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Great points being raised both for and against annuitizing a portion of ones portfolio regardless of realistically possible payout rates. Risks that annuities might help mitigate to consider: Longevity risk, Sequence of returns risk, Portfolio complexity risk (annuities don't require much to...

Taxes and annuities Does anybody know how the payout from a lifetime SPIA is taxed if funded with qualified funds from a tIRA/401K? Since the annuity doesn't offer a positive rate of return for several years, the pay out is essentially return of principle which needs to be taxed as regular...

Agreed. That is why I do a 3.5% (usually less) fixed withdraw with a healthy dose of ongoing analysis of what my situation is. I think I am probably too conservative due to the fact that I started at 45yo. Now that I am closer to 55 I am exploring other ways to go.

According to the Blueprint Income website it is fixed every year, but I haven't seen an actual policy.

Thanks pb4uski. I appreciate you have a wealth of knowledge on this subject as I have poked around and see your comments bringing reason to these discussions. I do understand and realize the 4% rule takes CPI-U into account. I guess my question is if and when does annuitizing a portion of that...

Thank you for sharing this! I will work my way through the article. I also have a copy of Otar's original book in PDF on an old computer somewhere. It was a long time ago and I remember there being a Green, Yellow, Red zone which addressed when to annuitize. It was dense and I never really...

Thanks for that clarification. I haven't calculated a rate of return for a given life expectancy, so not sure? I should have said payout rate I guess. If I did a lifetime SPIA I would most likely use qualified funds from my retirement account. It's not clear to me how those are taxed, I just...

I let my rational level headed self win when it comes to retirement income planning, but then my fraidy cat self pops up every now and then along with my market timer self. SPIA rates are going up for me. I believe a portion of that is the rising federal reserve rate the rest is getting older...

First, it has been a long long time since I have posted here under a different username and even then I didn't do much. So hello again :-) And apologies in advance for coming in with an incendiary topic. I used to be against getting a lifetime SPIA given the 4% rule seemed solid and you get to...

Hey dex, The one thing I have found that helps is to do something that I typically think of as something I would wait to do when I am retired. The reality is that most of the things on my to-do list for when I retire are things that I can actually do now. For example, I am taking a 2 week...

There is also the option of going part time, but at something you enjoy much more. You may not be able get the health care benefit (fun things usually don't cover insurance), but you will get money to put towards purchasing insurance on your own. I have been giving a great deal of thought to...

Dex, Your post is my life right now and I TOTALLY identify. I have done the 14 hour a day thing and now I do the 'stare at the computer waiting for some excitement for 8 hours' a day thing. It drives me nuts. The problem is that I went from a 2nd level manager postion to an individual...

For me, trying to eat a healthy diet and trying to get in a good 8-10 hours of exercise a week requires a mentality very similar to that required to save and invest. Its all about doing something now that will benefit you in the future. In the case of diet and exercise the benefit is immediate...

Thanks for the response Patrick. Yes, we have been beating the benchmark by about 2% (including fees) so far. My question is whether the benchmark we are comparing against is a good one or not? That actually makes me think of another question, is there an easy way to get an aggregate...

I know its not always the best approach, but due to my procrastination and dealing with work and other life events, I use a financial analyst and planner to help me with my investments. The analyst I use is very open and straightforward and will be the first to point out his mistakes. We do...

Great thread... I didn't grow up poor, but we had very little money when I was a kid. I think that prevented me from having the sense of entitlement to consumer goods that a lot of other childrean had. My dad did teach me that savings was important, but didn't spend much time on the subject...

Thanks to everyone for the responses, especially the one from Nords, entertaining and sensible. However, I would like to hear more about the women approaching you in the street ;) To summarize it sounds like getting more money doesn't mean its time to get more creative or more conservative. It...

One of the things that I have seen come up is the availability of new types of investments. Some venture capital funds and hedge funds require a minimum net worth that is often at $1M for example. Also, with more liquid assets, there is more of an opportunity to invest in more asset classes...

I was wondering if anything changes investment wise once you hit the $1M mark (not including house), or do you just keep doing the same things? Do new asset classes open up? Are there any different strategies that might be employed? I would think that you would maybe become more conservative...

This goal (FI) is much more important to me as well (maybe because it is the first step). I fantasize about it more than I do about leaving the job. However I will say that it is still pretty important to be able to say bye bye to the corporate gig. In one sense I would like to retire from that...

Hi ASAP, I just wanted to chime in here and go a little against the grain. I have been using an independant CFA for the past year and a half and he has been very good. He is very honest and upfront, will recomend books to read such as the 4 Pillars, never push you into anything, steers you to...

Hey P.S. My employer will cover education expenses to a certain amount, but they don't usually give you leave to take the classes. Which means I would be doing night classes and weekend classes. This is the wrong direction! ;-) Although the thought of taking some classes and NOT having the job...

These are all great comments. I know that it will probably never be easy to escape the seductive salary, benefits and stock options. Working one more year is like adding $3-5K to my SWR. Its hard to let that go. Plus the job isn't killing me, its just not giving me any satisfaction. The other...

Hey everybody...I am usually a lurker, but wanted to throw this topic out there to get some feedback. It might be sacrilege, but I will risk it... My current plan is to reach financial independence which I categorize as being able to get by without a job for the foreseeable future. I figure if...

Thanks for all the great advice. I think I should probably ride the wave of good cash flow and option vesting for as long as I can. I think my main target is to build a good cushion and reserve that is in med to low risk investment so that if I do get to fed up with the job, or if I get laid...