Search found 14047 matches

by Stinky
Mon Mar 18, 2024 2:59 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Dental crowns
Replies: 58
Views: 6684

Re: Dental crowns

Rob5TCP wrote: Mon Mar 18, 2024 2:31 pm My excellent Park Avenue dentist was expensive but not unreasonable (considering the location). An earlier crown was about $1800.00.
His son took over the practice and moved to an even more expensive address and the quote on the crown was $3000-$3500.
What is a more expensive address than Park Avenue? :moneybag
by Stinky
Mon Mar 18, 2024 2:55 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Do I need to file amended Form 8606?
Replies: 7
Views: 509

Re: Do I need to file amended Form 8606?

Here's a link to a thread that I posted a few months ago with a similar question.

I came to the same conclusion as it appears you've gotten from the responses so far - pull together your documentation, but don't file anything with IRS unless they request it. (And I expect it will be highly unlikely that they will request it.)

viewtopic.php?t=399145
by Stinky
Mon Mar 18, 2024 6:23 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Athene Holding Ltd Depositary Sh dividends adjusted
Replies: 4
Views: 498

Re: Athene Holding Ltd Depositary Sh dividends adjusted

Smiley006 wrote: Sun Mar 17, 2024 8:31 pm I finally found someone at Fidelity who could tell me what happened. Apparently the January dividend was paid as listed. Although the statement dates a second payment as January 1, apparently an extra payment was made –a duplicate payment was made on February 7. What happened was the duplicate payment was retracted and adjusted. The first person I talked to did not know that, and could not tell me why everything was listed as January 1 even though it happened in February. I had never heard of this duplicate payment being made before nor had anyone at Fidelity heard of that either, But apparently it happens.
That is very strange! I never heard of this either.

Glad that you were able to get to the bottom of this.

Best to you.
by Stinky
Sun Mar 17, 2024 5:02 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Inherited IRA - Transfer in kind
Replies: 28
Views: 3060

Re: Inherited IRA - Transfer in kind

David Jay wrote: Sun Aug 27, 2023 1:35 pm Please do not use ChatGTP for any important research.
+1000

This can’t be emphasized enough.
by Stinky
Sun Mar 17, 2024 3:08 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Inherited Stretch Annuity?
Replies: 14
Views: 1112

Re: Inherited Stretch Annuity?

b17CC wrote: Sun Mar 17, 2024 2:17 pm Can something like this be 1031 exchanged into anything else? Could the beneficiary decide to take a lump sum or larger disbursements at any time? Or are you locked into the “stretch” aspect once you elect that.
I don’t believe you can do a 1035 exchange on an annuity like this. You could ask an annuity agent to be sure.

Per the North American link posted above, you can accelerate payments beyond the required schedule if you’d like.
by Stinky
Sun Mar 17, 2024 2:54 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?
Replies: 11037
Views: 2066563

Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

Broken Man 1999 wrote: Sun Mar 17, 2024 12:27 pm
I like her music, but admire her business sense even more. She is either very savvy, or has surrounded herself with good people. There are many other female entertainers who wouldn't be as good of role model for young girls as she has been.

The movie was long, and it displayed her talent very well, including her connection to the fans. I would rate it :thumbsup :thumbsup

Broken Man 1999
I saw the Taylor Swift movie on Christmas Day with daughter and granddaughters, and I agree with your assessment. I liked the movie.

Taylor Swift is a great singer and songwriter, very smart, and an excellent business person.
by Stinky
Sun Mar 17, 2024 1:35 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Letter from insurance company. Legit or scam
Replies: 10
Views: 1240

Re: Letter from insurance company. Legit or scam

TallBoy29er wrote: Sun Mar 17, 2024 12:43 pm No harm in posting the name of the company that sent you the letter, if you want peoples’ experiences and thoughts.
And also no problem in posting the name of the insurance company if you have it.
by Stinky
Sun Mar 17, 2024 10:23 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Letter from insurance company. Legit or scam
Replies: 10
Views: 1240

