Personal Finance Advice and Education! (2 Viewers)

[FUBAR]

I was going to ask about setting up a Roth IRA for my kid, but decided to Google instead. Some good info here.

Good stuff.

Assuming the kid is going to college and will need to pay for some expenses while in school, is there a reason to go Roth instead of a Coverdell ESA?

 

[humpback]

I suppose it's a moot point if you can just do a backdoor roth anyway

But, if you have contributions in a tax deductible ira, now they'll be tax consequences of the back door. If you straight up fund a roth, it doesn't matter what you have in a tax deductible.

My wife has a decent chunk (50k) in a Roth 401(k). Her employer is switching providers. I think what we're going to do is just roll-over that Roth 401k into an existing Roth IRA. That way the 50k can grow tax-free for 30-35 years. Then she'll sign up for the traditional 401k with her employer to get the tax deductions.

Changing providers doesn't allow you to roll it into an IRA (assuming she's not 59 1/2). They'll just transfer things over to the new provider the same way it was (so the Roth portion will still be Roth, etc.).

 

[Rick James]

I suppose it's a moot point if you can just do a backdoor roth anyway

But, if you have contributions in a tax deductible ira, now they'll be tax consequences of the back door. If you straight up fund a roth, it doesn't matter what you have in a tax deductible.

My wife has a decent chunk (50k) in a Roth 401(k). Her employer is switching providers. I think what we're going to do is just roll-over that Roth 401k into an existing Roth IRA. That way the 50k can grow tax-free for 30-35 years. Then she'll sign up for the traditional 401k with her employer to get the tax deductions.

Changing providers doesn't allow you to roll it into an IRA (assuming she's not 59 1/2). They'll just transfer things over to the new provider the same way it was (so the Roth portion will still be Roth, etc.).

I don't think the new provider is offering a Roth 401k. What happens then?

 

[wilked]

I was going to ask about setting up a Roth IRA for my kid, but decided to Google instead. Some good info here.

Good stuff.

Assuming the kid is going to college and will need to pay for some expenses while in school, is there a reason to go Roth instead of a Coverdell ESA?

I think you answered your own question

 

[humpback]

I suppose it's a moot point if you can just do a backdoor roth anyway

But, if you have contributions in a tax deductible ira, now they'll be tax consequences of the back door. If you straight up fund a roth, it doesn't matter what you have in a tax deductible.

My wife has a decent chunk (50k) in a Roth 401(k). Her employer is switching providers. I think what we're going to do is just roll-over that Roth 401k into an existing Roth IRA. That way the 50k can grow tax-free for 30-35 years. Then she'll sign up for the traditional 401k with her employer to get the tax deductions.

Changing providers doesn't allow you to roll it into an IRA (assuming she's not 59 1/2). They'll just transfer things over to the new provider the same way it was (so the Roth portion will still be Roth, etc.).

I don't think the new provider is offering a Roth 401k. What happens then?

That would be really surprising since most are adding the option not getting rid of it, but I'm not sure how that is handled. My guess is that portion would be allowed to rollover into a Roth IRA, but check with her provider.

 

[BeTheMatch]

I was going to ask about setting up a Roth IRA for my kid, but decided to Google instead. Some good info here.

Good stuff.

Assuming the kid is going to college and will need to pay for some expenses while in school, is there a reason to go Roth instead of a Coverdell ESA?

I think you answered your own question

My thought was to start a retirement account for him and get that ingrained in his head early and have him benefit from an early start. You can get loans for college.

 

[wilked]

BTM> exactly. Roth space is precious, no need to burn it up for college if you don't have to

 

[FUBAR]

I was going to ask about setting up a Roth IRA for my kid, but decided to Google instead. Some good info here.

Good stuff.

Assuming the kid is going to college and will need to pay for some expenses while in school, is there a reason to go Roth instead of a Coverdell ESA?

