Suggestions for the Wiki

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abuss368
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Re: Suggestions for the Wiki

Post by abuss368 »

Taylor Larimore wrote: Sat Oct 05, 2019 1:36 pm Barry:

nisiprius posted 180 links to Jack Bogle's speeches and op-eds from Mr. Bogle's website (which may soon disappear). I feel that it is very important that these speeches and articles be preserved and I don't know any better place than our Boglehead wiki under the "Bogle" topic.

This is a link to the links:

viewtopic.php?t=288548#p4708621

Best wishes.
Taylor
Thanks Taylor! It is important to preserve Mr. Bogle’s teachings.
John C. Bogle: “Simplicity is the master key to financial success."
nawkboy
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Re: Suggestions for the Wiki

Post by nawkboy »

I suggest some posts on the details on the nuisances of obtaining access to high quality medical insurance. The optimal solutions change based on income level and personal situation, yet these fall into some obvious categories.

Rather than get caught up in the politics I would suggest any set of wiki pages be focused on the actionable facts people need to help them make good choices in their own situation.

There is a lot of complexity here, and yet there are very few well organized unbiased references people can use to take action. In many cases, just having well organized links to various external resources could help. At least in the case of highly compensated independent consultants the information gap is particularly wide. The vast majority of advice on-line is focused on lower income citizens looking at ACA plans, or on small companies with a hand-full of employees. I suspect the insurance lobby has worked hard to ensure most states define small group as two or more, explicitly excluding a spouse.

=====================
A boglehead forum post lists the following categories:

1.short term insurance, which is getting a boost from the current administrations so you can get multi year guaranteed renewals. Pros: cheap, good networks; Cons: preexisting exclusions, banned in some states

2. Ministry or similar cost sharing plans. Pros: cheaper; Cons: unclear how they might handle very expensive claims.

3. Self insurance. Pros: very cheap, good incentives for healthy lifestyle; Cons: more risky, probably requires $1-2M for worst cases

4. Group insurance thru association, separate LLC, or similar. Pros: reasonable prices, good networks available; Cons: modest additional expense in entity setup or intermediary fees

5. ACA bronze plans. Pros: good if you’re poor, old or sick; Cons: limited networks, often no PPO options, very expensive for value without subsidies.

Based on my experience, option 4 would benefit from several sub-categories. I might suggest:
4a: Single employee, officer only corporation (TriNet for national, regional PEOs when appropriate)
4b: Several employees
4c: States with small group defined as one.

There should also be an option 0 for riding on the coverage of a spouse or parent.

There could also be a section covering international travel, both short-term and long-term expat coverage.

======================
In my case I am a moderately high income consultant operating as a single shingle throughout the US. The only way I have found to access high quality medical insurance without pre-existing condition restrictions is via a PEO arrangement. As it turns out, TriNet is the only PEO supporting single employee corporations with a national reach. Leveraging a PEO such as TriNet provides access to the sort of coverage typical of corporate America with access to better doctor networks. Even an Aetna HSA compatible high deductible plan for my wife and I runs around $1200/month, yet that is typical of COBRA rates I have seen from my past employers.

With two employees (not including spouse), I would have access to small group health insurance. If I lived in one of a small set of states that define small group as one, I would be able to access small group insurance even as a single shingle.

With two or three employees there are several national PEOs worth considering. Paychex's PEO requires at least five employees, and ADP's PEO requires at least ten employees.

I can access ACA plans, yet my experience has been the most expensive ACA plans available to me have very poor doctor networks. Although the ACAA plans are far from ideal, at least they don't have pre-existing medical condition restrictions. For those with a lower income, the government subsidizes a portion of the premiums. So although the ACA plans are less than ideal, they remain better than nothing.

The gap insurance plans all exclude pre-existing conditions, and so don't work for my family.

Most of the other consultants I know are typically riding off the coverage a spouse with a full-time corporate job. Very few are aware of the PEO trick I am using.

