Recent content by earlyout

It is about the same, you could buy an annuity for about $550k and get about $40,000 yr. How safe is pension, what other assets do you have and what is the volatility that you like? are other important questions. Reminder, the pension (i.e. annuity) is returning some of the original investment...

For general discussion of the pro's and cons for this "investment" Guarantees 100% of investment, invests in mutual funds, you can lock in gain at any time (up to 4 times a year), then after 5 year waiting period from the time of initial investment or lock in value (wjichever is later) you can...

hRe: How often does a 1% I-Bond beat the S&P500? There was an excellent article on how our minds cause us to react/act in certain predictable ways. One of the points in the article was our need to predict the future. We take certain random events, that we see and "determine"a pattern. This...

Here is post to JFP article: www.fpanet.org/journal/articles/2004_Issues/jfp0304-art8.cfm?& The article also discusses the impacts of the first 10 years of retirement when the market has been good, average and bad, and what should be done. Overall a good article. Also includes charts which...

lso givesRe: Yahoo "Finance Quiz" The October issue of JFP has an article on SWR. The article suggests that the optimum stock allocation for retiree is between 50-75%. It warns of too little or too high stock allocation. It also gives some advice based upon the early years investment results...

Once a SWR is decided upon there have been a number of withdrawal strategies that have been proposed. For one, galeno had proposed and used a mechanical withdrawal strategy, like F! 25%, stocks 75%, with 2 years living expenses in MMF, 2 yr expenses in CD maturing in 1 y, 2 yr expenses in...

The future is unknowable, all we can do is use a reasonable method to get an estimate of what a SWR might be. SWR is better than WAG, but it can never be precise because of future uncertainity (principle). Perhaps more important is understanding our own selves in relation to investing and how to...

Charlie, The monthly expense and tight budget indicates they should probably stay where they are and eliminate any debt. Save their money for 3 years and then move. If they are set on moving, then I would have them set aside 6-12 months of expenses (probably 12 months), pay off any other debt...

Over long periods stocks have outperformed other asset classes. However, that out performance has come at a price of greater volatility. Consider that when in the phase of accululating assets volatility is not crucial and actually may be helpful in accumulating a portfolio. In the consumption...

SWR, One of the worst times to retire was from 1966 to 1995 (30 year period). Over this time, the first 17 years the real return on stocks was zero. The next 13 years were very good. Had one retired (in 1966) all SWR above 4% and with any combination of stocks/bonds,etc ended up broke before...

In addition to the previous comments from everyone, some things to also consider: 1) if one needs to go into a nursing home under medicaid, I believe (someone correct if not right) your home is not considered an asset that must be used up before you qualify to go into a nursing home, leaving the...

Yes, there are two sides to this issue and do what is comfortable for you. One can envision any number of scenarios that can work either way. Consider just one: Jan 2000, $200,000 is available to pay off mortgage or invest in the market. Invest in market up till 2003: result a loss of approx...

I think valid cases can be made for either side of this question. However, I tend to go for the mortage payoff. In part, because it is a timing issue, if the market is good (uptrend) over a period of years then chances are that this will be a benefit to have your house equity in the market. If...

It depends on what your plan is and what other income you have. Diversification is very important. The following can be considered annuities: defined benefit pension, social security, plus insurance company annuities. Non-annuity items are: your stocks, bonds, 401k, your house, etc. Insurance...

Hi, ran across info on CDIPS, basically are TIPS in the form of a CD. Maturity is from 3 yrs to 10 yrs. Rate on 3 yr is 1.4%, rate on 10 yr is 2.15%, plus CPI inflation adjustment. Does anyone have any thoughts on these? Pros & cons? web site below. (www.lasallecdips.com/) thanks earlyout