Could this ID.me outrage and threatened exit of Treasury Direct (TD) be exactly what the government wants? Think about it. Get people upset, push people away – that’s fewer customers to support. Want a Tbill? Go get it at your brokerage. Don’t come to TD. Eliminating paper savings bonds sure made it less desirable to gift one to a kid at a milestone life event. Look at the hassles of an electronic savings bond for a new $50 gift. That’s fewer customers for TD. Maybe Treasury Direct is effectively saying they just want everyone to get their treasury securities at their brokerage, not at TD. And you ask, what about ibonds? Suppose TD says just buy TIPS, we’re getting rid of ibonds. Many people think savings bonds are archaic and serve little purpose in a modern world. But I think they were a pretty good teacher to help develop a savings habit for a nation. Eliminating paper savings bonds killed a valuable tool in teaching people (young and old) to save which can lead to overall financial responsibility. Its too bad the government doesn’t see a role to make saving and conservative investing easily assessable to its citizens (young and old).
Thanks for this important update. I'm not interested in getting id.me. I guess my reluctance to convert my old paper ibonds to electronic finally paid off. I can just go to the bank and redeem when I want. easy peasy! But my electronic ibonds........hmmm? I'll probably wait and hope for something besides id.me.
First, we don’t know much about your plan (e.g. size, history, etc.) so it’s hard to directly answer your questions. It’s likely the people responsible for the plan are also company executives. However, if so, they are required to wear two hats, one as company executives, and one as fiduciaries to the 401k plan. As a plan participant, you actually have lots of rights, but you’ll have to decide how hard you want to push since it your employer, and you’ll have to trust the executives (who ultimately control your job) wear the right hat at the right time when dealing with you (i.e. no retaliation). Under ERISA law, they are required to run the 401k plan for the exclusive benefit of plan participants, not for the benefit of the company. So you can make inquiries (make sure in writing) focusing on how and why the decisions were made to switch from Vanguard to Empower and the specific funds. In recent years, there have been numerous lawsuits over plan and investment expenses with many results favorable to participants. Your questions should focus on the plan’s fiduciary requirements under ERISA law as they are required to have a very structured and documented process how and why they make decisions resulting in the changes you dislike. But, it is possible that your plan is a real outlier and still in compliance – that would be unfortunate because maybe your plan is just a dud, and you deserve better. Nonetheless, you probably still want to participate enough to get the employer match – you do have an employer matching contribution at least, right?
I second the resources below given by others. My tips on TIPS: TIPS are complex, so simplify them by:
Best to use in tax deferred account i.e. IRA instead of taxable brokerage account
Best if hold individual bond (rather than bond fund) and commit to holding to maturity
During holding period, focus on the “accrued principal value” rather than fluctuating market value since you plan to hold individual bond until maturity
If you can do that, the bond will return X% more than inflation over life of the bond (real return). X will vary depending when you buy the bond and generally increases as maturity date increases. If you buy now, X is an attractive number compared to many years in the past. Currently, X is around 2-3%
This benefit is a sleeper, but important. A young adult's greatest attribute is their human capital - which they can put to good use for decades. Therefore, its critical to protect that human capital. And the best way to do that is with long term disability coverage. So young adults need to make sure they have that coverage. Because if they get injured and can't work, that may be the end of their human capital - and the beginning of a very tough life.
Entertaining comments. I remember long ago as a kid the very first ATMs were introduced in Wisconsin. They were called "TYME machines" - Take Your Money Everywhere. Then for years when Wisconsinites were out of state and asked for the nearest "time" machine, they always got funny looks.
Contributing appreciated securities to the DAF provided a nice tax benefit. But my favorite feature of the DAF is the ability to donate anonymously. Without the DAF, the incessant marketing by email and postal mail from the charities was really discouraging to ever donate again to anybody. But since the big brokerage DAF allows anonymous donations, it’s rewarding to donate again to good causes. (If only we could find a way to make anonymous Qualified Charitable Distributions - technically you need the receipt in case the IRS audits you.)
Maybe only for those that actually pay income tax. I think the lower 50% income wise population have average effective tax rate even lower. There is an ever increasing number of people that really have a negative effective tax rate. They are receiving so many transfers and refundable tax credits that they don't even pay income taxes.
As much as I can get all excited for these deals as the math says its almost a no brainer, my sane mind stops to reconsider. Do I really want all my personal data at yet another organization that may get hacked and/or an organization that is going bombard me with more marketing from their "affiliates"?
The simple solution of the Y is actually more complex. My understanding is the brokers are (and will be uncomfortable) using the Y. Unfortunately, a broker doesn't know how many other IRAs you may have that distributed QCDs. Therefore, you could make multiple QCDs from different custodians that all get a Y code, yet the sum could exceed the annual QCD limit. In that case, somewhere the Y on your 1099R is technically incorrect, yet the broker would have no way to know.