Other than overall complexity, there is one major disadvantage of a PEO. The typical corporate insurance providers (Hartford, etc.) apparently won't write an umbrella policy with a PEO in the mix. Theft, errors & omissions, and similar corporate coverage is readily available. Similarly, the PEO provides workers compensation insurance. To date, I have not had a client require an umbrella policy for contract compliance. If that ever comes up, I will have to obtain a waiver from the client. I suspect the reality is PEO arrangements are sufficiently common that corporate America has avoided requiring vendors supply unobtainable umbrella coverage, at least for typical relatively low injury risk office jobs. Any corporate insurance broker can explain the umbrella coverage constraint far better than I.
rsasub
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Re: Suggestions for the Wiki

Post by rsasub »

I have a suggestion for updating the page:
Non-US investor's guide to navigating US tax traps (https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Non-US_ ... x_traps#A4)

The current recommendation is if you plan to invest over USD60K in US, don't. This is due to high estate taxes. However according to this forum (https://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/2531401) it concludes:
So my laymans reading of that is that neither state will impose a higher tax than would be attributable to it's own citizens.
Furthermore, according to the IRS Estate Tax webpage (https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-bu ... estate-tax):
Most relatively simple estates (cash, publicly traded securities, small amounts of other easily valued assets, and no special deductions or elections, or jointly held property) do not require the filing of an estate tax return. A filing is required for estates with combined gross assets and prior taxable gifts exceeding $1,500,000 in 2004 - 2005; $2,000,000 in 2006 - 2008; $3,500,000 for decedents dying in 2009; and $5,000,000 or more for decedent's dying in 2010 and 2011 (note: there are special rules for decedents dying in 2010); $5,120,000 in 2012, $5,250,000 in 2013, $5,340,000 in 2014, $5,430,000 in 2015, $5,450,000 in 2016, $5,490,000 in 2017, $11,180,000 in 2018, and $11,400,000 in 2019.

Beginning January 1, 2011, estates of decedents survived by a spouse may elect to pass any of the decedent’s unused exemption to the surviving spouse. This election is made on a timely filed estate tax return for the decedent with a surviving spouse. Note that simplified valuation provisions apply for those estates without a filing requirement absent the portability election.


This seems to indicate that (at least for 2019) as long as the estate is less than USD11,400,000 doesn't require an estate tax return (i.e. not liable for estate taxes?). I'm not fully sure of the further paragraph at the bottom.
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Re: Suggestions for the Wiki

Post by Spirit Rider »

Keep in mind, that forum thread is only talking about Australia and I have no idea what the U.S. - Australia tax treaty treatment of estate taxes are.

Additionally, there are only 15 countries including Australia where the U.S. tax treaty (if there even is one) includes any estate tax provisions.

It is not practical for the Wiki to address all variances, especially when it does not apply the vast majority of countries.

At best the wiki should only refer people to the relevant tax treaties.
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Re: Suggestions for the Wiki

Post by TedSwippet »

rsasub wrote: Tue Oct 08, 2019 7:51 pm I have a suggestion for updating the page:
Non-US investor's guide to navigating US tax traps (https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Non-US_ ... x_traps#A4)

The current recommendation is if you plan to invest over USD60K in US, don't. This is due to high estate taxes. However according to this forum (https://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/2531401) it concludes:
So my laymans reading of that is that neither state will impose a higher tax than would be attributable to it's own citizens.
...

This seems to indicate that (at least for 2019) as long as the estate is less than USD11,400,000 doesn't require an estate tax return (i.e. not liable for estate taxes?). I'm not fully sure of the further paragraph at the bottom.
Thanks for the note. The forum discussion you reference is specific to Australia, but the wiki page section that you cited is written for US non-residents in countries without a US estate tax treaty ("You are a US nonresident alien with poor or nonexistent US tax treaty coverage").

Australia has both income tax and estate tax treaties with the US. If you follow the flowchart through for Australia specifically, it should lead you instead to this section: "A6. Choose your funds and ETFs for best local tax outcome".

Australian investors do not have to worry about confiscatory US estate tax above $60k of US holdings, but only when they reach $11mm or so in total worldwide assets. Investors in many other countries do, though. Without an estate tax treaty, US estate taxes begin at just $60k for US assets held by nonresident aliens. The list of countries with a US estate tax treaty is particularly short.
rsasub wrote: Tue Oct 08, 2019 7:51 pm Furthermore, according to the IRS Estate Tax webpage (https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-bu ... estate-tax): ...
This is the IRS estate tax page for US citizens and residents. The IRS estate tax pages for nonresident aliens are here:

https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-bu ... ted-states
https://www.irs.gov/individuals/interna ... ax-returns
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Re: Suggestions for the Wiki

Post by simas »

Would there be enough value/interested to put together a US centric wiki for solo 401k plan and after tax non-Roth contributions (aka Megabackdoor)?

I watched the following thread viewtopic.php?f=2&t=292833&sid=411c912b ... b2345edab7 and I think the information would be valuable to the future if people can find it.