Re: Letter from insurance company. Legit or scam

My wife received a letter regarding her father's Life Insurance Policy, saying that there is a balance and in order to receive it, they need us to provide a W9, a death certificate, etc. The company seems like a large legitimate corporation with 5000 employees. So our plan is to contact them using the phone on their official website rather than anything from the latter, and find out what the deal is. The only strange thing is that it is addressed to my wife not her mother or her sister and her father has been dead for over ten years Was the letter from the insurance company or the employer? In any case, I think calling the company using the website contact information is an excellent first step. This first contact sounds a little fishy to ...
by Stinky
Sun Mar 17, 2024 9:25 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Anybody heard stories of well "prepared" retirees running out of money?
Replies: 91
Views: 10409

Re: Anybody heard stories of well "prepared" retirees running out of money?

fyre4ce wrote: Sat Mar 16, 2024 5:16 pm If anyone has suggestions on what could be done, I'm all ears. Otherwise, my spouse and I are trying to keep our own financial house in order in case we need to support them later in life.
I’m very sorry to hear that your in-laws are living in a financially reckless way.

About all you can do is keep your own financial house in order, and to be there to provide moral (and maybe limited financial) support if/when your in-laws come to their financial senses.
by Stinky
Sun Mar 17, 2024 8:20 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: What should I do with a deferred annuity?
Replies: 15
Views: 1367

Re: What should I do with a deferred annuity?

smooth_rough wrote: Sun Mar 17, 2024 8:14 am Tax deferred space is typically good place for bonds, because bond income is taxed as ordinary income. Fidelity should allow you to switch to their bond index fund which is low cost. Somebody else can explain better.
Of course you’re right.

Since withdrawals from annuities are taxed as ordinary income and annuities don’t get step up at death, it’s less than optimal to hold equities in a variable annuity when they could be held in a taxable account that offers generally lower tax rates and basis step up at death.
by Stinky
Sat Mar 16, 2024 9:37 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Does PNC Bank have a good reputation for financial advisors?
Replies: 10
Views: 1598

Re: Does PNC Bank have a good reputation for financial advisors?

Hello, Thank you to all the responses to the topics. The responses are well thought out. My wife has a PNC Bank account and money with a PNC Finacial Advisor. I sat with her through approximately four one hour sessions. The advisor seems to plug in numbers for retirement funding. I think he is uncomfortable with me bringing up up expenses and fees. His response is he is providing a service (to be compensated for). The comfort factor in my perception of him is not very high. My wife is going to wait until we talk to our CPA accountant (for tax returns) after April 15 about retirement money concepts. This caught the PNC Advisor off guards. I get the impression PNC advisor wants to coast into easy fees and expenses for PNC and enrichment for ...
by Stinky
Sat Mar 16, 2024 5:08 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Non Qualified Retirement Income ??
Replies: 11
Views: 756

Re: Non Qualified Retirement Income ??

jebmke wrote: Sat Mar 16, 2024 5:07 pmnon-qualified
Agreed.
by Stinky
Sat Mar 16, 2024 1:17 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Non Qualified Retirement Income ??
Replies: 11
Views: 756

Re: Non Qualified Retirement Income ??

Zoey wrote: Sat Mar 16, 2024 1:02 pm Stinky,

I listed the life insurance 1099R with my other 1099R's. At that time I was asked whether it was qualified or non qualified. I haveto pick something. Did I list it in the wrong spot?
Your life insurance 1099s are NOT “qualified”.

I also responded above to your original post, where you asked about a “non qualified retirement plan”. I responded that they were not part of such a retirement plan, and didn’t mean to respond that they were “qualified”. (I can see how my response might have been unclear.).
by Stinky
Sat Mar 16, 2024 12:23 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Non Qualified Retirement Income ??
Replies: 11
Views: 756

Re: Non Qualified Retirement Income ??

Zoey wrote: Sat Mar 16, 2024 11:38 am They were just whole life policies. An insurance man comes knocking on your door in the early 70's and writes up this life insurance. Nothing to do with my employer. So these are qualified?
Short answer -

No, they are not “qualified”.

And they are also not from a “non qualified retirement plan”, which was your original question
by Stinky
Sat Mar 16, 2024 3:27 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: What should I do with a deferred annuity?
Replies: 15
Views: 1367

Re: What should I do with a deferred annuity?

