Kevin Madden

Comments:

• I understand. I also hope options expand over time. Thanks.

  Post: How would you prepare for the staggering cost of in-home care if you ever need it?

  Link to comment from September 10, 2024

• My wife and I have very little experience. We would spend our savings on in-home care as long as we can afford it. This would reduce the amount our two children would inherit. It would take both of us to need multi-year in-home care to eliminate it. This is possible though unlikely (statistically). We have also both agreed that we would rather opt for assisted physician-assisted suicide rather be kept alive if we have a painful terminal illness. This would reduce the amount spent in some circumstances, further reducing the odds that our savings are wiped out.

  Post: How would you prepare for the staggering cost of in-home care if you ever need it?

  Link to comment from September 10, 2024

• My wife and I are 64 and retired. Our investments are 84% tax deferred and 16% tax free. Virtually no taxable money! I jumped on the 401(k) bandwagon early and never looked back. I occasionally considered contributing to a Roth account but couldn't justify it given our tax rate in those high earning years prior to retirement. I did some Roth conversions just before and after retirement at 62 and have used the money to fund some spending and get a reasonable ACA premium tax credit. I will continue to do Roth conversions when it makes sense. I am a big believer that having money in each of the various buckets is wise and would have done some things differently if I knew then what I know now.

  Post: What’s your asset breakdown by tax treatment?

  Link to comment from September 10, 2024

• My mantra is similar: "I choose Happiness." I like that it's action oriented.

  Post: No Regrets

  Link to comment from September 8, 2024

• Can doctors choose not to participate in Medicare?

  Post: Medigap pricing question

  Link to comment from September 4, 2024

• I believe David is referring to the penalty if you fail to take an RMD, i.e., you forget next year to take the two RMDs.

  Post: I would like some RMD advice

  Link to comment from September 4, 2024

• During the pandemic, the premium tax credit was extended to help those earning more than 400% of the poverty level ($78,880 for two people). It requires households to pay 8.5% of household income toward ACA premiums. Thus, for every dollar of income you earn above $78,880, your contribution toward ACA premiums increases by 8.5%. This is accomplished by reducing your premium tax credit by 8.5%. Per the Kaiser Foundation, What amount of premium tax credit is available?The premium tax credit works by limiting the amount an individual must contribute toward the premium for the “benchmark” plan – or the second-lowest cost silver plan available to the individual in their Marketplace. This “required individual contribution” is set on a sliding income scale. In 2024, for individuals with income up to 150 percent FPL, the required contribution is zero, while at an income of 400 percent FPL or above, the required contribution is 8.5 percent of household income (Table 2). These contribution amounts were set by the Inflation Reduction Act, which temporarily extends American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) subsidies through the end of 2025. Prior to the ARPA, the required contribution percentages ranged from about two percent of household income for people with poverty level income to nearly 10 percent for people with income from 300 to 400 percent FPL. In addition, prior to the ARPA, people with incomes above 400 percent FPL were not eligible for premium tax credits.

  Post: Year end action items?

  Link to comment from September 1, 2024

• I target the top of the 12% tax bracket. Each dollar of taxable income reduces the ACA credit by 8%. This brings the combined marginal rate to 20%, a number I'm ok with. Doing any Roth conversions that push me into the 22% bracket means the combined marginal rate would be 30%, which is more than I can justify.

  Post: Year end action items?

  Link to comment from September 1, 2024

• Great topic! My top two financial commitments have been: never pay credit card interest and at least get the company 401(k) match, preferably maxing out contributions.

  Post: Committing Ourselves by Jonathan Clements

  Link to comment from August 23, 2024

• Very interesting. Thank you. I'm in Illinois so it's Attained-Age-Rated pricing for me. Seems the Issue-Age-Rated approach would discourage insurance company switching. A BCBS G plan for a non-tobacco male is $159 for a 65 yo and $274 for an 80 yo.

  Post: This deserves a rant. The United States approach to paying for healthcare is a joke.

  Link to comment from August 19, 2024