- what is solo 401k plan (and how it is different from say IRA)
- what is third party administrator (TPA) and when provider is or isn't one
- what are responsibilities upon employee (self employed ,etc) adopting such plan
- mechanics of calculations limiting various contributions (and IRS links to relevant publications)
etc
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FiveK
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Re: Suggestions for the Wiki

Post by FiveK »

simas wrote: Sun Oct 20, 2019 2:05 pm Would there be enough value/interested to put together a US centric wiki for solo 401k plan and after tax non-Roth contributions (aka Megabackdoor)?
One could modify Solo 401(k) plan - Bogleheads and/or After-tax 401(k) - Bogleheads.
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Re: Suggestions for the Wiki

Post by dratkinson »

Suggest restructuring Wiki pages related to planning for children so all are accessed from one top-level page.


Suggest new top-level page “Accounts for children”, that links to:

--“Custodial savings account and custodial Roth IRA account for children” (re-title topic)
Existing: https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Accounts_for_children

--“Uniform Gift to Minors Act (UGMA) and Uniform Transfers to Minors Act (UTMA)” (re-title topic)
Existing: https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/UTMA

--“529 plan account transfers”
Existing: https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/529_pla ... _transfers

--“Coverdell Education Saving Account
Existing: https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Coverde ... s_Accounts

--“Kiddie tax”
Existing: https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Kiddie_tax

Wealth transfer insurance
Existing: https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Wealth_ ... _insurance



Page UTMA only links to existing UGMA page.
Existing: https://www.bogleheads.org/w/index.php? ... edirect=no


Looked but didn’t immediately find any other Wiki pages related to planning for children. If I missed any, then suggest including them also.

Why?

I thought of this because the suggestions presented in current forum topic:
“non-education accounts for kids”: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=293574
would require multiple Wiki searches to find.

So suggest restructuring the Wiki so all children topics are found with one search.
d.r.a., not dr.a. | I'm a novice investor; you are forewarned.
DesertMan
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Could someone please update the wiki “Cash Equivalents” page?

Post by DesertMan »

It would be nice to see a good discussion of the benefits of having a cash allocation:
[*] reduce temptation to market time or deviate from allocation
[*] have higher deductibles on insurance policies which is as good as tax free income
[*] get good returns with reward checking accounts, prepaid cards etc.
[*] Get bonuses for opening accounts

Could someone with edit privileges please consider? Thanks.
mervinj7
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Re: Could someone please update the wiki “Cash Equivalents” page?

Post by mervinj7 »

DesertMan wrote: Mon Oct 28, 2019 4:49 pm It would be nice to see a good discussion of the benefits of having a cash allocation:
[*] reduce temptation to market time or deviate from allocation
[*] have higher deductibles on insurance policies which is as good as tax free income
[*] get good returns with reward checking accounts, prepaid cards etc.
[*] Get bonuses for opening accounts

Could someone with edit privileges please consider? Thanks.
Just request wiki privileges so you can do it yourself. :)
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Re: Could someone please update the wiki “Cash Equivalents” page?

Post by Misenplace »

DesertMan wrote: Mon Oct 28, 2019 4:49 pm It would be nice to see a good discussion of the benefits of having a cash allocation:
[*] reduce temptation to market time or deviate from allocation
[*] have higher deductibles on insurance policies which is as good as tax free income
[*] get good returns with reward checking accounts, prepaid cards etc.
[*] Get bonuses for opening accounts

Could someone with edit privileges please consider? Thanks.
DesertMan, I merged your topic into the existing topic "Suggestions for the Wiki". You can also reach this topic from the first page of the wiki, here:Boglehead Wiki- scroll down to the section "Contributing to the Wiki."

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LadyGeek
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Re: Suggestions for the Wiki

Post by LadyGeek »

dratkinson wrote: Mon Oct 28, 2019 10:59 am Suggest restructuring Wiki pages related to planning for children so all are accessed from one top-level page.


Suggest new top-level page “Accounts for children”, that links to:

--“Custodial savings account and custodial Roth IRA account for children” (re-title topic)
Existing: https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Accounts_for_children

--“Uniform Gift to Minors Act (UGMA) and Uniform Transfers to Minors Act (UTMA)” (re-title topic)
Existing: https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/UTMA

--“529 plan account transfers”
Existing: https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/529_pla ... _transfers

--“Coverdell Education Saving Account
Existing: https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Coverde ... s_Accounts

--“Kiddie tax”
Existing: https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Kiddie_tax

Wealth transfer insurance
Existing: https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Wealth_ ... _insurance



Page UTMA only links to existing UGMA page.
Existing: https://www.bogleheads.org/w/index.php? ... edirect=no


Looked but didn’t immediately find any other Wiki pages related to planning for children. If I missed any, then suggest including them also.

Why?