I feel like I should just close it and move funds back into my brokerage account - where I am directing equity investments to ITOT. Let's examine the implications of doing what you suggest above. You say that your account value is about $30k, and that you're up 20% on the annuity since you bought it. That means that your basis is about $25k, and therefore your gain is about $5k. If you surrender now, you'll pay federal marginal rate of 32%, plus California rate of 9.3%. In addition, I assume that you're under age 59.5, so you'll pay an additional 10% federal "penalty tax" on the gain. So a total tax rate of about 51.3%, or just over $2,500 in taxes if you withdraw. You say that your $30k annuity is less than 2% of your portfolio,...
by Stinky
Fri Mar 15, 2024 5:40 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Getting ready to leave Northwestern Mutual annuity, but what about Insurance?
Replies: 9
Views: 1004

Re: Getting ready to leave Northwestern Mutual annuity, but what about Insurance?

Slightly off topic, but I'm also thinking about when I do transfer funds into a different IRA I should probably give some more thought to rebalancing based on the fact that my wife has been in her job for about a year now. She is on the TSP plan through the Fed. Gov. Wondering how critical it is to align my 401k allocation percentage-wise with what's in her TSP. It's kind of tough to work out since TSP has some funds that don't totally match what's available at Fidelity or Vanguard, like the G fund and they don't have international bonds. Thoughts on how closely I should try to make the two track? Is it not super important and this point since my account accounts for probably 95% of the total portfolio? Any advice is appreciated. Thanks! I...
by Stinky
Fri Mar 15, 2024 4:04 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Inherited Stretch Annuity?
Replies: 14
Views: 1112

Re: Inherited Stretch Annuity?

Catchinup, do you know how Transamerica calculated your RMDs? I have one of these annuities that was transferred to Transamerica and am planning to leave it to one of my children to help equalize their share of my estate against an income stream my other child will inherit, which can be left to only one child, I have had no luck finding an online calculator to estimate this. There must have been calculators like this for stretch IRAs, but now that those are no longer possible they seemed to have disappeared. The link that I posted upthread showed the factors per the IRS, as interpreted by North American. Look at the end of the pdf. I do not know if Transamerica would use the same factors. But it they’re promulgated by the IRS, I think ther...
by Stinky
Fri Mar 15, 2024 5:47 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Pension Protection: Life Insurance vs More Survivor Benefits?
Replies: 35
Views: 2555

Re: Pension Protection: Life Insurance vs More Survivor Benefits?

HappyPappy wrote: Fri Mar 15, 2024 5:42 am I don’t know. It’s complicated. I’d go with the %100 survivor benefit just because it’s not too expensive and it’s simpler. :)
+1
by Stinky
Fri Mar 15, 2024 5:45 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: SPDA taking long time to settle
Replies: 3
Views: 416

Re: SPDA taking long time to settle

ErikArd wrote: Thu Mar 14, 2024 10:17 pm I'll be pounding on desks at Fidelity about this, expecting them to either make me whole or go pound on the seller's desk to cough up the cash.
Please let us know if you’re successful in shaking any interest for days after the expiration of the initial guarantee period out of either Fidelity or the insurance company.

Best to you.
by Stinky
Fri Mar 15, 2024 5:41 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: did I wait too long to commence withdrawls from my IRA annuity?
Replies: 5
Views: 929

Re: did I wait too long to commence withdrawls from my IRA annuity?

FLBILLT wrote: Thu Mar 14, 2024 10:27 pm Thank you very much for your knowledge. You have helped me immensely.
Glad that my comments were useful to you.

Please post back if you have questions as you go through the process.