Comments
Could this ID.me outrage and threatened exit of Treasury Direct (TD) be exactly what the government wants? Think about it. Get people upset, push people away – that’s fewer customers to support. Want a Tbill? Go get it at your brokerage. Don’t come to TD. Eliminating paper savings bonds sure made it less desirable to gift one to a kid at a milestone life event. Look at the hassles of an electronic savings bond for a new $50 gift. That’s fewer customers for TD. Maybe Treasury Direct is effectively saying they just want everyone to get their treasury securities at their brokerage, not at TD. And you ask, what about ibonds? Suppose TD says just buy TIPS, we’re getting rid of ibonds. Many people think savings bonds are archaic and serve little purpose in a modern world. But I think they were a pretty good teacher to help develop a savings habit for a nation. Eliminating paper savings bonds killed a valuable tool in teaching people (young and old) to save which can lead to overall financial responsibility. Its too bad the government doesn’t see a role to make saving and conservative investing easily assessable to its citizens (young and old).
Post: TreasuryDirect changing login procedure to mandate ID.me later in 2026
Link to comment from August 19, 2026
Thanks for this important update. I'm not interested in getting id.me. I guess my reluctance to convert my old paper ibonds to electronic finally paid off. I can just go to the bank and redeem when I want. easy peasy! But my electronic ibonds........hmmm? I'll probably wait and hope for something besides id.me.
Post: TreasuryDirect changing login procedure to mandate ID.me later in 2026
Link to comment from August 17, 2026
First, we don’t know much about your plan (e.g. size, history, etc.) so it’s hard to directly answer your questions. It’s likely the people responsible for the plan are also company executives. However, if so, they are required to wear two hats, one as company executives, and one as fiduciaries to the 401k plan. As a plan participant, you actually have lots of rights, but you’ll have to decide how hard you want to push since it your employer, and you’ll have to trust the executives (who ultimately control your job) wear the right hat at the right time when dealing with you (i.e. no retaliation). Under ERISA law, they are required to run the 401k plan for the exclusive benefit of plan participants, not for the benefit of the company. So you can make inquiries (make sure in writing) focusing on how and why the decisions were made to switch from Vanguard to Empower and the specific funds. In recent years, there have been numerous lawsuits over plan and investment expenses with many results favorable to participants. Your questions should focus on the plan’s fiduciary requirements under ERISA law as they are required to have a very structured and documented process how and why they make decisions resulting in the changes you dislike. But, it is possible that your plan is a real outlier and still in compliance – that would be unfortunate because maybe your plan is just a dud, and you deserve better. Nonetheless, you probably still want to participate enough to get the employer match – you do have an employer matching contribution at least, right?
Post: When your 401(k) excludes target date funds
Link to comment from August 5, 2026
I second the resources below given by others. My tips on TIPS: TIPS are complex, so simplify them by:
- Best to use in tax deferred account i.e. IRA instead of taxable brokerage account
- Best if hold individual bond (rather than bond fund) and commit to holding to maturity
- During holding period, focus on the “accrued principal value” rather than fluctuating market value since you plan to hold individual bond until maturity
If you can do that, the bond will return X% more than inflation over life of the bond (real return). X will vary depending when you buy the bond and generally increases as maturity date increases. If you buy now, X is an attractive number compared to many years in the past. Currently, X is around 2-3%Post: Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS) are a Generational Bargain Right Now
Link to comment from July 28, 2026
This benefit is a sleeper, but important. A young adult's greatest attribute is their human capital - which they can put to good use for decades. Therefore, its critical to protect that human capital. And the best way to do that is with long term disability coverage. So young adults need to make sure they have that coverage. Because if they get injured and can't work, that may be the end of their human capital - and the beginning of a very tough life.
Post: Benefits Young Adults Should Look at Before Taking a Job
Link to comment from May 14, 2026
Entertaining comments. I remember long ago as a kid the very first ATMs were introduced in Wisconsin. They were called "TYME machines" - Take Your Money Everywhere. Then for years when Wisconsinites were out of state and asked for the nearest "time" machine, they always got funny looks.
Post: Loose Change
Link to comment from March 2, 2026
Contributing appreciated securities to the DAF provided a nice tax benefit. But my favorite feature of the DAF is the ability to donate anonymously. Without the DAF, the incessant marketing by email and postal mail from the charities was really discouraging to ever donate again to anybody. But since the big brokerage DAF allows anonymous donations, it’s rewarding to donate again to good causes. (If only we could find a way to make anonymous Qualified Charitable Distributions - technically you need the receipt in case the IRS audits you.)
Post: Why I use a Donor-Advised Fund
Link to comment from February 25, 2026
Maybe only for those that actually pay income tax. I think the lower 50% income wise population have average effective tax rate even lower. There is an ever increasing number of people that really have a negative effective tax rate. They are receiving so many transfers and refundable tax credits that they don't even pay income taxes.
Post: Your effective tax rate
Link to comment from February 4, 2026
As much as I can get all excited for these deals as the math says its almost a no brainer, my sane mind stops to reconsider. Do I really want all my personal data at yet another organization that may get hacked and/or an organization that is going bombard me with more marketing from their "affiliates"?
Post: Marcus Savings Bonus Offer
Link to comment from February 1, 2026
The simple solution of the Y is actually more complex. My understanding is the brokers are (and will be uncomfortable) using the Y. Unfortunately, a broker doesn't know how many other IRAs you may have that distributed QCDs. Therefore, you could make multiple QCDs from different custodians that all get a Y code, yet the sum could exceed the annual QCD limit. In that case, somewhere the Y on your 1099R is technically incorrect, yet the broker would have no way to know.
Post: Checks and Balances
Link to comment from January 28, 2026