I thought of this because the suggestions presented in current forum topic:
“non-education accounts for kids”: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=293574
would require multiple Wiki searches to find.

So suggest restructuring the Wiki so all children topics are found with one search.
Thanks! Instead of a top-level page, I created a navigation menu that will appear at the bottom of each page. In this manner, all of the pages are linked together. There's no need to search.

Here's the menu: Template:Accounts for children
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Re: Suggestions for the Wiki

Post by snailderby »

https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/ETFs_vs ... nal_shares currently reads:
ETFs can only be bought in whole share amounts.
Should this be edited to something like this?
Most brokerages only allow investors to buy ETFs in whole share amounts.
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Re: Suggestions for the Wiki

Post by LadyGeek »

Thanks! There's one catch - moving your account to another broker that doesn't support fractional shares means that you have to sell the fractional shares and pay a tax on the gain.

The wiki has been updated: ETFs vs mutual funds - Bogleheads (Fractional shares)

I gave you credit for the suggestion, which can be seen in the View history tab (top entry):
Revised description (fractional shares), suggested by snailderby.
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Re: Suggestions for the Wiki

Post by abuss368 »

Would it be possible to add the Jack Bogle and Warren Buffett Two Fund Portfolio's to the Wiki?

Jack Bogle - Total Stock and Total Bond

Warren Buffett - S&P 500 and Short Term Treasury Bonds

Taylor Larimore post on my "Jack Bogle - Two Fund Portfolio" thread a naming suggestion of the B&B Portfolio!
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Re: Suggestions for the Wiki

Post by snailderby »

LadyGeek wrote: Mon Nov 25, 2019 8:00 pm Thanks! There's one catch - moving your account to another broker that doesn't support fractional shares means that you have to sell the fractional shares and pay a tax on the gain.

The wiki has been updated: ETFs vs mutual funds - Bogleheads (Fractional shares)

I gave you credit for the suggestion, which can be seen in the View history tab (top entry):
Revised description (fractional shares), suggested by snailderby.
Thanks for updating the wiki, LadyGeek (and for all of your moderation work)!
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Re: Suggestions for the Wiki

Post by pepys »

I think the gold article on the Wiki needs to be edited.

This piece of information is incorrect:
The following table provides annual gold prices (including high and low prices) starting in 1970, the year gold was officially freed from government price controls and allowed to freely trade on the open market.
The year that gold was officially freed from government price controls was 1978. From the IMF:
The Second Amendment to the Articles of Agreement passed April 1978 fundamentally changed the role of gold in the international monetary system by eliminating its use as the common denominator of the post-World War II exchange rate system and as the basis of the value of the Special Drawing Right (SDR). It also abolished the official price of gold and ended its obligatory use in transactions between the IMF and its member countries. It also required the IMF, when dealing in gold, to avoid managing or fixing its price.
The year gold was allowed to trade freely on the open market depends on what market it's referring to. Gold was illegal to speculate on in the United States until December 31, 1974. In other major developed countries, it was always allowed to trade freely, although there were certainly attempts by governments to manipulate the price, most notably the gold pool (which ended in 1968) and later the gold auctions by the IMF and US Treasury:
The Treasury had embarked on its program of regular sales in an effort to reduce the attractiveness of gold as an alternative to dollars among currency speculators. The sales were intended to check the rapid rise in gold prices.
The auctions did not end until October 1979 for the US Treasury and May 1980 for the IMF.

None of the linked sources support the original claim, so I'm not sure what it is referring to.

My proposal is to replace that with at least a paragraph on this history. Perhaps:
Before 1968, the price of gold was relatively stable, with few major fluctuations ("The Golden Dilemma" 13). From 1968-1978 fundamental changes were made to the global monetary system and gold's treatment in the United States, potentially changing gold's role as an asset class. In 1968, the "gold pool" system, where central banks traded on the private market to control the price of gold, was ended, resulting in the price of gold diverging from the official price (O'Callaghan 1). The United States stopped allowing the convertibility of the dollar to gold in 1971 and officially ended it in 1973 ("The Golden Dilemma" 5). Gold was re-legalized for Americans to own and trade in 1975 ("The Gold Dilemma" 4). In 1978, the official price of gold was finally removed ("Gold in the IMF"). During and after these changes, the real price of gold has been highly volatile ("The Golden Dilemma" 14)
This utilizes two papers already in the bibliography and the IMF article I linked to above.

Other possible changes:

The return calculation in the spreadsheet at the bottom could have additional values for another start year or completely change the start year. The linked article and papers differ wildly on start years (from 1970 in the Zimmerman/McCown papers to 1995 in the Baur and Lucey paper), but only two of the links comment at all on the issue of start dates.