I think you answered your own question

My thought was to start a retirement account for him and get that ingrained in his head early and have him benefit from an early start. You can get loans for college.

that's a fair point. Of course, there's a school of thought that says teaching your kids to save up for expenses (even school) instead of taking loans is highly preferable.

it's a non-issue right now for us as our kids don't really have taxable income (one made roughly $300 last year dog-sitting) so we couldn't do the Roth yet anyway, but we like to plan ahead.

 

[Slapdash]

I was going to ask about setting up a Roth IRA for my kid, but decided to Google instead. Some good info here.

Good stuff.

Assuming the kid is going to college and will need to pay for some expenses while in school, is there a reason to go Roth instead of a Coverdell ESA?

I think you answered your own question

My thought was to start a retirement account for him and get that ingrained in his head early and have him benefit from an early start. You can get loans for college.

This is the shark move

 

[BeTheMatch]

I was going to ask about setting up a Roth IRA for my kid, but decided to Google instead. Some good info here.

Good stuff.

Assuming the kid is going to college and will need to pay for some expenses while in school, is there a reason to go Roth instead of a Coverdell ESA?

I think you answered your own question

My thought was to start a retirement account for him and get that ingrained in his head early and have him benefit from an early start. You can get loans for college.

that's a fair point. Of course, there's a school of thought that says teaching your kids to save up for expenses (even school) instead of taking loans is highly preferable.

it's a non-issue right now for us as our kids don't really have taxable income (one made roughly $300 last year dog-sitting) so we couldn't do the Roth yet anyway, but we like to plan ahead.

You could put the $300 in a Roth.

 

[Rick James]

has anyone ever changed jobs and discovered that the new employer uses the same 401k vendor as your previous employer? If so, do you still have to go through the standard process of filling out forms, receiving a check, etc. or can the vendor handle it internally in just a few steps?

I'd call the vendor but this is for my wife and they can be nazis about speaking to someone who isn't the account holder.

 

[RUSF18]

has anyone ever changed jobs and discovered that the new employer uses the same 401k vendor as your previous employer? If so, do you still have to go through the standard process of filling out forms, receiving a check, etc. or can the vendor handle it internally in just a few steps?

I'd call the vendor but this is for my wife and they can be nazis about speaking to someone who isn't the account holder.

Going through this now. Both are managed through Fidelity and still have to fill out a form, get a check in Fidelity's name, etc. I'm sure it's less painful than if going between vendors but the guy I spoke with said it wasn't as simple as transferring between the accounts.

 

[Rick James]

ok, thanks. she's using Fidelity as well.

 

[ex-ghost]

So painful seeing vanguard fees under .2 and my work 401k hovering around .6-.8.

 

[humpback]

has anyone ever changed jobs and discovered that the new employer uses the same 401k vendor as your previous employer? If so, do you still have to go through the standard process of filling out forms, receiving a check, etc. or can the vendor handle it internally in just a few steps?

I'd call the vendor but this is for my wife and they can be nazis about speaking to someone who isn't the account holder.

Is she changing employers? Earlier you said her employer was changing providers. Huge difference- if she's changing employers she will be able to roll it over to an IRA/Roth if she wants to.

 

[Binky The Doormat]

So painful seeing vanguard fees under .2 and my work 401k hovering around .6-.8.

See if you can make transfers to another 401K/IRA. Keep that one going to get your match. No idea if this is possible but it occurred to me when I saw this.

ETA: Check with your plan admin. Looks like it is dependent upon the rules of your 401K

 

[Steve Tasker]

So painful seeing vanguard fees under .2 and my work 401k hovering around .6-.8.

See if you can make transfers to another 401K/IRA. Keep that one going to get your match. No idea if this is possible but it occurred to me when I saw this.

ETA: Check with your plan admin. Looks like it is dependent upon the rules of your 401K

The chances of him being able to make an in-service rollover is extremely slim. He probably needs to either (1) separate from service or (2) be retirement-aged. The only way to get money out, in all likelihood, at this point would be to either take a loan or a hardship, neither of which I'd recommend.

