A generous severance package is a nice perk. (When I had a layoff-list scare after 32 years, the severance would have been only one month.). But it also sounds like staying could be OK. Often medical coverage is a big factor for this kind of decision.
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Iāve had a long history of employment, with a lot of good bad and ugly. My bes severance package was at a reputable insurance company. I was only there for 6 months when they decided to let the whole department go. They gave me paid leave for 3 months (garden leave), and then 6 months of severance pay, but because I was there for 9 months (with the garden leave) they gave me prorated bonus. I found a job 2 months later, but had to delay my start date because of the severance pay out. I also didnāt have to give back the sign on bonus and deferred pay. Everything was vested.
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FYI:
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Iāve never done a catch up but keep thinking about it. Thx for this.
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Iāve done catch up contributions, but I never earned enough that the new rules would be an issue.
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Both DH and I did catch up contributions for quite a long time. And we are glad we did.
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I started making catch up contributions as soon as I turned 50. Thankfully, my 401k plan allows Roth catchup accounts so thatās what I might be forced into doing next year. Having a forced Roth is not a bad thing to happen. But I really wish these rules of the game would not be changed so often!
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We did too. I think that was what we were most excited about with turning 50, lol.
Totally agree. DH and I have been having many conversations about how we want to handle ROTH conversions once he retires and before we take SS and RMDs. Having more money in ROTH accounts from the get-go adds flexibility. Yes, we wonāt get 7,500 of pretax advantage but the taxes we will have to pay on that money would have had to be paid eventually anyways.
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! Me too.
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The key is the difference in tax rate between present in retirement. I expect most employed persons who are age 50+ and above income threshold, have a higher marginal tax rates when working than when retired, favoring traditional. Some retired persons have near 0% effective tax rate. While Roth has more flexibility, there are numerous ways to withdraw from traditional before age 59.5 without penalty, such as SEPP or rule of 55. And risk of a 401k tax bomb when crossing a particular age can be controlled with good planning. Being forced to choose Roth instead of traditional is not a positive change for many persons, from a financial perspective. Itās certainly not a positive change for me.
However, this is likely a positive change from the federal governmentās perspective. If higher income tax payers tend to be worse of financially with this change, then that means more revenue for the government. And perhaps more importantly to the government, the timeline is sooner. Switching from traditional to Roth means employed persons are paying higher taxes now and paying lower taxes in the distant future. Politicians regularly favor this trade-off for more revenue now, in exchange for increased challenges in distant future when someone else is in office.
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If the tax implications donāt make sense for an individual to do the ROTH catch up contribution, then taxable brokerage accounts still exist to invest in. Flexibility of another sort.
Either way, everyone over 50 over the income limits is going to have to pay taxes on catch up contribution money. Sometimes youāre the dog, sometimes youāre the hydrant. 
We pay about 35-40% of gross income in taxes (state and federal combined). I remind myself it is a blessing that our incomes are high enough to be taxed at a relatively high rate for the US (low for much of the rest of the developed world), and that I want to pay my fair share to support the services we use: schools, roads, libraries, ways & means systems, firefighters, hospitals, etc.
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Roth with tax-free growth is certainly preferable to taxable brokerage, without tax-free growth. However, for persons with higher marginal tax bracket when retired, traditional is generally preferable to Roth ā preferable to take the tax break when in higher marginal tax bracket while working than when in lower marginal tax bracket while retired.
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Clearing out some old papers and came across the Schwab quarterly magazine.
This article talks about the pitfalls of probate and how living trusts, while having an upfront expense, bypass probate, and become almost immediately available to the trustās benefeciaries.
I know thereās a lot of different thoughts on the topic - but hereās the article for anyone interested. It notes differences by state, etc.
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Well, my momās doctor gave her a huge packet of forms and worksheets to fill out (which my mom is very disinterested in). I understand that of course, some of these things are very important, but Iām trying to minimize what she/we will have to deal with, and address only the essentials.
Soā¦..could anyone add something we should do that I might have missed? Only if itās critical, not just handy.
My mom hasnāt made a will and I doubt she will, but she has beneficiaries listed on all of her assets, and we have a TOD (transfer on death) form for her home, so we shouldnāt have to go through probate. We could probably talk her into a simple will, though, if itās that important.
We have POA for health care and finances. I am pretty sure that I know her medical wishes. She doesnāt want to write things down or think about them, but Iām comfortable that I know what she wants. Anything else absolutely important that we missed?
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If she doesnāt have a will, what designates you to be her executor, if needed? (I donāt know the answer to this).
Can you step in immediately or will there be a delay?
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look up your momās state to see if they have a probate exemption for small estates. (For example, in CA, the small estate exemption is <$185k, but excludes anything that is PoD/ToD.)
Does she have a car? List of all bank/brokerage accounts & credit cards. What about consolidating some accounts for simplicity? Close/cancel unused credit cards.
Copy of last few years of tax returns. (might find some small forgotten account, such as a credit union, that is sending her a 1099.).
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I donāt know what she would need an executor for, actually. When my dad passed away intestate, everything went to his beneficiary (her), with no probate and no executor.
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Probate is required by most/all estates, unless one has a small estate exemption. If mom has not nominated a Personal Rep, the court would appt one on her behalf.
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This is Washington state, and probate is not required if the assets all have beneficiaries. Regardless, going through probate costs about 3K and is not a major hurdle on this state. I have a legal service that covers it anyways.
The Charles Schwab article notes - and what I always believed - not if you have a living trust - but thereās a lot of other thoughts on this thread.
The article notes about probate:
Probate laws vary by state, but there are some commonalities:
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Cost: āAlthough fees and rules can vary widely, most large estates pay from 0.5% to 4% in probate costs,ā Austin says. Although 19 states have adopted the Uniform Probate Code, which mandates that lawyers charge only a āreasonable feeā for probate services,1 seven states (Arkansas, California, Florida, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, and Wyoming) have statutory probate fees based on an estateās size. In California, for instance, attorneys charge 4% of the first $100,000 of an estate, 3% of the next $100,000, 2% of the next $800,000, 1% for the next $9 million, and 0.5% for any remainder up to $25 million, with the court determining an appropriate fee for estates over that amount.
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Duration: Most large estates can take a minimum of six months to clear the probate process, but itās not uncommon for it to take two years or longer. āIf heirs require assets from the estate in the near term, the probate process can delay those distributions at a critical time,ā Austin says.
The article notes about Living Trusts:
Although establishing a revocable living trust requires up-front time and expense, its assets typically bypass the probate process, stay out of the public eye, and become almost immediately available to the trustās beneficiaries.
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