The Artigas article starts in 1987, but says:
Ideally, one would use a series going back as far as 1972, the year by which the gold window had been closed and the metal’s price was allowed to float freely.
The Erb and Harvey "The Golden Dilemma" paper goes the most in-depth. They cite another paper, Barsky and Summers (1988), saying:
we focus on the period from 1973 to the present, after the gold market was sufficiently free from government pegging operations and from limitations on private trading for there to be a genuine ‘market’ price of gold
But they ultimately decide to start in 1975, since that is the first year US citizens were allowed to speculate in gold again.

I don't think the start date matters too much as long as sufficient information is given, especially because there is another table on the Wiki with the start year at 1900.

The Baur and Lucey paper, "Is Gold a Hedge or a Safe Haven? An Analysis of Stocks, Bonds and Gold" link is dead. I found another link for it at SSRN though, so the "Available at SSRN." can be added to it if we use this: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm ... _id=952289

All the data links are dead too. Not sure the course of action on that.
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retired@50
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Re: Suggestions for the Wiki

Post by retired@50 »

To whom it may concern,
The following wiki page

https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Approxi ... ock_market

makes multiple references to Vanguard ticker symbols for mutual funds that are closed.
Closed funds include:
VFINX - is now VFIAX 500 Index Fund Admiral Shares
VEXMX - is now VEXAX Extended Market Index Admiral Shares
VIMSX - is now VIMAX Mid Cap Index Admiral Shares
NAESX - is now VSMAX Small Cap Index Admiral Shares
VLACX - is now VLCAX Large Cap Index Admiral Shares

Regards,

EDIT: The above ticker symbols have been updated. Thank you!

Regards,
If liberty means anything at all it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear. -George Orwell
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Re: Suggestions for the Wiki

Post by LadyGeek »

pepys wrote: Sun Dec 08, 2019 1:24 am I think the gold article on the Wiki needs to be edited...
Sorry for the delay. Thank you very much! I have incorporated your suggestions. See: Gold

History of gold:
Your post was very thorough to trace the source of your information (nice job). I used it as a source for the citations.

The return calculation in the spreadsheet at the bottom:
I assume you are referring to the "Gold prices" spreadsheet Cumulative Return column. I didn't make any changes.

The Baur and Lucey paper:
Thanks, I have replaced it with the SSRN link. Note there are 2 papers. I referenced the latest (2009).

All the data links are dead:
Refers to gold price history. I found a website which contained complete history and replaced the dead links with the single website.

=====================
How's it look?

FYI - The Credit Suisse 2012 Yearbook used for the Real Returns table is a dead link. The table could probably use an update (based on the Google spreadsheet which follows the table).

Click on the View history tab to see what changed.

Here's the prior version (what you commented on): Revision as of 19:12, 22 January 2019
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Re: Suggestions for the Wiki

Post by pepys »

LadyGeek wrote: Tue Dec 24, 2019 8:32 am How's it look?
Looks great! Thanks for going through that.
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Re: Suggestions for the Wiki

Post by Peter Foley »

I made a couple suggestions on the Wiki comment form itself, but will add those comments here.

Under the link "Tax considerations," there should be a reference to the 2020 Tax law changes. For the time being just a link to the legislation that passed is probably enough. There is also a Kiddie Tax link. That splash page should include a note that the Kiddie tax was "electively" revised retroactively and provide a link to that section of the legislation (which is not long).
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Re: Suggestions for the Wiki

Post by retiredjg »

retiredjg wrote: Sat Dec 28, 2019 7:37 am
cas wrote: Sat Dec 28, 2019 7:04 am
FiveK wrote: Fri Dec 27, 2019 8:44 pm Nowizard already answered the direct question.

See https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/MAGI#MA ... A_tiers.29 for more details on the IRMAA MAGI.
FiveK? Do you happen to have edit privileges on the wiki?

There was a discussion about IRMAA MAGI earlier this week, and the general conclusion seems to be that the description of IRMAA MAGI in the Boglehead's wiki is incomplete.

Request here from retiredjg for a fix in the wiki: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=298261#p4907803

And here is the post from me that retiredjg refers to (from earlier in the thread), containing references to the text of the law defining IRMAA MAGI and translation of the law into readable English by the Congressional Research Service: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=298261#p4906208

(But the text of that law, as I said, is beyond my abilities and patience. I could be wrong. But from what I can see, the Congressional Research Service tracked down all the "Section" references more thoroughly that what is in the Boglehead's wiki. On top of that, I have zero idea how many Medicare recipients deduct savings bond interest or have non-AGI income from US territories ... probably not a huge number ... but ...)
Yes, I did wish for that. This should probably be requested through the "suggestions for the wiki" thread. I just have not gotten around to it.
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Re: Suggestions for the Wiki

Post by LadyGeek »

Peter Foley wrote: Tue Dec 24, 2019 1:52 pm I made a couple suggestions on the Wiki comment form itself, but will add those comments here.

