Search results

I turn 65 this October and as I understand it I can sign up for Medicare in July. Is it true that if I already receive Social Security that I'm automatically enrolled?

I'm reviewing a friend's portfolio for them and all of their retirement accounts are in Fidelity. I would like to recommend some index funds but I'm not familiar with Fidelity's funds. Does Fidelity have a very low expense Total Stock Index fund, Foreign Stock Index fund and Total Bond Index fund?

I'm eligible to apply for SS in a couple of weeks. It doesn't appear that I can apply online. Do I need to go to the SS office to apply? Thanks

I'm planning on moving some IRA Stocks/Bonds (maybe $60k) to IRA CD's. I can do the transfers within Vanguard to the Brokered CD's or do a rollover to traditional bank IRA CD's. I understand the differences in how these IRA CD's operate, but does anyone have a preference? It appears that the...

Has anyone created their own Living trust in California? If so, did you use services like LegalZoom? Is it relatively easy or too complex?

I currently have a Roth IRA that's been established for greater than 5 years and I'm currently 60. I want to withdraw about $40k from my IRA in 2020. My question is: Can I convert $40k from my IRA to the Roth IRA in 2019 and withdraw the $40k from the Roth in 2020 without penalty? Does the $40k...

Between the beginning of 2017 and 2018, my personal Rate of Inflation for essentials (housing, utilities, food, medical and transportation) is 12.5%. This is largely due to the two most expensive items (property tax and medical insurance) increasing significantly. This makes me want to be a...

The rules state that in order for Roth earnings to be tax free, they cannot be withdrawn until after 5 years from the opening of the first Roth. How is the first Roth defined? I have a Fidelity Roth that was opened long ago and a Vanguard Roth that was opened only a few years ago. Clearly the...

If a person has more than one retirement account, are RMD withdrawals made from each account or do you have a choice to take the full amount from just one of the accounts?

I'm traveling to Italy in October on a 12 day tour. Hotels, transfers, some food, and some sightseeing are included. Venice, Florence, Rome and Sorrento. I've never been to Europe before so I was wondering if anyone had any tips or advice. * How much cash to bring * Use of Credit cards or ATM...

My best friend will start Medicare next month. He's not familiar with all the options and neither am I. 1) Are Parts A and B automatic when Medicare begins? 2) Are Parts C and D purchased separately? 3) If you purchase a Medicare supplement insurance, are Parts C and D not needed? thanks

I just moved from a Fidelity 403b to a Vanguard IRA. I looked at their website and didn't see anything resembling Fidelity's RIP calculator. Does Vanguard have a similar tool?

This index fund only has a Morningstar rating of 3 stars. Is this anything to be concerned about or is there a better choice?

I am planning on depositing $80K in a 3 year CD for 1.75% per year. The CFP at the bank is promoting a 3 year Fixed Annuity at 1.95% per year. I looked through the documentation and there appears to be no fees of any kind. The CFP says there are no fees. It seems that the only real difference is...

My 403b has been sitting with my former employer for the last 6 1/2 years. All I've done is a periodic re-balance to 50/50 AA. I've decided to roll it over to a Vanguard IRA. Now for the fun part, this is like creating a whole new portfolio from scratch. Below, I've outlined a first attempt at...

I retired several years ago and left my 403b in tact with my previous employer. I'm 58 and have not begun any withdrawals yet. My question is should I rollover my 403b to an IRA? What might be the advantages or disadvantages? I've left it in place mostly due to inertia. thanks Joe

Just curious, do most people that do Roth conversions fill up the 15% bracket, or they stop at 10%?

While driving the other day, I was casually listening to the Rick Edelman show on the radio. Similar to many financial shows, he promotes investing in stocks & bonds. Due to the recent market drop, he was quoting long term Average Annual Rates of Return to bolster his view. He quoted numbers...

After completing the 2015 budget and withdrawing the funds from the portfolio, my 2015 WR is 2.42%. I plan to increase spending slightly over the next 5 years until SS kicks in, then give myself a more significant increase.

I'm curious if I'm cheaper than most. What is your typical monthly entertainment budget per person for day to day fun including dining out. Mine is about $300. I'm not including golf, skiing or other activities like that.

A quick question regarding entering Pension and Mortgage information into Firecalc. If I want to enter a non-cola pension and a fixed mortgage expense, do I enter both under off-chart income and off chart spending? My goal to remove the non inflation adjusted income and expense from the...

Does anyone know how to change the Confidence Level from 90% to 95% or any other value?

Given all the studies and articles on SWR, I'm curious what are the views and opinions of the people on this forum. Here's my range of comfort levels regarding SWR: 4.0% Not comfortable. I would worry about running out of money. 3.5% Highest acceptable percentage. Still a little...

Is anyone else worried about the potential Bond bubble? I've read several articles advising to reduce bond exposure to next to nil. With equities at an all time high and cash yielding an all time low, what are the alternatives? Just curious what everyone else is thinking or doing?

Is there a trick to entering rental income and then removing it after 20 years? Maybe use the Pension section for th eincome, but then it doesn't allow for an end date.