I don't know if it's even allowed, legally. I do know I've never seen a 401(k) allow tax-free in-service rollovers out of the 401(k).

 

[wilked]

So painful seeing vanguard fees under .2 and my work 401k hovering around .6-.8.

See if you can make transfers to another 401K/IRA. Keep that one going to get your match. No idea if this is possible but it occurred to me when I saw this.

ETA: Check with your plan admin. Looks like it is dependent upon the rules of your 401K

The chances of him being able to make an in-service rollover is extremely slim. He probably needs to either (1) separate from service or (2) be retirement-aged. The only way to get money out, in all likelihood, at this point would be to either take a loan or a hardship, neither of which I'd recommend.

I don't know if it's even allowed, legally. I do know I've never seen a 401(k) allow tax-free in-service rollovers out of the 401(k).

It's not necessarily common, but it is more common than you think.

http://www.anthonycap.com/blog/service-withdrawals-401k-plans-law-and-plan-rules

There are no tax implications, it is no different than when you leave a company and take your 401K with you (rolling into an IRA), just you do it without leaving the company. It's worth asking if you have a bad plan (ie high fee plan)

 

[Plorfu]

I'm going to be leaving my job soon. I have a 401k with about 25k in it. I want to roll it over to an IRA when I leave. I will also start a new 401k with my new employer, but don't want to rollover my existing one there because I want some flexibility with how I manage my old balance.

Anybody know of any good rollover bonuses or anything out there? I'd likely make some trades a few times a month, sometimes more, sometimes less, so I'm open to free trade bonuses, too. I have a separate ROTH I'm maxing out every year, so I won't be able to contribute any more to the one I rollover (I assume). Should I do something else? After I max out my ROTH and normal savings, I'll just start putting whatever else I have left into a normal taxable account, I think.

 

[wilked]

lol at rollover bonuses...

If you want to increase returns / make additional money, consider trading less

http://faculty.haas.berkeley.edu/odean/papers%20current%20versions/individual_investor_performance_final.pdf

 

[Steve Tasker]

So painful seeing vanguard fees under .2 and my work 401k hovering around .6-.8.

See if you can make transfers to another 401K/IRA. Keep that one going to get your match. No idea if this is possible but it occurred to me when I saw this.

ETA: Check with your plan admin. Looks like it is dependent upon the rules of your 401K

The chances of him being able to make an in-service rollover is extremely slim. He probably needs to either (1) separate from service or (2) be retirement-aged. The only way to get money out, in all likelihood, at this point would be to either take a loan or a hardship, neither of which I'd recommend.

I don't know if it's even allowed, legally. I do know I've never seen a 401(k) allow tax-free in-service rollovers out of the 401(k).

It's not necessarily common, but it is more common than you think.

http://www.anthonycap.com/blog/service-withdrawals-401k-plans-law-and-plan-rules

There are no tax implications, it is no different than when you leave a company and take your 401K with you (rolling into an IRA), just you do it without leaving the company. It's worth asking if you have a bad plan (ie high fee plan)

Good to know it's legal, I've just never seen it in practice (I formerly audit retirement plans at work). The only time I've ever seen in-service withdrawals allowed is if the employee is 59 1/2, hence my retirement aged comment above.

I know my plan doesn't allow in-service withdrawals under 59 1/2. OP's employer should furnish him with some annual information on the plan, it's probably in there whether or not it's allowed.

 

[Plorfu]

lol at rollover bonuses...

If you want to increase returns / make additional money, consider trading less

http://faculty.haas.berkeley.edu/odean/papers%20current%20versions/individual_investor_performance_final.pdf

I'd be trading just to average into positions, not going in and out of things.

So, asking about bonuses was apparently stupid. Thanks for letting me know.

 

[wilked]

Averaging into positions weekly? Either your boss is not keeping you busy enough or you might be a little OCD...