Under the link "Tax considerations," there should be a reference to the 2020 Tax law changes. For the time being just a link to the legislation that passed is probably enough. There is also a Kiddie Tax link. That splash page should include a note that the Kiddie tax was "electively" revised retroactively and provide a link to that section of the legislation (which is not long).
I'm thinking we should revise / reorganize Outline of tax law changes for the 2020 Tax law changes. Readers wanting to know the latest tax law changes would naturally go to that page. It's also at a top-level. The Kiddie tax and IRA distribution tables would be referenced from that page.

We could move the current content to a new "Tax Cuts and Jobs Act" section, then create a SECURE Act section.
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Re: Suggestions for the Wiki

Post by Peter Foley »

I would certainly be fine with that.

With some SECURE Act provisions being modifications/reversals of the "Tax Cuts and Jobs Act" legislation, anything is preferable to leaving the TCJA as the final word.
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Re: Suggestions for the Wiki

Post by retired@50 »

To whom it may concern:

I ran across the following from W. Scott Simon. It relates to 401k plans in the workplace. I thought it might be a useful resource to those who are campaigning for a better 401k plan, or at least those who are campaigning for the inclusion of index funds.

Wiki page: https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/How_to_ ... 01(k)_plan

Presentation from W. Scott Simon: https://us.spindices.com/documents/pres ... -11-DC.pdf

Regards,
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snailderby
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Re: Suggestions for the Wiki

Post by snailderby »

This is from the article on the Bogleheads investment philosophy:
Rather than trying to pick the specific securities or sectors of the market (US stocks, international stocks, and US bonds) that will outperform in the future, Bogleheads buy funds that are widely diversified, or even approximate the whole market.
1. I wonder if we could remove that parenthetical. I wouldn't want newer investors to get confused and think US stocks is an example of a specific sector.

2. Perhaps we could replace "securities" with "stocks" in the interest of making that section more accessible/understandable for ordinary investors?

3. Instead of "will outperform in the future," how about "may or may not outperform in the future," or, alternatively, "may outperform or underperform in the future"? I'm sure there are other ways to reword that too.
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LadyGeek
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Re: Suggestions for the Wiki

Post by LadyGeek »

Thanks! See: Bogleheads® investment philosophy (Diversify)
Rather than trying to pick the specific stocks or sectors of the market that may outperform in the future, Bogleheads buy funds that are widely diversified, or even approximate the whole market.
===============
retired@50 - Also, thanks. The wiki was updated with your suggestion on 13 January 2020: How to campaign for a better 401(k) plan (External links)
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Taylor Larimore
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Re: Suggestions for the Wiki

Post by Taylor Larimore »

LadyGeek wrote: Mon Feb 03, 2020 8:02 pm Thanks! See: Bogleheads® investment philosophy (Diversify)
Rather than trying to pick the specific stocks or sectors of the market that may outperform in the future, Bogleheads buy funds that are widely diversified, or even approximate the whole market.
===============
retired@50 - Also, thanks. The wiki was updated with your suggestion on 13 January 2020: How to campaign for a better 401(k) plan (External links)
LadyGeek:

I believe the above quote is accurate.

Best wishes.
Taylor
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ThisTimeItsDifferent
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Re: Suggestions for the Wiki

Post by ThisTimeItsDifferent »

Could/should the section https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/After-t ... tributions address taking the deductible/tax-deferred traditional IRA that came from earnings on the after-tax 401k and doing a roll-in back to the traditional 401(k) in order to avoid the pro-rata rule om the regular backdoor Roth IRA?
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Re: Suggestions for the Wiki

Post by vtMaps »

I just noticed this page: https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Roth_IRA_conversion
has not been updated for the recent tax law changes:
3. After you reach the calendar year you attain age 70 1/2 and must start Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) from traditional IRAs, the full RMD must be completed before you make any Roth conversions.
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JoMoney
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Re: Suggestions for the Wiki

Post by JoMoney »

I would suggest an article on "Roth IRA Conversion Ladder" as an option for early retirement withdrawals to avoid 10% penalty.
Many external Blog-posts about this already exist. But it would be nice to have a updated internal Boglehead wiki link on the topic.

https://rootofgood.com/roth-ira-convers ... etirement/
https://www.choosefi.com/how-and-why-to ... on-ladder/
https://www.moneyunder30.com/roth-ira-conversion-ladder
https://retireby40.org/roth-ira-convers ... ize-taxes/
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davedd
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Re: Suggestions for the Wiki

Post by davedd »

Hi,
Can we add a link to the excellent "Whirlpool AU Bank Account Comparison", found at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... edit#gid=0, document to the https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Investi ... s_accounts page.