Best to you.
by Stinky
Thu Mar 14, 2024 8:26 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: SPDA taking long time to settle
Replies: 3
Views: 416

Re: SPDA taking long time to settle

Three years ago I bought via Fidelity an insurance company SPDA which matured a week ago. I filled out all paperwork well in advance to receive the full proceeds rather than roll over. It's been a week and I still haven't seen my money. Fidelity tells me that insurance companies have been taking about two weeks to pay over the funds and there's nothing they can do about it. I have asked whether I will get paid interest for the period of time from maturity to settlement but have yet to receive a response. Has any other Boglehead had this sort of experience recently with an SPDA? If so, was interest paid for the maturity-settlement period? At today's rates even one day's interest is material. I think it’s likely that you purchased a multi ye...
by Stinky
Thu Mar 14, 2024 8:18 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Inherited Stretch Annuity?
Replies: 14
Views: 1112

Re: Inherited Stretch Annuity?

Can anybody explain what a "inherited stretch annuity" is to me, and whether or not its a good product? A quick google search gets you a number of insurance company brochures on stretch annuities. Here’s one. There are many others. https://www.northamericancompany.com/documents/35457/5634692/28629Z+-+Non-qualified+stretch+brochure/55548466-1a84-1af4-ab2c-3ea019f5132b#:~:text=A%20non%2Dqualified%20stretch%20is,anniversary%20of%20the%20decedent's%20death. On the good side, it can spread distribution of a large inheritance out over many years. On the bad side, as bsteiner noted above, all income is taxed at ordinary rates with no step up at death, and you’re earning at whatever rate the company credits. (In the case illustrated in t...
by Stinky
Thu Mar 14, 2024 1:21 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: did I wait too long to commence withdrawls from my IRA annuity?
Replies: 5
Views: 929

Re: did I wait too long to commence withdrawls from my IRA annuity?

Thank you very much for the reply. I considered a SPIA 3 years ago when I reached my full retirement age and commenced my SS, and I even proposed it to my financial advisor who happens to be Fidelity. He thought it wouldn't be much better than starting the income benefit rider. (this is why I'm asking here) I looked at the annuity site and came up a little lower than your $14k annually, but $12,600 is still better than the $8,500 my annuity is offering. I'm not clear when you were starting the annuity because it's called "immediate" and you mention starting RMDs at 73. I had it starting in July, my 69th birthday. I also have 503b with TIAA/CREF that I haven't done anything with. Is it possible to combine a 403b and my IRA into a ...
by Stinky
Thu Mar 14, 2024 11:06 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Another Whole Life Insurance Question
Replies: 6
Views: 596

Re: Another Whole Life Insurance Question

As to Rex66’s suggestion -

You can request an inforce illustration to see what the dividend is likely to be next January. You can also see what the cash value will be at that time, as it will grow a little during the policy year.

Compare that to a current “surrender value quotation” you could also get from the insurer.

Personally, I’d ditch the policy now while it’s on your mind rather than waiting 10 more months for a smallish increase in your surrender value. But it’s entirely your call.
by Stinky
Thu Mar 14, 2024 10:44 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Another Whole Life Insurance Question
Replies: 6
Views: 596

Re: Another Whole Life Insurance Question

Thank you both for your replies! This was super helpful. I hadn't thought about how much the RPU would devalue with inflation over decades, but that's a really good point. I think I'm going to surrender the policy, invest the cash value, and accept it as a lesson. I not sure I like the idea of having my money trapped in an annuity just to get a small tax break. Would you suggest not having any life insurance now and only getting a term life insurance policy if/when I'm married / have dependents? I think that your plan to surrender the whole life policy now and reinvest makes a lot of sense. Typical Boglehead wisdom would be to purchase life insurance when there is a person (or people) who would be financially impacted by your death. It doe...
by Stinky
Thu Mar 14, 2024 7:18 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: did I wait too long to commence withdrawls from my IRA annuity?
Replies: 5
Views: 929

Re: did I wait too long to commence withdrawls from my IRA annuity?

background: I am a 68 year old male with a variable annuity (Traditional Individual Retirement Account) which was bought with pre-tax IRAs in 2011. Purchase price was 100k. Current (contract) value is 193k. Surrender value is 193k. There is no surrender penalty. Minimum death benefit 100k. My wife is the sole beneficiary. She is 62, still working. There is a rider on this annuity as follows, and then my questions. Guaranteed Lifetime Withdrawal Benefit Joint Life Guaranteed Lifetime Withdrawal Benefit Base $210,966.27 Maximum Annual Withdrawal Amount $8,438.65 Maximum Annual Withdrawal Rate 4.00% Remaining Maximum Annual Withdrawal Amount $8,438.65 Guaranteed Lifetime Withdrawal Death Benefit $99,533.73 Annual Credit Rate 8.00% Annual Step...
by Stinky
Thu Mar 14, 2024 5:39 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Late Bloomer Seeking IUL [Indexed Universal Life] Surrender Help/advice/push
Replies: 6
Views: 810