 

[Rick James]

has anyone ever changed jobs and discovered that the new employer uses the same 401k vendor as your previous employer? If so, do you still have to go through the standard process of filling out forms, receiving a check, etc. or can the vendor handle it internally in just a few steps?

I'd call the vendor but this is for my wife and they can be nazis about speaking to someone who isn't the account holder.

Is she changing employers? Earlier you said her employer was changing providers. Huge difference- if she's changing employers she will be able to roll it over to an IRA/Roth if she wants to.

There are two things happening concurrently:

1) current employer is changing providers (milliman -> fidelity)

2) she has an OLD 401k from a previous employer. (fidelity -> fidelity)

 

[Andrew74]

So painful seeing vanguard fees under .2 and my work 401k hovering around .6-.8.

Tell them you want a low cost index option. Then casually mention you've heard of companies being sued for offering ####ty options.

 

[ex-ghost]

So painful seeing vanguard fees under .2 and my work 401k hovering around .6-.8.

See if you can make transfers to another 401K/IRA. Keep that one going to get your match. No idea if this is possible but it occurred to me when I saw this.

ETA: Check with your plan admin. Looks like it is dependent upon the rules of your 401K

The chances of him being able to make an in-service rollover is extremely slim. He probably needs to either (1) separate from service or (2) be retirement-aged. The only way to get money out, in all likelihood, at this point would be to either take a loan or a hardship, neither of which I'd recommend.

I don't know if it's even allowed, legally. I do know I've never seen a 401(k) allow tax-free in-service rollovers out of the 401(k).

It's not necessarily common, but it is more common than you think.

http://www.anthonycap.com/blog/service-withdrawals-401k-plans-law-and-plan-rules

There are no tax implications, it is no different than when you leave a company and take your 401K with you (rolling into an IRA), just you do it without leaving the company. It's worth asking if you have a bad plan (ie high fee plan)

TIAA CREF

 

[Steve Tasker]

So painful seeing vanguard fees under .2 and my work 401k hovering around .6-.8.

See if you can make transfers to another 401K/IRA. Keep that one going to get your match. No idea if this is possible but it occurred to me when I saw this.

ETA: Check with your plan admin. Looks like it is dependent upon the rules of your 401K

The chances of him being able to make an in-service rollover is extremely slim. He probably needs to either (1) separate from service or (2) be retirement-aged. The only way to get money out, in all likelihood, at this point would be to either take a loan or a hardship, neither of which I'd recommend.

I don't know if it's even allowed, legally. I do know I've never seen a 401(k) allow tax-free in-service rollovers out of the 401(k).

It's not necessarily common, but it is more common than you think.

http://www.anthonycap.com/blog/service-withdrawals-401k-plans-law-and-plan-rules

There are no tax implications, it is no different than when you leave a company and take your 401K with you (rolling into an IRA), just you do it without leaving the company. It's worth asking if you have a bad plan (ie high fee plan)

TIAA CREF

TIAA-CREF is the plan administrator, but your options will vary based on your specific plan. Not all TIAA-CREF plans are structured the same (I am assuming this point). You'll need to talk to your plan person, HR department, etc. Or you could probably try calling TIAA-CREF and see what they can tell you.

 

[Steve Tasker]

I'm normally a fan of dollar cost averaging, but I'm sitting on a little excess cash at the moment. With these China fears, the markets have been plummeting this week. If the markets go to #### in the next week, I'm thinking about making my full 2016 Roth contribution. If I didn't have this cash I wouldn't even consider it, but I do. I always preach to people "don't try to time the market"....but here I am. Someone talk me out of this.

 

[pecorino]

I'm normally a fan of dollar cost averaging, but I'm sitting on a little excess cash at the moment. With these China fears, the markets have been plummeting this week. If the markets go to #### in the next week, I'm thinking about making my full 2016 Roth contribution. If I didn't have this cash I wouldn't even consider it, but I do. I always preach to people "don't try to time the market"....but here I am. Someone talk me out of this.

