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We are traveling to London Heathrow in June and will have a car service take us to our hotel in London. The service wants to know what time to pick us up. So how long might it take to deplane, get luggage, and go through customs at Heathrow? We have Global Entry from the US if that makes a...

I am considering setting up a SMA for bonds with funds within my IRA. I use Fidelity for my brokerage accounts. The fee is 35 to 40 basis points, depending on the amount invested, which is less than most actively managed mutual funds to my knowledge. I've always felt that active management...

It seems like the majority of folks here recommend converting taxable IRA's to Roth's. In our case I haven't found good reasons to do so. We do not have children. Our parents are deceased. Our remaining siblings are all older than us and okay, financially. So our heirs are mostly nieces and...

My DW will be 65 next April (I am already 66) so we can get a multi household discount on a plan G supplement Medicare plan. My current insurer is Aetna and they offer a 7% discount. However, I've seen that UHC - AARP offers a 15% discount, per person. I got a quote from UHC and it only...

My DW will turn 65 next April and will quit her j*b in March. Employer health benefits will last through March and she will begin Medicare on April 1st. She would like to start SS sometime around April too, but can be flexible. Since Medicare part B premiums are taken from SS, will there be a...

In 2022, my DW is planning to quit her job. We are looking at the most opportune time - tax wise. If she were to earn $8,000 in gross income, and contribute the max to an HSA ($4,650 for single HDHP coverage) via payroll deduction, could I still make a maximum spousal Roth IRA contribution of...

My wife plans to retire at the beginning of next year and take SS (just of couple of months before age 64). Her earnings this year will certainly be high enough to be counted in her 35 highest earning years for purposes of calculating her SS monthly benefit. But the SSA will not have her...

I recently contracted to purchase a new-build home with a very large national builder. They have a prepayment option that allows me to pay from $50,000 up to about 95% of the final home cost. If I make that prepayment 120 days or more prior to closing, the builder gives me a credit of 1.5% of...

Since I will turn 65 next year, I'm paying more attention to the Medicare ads and the mail/email I am receiving. One thing I don't understand is why nearly every ad I see is for Medicare Advantage and very little for Medicare supplement plans. Is MA so much more profitable for insurance...

I have seen some threads on this topic before and there seemed to be some difficulties with the transition, so I am researching in advance for next year. I will be eligible for Medicare in September, 2021. My DW will not be 65 until 2023. I have spoken to both my current HI company and the...

Are Medicare salespeople a trustworthy source for choosing a Medicare insurance provider? I know they receive a commission from the insurance company, but do the commissions vary, thereby creating a conflict of interest? I would think a local salesperson would be a good source for how...

I have tried to find out on the SSA website, and others, if there is some kind of "reward/penalty" to waiting until full retirement age to take SS. I know about the 7-8% per year stuff. But what about taking SS just a month or two prior to FRA? Would I collect less than the annual 7-8%...

I'd like to get some of your knowledgeable opinions. I hold a large amount of cash, about $600,000. I do this because, if the right opportunity arises, I may buy a new home before selling the current one, therefore not having to mess around with a mortgage and the associated fees as well as...

I have to work hard to stay below the ACA maximum income limits each year. Some I-Shares ETF's (including IVV) make a final distribution that doesn't hit my brokerage account until the following year, but shows up on the current year tax forms. I spoke to an I-Shares rep and was told that they...

In April, we had our luggage stolen, including our passports. We immediately applied for new passports on April 29 as we travel to Canada on June 13th. I messed up by not paying for expidited service, but we had almost 7 weeks between trips. After 3 weeks, I called the State department and...

I had a colonoscopy last year and the doc found one small polyp. It was removed and benign. Doc suggested another colonoscopy in one year as I have cancer history in the family. The procedure is scheduled for November. I am trying to verify that ACA insurance will pay for this procedure. I...

At retirement about 6 years ago, I budgeted a withdrawal rate of 3.5% of an investment portfolio of $2.3 M. Since then, our portfolio has grown by about a million, courtesy of the running bull market. Conventional wisdom states that you maintain your withdrawal rate with only inflationary...

I live in Phoenix and do some traveling in the summer months. I recently came upon a very good wine sale and bought quite a few bottles. When we leave in June, I turn the house A/C up to 86 degrees. We don't have a wine fridge. Can I put all of the wine in the regular fridge until we return...

Since I believe that 2017 will be the last year one will be able to receive a subsidy through the ACA, I am trying to figure out what would be my optimum income in 2017. I live on investment income only and have both long term gains and losses in my taxable accounts. So by selling holdings, I...

Unfortunately, my wife and I have to try to decrease our investment income in taxable accounts for 2017 to qualify for a health insurance premium tax credit. Currently, we are very close to the $64,000 upper limit. I know some standard ways to do this - use index funds, low turnover mutual...

I'm trying to understand the formula for calculating the ACA premium tax subsidy. I know there are calculators online, but only for 2016 plans. I also know that I can get this info on healthcare.gov as of Nov. 1, but I'm trying to understand this now. First, you need to be less than 4x of...

I am wondering if anyone has any information about insurers participating in Obamacare in AZ for 2017, specifically Maricopa County (the Phoenix area). I've talked to a couple of insurance brokers recently. One claims only Cigna will be in for 2017 and they have proposed at 58% rate increase...

Since L/T capital gains and qualified dividends are taxed at zero if you are in the 15% (or lower) tax bracket, I use this strategy each year and pay little or no federal income tax. This is sometimes called 'tax gain harvesting'. At the end of the year, I take gains such that I try to fill...

My DW is finally considering ER in the next 6 months. We have lived in the Denver area for 23 years and are considering relocating to an Active Adult Community - perhaps in the Phoenix area. I am heading there in the next few weeks to scope it out. While we both want out of the snow belt, I'm...

I own Vanguard's Intermediate Muni Bond fund (VWIUX, or in non-admiral form, VWITX). On VG's web site, it shows a 30 day yield of 1.58%. The actual monthly dividend I receive is over 3% (annualized). I know there is always a small difference between stated yield and actual because of bonds...