Re: Late Bloomer Seeking IUL [Indexed Universal Life] Surrender Help/advice/push

taquitowong wrote: Wed Mar 13, 2024 10:37 pm Tomato, Stink, Blimp and Exodus, I really appreciate you all taking the time to respond. I feel much better about moving forward!

Wishing you all the best on your own personal financial journeys.
I’m glad that we were able to confirm what you already knew was the right way to proceed.

Let us know if you have questions as you surrender your IUL policy.

Best to you.
by Stinky
Wed Mar 13, 2024 3:54 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Sell relatively expensive fund and generate tax hit?
Replies: 8
Views: 650

Re: Sell relatively expensive fund and generate tax hit?

grogu wrote: Wed Mar 13, 2024 12:06 pm The actively managed EM fund has an expense ratio of 0.87; the index fund has an E.R. of 0.075 (so more than 10x cheaper). I’ve been purchasing the index fund now that I became aware of it (although, for what it’s worth, FEMKX has outperformed the index fund over the past 1, 3, 5, and 10-year periods).
If the actively managed fund has outperformed the index over every measurement period, do you really care about the expense ratio?

I’d agree with others. Keep the fund, and don’t reinvest dividends if that’s your desire.
by Stinky
Wed Mar 13, 2024 3:29 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Income from an Inherited Annuity
Replies: 4
Views: 549

Re: Income from an Inherited Annuity

fourier wrote: Wed Mar 13, 2024 1:27 pm I inherited a non-qualified Annuity and will take the death benefit. This will trigger taxable income. I already maxed out my Roth IRA this year. Will this income count towards the income limit of the Roth IRA? As in, is it possible it can push my and my wife's income over the edge where I am not qualified to contribute to Roth this year? Thank you.
Can you defer part or all of the annuity death benefit to a future year?
by Stinky
Wed Mar 13, 2024 3:25 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Another Whole Life Insurance Question
Replies: 6
Views: 596

Re: Another Whole Life Insurance Question

My "financial advisor" sold me a Guardian Whole Life Insurance policy, but as I'm educating myself I'm realizing it was a bad purchase. Coming across this site has been super beneficial, so thank you all in advance. :) My annual premium is $3,708 and I've paid $10,914 into the policy. The cash value is $4,464 (just renewed in January). Should I just cut my loses and invest the cash value, switch to reduced paid-up status, or do a 1035 exchange into some VA? I'm 25 so while it's an expensive lesson, I do have time to recover. Welcome to the Forum! You’ve already realized it was a bad purchase. And I agree with that. Now the question is how to exit the contract. The easiest and quickest thing to do is just to surrender the policy. ...
by Stinky
Wed Mar 13, 2024 2:57 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Purchasing MYGAs (multi year guaranteed annuities) - mega thread
Replies: 2224
Views: 286976

Re: MYGA

psonnenschein wrote: Wed Mar 13, 2024 2:26 pm I am looking at a MYGA for 5 year and 7 year terms with Symetra. rate is 5.25%. Are these guaranteed by state insurance guaranty associations? I assume so but didnt want some obscure carve out to apply such that these products not covered. I do realize each state has its own limits. I assume the accrued interest is covered and not just the principal invested.

thanks!
Yes, these are covered by state guaranty associations. The coverage is typically for the surrender value of the annuity, which includes accrued interest.