I just sent in a check for almost all of my annual Roth contribution for 2016. Normally I'd deduct $400 or so per month, but I wanted to buy a chunk of something ASAP. I'm not talking you out of it--I'm endorsing the move.

 

[rick6668]

I'm normally a fan of dollar cost averaging, but I'm sitting on a little excess cash at the moment. With these China fears, the markets have been plummeting this week. If the markets go to #### in the next week, I'm thinking about making my full 2016 Roth contribution. If I didn't have this cash I wouldn't even consider it, but I do. I always preach to people "don't try to time the market"....but here I am. Someone talk me out of this.

I still have a little of my funds in cash as I transferred my 401K to an IRA from my last job and was slowly buying in.

I'm going the rest of the way now. I endorse this as well.

 

[wilked]

Assuming this contribution is less than 10% of your portfolio amount, I don't think it much matters overall

 

[ex-ghost]

So painful seeing vanguard fees under .2 and my work 401k hovering around .6-.8.

See if you can make transfers to another 401K/IRA. Keep that one going to get your match. No idea if this is possible but it occurred to me when I saw this.

ETA: Check with your plan admin. Looks like it is dependent upon the rules of your 401K

The chances of him being able to make an in-service rollover is extremely slim. He probably needs to either (1) separate from service or (2) be retirement-aged. The only way to get money out, in all likelihood, at this point would be to either take a loan or a hardship, neither of which I'd recommend.I don't know if it's even allowed, legally. I do know I've never seen a 401(k) allow tax-free in-service rollovers out of the 401(k).

It's not necessarily common, but it is more common than you think.http://www.anthonycap.com/blog/service-withdrawals-401k-plans-law-and-plan-rules

There are no tax implications, it is no different than when you leave a company and take your 401K with you (rolling into an IRA), just you do it without leaving the company. It's worth asking if you have a bad plan (ie high fee plan)

TIAA CREF

TIAA-CREF is the plan administrator, but your options will vary based on your specific plan. Not all TIAA-CREF plans are structured the same (I am assuming this point). You'll need to talk to your plan person, HR department, etc. Or you could probably try calling TIAA-CREF and see what they can tell you.

Our plan currently is only TIAA CREF funds. Will look into finding ways to add different funds going forward.

 

[pecorino]

So painful seeing vanguard fees under .2 and my work 401k hovering around .6-.8.

See if you can make transfers to another 401K/IRA. Keep that one going to get your match. No idea if this is possible but it occurred to me when I saw this.

ETA: Check with your plan admin. Looks like it is dependent upon the rules of your 401K

The chances of him being able to make an in-service rollover is extremely slim. He probably needs to either (1) separate from service or (2) be retirement-aged. The only way to get money out, in all likelihood, at this point would be to either take a loan or a hardship, neither of which I'd recommend.I don't know if it's even allowed, legally. I do know I've never seen a 401(k) allow tax-free in-service rollovers out of the 401(k).

It's not necessarily common, but it is more common than you think.http://www.anthonycap.com/blog/service-withdrawals-401k-plans-law-and-plan-rules

There are no tax implications, it is no different than when you leave a company and take your 401K with you (rolling into an IRA), just you do it without leaving the company. It's worth asking if you have a bad plan (ie high fee plan)

TIAA CREF

TIAA-CREF is the plan administrator, but your options will vary based on your specific plan. Not all TIAA-CREF plans are structured the same (I am assuming this point). You'll need to talk to your plan person, HR department, etc. Or you could probably try calling TIAA-CREF and see what they can tell you.

Our plan currently is only TIAA CREF funds. Will look into finding ways to add different funds going forward.

I have had TIAA-CREF over the course of three different employers. Each gave access to a different set of funds. One thing I learned is that if you have money in a 403b with TIAA-CREF associated with a former employer, you may roll that money into a self-directed brokerage account (either Roth or not Roth, depending if you want to pay the tax burden now or later) and that account gives you full trading ability for $8 per trade. I've been using that to boost my Roth a little bit each year (I rollover just enough so as to not bump up to the next tax bracket.) The self-directed account is a pretty sweet deal, imo, and worth looking into.

