Same wife's sister, different problem

[Caroline]

Given that you want to give advice, I can only say that I had a friend who retired from Lawrence Livermore Lab with more than 30 years in. Took the lump sum. This was shortly before the market implosion.

He didn't share every detail with me, but the ashen look he wore as he described his portfolio as having "taken it in the shorts" said it all.

His wife also delayed her retirement by a couple of years as a result.

Just one data point.

P.S. as I recall there was something about his foregoing the lab healthcare program if he took the lump sum. Again, I don't remember the details but it might be worth checking into the fine print. Is it possible that other benefits / aspects are affected if the lump sum vs the pension is chosen?

 

[yelnad]

You guys are forgetting the NUMBER ONE rule of investing:

NEVER EVER give your family members FINANCIAL ADVICE!!!

No, no, no. The NUMBER ONE rule is "Do not lend your brother-in-law $11,000."

Duh.

 

[FinanceDude]

No, no, no. The NUMBER ONE rule is "Do not lend your brother-in-law $11,000."

Duh.

Personal experience, I gather??

 

[yelnad]

Um, maybe.

Of course, the husband lent it to him without tell me

 

[AltaRed]

Um, maybe.

Of course, the husband lent it to him without tell me

Ouch! That would have likely caused me to drop the trust factor in the relationship to zero (or close to it).

 

[REWahoo]

Of course, the husband lent it to him without tell me

You are talking about your ex-husband, right?

 

[Nords]

You are talking about your ex-husband, right?

That's no way to speak of the dearly departed!

 

[AltaRed]

Maybe yelnad was just kidding us.... sure hope so.

 

[Elderdude]

Well, I called the brother-in-law to say that I would give strong weight to the fixed monthly payment. Then he dropped a little more information. Seems like in the interval between when the wife was first given the option decision and several months later, the lump-sum had shrunk due to the stock market, as had the monthly payment. Boy,this is no time for an amateur like me to butt in. It's like shooting a moving target.

As nice as this guy is, he worries over the smallest decisions, spends $20 in gas to get the best grocery deals. He has made some dreadful decisions in order to save on taxes. Many years ago, he got into a cattle ranch tax scheme which fooled a lot of folks in our area (which eventually got his enrolled-agent, accountant sent to federal prison.) In trying to avoid the IRS seizing his home to pay penalties, he took an equity loan on his home and bought some Canadian annuity that some other accountant told him the IRS couldn't touch - which, of course, they did immediately. He himself lost his retirement stock accumulation with his company when the place went belly-up. Disabled and legally blind, dislexic and uneducated, he has been living off diability now for almost twenty years.

He grew up in poverty, his brother accumulated $100,000 but lost it all to cover his medical costs and care, when he became disabled from diabetes and lost a leg.

On the other hand, BIL and his wife raised three, well adjusted, self-suffient children, who love them and have given them 5 grand children. They live frugally and can survive on very little. He's a garage sale freak who buys well-made furniture, expensive bikes and excercise equipment for his kids or for resale for pennies on the dollar.

I love 'em, but I can't help them.

 

[yelnad]

Maybe yelnad was just kidding us.... sure hope so.

No, I'm not joking at all. It's my current husband, but we keep our finances separate. It works for us, for now.

 

[d]

we keep our finances separate

... ditto ... it works like a charm ...