Additionally, perhaps it may make sense to mention "insurance bonds"(also known as investment bonds) and the trade off of the potential tax advantages vs on-going fees (see: https://moneysmart.gov.au/glossary/insurance-bond. Somethings to consider with regards to trade offs include the consideration based upon the current capital gains concession, the tax rate of an individual, the tax rate that the bond management company pays on holdings earnings).

Thank you.
Last edited by davedd on Sat Jun 13, 2020 7:24 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Suggestions for the Wiki

Post by LadyGeek »

Welcome, and thank you for the suggestion!

Before we update Investing in Australia (Cash savings accounts), can you please point to the website (or blog) which developed this spreadsheet? It's important to know the source of this information.
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davedd
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Re: Suggestions for the Wiki

Post by davedd »

Hi, Sure - the forum where the Australian savings account comparison seems to continue to be discussed and developed can be found at https://forums.whirlpool.net.au/thread/360w8x43.
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Re: Suggestions for the Wiki

Post by LadyGeek »

Thanks! I have updated the wiki: Investing in Australia (Cash savings accounts).

If you have additional suggestions or corrections, please post here.

If you would like to edit the wiki yourself, please PM me. We can always use the help, especially for non-US pages.
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Re: Suggestions for the Wiki

Post by LadyGeek »

bacon4retirement's suggestion to update the Health savings account article has been moved to a new thread. See: [Wiki - Update to HSA]
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Re: Suggestions for the Wiki

Post by ee22bee »

Long time lurker. This is my first contribution. Thank you all for having shared so much of your knowledge and time!

On the Fidelity wiki page, it appears the link to the Freedom Index Funds no longer works, likely due to a Fidelity fund screener change.

Here is the updated query link:
https://fundresearch.fidelity.com/fund- ... 2Ccategory

Would you mind updating the wiki page with the above? Or, add me as wiki editor and I'm more than happy to make the edit. Thank you!
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FiveK
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Re: Suggestions for the Wiki

Post by FiveK »

jljl222 wrote: Tue Sep 15, 2020 6:14 pm Long time lurker. This is my first contribution. Thank you all for having shared so much of your knowledge and time!

On the Fidelity wiki page, it appears the link to the Freedom Index Funds no longer works, likely due to a Fidelity fund screener change.

Here is the updated query link:
https://fundresearch.fidelity.com/fund- ... 2Ccategory

Would you mind updating the wiki page with the above?
Done, thanks!
Or, add me as wiki editor and I'm more than happy to make the edit. Thank you!
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Re: Suggestions for the Wiki

Post by ee22bee »

FiveK, so fast, thank you!
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Re: Suggestions for the Wiki

Post by LadyGeek »

FiveK wrote: Tue Sep 15, 2020 7:08 pm
Or, add me as wiki editor and I'm more than happy to make the edit. Thank you!
I have not the power.... :wink:
jljl222, Welcome! I have the power. :wink:

If you'd like to edit the wiki yourself, please PM me.
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Rainmaker41
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Re: Suggestions for the Wiki

Post by Rainmaker41 »

Hi Bogleheads,

This may not be necessary, but I was thinking it might be helpful to have a wiki entry describing the mechanics of the 2020 US relief payments under the CARES Act and the recent December legislation. I'm not sure what the process is for proposing wiki entry content.

The following will need to be fleshed out, but here is my in-progress start on it anyway:

A. Payment amounts, basis of calculation, who is entitled to what.

The first relief payment was implemented by the March 2020 CARES Act. The amounts were $1,200 per adult and $500 per qualifying child. Taxpayers with Adjusted Gross Income of $75k or less are entitled to the full amounts. Taxpayers with AGI over that amount are subject to a phaseout of $5 for every $100 earned over that limit, and accordingly receive less.

The second relief payment was implemented by the December 2020 legislation. The amounts were $600 per adult and $600 per qualifying child. Additionally, provisions were included to enable some people who did not qualify for the first round to receive it retroactively (for example, college students). Taxpayers with AGI over that amount are subject to a phaseout of $5 for every $100 earned over that limit, and accordingly receive less.

