helping posters and asking for additional info

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babystep
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helping posters and asking for additional info

Post by babystep »

Does anyone know if we can do something like below?
I wish there was a way to remind the OP about posting the information about their income/marginal tax rate. Perhaps an automatic parsing of the question/title right before the question is posted? e.g. if the title contains the word Roth then providing tax rate is super-helpful for folks to answer the question.
I see a similar discussion in phpbb forum.
https://www.phpbb.com/community/viewtop ... 9&start=15

Why thinking about above? Because of this thread viewtopic.php?f=1&t=354305&p=6143203#p6143203
babystep wrote: Tue Jul 27, 2021 10:01 pm
Bonehead3 wrote: Mon Jul 26, 2021 10:13 am
babystep wrote: Sun Jul 25, 2021 11:46 pm Sorry, this is just me thinking out loud. Perhaps it is possible and perhaps it is too difficult to do.

We often have critical information missing in the OP. Lack of critical information causes assumptions to be made which turn out to be wrong and not helpful to OP and members likewise.

This thread is one good reminder.
Bonehead3 wrote: Sat Jul 24, 2021 5:51 pm Thanks for the quick replies. Last year my taxable income was 126k and was retired all year. About half of that was unearned income from investments (which is variable). So would a good strategy be to max out the 24% bracket (up to about 172k)? The next higher is 32%....eeek!!

02nz, what do you mean 12% bracket? I think I'm over that in income without conversion. Thanks for the reminder on SS. I was planning on taking it at the FRA of 66. Guess that may be pushed now.
How would 02nz know the tax rate if OP didn't provide income or tax rate?

Another example.
delamer wrote: Sun Jul 25, 2021 1:03 pm
aristotelian wrote: Sun Jul 25, 2021 11:01 am Do you expect a pension? Will you delay SS to 70? (That would be my approach). I agree, converting up to the top of the 12% bracket is a good starting point.

Converting your entire IRA to short bonds is a massive change in your allocation. Is that due to your risk tolerance changing as a new retiree, or is it because you are trying to limit taxes on your 401k? If that latter, this seems like overkill.
Did you read the OP’s later post? Income was $126K last year, including pension.

I wish there was a way to remind the OP about posting the information about their income/marginal tax rate. Perhaps an automatic parsing of the question/title right before the question is posted? e.g. if the title contains the word Roth then providing tax rate is super-helpful for folks to answer the question.

I apologize for not posting that info. I tried to include everything others would need to evaluate my situation but didn't want to include a bunch of gobble-de-gook either.
Sorry, I didn't mean it is your OP. When anyone is posting they don't know what additional info might be needed. I mean the tool/submit form can be better to help us all. I should have posted in the forum issues section.
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celia
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Re: helping posters and asking for additional info

Post by celia »

Interesting idea, but I see this solution back-firing since many questions about Roth don’t involve conversions or how to estimate the optimal amount to convert. Other threads already give all the relevant information. For example, how many OPs in these current threads (with “Roth” in the title) will be confused when they are prompted for their income or marginal tax bracket:

Currently have a Target Date Fund in my Roth IRA,...
Ceiling on converting tIRA to Roth IRA
...How to allocate across 401K and Roth IRA? (presented data in "Asking Portfolio Questions" format)
Before-Tax, After-Tax, and Roth in 401K (presented data in "Asking Portfolio Questions" format)
Roth vs Traditional 401k for high savers who max our their 401k (shared tax bracket up front)
Roth conversion worth it (tax brackets are discussed here)
Roth IRA Withdrawal Questions
First Roth conversions to 22%? (looking for disadvantages)
Roth Conversion Questions / Limits / Age


A better “solution” would be for an early responder to ask for the needed information or suggest they put their data in the Asking Portfolio Questions format, if it wasn't presented that way. That's what the first responder in the top link did.

One common problem I see with the Roth conversion questions are the responders who start off suggesting they convert to the top of the 12% tax bracket, even when OP's income is shared. That rarely makes sense since many (most?) retired Bogleheads are already in a higher tax bracket than that without doing Roth conversions. Even if the OP was to be below the top of the 12% tax bracket, that space is fairly small to have much impact in doing Roth conversions. (The space in each tax bracket increases as one moves into higher brackets.)
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LadyGeek
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Re: helping posters and asking for additional info

Post by LadyGeek »

Sorry, we won't be modifying the posting content. What you're asking requires a detailed level of experience that is only applied in a certain situation. It will be far too confusing for the many members who don't understand the concepts to see a required field as part of their post.

This holds true for just about any financial topic discussed here.

celia has the best approach - someone should ask for the required info early in the discussion. Or, ask them to post in the Asking Portfolio Questions format.
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