Recent content by LBrowning

IRA/401k is a protected asset, but must be in monthly payout status, basically RMD divided by 12, which is counted as income. My wife would keep her SS, pension and $1100 of my income. The remainder of my SS, pension and 401k payout would be placed in a trust payable to Medicaid.

Spoke with a lawyer today. He advised doing nothing with my portfolio at this time, since our assets are all in exempt status. I'm still trying to decide on Roth conversion strategy.

OP again. I'm 70 y/o and trying to plan/position assets well in advance of possible nursing home need. I am meeting with an elder law attorney next week, so I'll post an update then.

OP here. To clarify, I am looking only at skilled care, i.e. nursing home, as Medicaid does not apply to assisted living or in-home care. I understand that transfers to a spouse do not trigger the 5 year look-back, but must fall under the $148k limit to be exempt. I'm mainly concerned with my...

I'm planning to meet with an elder law attorney to discuss this, but wanted to get my thoughts together first. In the event my wife or I require nursing home care, I'm trying to navigate Medicaid without leaving the other spouse in poverty. Our combined assets are exempt/below threshold, but my...

I had to had several MRIs a few years back. Main location was in a hospital basement with a cement wall behind the machine. Total panic attack. Next time was in another location that had a window behind the machine. That made a world of difference in my comfort level. I even thought about...

Sorry for the delay; kids, college, life intervened. Bottom line - we have entered into a contract with our RE agent for what I feel is a fair price for both parties. I am confident that nothing improper is being done. Thanks to all who responded. This was the only firm offer we have received...

We listed our house with a local RE company a couple of months ago. Our listing agent has expressed an interest in buying the house. Here's my question. As our agent, he should be trying to get us the best price. As a buyer, he is looking for the lowest price, a seeming conflict of interest...

I can't say this is universally true; just my observation. My OCD goes haywire if I don't neatly coil cables, wires, hoses, etc. and neatly put them away. If DW even touches one, it immediately snarls and tangles itself and she doesn't mind at all. I truly believe she could jump from a plane...

Can someone kindly explain the rules for making Roth withdrawals? I plan to draw down my 401K, using part to supplement my pension while delaying SS to age 70. I will likely make contributions to the Roth 2-3 times/year. Does each contribution have to "age" 5 years before earnings are tax-free...

Thanks to all. i-orp was the one I was trying to remember. I ran it before I retired last year and I wanted to run it again to check my numbers. I will look at the others, also.

I am weighing various options of when to start SS while considering 401K withdrawals and pensions. Does anyone know of a good calculator that would let me run various scenarios? Thanks.

Just got word yesterday, Megacorp is offering early out. My last day is 11/18. OK, I'm 63, so it's not real early, but I'll take it. I was planning to wait until January and see if they made another offer, so the timing on this one is pretty good. Merry Christmas to me! DW retired in May and has...

DW FIRE'd on Monday; we left Tuesday for a week at the beach. She's a teacher, so she was done when school let out. My original plan was to retire at the same time, but we decided maybe one major change at a time was more sensible. New plan - I'm leaving in January '17. I hope megacorp makes...

Congrats. I have 10 months to go, so I'm right there with you. Go class of '16!