Guaranty association coverage varies by state. You can find your state fund webpage from the drop-down on this page.

https://www.nolhga.com/policyholderinfo ... ocation/ga

Post back with any questions.
by Stinky
Wed Mar 13, 2024 9:36 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Untangling Mom's finances - Non-Qualified Annuity
Replies: 13
Views: 1232

Re: Untangling Mom's finances - Non-Qualified Annuity

kaufeegurl wrote: Wed Mar 13, 2024 9:28 am Thank you all! At this point, I am inclined to liquidate it completely this year because she will be able to file MFJ one last time for 2024. For the 2025 tax year she will be filing as a single. I really need to get a look at their tax documents (shoebox storage method) and also their 2022 return. I will be doing her taxes next week. As I said upthread, she has said that they have not paid income tax the past couple of years, but I don't know how that can be true. They both have/had SS and RMDs from small IRAs.
I’d prioritize getting out of this annuity over anything else, including Roth conversions, because of its horrible returns/high fees.

Please post back if you have questions as you go through the process.

Best to you.
by Stinky
Wed Mar 13, 2024 9:15 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Purchasing MYGAs (multi year guaranteed annuities) - mega thread
Replies: 2224
Views: 286976

Re: Purchasing MYGAs (multi year guaranteed annuities) - mega thread

indexfundfan wrote: Wed Mar 13, 2024 9:06 am Anyone having trouble logging in to Americo customer portal?
Worked for me just now.
by Stinky
Wed Mar 13, 2024 8:26 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Is Raymond James beating the SP500? That's what they are claiming.
Replies: 59
Views: 4606

Re: Is Raymond James beating the SP500? That's what they are claiming.

p1db wrote: Wed Mar 13, 2024 7:53 am The said report only covers the years 1993-2002.

https://www.raymondjames.com/advisorcho ... report.pdf
Yep, I’m going to invest with RJ because of its investment performance when Bill Clinton was President……

I wonder how many more years (or decades) until RJ stops using this ancient report to advertise its services.
by Stinky
Wed Mar 13, 2024 6:38 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Untangling Mom's finances - Non-Qualified Annuity
Replies: 13
Views: 1232

Re: Untangling Mom's finances - Non-Qualified Annuity

+1 for Stinky’s recommendation. +2. I'd only add that it's worth figuring out what the tax consequences will be. If cashing out 100% bumps her into a higher tax bracket, consider taking it out over 2 years - now and on January 1, 2025. OP needs to realize that annuity withdrawals are taxed as income first, then basis. So if OP desires to spread the income evenly over two years, only about $17.5k (one half of the gain) can be withdrawn this year, and the remaining $67.5k will need to wait until 2025. There may be some tax savings from deferring full surrender into 2025. But that needs to be weighed against the additional $1,000 or so in fees on the remaining balance during 2024, plus the crummy returns the annuity has posted over the past 2...
by Stinky
Wed Mar 13, 2024 5:41 am
Forum: US Chapters
Topic: Searching for Lost Contributors
Replies: 537
Views: 138180

Re: Searching for Lost Contributors

"Petulant" hasn't posted for a couple of months now.

And abuss368 has been missing in action since the end of 2023.
by Stinky
Wed Mar 13, 2024 5:19 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Late Bloomer Seeking IUL [Indexed Universal Life] Surrender Help/advice/push
Replies: 6
Views: 810

Re: Late Bloomer Seeking IUL [Indexed Universal Life] Surrender Help/advice/push

I am 99% sure that the smart move would be to cancel my indexed universal life insurance policy and put the money somewhere else. ----------------- - Do I need to set up a term life insurance policy before canceling this one? My antsy side wants to cancel ASAP. - Do I even need a life insurance policy? (this is more for me, but saying this out loud anyway!) Welcome to the Forum! I'm glad that you posted your information so that you could get input from others. First of all, you can move your 99% confidence level up to 100%. Your sense is accurate - you should cancel this policy. At age 36 and with no spouse or dependents, you don't need life insurance of any type. And you especially don't need an indexed universal life that has been a mone...
by Stinky
Tue Mar 12, 2024 5:20 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Untangling Mom's finances - Non-Qualified Annuity
Replies: 13
Views: 1232

