Just like sharing things that are new to me!
Might help someone on here
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@Hoggirl, I have looked at exchange funds. They are very sensible if a) you have a big slug of stock with appreciated gains and b) you think the stock contributed by the other owners is as good a bet as yours (net of tax). If you were an early investor in a company that has gone public or if you have accumulated stock options from an employer, an exchange fund might make a lot of sense.
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I heard if you want to exchange out of big tech names like AAPL and NVDA where there are huge gains, there is a long queue. You canât do it at will.
Or perhaps you are talking about exchanging ETFs and not individual stocks?
No, that is exactly right. There must be an, âappetite,â for the stock one holds. The point is diversification and that canât happen if everyone is trying to swap tech stocks.
I did a bit more reading and it looks like you have to be in the partnership for 7 years.
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We used my middle name which is a family name which happens to be both a last name ( assigned at Ellis Island) and a not uncommon girls name. So itâs something like the âShannon- Davidson Family Fund.â My daughters both have â Shannonâ as their middle name like me. Itâs my motherâs maiden name. And my grandmother and great grandmotherâs married names.
When my older daughter got married she changed her last name but kept her middle name which made me happy.
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Another DAF article. It appears that (at least at Fidelity) a DAF name can be changed.
Makes sense - probably things get handled via account number (and maybe SSN).
SS PLANNING: Last month we talked the helpful opensocialsecurity.com - thanks @bluebayou. For several of us here, it recommended one spouse (typically higher wage earner and/or older) defer to age 70. Then the other spouse claim early at 62. With this method, whoever lives longer is assured of that higher/age70 benefit. Since then Iâve also found various other online resources recommending this same 70/62 strategy.
Just circling back to say we met with financial advisor, where we had emailed suggestion to include an agenda bullet about my SS planning. (Hubby is deferring to age 70; I turn 62 this year. He was dubious about my idea to claim SS early to help ease cash flow challenges.) At the meeting we all had a smile when the analysis that the FAs displayed up on their big screen was also from open social security⊠ie matched the printout that I had brought along with me. They also had other more sophisticated interactive charts/projections to support and cross-check the idea.
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Yeah, we got the same result, with the me claiming at 62 and my husband claiming at 70, even though we have the same benefit and are only six months apart in age. Even when I reversed the M/F in the selection, it still had me claiming at 62, which made me wonder if there is some sort of bias in the program as far as women claiming early (possibly because of typical life expectancy rates).
It does seem attractive to have one person claim early, but it sure does counter the mantra that you never claim early unless you need to. And if the spouse who is waiting to claim until age 70 dies before starting to collect, is the other spouse stuck with their low benefit since they claimed early? I have no idea. And then if they end up divorcing, is the early claimer now stuck with the low benefit for life? Too many questions. Iâm approaching 62 (how did that even happen?) and we could always use the money, but claiming early just makes me uncomfortable.
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Not âbiasâ but yes typical life expectancy. The feds use a unisex table for benefits. Mike uses a typical mortality table based on sex.
btw: you can change the mortality table if you are âfeeling luckyâ
https://opensocialsecurity.com/about#mortality
The model is designed to maximize the Net Present Value (NPV) of SS payments to you and/or the surviving spouse. And it does that extremely well, for free. It does not account for taxes or Roth conversions or other annuity payments orâŠ
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âŠor itâs gravy and will reduce investment withdrawals
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Exactly. SS is more fun money for me, and Iâll take my extra fun money at 62, thank you. I donât care about maximizing the payout.
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My husband and I (and probably many couples here) feel quite fortunate to have the option to take SS early, at 67ish or older.
If SS is taken before 65/Medicare, I assume the kickoff process is easy⊠right?
Yes. And once you turn 65, Medicare will automatically send you a card.
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Itâs my understanding (hope someone corrects me because this is our plan - me at 62 and higher earning 1yr older H wait until 67-70 age; not sure exact right now) that if spouse dies even if hasnât claimed yet survivor gets higher amount and based on deceased age 67 claiming amount. Divorce, from what a friend told me who is planning to claim his ex-wifeâs if itâs higher than his, you can get higher amount as long as married 10 years. Not sure if thats correct.
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I have always been and always will be extremely conservative with my finances. Itâs allowed me to get to my current financial position, and I am not going to fix what isnât broken. So itâs 70 for me, because I like the annual guaranteed increase waiting gets me. And if I die before I recoup the money I didnât receive from 62-70, I wonât know the difference. Call me my parentsâ child, but itâs what is comfortable for me.
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I turned 62 this year and I did not choose to collect. My current plan is to collect at 66 or 67, but if I decide I need/want the cash flow before then, I can always change my mind.
Part of my âanalysisâ is that 4 of the 8 siblings in my momâs family died about 70. I should probably claim earlier, but right now husband and I are both working very part time, so doesnât make sense to claim social security.
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My mom took SS ASAP, and then I proceeded to hear about it for 30 years. Well, I guess it was only the last 20 years when she really regretted it. Her living to 92 and Dad living until one month shy of 92 absolutely is influencing my decision to wait.
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Iâm subject to the offset and windfall provisionsâŠso I can never collect EVER on my husbandâs SSâŠeven if he dies before me.
SoâŠI collected at 62. My SS is not very much, and it just covers my Medicare premium. I decided to enjoy the small extra money for 62-65 knowing I wouldnât see much of a net deposit from SS once I went on Medicare.
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Oh yeah, definitely doesnât make sense to claim it while youâre working. And you sound very healthy to me, so Iâm betting that youâll beat the odds.
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Hindsight is 20-20. Plus, future retirees are not guaranteed full SS payouts. Unless Congress does something (and there are easy, yet unpopular fixes), payouts will fall and may be means tested. The future is uncertain.
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