@mcat2
The Fidelity number has death at 82 and 85. So your $220K is for a much longer period.
What does Medigap cost? Does it cover the deductibles?
Calm down… 
I gave you a link a few posts up.
I am going to call my parents. Just for you notrichenough.
If you go back a few pages on this very lengthy thread, @notrichenough and I posted a couple of articles. I think those may be your best best if you really want to dig into the issue of comparing tax rates.
^ The tax rates I understand. What I’m asking is if anyone thinks it is wise to create both Roth and regular 401k sources “just in case” the tax laws change.
No fair editing your post after I’ve already read it. 
That medigap link is crazy… 5-10x or more difference in price for the same policy? Wow.
So if you take the median for plan F, which seems to be the most common according to another site I googled, now we are up to $4K.
Is medigap required? Or can you skip it and take your chances?
@dstark, I am quite calm, don’t bother your parents on my account. 
Ok…
My mom is just not that sharp anymore.
Paying part b. Paying part d.
Her medigap is only $20 a month. She pays for office visits. She pays for mris and hospital stays and all that. She doesn’t know what her maximum out of pocket is.
She could pay more for medigap monthly and cut the costs for each service. If she doesn’t need the services much she comes out ahead now. She was paying more than $116 a month for medigap type coverage. (Kaiser).
From reading your post notrichenough, I can take it…the medicare part d donut hole is closed?
@College4K
I read a Kitces article that suggests that Congress tends to grandfather provisions in the Tax Code. So, you can take that for what it’s worth. If you are eligible to open a Roth, and have comparable investment choices in and outside of the Roth 401k at your employer, I’d consider the individual Roth account. There’s also the much discussed IRS Notice 2014-54 which makes the Roth 401k more portable for rollovers, if I understand what @IxnayBob has been saying.
Changes in tax law could destroy much of the usefulness or either or both of these.
If I had to bet, I think the Roth is much more likely to be changed - mandatory RMDs, taxation of withdrawals, changes to inheritance rules, even elimination.
I think it unlikely we will ever return to the days of 50-70% marginal tax rates, which would kill traditional plans. If rates did go this high, I bet there would be Roth changes as well.
My magic 8-ball app says “Concentrate and ask again”, that’s not much help.
Apparently not:
But apparently the ACA closes it by 2020.
To comment to @mcat2 be very careful with FA.
You can check him/her out with FINRA Broker Check Hotline www.finra.org and they have an 800 number. Can check with BBB, National Ethics Bureau www.ethicscheck.com and 800 number. State Dept of Insurance.
We are very comfortable with our FA - he is an Ed Slott Elite IRA Advisor Group member -approved advisor - (tax wise advising) and is also a member of the National Ethics Association (NEA Certified Credentials).
Trust, ethics, and best practices - if a member of National Ethics Assoc, they are supposed to have client interests first.
Our FA has regular meetings with us and also offers education seminars. He has us diversified beyond what our current 401k is able to do. This has given us peace of mind.
After some meetings, if you understand how the financial vehicles’ purposes fit your needs, if you understand everything involved - the fees, the benefits, the risks, etc. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. If you feel pressured and if they try to sell you something the very first time you meet, WAIT and probably walk away. If you run the info by your CPA or Attorney. Maybe bring someone more financially savvy to appt with you to ask pertinent questions.
Maybe build up your trust by investing a small portion of your nest egg after a few meetings if you feel good about FA and about investment(s). Then see how things progress compared to your other investments. I do think if you have your own account using stock indexed funds that you understand, and then compare how things go between what FA has done and what you do.
The investments need to make sense based on your risk tolerance, your age, etc.
Sometimes you can have lower risk and earn more money in the right investments. We did.
We are always learning. In 6.5 years from now, we will see where H and I are at. Feeling pretty good about our position now.
If you understand and watch, you will do much better than if you turn all your money over to someone to ‘take care of you’. Too easy to get fleeced.
@mcat2, Total Stock Market Index Fund essentially tracks the entire US stock market, although it does not own every single stock. It is as diversified as you can be without international stocks and non-stock assets. The fees are 0.05% per year for the Admiral Fund.
If you invest $10,000 for 10 years, the average fund of this type will charge fees of $2,436. TSM will charge $118.
https://personal.vanguard.com/us/funds/snapshot?FundId=0585&FundIntExt=INT
Thanks, @AttorneyMother. I found the Kitches article and while it doesn’t completely answer my question it is definitely food for thought.
You are welcome. @College4K and please add any thoughts that occur to you in your investigation. Any thing people can add is helpful.
Roth 401K is different from Roth Ira in that with roth 401K there’s RMD. You have to withdraw required minimum from roth 401k. To me, that’s the most important part in roth ira that roth 401k does not have.
@mcat2, for Vanguard funds, both total stock market and 500 index fund are very similar. Their expense ration is the same, their performance is almost indistinguishable. 500 index may have only 500 companies in it but those 500 companies rule the market. Their combined market cap or value is about 70-80%. The remaining companies, about 6,500 of them share the rest 20-30% market cap. I also prefer total stock market to s&p500 but in practice, it makes little difference. If you already own s&p500, I wouldn’t bother to switch to Total Stock Market.
^^ I agree with Iglooo, unless your s&p 500 is one that charges high fees. Some charge as much as 1%, which is outrageous when you can get it for 0.05%.
ETA: re RMDs, you can just rollover Roth 401k to Roth IRA after you retire or terminate employment, or sooner if your plan allows in-service rollovers.
@Iglooo
Thanks for adding that distinction. Why the heck are these things so tricky?
Here’s the RMD FAQ: http://www.irs.gov/Retirement-Plans/Retirement-Plans-FAQs-regarding-Required-Minimum-Distributions
@mcat2, The challenge with diversification is to choose investments that are as unlinked as possible to economic drivers in order to hedge against downturns. In addition to the categories mentioned by IxnayBob (total stock market and inflation linked bonds and treasuries) I include a real estate fund (REIT) and international exposure through a European index fund ( VGK https://personal.vanguard.com/us/funds/snapshot?FundId=0963&FundIntExt=INT). Emerging markets in developing countries are another source of diversification, but the swings can be huge and it’s a tough ride if you value stability. And of course cash is perhaps most important, both as a source of emergency funds and as a source to invest when prices drop in the market. Once savings are diversified and balanced to match your risk tolerance the real challenge is to step away from the computer and not touch anything except for an annual rebalancing and perhaps some purchases when prices drop.
The financial industry has caught on to the fact that many, if not most, people do not view investing as a pleasurable hobby. Low cost services are available to help people diversify and balance their savings. I’ve put some savings in a company called Betterment (https://www.betterment.com) and have been impressed with their service. They continue to refine their offerings and I can envision moving the bulk of our retirement savings to them at some point in the future so I can worry about other things.
ROTH - “(a) do not count as taxable income against SS” . Can somebody give me the recap on that? I thought that SS formulas only dinged you for earned income.