Re: Untangling Mom's finances - Non-Qualified Annuity

aristotelian - thank you! the original cost of the annuity was $50,000 and there has been no other payments into it. Stinky - thank you for the easy to understand breakdown! I am 99.9% certain this IS a variable annuity. [*]the plan she has is Voya Marathon Plus [*]the Death Benefit is "Step-Up Marathon Plus Death Benefit" A quick glance at the .pdf plan document shows that her death benefit is going to be the value of the account (I think!). As mentioned above, the annuity was funded with an initial $50000 and never had any other payment made into it. snic - thank you for the valuable advice! I don't have confidence in this FA and after I check through everything I am hoping that perhaps we can just liquidate this annuity as rec...
by Stinky
Tue Mar 12, 2024 3:40 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Untangling Mom's finances - Non-Qualified Annuity
Replies: 13
Views: 1232

Re: Untangling Mom's finances - Non-Qualified Annuity

I know a little about a lot but know nothing about annuities. My FIL recently passed and I am in the process of untangling Mom's finances from a "financial advisor" and an annuity. The FA I can handle, the annuity is outside my wheelhouse. - It is a Non Qualified annuity -It has NOT been annuitized -It has an owner (the deceased) and a joint owner (my MIL) -It has an annuitant (the deceased) and a primary beneficiary (my MIL). I am assuming this is irrelevant as it has not been annuitized. -The original contract date was 11/1995 -My MIL is in her late 80's -It is with Voya (originally Aetna) but my MIL said Venerable now owns it but it is administered by Voya. The funds inside the annuity are Voya funds. -I am assuming it has fee...
by Stinky
Tue Mar 12, 2024 9:51 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Variable Universal Life
Replies: 62
Views: 2985

Re: Variable Universal Life

JoJo4109 wrote: Tue Mar 12, 2024 9:09 amWe had been told that surrendering husband's policy and taking the money was "the worst thing you could do" so I sought out help and everyone confirmed that it made the most sense.
Just recall who told you that surrendering the VUL policy and taking the money was a terrible mistake -

It was an insurance salesman, who stood to profit if your husband bought a new policy.

Hardly a disinterested party.
by Stinky
Tue Mar 12, 2024 7:45 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How to evaluate adjustable complife insurance policy
Replies: 13
Views: 805

Re: How to evaluate adjustable complife insurance policy

jademitri wrote: Tue Mar 12, 2024 5:04 am What an awesome gift your parents gave you!
Hopefully flyfishers83 (original poster) heeded the unanimous advice of Forum members back in 2020 when he posted his question and didn’t keep this perfectly awful policy.
by Stinky
Tue Mar 12, 2024 6:43 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Financial Advisor says my portfolio is akin to a retiree at age 34
Replies: 80
Views: 8054

Re: Financial Advisor says my portfolio is akin to a retiree at age 34

You need a new financial advisor.

Better yet, you should learn to be your own "financial advisor". With help, as needed, from the good folks on this Forum. :D
by Stinky
Tue Mar 12, 2024 6:40 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Best < $100 purchase?
Replies: 299
Views: 55798

Re: Best < $100 purchase?

gunny2 wrote: Tue Mar 12, 2024 2:12 am Years ago my girlfriend and I bought about a $7.95 cheap plastic wine bottle opener at a wine store because we needed one and didn't feel like spending a lot. Over the years, friends bought her really fancy wine bottle openers etc...and we ended up coming back to this one because it just worked better. 20+ yrs later I still have it and use it.
Now to the really important question -

You still have the corkscrew 20 years later. But do you still have the girlfriend too? :twisted:
by Stinky
Tue Mar 12, 2024 5:59 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Variable Universal Life
Replies: 62
Views: 2985

Re: Variable Universal Life

Got it. I will have to ask the agent or the company to send me a complete copy. My husband couldn't find it. We've moved a couple of times since we got this policy so it very well might be packed. I'll request the copy, search some more, and now I know what words to use when I'm asking for specific information. Btw, we submitted the paperwork today to surrender husband's and get the $49,000. We are both confident it was the right decision. Thank you :) This all sounds very good. You’re making great progress. Please let us know if you need help in interpreting the policy language after you get a copy of the guaranteed UL policy. This policy sounds like a real “keeper”, and it’s important that you understand what you own. And also let us kno...
by Stinky
Mon Mar 11, 2024 8:20 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Variable Universal Life
Replies: 62
Views: 2985

