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I am a retired IT executive with 44 years of experience in IT. I am originally from Virginia and have lived in North Carolina the past 60 years. My wife Judy and I have been married 56 years, and we have 2 children and 3 grandchildren. I volunteer with my church and serve on the board of 2 retiree associations, one of which has more than 50,000 members. I still enjoy golf, travel and taking care of our home and 2 acres of land.
Comments
Chris, great story. Congratulations on your success and retirement. Regular people are my favorite kind of people. They are the backbone of our country.
Post: It is never too late. By Chris
Link to comment from October 19, 2025
I am a recent widower and am trying to figure out the best housing option for me. I am 81 years old and in pretty good health without any mobility issues. I am concerned about loneliness but so far that has not been a problem. However, the type of housing options in the WSJ article do not appeal to me. I want more privacy than that model offers. I am looking for low maintenance type housing. CCRC model housing has a lot of appeal to me. It would give me privacy but also the opportunity to meet other people and develop new friendships. It is expensive but I can afford it and still leave a nice inheritance to our children.
Post: Housing options for older Americans
Link to comment from October 19, 2025
Nick, Most of my life I was a casual drinker, usually one beer a day. However, I developed GERD around the time I retired at age 66. One of its symptoms with me was asthma like symptoms, shortness of breath and chest tightening. As a life long asthmatic that was very uncomfortable. Drinking a beer or glass of wine could trigger my GERD symptoms. Also, my GERD was a pre cancerous form which gave me further incentive to stop drinking. So I stopped drinking altogether. Honestly, I do not miss it at all. I really think it was more of a habit for me. Coffee, water and tea are a lot cheaper, but the impact on our finances is negligible.
Post: Drinking and finances
Link to comment from October 17, 2025
Thanks again Bill. You are obviously very well qualified as a tax expert. I appreciate your advice. I have been told by others (expertise unknown) that I could use my expected 2027 income for IRMAA instead of 2025 MFJ by doing the SSA 44A form again. Do you think that is likely? That is a major factor in the decision. Sorry to hear about your wife, but she is in good hands with you as her caregiver.
Post: IRMAA Question
Link to comment from October 16, 2025
Thanks again Bill. I will order Piper's book right away. I have changed all accounts, banks/investments/etc, to single with children as beneficiaries. I have not changed our will because they are listed as contingent beneficiaries. However, I do intend to review the will with an estate attorney and make changes if he advises me to do so. I have already done the RMD for my wife's IRA account. What would be the consequence if I went ahead and did another Roth conversion? I had planned to stay within the first IRMAA tier which has no surcharge. Just curious. What is your tax background? Were you a CPA or tax adviser? Regards, Jerry
Post: IRMAA Question
Link to comment from October 15, 2025
Thanks Bill. I appreciate your response. Piper states, "if your income declines significantly from one year to the next due to a “life changing event” you may request that your premiums be based on that more recent year’s level of income, rather than your income from two years ago. This request may be referred to as a “request for reconsideration”. Most of my decline in income is due to the Roth conversion, not the death of my wife. I want to make sure I do not perjure myself in doing this request. Also, prior to my wife's death, I was planning to do another Roth conversion in 2025. Can I do that and get use my MAGI estimate for 2027? This will be my last opportunity to do a Roth conversion MFJ. Jerry
Post: IRMAA Question
Link to comment from October 15, 2025
I appreciate Mark's article which describes how the AI hype is different than the dot.com hype. I was an IT director who went through many hype cycles in my career, including the dot.com craziness. AI is real and impressive. I have used for personal analysis. How you make money with it, given the huge investment, is not clear to me. But these are smart and proven companies, and I think they will figure it out.
Post: Same But Different: The AI Bubble That Isn’t (Quite)
Link to comment from October 13, 2025
A major reason I took SS at FRA was because I felt that SS would eventually implement some sort of needs basis which could reduce higher earners SS income. I am now 81 and it has not happened yet, and I hope it does not. The reality is that politicians have some hard choices to make and they are running out of time to keep kicking the can down the road.
Post: Why Delaying Your Social Security Benefits May Not Make Sense
Link to comment from October 10, 2025
You make some good points David. One thing that is difficult for homeowners is irregular, but large expenses like replacing the roof or HVAC. They do not happen often, but can have a large impact on your budget. One other thing I found is larger dental expenses like root canals and crown replacements which happen too often for me. I live on a 2 acre heavily wooded lot. I have many large and beautiful trees. Trees are like people. They get sick and die, and it is very expensive to remove them. This is unique to people like me, but everyone has some type of expensive issues they must deal with in retirement. A cookie cutter approach does not work.
Post: Retirement Income Goals: Bottom Up Beats Top-Down
Link to comment from October 10, 2025
Thanks Bogdan. Very helpful.
Post: 2026 IRS Inflation Adjustments
Link to comment from October 10, 2025