 

[Tiger Fan]

I'm normally a fan of dollar cost averaging, but I'm sitting on a little excess cash at the moment. With these China fears, the markets have been plummeting this week. If the markets go to #### in the next week, I'm thinking about making my full 2016 Roth contribution. If I didn't have this cash I wouldn't even consider it, but I do. I always preach to people "don't try to time the market"....but here I am. Someone talk me out of this.

I did my 2015 allocation right at the end of the year and am actually in the exact same position as you. Since I do the backdoor, it's a little more of a pain in the ### to do the dollar cost averaging b/c they're manual transactions; so I'm looking to do this as well.

What are you thinking about investing in? I'm going straight S&P 500 index fund

 

[Steve Tasker]

I'm normally a fan of dollar cost averaging, but I'm sitting on a little excess cash at the moment. With these China fears, the markets have been plummeting this week. If the markets go to #### in the next week, I'm thinking about making my full 2016 Roth contribution. If I didn't have this cash I wouldn't even consider it, but I do. I always preach to people "don't try to time the market"....but here I am. Someone talk me out of this.

I did my 2015 allocation right at the end of the year and am actually in the exact same position as you. Since I do the backdoor, it's a little more of a pain in the ### to do the dollar cost averaging b/c they're manual transactions; so I'm looking to do this as well.

What are you thinking about investing in? I'm going straight S&P 500 index fund

Probably just the same handful of Vanguard funds I'm already in. Total stock market index is where the majority of it goes.

 

[dino259]

Assuming this contribution is less than 10% of your portfolio amount, I don't think it much matters overall

I am able to make reoccurring transfers into a CD that you can continually add to throughout the year. For this CD you can then make withdrawals in December penalty free. Basically a Christmas club CD. In December I have the full $5500 for both the wife and I sitting there ready for my IRA contribution. I then make my current year contribution right away in January. I have been able to do this the last couple of years and plan to continue this going forward. I'll probably have to start watching for that whole AGI phase out so I don't get phased out.

 

[ghostguy123]

So is this a good time to run out and max out your 2016 Roth IRA contributions that are index funds?

 

[wilked]

Yesterday was a good day. Monday a good day as well. If you're busy, there's always Tues, Wed, Thurs, or Fri

 

[mquinnjr]

Yesterday was a good day. Monday a good day as well. If you're busy, there's always Tues, Wed, Thurs, or Fri

I always fund my Roth IRA as soon as my annual bonus and tax return hit my bank account. Usually around mid-late February. If we could just hold or dip a bit more until then, but yeah I don't market time. I invest the money the same day it hits my account.

 

[FUBAR]

If you knew you could afford it, would it be a bad move to buy two houses in a year or two?

We rent right now because we weren't sure how long we would be here. It's looking like we'll be here for a long time now so we're discussing buying the house. We also want to buy a beach house which we'd rent out most of the year but visit a few weeks each year. That could wait, but it's something we both want to do within a few years.

My pension can cover the beach house plus we'd put whatever rental income back into the property, probably have it paid off in 10-15 years.

This is all just info gathering at this point.

 

[Sand]

I'm going to be leaving my job soon. I have a 401k with about 25k in it. I want to roll it over to an IRA when I leave. I will also start a new 401k with my new employer, but don't want to rollover my existing one there because I want some flexibility with how I manage my old balance.

Anybody know of any good rollover bonuses or anything out there? I'd likely make some trades a few times a month, sometimes more, sometimes less, so I'm open to free trade bonuses, too. I have a separate ROTH I'm maxing out every year, so I won't be able to contribute any more to the one I rollover (I assume). Should I do something else? After I max out my ROTH and normal savings, I'll just start putting whatever else I have left into a normal taxable account, I think.