Re: Variable Universal Life

I just want to understand what I actually do have so I know. We already know that you have a life insurance policy that will pay a death benefit of $300,000 whenever you die, so long as you continue to pay premiums of $338 per month. We discussed this upthread. If those premiums are paid, the death benefit stays in place until 2084, when you will be 120 years old I believe. What we don’t know is the precise terms of the two “accelerated benefits” riders on your policy. In order to be certain about (a) the health conditions under which the riders pay, and (b) the reduction in the death benefit when the riders do pay, we need to see the text of the riders, which are attached to the actual insurance policy. Neither sales brochures nor recolle...
by Stinky
Mon Mar 11, 2024 7:42 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Variable Universal Life
Replies: 62
Views: 2985

Re: Variable Universal Life

So here is what my agent referred to as long term care. He said that it would be there if I ever needed in home care, the check would come to me, etc., for a certain amount of the full amount.....28%? a year? I'm not sure I have that last part right. We were talking about a lot. But the in home care, check come to me, etc., is exactly what he said to both husband and I. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1S2d0msg7vV4ZI6y5bDojqY0Bx4O1NOh3/view?usp=sharing That image you posted names the riders, but does not give us any details as to the benefits provided by the riders. If you could get a copy of the policy and post the text of the two riders listed, that would allow us to help you interpret the policy. If the rider is as you remember, and the ...
by Stinky
Mon Mar 11, 2024 10:59 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Purchasing MYGAs (multi year guaranteed annuities) - mega thread
Replies: 2224
Views: 286976

Re: Purchasing MYGAs (multi year guaranteed annuities) - mega thread

Djbgl wrote: Mon Mar 11, 2024 10:41 am If I find something in the policy that does not match my expectations and I decide to return it for a refund I would assume that the funds would be returned the same way that they were provided - in my case a trustee to trustee transfer from a rollover IRA. Is this correct?
Yes, that’s what I’d expect.
by Stinky
Mon Mar 11, 2024 7:59 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Variable Universal Life
Replies: 62
Views: 2985

Re: Variable Universal Life

So, to surrender husband's policy and get the $49,000? Should we go through the agent or directly to the company and what paperwork do we ask for? You might have three options to surrender the policy - — You can call the company to initiate the process. — You can call the agent to initiate the process. — If you have online access to the policy, you might be able to go online, view policy details, download and complete a surrender form, and email or upload the surrender request to the company The online route might get the surrender check to you a few days faster. But any of the methods are entirely acceptable. Your post just prior to this suggests that you’re now more accepting of your situation. That’s a good thing. You can do NOTHING to ...
by Stinky
Mon Mar 11, 2024 6:24 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Variable Universal Life
Replies: 62
Views: 2985

Re: Variable Universal Life

Thank you so much for the information! I am so surprised about the policy continuing that long without payment. For the same payout? What if I kept making the payments for, say, the next 5 years and then couldn't afford it anymore. Is it that it will stay good for a certain number of years after payments stop or is 2033 set in stone? That expiration date of 2033 if you made no more payments was correct as of the date of that statement. I expect that you have made more premium payments since the date of that statement. If so, I expect that the date of policy lapse with no more premiums has been pushed further into the future. The insurance company could tell you the current “lapse date assuming no more premiums are paid”. It could also prep...
by Stinky
Mon Mar 11, 2024 6:15 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: 1035 Exchange of Life Insurance to Annuity
Replies: 12
Views: 967

Re: 1035 Exchange of Life Insurance to Annuity

But planning for a full surrender in a year our income is unusually low (when my wife retires sometime in the next few years) seems like the easiest approach that is close to tax optimal. The extra cost seems worth it to me for the simplicity of getting out of the policy in one fell swoop with no worries of managing the MEC, whether withdrawals are basis or gains, or other complications. I’m glad that you posted here and gained a better understanding of the options available to you. If you’re happy with the approach you outline above, that’s all that counts. When the time to execute that option is at hand, I’d encourage you to look at one more possibility. Instead of surrendering the policy all at once, model out what would happen tax wise...