account, but I've added a few mutual funds as well.