Fidelity promos.

------

Also as a general :X note my spreadsheet says I'm on track to lose 68% of my net worth given the action so far this year. Funny thing is that I've lost a good bit less than the markets, so the carnage is even worse out there. Spreadsheet also says this is the second biggest drawdown I've had since '08. Yikes.

 

[wilked]

If you knew you could afford it, would it be a bad move to buy two houses in a year or two?

We rent right now because we weren't sure how long we would be here. It's looking like we'll be here for a long time now so we're discussing buying the house. We also want to buy a beach house which we'd rent out most of the year but visit a few weeks each year. That could wait, but it's something we both want to do within a few years.

My pension can cover the beach house plus we'd put whatever rental income back into the property, probably have it paid off in 10-15 years.

This is all just info gathering at this point.

Reading between the lines, my guess is you know your answer.

Get a home, settle into it for a year, then see about a beach home. I can't think of much upside for doing both in one year, but could rattle off plenty of reasons to wait :m/ downside

 

[shady inc]

Due to the timing of when I joined my current company, I won't have access to their 401k plan until January 2017. Is 5,500 the most I can save for retirement in 2016? I was going to put 5,500 into a traditional IRA, but didn't know if there were any additional options?

 

[wilked]

Were you employed in 2015? Did you max your IRA in 2015?

 

[NewlyRetired]

Here is my question today:

* My wife and I both own 25 year term life insurance policies

* Both were purchased when my daughter was born 16 years ago

* Policies were purchased to replace either income or care for daughter if one of both of us were to die

* We both retired more than 5 years ago and as such, there is no meaningful income to replace any more

Should we cancel the policy or just let it ride out?

 

[xulf]

Here is my question today:

* My wife and I both own 25 year term life insurance policies

* Both were purchased when my daughter was born 16 years ago

* Policies were purchased to replace either income or care for daughter if one of both of us were to die

* We both retired more than 5 years ago and as such, there is no meaningful income to replace any more

Should we cancel the policy or just let it ride out?

How much are the policies worth and what are you paying?

Since term is usually pretty inexpensive I'd let it play out.

 

[FUBAR]

If you knew you could afford it, would it be a bad move to buy two houses in a year or two?

We rent right now because we weren't sure how long we would be here. It's looking like we'll be here for a long time now so we're discussing buying the house. We also want to buy a beach house which we'd rent out most of the year but visit a few weeks each year. That could wait, but it's something we both want to do within a few years.

My pension can cover the beach house plus we'd put whatever rental income back into the property, probably have it paid off in 10-15 years.

This is all just info gathering at this point.

Reading between the lines, my guess is you know your answer. Get a home, settle into it for a year, then see about a beach home. I can't think of much upside for doing both in one year, but could rattle off plenty of reasons to wait :m/ downside

Thanks, that's pretty much what I'm thinking but we're keeping an eye out for foreclosures.

 

[NewlyRetired]

Here is my question today:

* My wife and I both own 25 year term life insurance policies

* Both were purchased when my daughter was born 16 years ago

* Policies were purchased to replace either income or care for daughter if one of both of us were to die

* We both retired more than 5 years ago and as such, there is no meaningful income to replace any more

Should we cancel the policy or just let it ride out?

How much are the policies worth and what are you paying?

Since term is usually pretty inexpensive I'd let it play out.

it is very inexpensive from what I remember.

I don't remember the exact yearly cost since my wife pays the bills but I think the policies are $500k on me and $350k on her.

I am likely to just let it ride out but was wondering if I was making a mistake.

 

[xulf]

50/50 that you die. Either you will or you won't.

In reality having that extra money can go a long way in a spouses and daughters life. For a small cost, may as well keep it because you could not get anything close to those terms now.

 

[wilked]

I would keep it. The first 15 years are the 'throwaway' years for term policies. It is the next ten that typically pay out (if they do pay out, of course), and if you were to try and buy a 10 year policy now you would find the rate much more expensive.