I wonder what was wrong with Vanguard. They have been awesome in every way.
I think something to do with beneficiary form, but I donât remember the specific.
Some people want a brick and mortar presence, someplace where you can look at whoâs hoping you. I find the super low costs at Vanguard sufficient compensation. And, fwiw, when we went to Fidelity to rollover part of my wifeâs 401k to Vanguard, they couldnât handle it at the local office and put us on the phone to a rep. And, they made a small error in how they cut the checks, even though I was explicit and to the penny about the checks (xxx,xxx.xx in one check, balance in the other). It wasnât a big deal, but we have a grand sitting in a sub account.
So, Iâm Vanguard all the way but ymmv.
My secretary has major screw-up with Vanguard. I was wondering if the reason if because she has a small account balance. Itâs so bad that it took her 6 months to do direct transfer from her previous brokerage to Vanguard.
No company is perfect.
IIRC himomâs issue was something about setting a power of attorney, but I could be misremembering.
Richenough, that is the problem, but I didnât quite understand it because I have a trust, should that take care of it. I have beneficiary form too.
A lot of companies wonât accept a Power of Attorney and want you to use their forms. IANAL.
Each year I wrestle with the non-deductible IRA contribution (which is all my H and I have at this point because of income limits) outside of 401ks. I think itâs like doing tax rate arbitrage but the difference may be small if one is going to be withdrawing funds sooner in retirement rather than waiting until the last minute at age 70.5. However, the way I see it, if the money isnât IN an IRA (pre or post-tax), it wonât be available for conversion into a Roth IRA if I ever want to do that.
The alternative of putting excess funds in a taxable account is a good one, particularly if the taxable account is invested in a tax-efficient fund. The LTCG tax rate (even with the surcharge on NII) is still lower than the highest OI tax rate. Plus there is the step-up in basis after death under current law so lucky heirs get to benefit.
If someone has an Excel spreadsheet that is adaptable for making and comparing a individualâs tax calculations, Iâll happily pay for it!
Under current law, the Roth IRA:
(1) during ownerâs lifetime: no mandatory withdrawals
(2) in the hands of a spouse beneficiary: spouse can elect to treat inherited Roth IRA âas her own.â Result is that a spouse-beneficiary of Roth IRA has no lifetime mandatory withdrawals.
(3) in the hands of a non-spouse-beneficiary: beneficiary has to take RMDs from a Roth pursuant to Table I of Publication 590-B.
Whether withdrawals from a Roth are exempt from taxes depends on whether they are âqualified withdrawalsâ â a concept that depends on meeting conditions and the 5-year time limit.
Self-promotion âwarningâ 
:
Somewhere in this thread, I have a lengthy post about the benefits of a Roth IRA wherein I tried to put in one place all the good stuff I learned about Roths. There is also a wealth of reading out there about Roth IRAs.
Also, regarding RMDs vs. the SWR:
If you withdraw from your retirement portfolio like you would under the RMD table based on your age and actuarial life expectancy, it should come close to exhausting your portfolio by the time you take leave of the planet. So, for those who donât want to use the customary 3-4% SWR and end up leaving a huge estate for their heirs, the RMD table can provide a floor-ceiling comparison with the 3-4% SWR when running the annual numbers.
Gosh, if 9 out the top 10 CNBC âfee-onlyâ advisors arenât really fee only, maybe itâs time to rethink the criteria https://www.kitces.com/blog/9-out-of-top-10-cnbc-fee-only-advisory-firms-not-actually-fee-only-according-to-cfp-board-compensation-disclosure-rules/
I have found that representatives may sound more professional (and the help you receive from them more accurate) if one actually knows what you are trying to accomplish. More than once, a rep has said, âIâll look that up and call you back with the answerâ after Iâve insisted on clarification. They are on a recorded line and there are limits to what they can say without checking with supervisors or legal compliance.
If you know what you are trying to accomplish is important and a mistake can result in taking an irrevocable step, why not do some reading first? These companies do have extensive literature online. Then, when you call, you can ask directed questions and keep at it until you get the correct answer and results. Just common sense.
Also, though it seems downright Luddite for me to suggest it, one might actually download forms and read them before agreeing to them or signing them. So often, my eyes glaze over when I read forms online before clicking ACCEPT. By all means still do the accepting online, but there is nothing like seeing an entire document and understanding its operation to prevent mistakes or confusion.
CNBC is like HGTV, business porn to house porn.
But itâs better than watching 24/7 all news coverage on other channels if I just want background noise.
Kitces is turning out to be a good read for many topics.
WellâŠwe pay tax on a RMD of $1000 a year. It was a beneficiary IRA that was my momâs. Because she was taking the RMD, I had to continue to do so.
Taxes paid on this amount every year since I inherited it.
SoâŠwhen do you worry about paying taxes? When you start collecting the RMDâŠif it was a pretax account.
I thought the heir has to liquidate the account within 5 years. Any special paperwork one must do not to screw up the RMD distribution.
^^not if the original IRA owner was already taking distributions.
YepâŠnot if the original owner was already taking a RMD. I really couldnât do much of anything else with this account. My mom got her RMD on December 3, her birthday. So we have continued thatâŠand itâs what we use for Christmas!
Google âinherited IRA life expectancy methodâ
And that RMD increases each year (assuming account balance doesnât decline), but much better than having to take it in five years.
This just made me thinkâŠSo, should one take a little out of each tax deferred IRA starting at 59.5 so that if spouse and I die together in plane crash the kids can use the life expectancy RMD instead of 5year ?
"Thank you @DrGoogle
found an online estimator. A $2 million balance in IRA +401K will have a RMD of about $73K at age 70.
A pension and SS will push that over $74K."
Dad Ii, helpful to know? Assume you are in that realm of $2mm in your IRA?