B. Advance payment by IRS based on 2019 or 2018 tax returns.

Both the first and second relief payments "Economic Impact Payments" provided by the IRS are advance "refunds" of tax credits for the 2020 tax year. The IRS used 2019 tax return data if available, or if unavailable 2018 data, as the basis for calculating and sending the advance payments.

C. How the advance payments interact with the tax credit claiming mechanism.

When filing taxes for the 2020 tax year, the tax return will include a provision to claim any amount due to the taxpayer for those tax credits, based on 2020 Adjusted Gross Income.

Examples:

Jane receives the full Economic Impact Payment amounts from the IRS for the first and second rounds. There is no amount due to the taxpayer, so nothing is claimed on the 2020 tax return.

Bill's income in 2019 resulted in him receiving reduced Economic Impact Payments. However, his 2020 income is lower, and entitles him to a larger amount. On his 2020 tax return, Bill claims the balance due to him as a tax credit.

Sally does not receive any Economic Impact Payments because her 2019 income was too high. However, her 2020 income is lower, and entitles her to the full relief payments. On her 2020 tax return, Sally claims the full relief payment amounts as tax credits.
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Re: Suggestions for the Wiki

Post by Peter Foley »

A section of the Wiki is devoted to MAGI. There are a number of citations relative to where MAGI computation is used in the tax code.

It would nice to have a single sentence added to the definition of MAGI as it relates to IRMAA. That sentence is not in the US Code but is relevant to readers. That sentence would be something along the lines of: The untaxed portion of SS Benefits is not included in the MAGI calculation for IRMAA.
https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/MAGI#MA ... A_tiers.29


I believe this would help clarify a common misunderstanding.
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Re: Suggestions for the Wiki

Post by LadyGeek »

Sorry for the delay. Thanks, I have added your sentence to the wiki. MAGI (MAGI for Medicare premiums (IRMAA tiers))
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deauxboy
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Re: Suggestions for the Wiki

Post by deauxboy »

A couple of acronyms that might be useful for the Wiki.

FERS - Federal Employees Retirement System
MRA - Minimum Retirement Age
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Re: Suggestions for the Wiki

Post by LadyGeek »

Thanks! FERS has been added. See: Abbreviations and Acronyms - Bogleheads

We didn't add MRA - it's not in common use. FRA (Full Retirement Age) is already in the list.

(The wiki is a collaborative effort. A different wiki editor updated the page.)
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Re: Suggestions for the Wiki

Post by grabiner »

LadyGeek wrote: Mon Mar 15, 2021 6:56 am Thanks! FERS has been added. See: Abbreviations and Acronyms - Bogleheads

We didn't add MRA - it's not in common use. FRA (Full Retirement Age) is already in the list.
MRA is a term specific to FERS; the Minimum Retirement Age is the age (between 55 and 57, depending on birth year) that FERS employees are eligible to retire with an immediate annuity. I agree that it is not a common enough term for the Wiki acronym list.
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Re: Suggestions for the Wiki

Post by MarilynGo »

Hello, I'm a new member. I noticed 7 out of 11 listings and links on the Bogleheads blogs and websites section of Financial News and Information are no longer working. Plus it does not have: Rick Ferri's blog: www.RickFerri.com, or Allen Roth at www.DareToBeDull.com. Thank you.
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Re: Suggestions for the Wiki

Post by LadyGeek »

Hi,

Thank you very much! I have revised the page: Financial websites and blogs (Financial news and information)

If you see anything that's missing or needs to be changed, post here.
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FiveK
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Re: Suggestions for the Wiki

Post by FiveK »

Based on this post, perhaps FPL and IRMAA could be added to Abbreviations and Acronyms - Bogleheads. Below is a start at possible syntax, although I see the actual entries need much more detail.

FPL [https://www.healthcare.gov/glossary/fed ... level-fpl/ Federal Poverty Level]

IRMAA [https://www.medicareinteractive.org/get ... er-incomes Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount]

Don't know that "MFJ" and "ETA" warrant inclusion, but at least one person didn't understand them....
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Re: Suggestions for the Wiki

Post by LadyGeek »

I don't see FPL frequently mentioned in forum discussions, so I'm hesitant to add it to the list. Otherwise, we'd get overloaded.

Your IRMAA source doesn't mention Part D coverage. I updated the wiki to use the Medicare.gov website instead. See: Abbreviations and Acronyms
IRMAA - Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount. An additional premium amount for Medicare Part B and Medicare prescription drug coverage.
I got the definition from Benefits Planner: Retirement | Medicare Premiums | SSA.
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