If you're interested in mixing/matching bond types, interest rates and time horizon inside an ETF instrument, you may want to consider iShares iBond or Invesco's Bulletshare ETF products. Easy to construct a bond ladder and matching time horizon with your investment needs. Websites below: iShare - https://www.blackrock.com/us/financial-professionals/tools/ibonds Invesco - https://www.invesco.com/bulletshares/tools/bond-ladder
Mark - kudos to you & your wife for what I believe was a successful intervention and checks the "good enough" box. After all, humility & compromising make our lives less turbulent and a lot "sweeter", especially with our significant other. Nice job.
Trying not to be political, but I think we have larger and more pressing problems facing our country as of this moment that need addressing than the SSA deficits. If we can't take care of our current challenges, I'm not sure how well we can orchestrate a successful landing with Soc Sec. Many of our trading partners & allies that we do business with are holding a significant amount of treasuries and settle many of their financial transactions with dollars. If those two start unraveling, Soc Sec deficit may be the least of our problems.
Rachna, I have 95% at Fidelity and 5% at Schwab. I have found both brokerages to have excellent customer service; can't comment on Vanguard. Many folks have commented about their experience using Fidelity and I would agree with their assessments. I'll highlight one example that occurred recently using their Cash Mgt Account(eg we use Fidelity's CMA as our checking account). I wrote a check to cover my daughter's house rent(first check to this payee) and I received an email and text from Fidelity asking if this was a legitimate check that I wrote before processing the check. Since this was the first time the payee showed up in my bill processing, they held the check from processing until I confirmed that it was legit. I have had similar experiences with other financial dealings. All this to say they take "customer service and security" very seriously and in this day & age it's needed. Also my experience with online access, security lockdowns, physical offices, wealth mgr assigned to your account, no upselling pressures, a slew of investment options, everyday bill pay & credit cards(earning 2%) are also reasons. Good luck with your brokerage evaluations.
Jeff, I agree with Dan - 6% seems pretty high given where interest rates are today. I've used FIAs as substitutes for CDs or Treasuries so the concept is valid. But 6% for 3yrs raises a red flag. Anytime an institution has to pay a higher rate to attract money, their credit worthiness comes into question. As the adage goes, "Measure twice cut once", seems appropriate so do your due diligence first. Good luck
Kevin, I concur with your use of Fido; similar to my own profile and use of their services. I have Schwab as a backup but have a very small acct presence there.
Quan, the characteristics you laid out in your "bank requirements" can be fulfilled with Fidelity's Cash mgt account with the exception of safe deposit box & notary services(maybe). With Fidelity's CMA you can have your cash swept into FDIC partner banks on a nightly basis thus exceeding the $250k bank acct limitation up to a max of $5m($250*20 banks). https://www.fidelity.com/spend-save/fidelity-cash-management-account/overview
Dan, I would also agree that I'm in the camp that Soc Sec will get fixed eventually. One last point that made me consider an SPIA was death of a spouse and it's impact on the surviving spouse's RMD depletion of IRA withdrawals. I was the executor of my parents' will and assisted in managing their investments. When my father died in 2016, he had the largest IRA balance which my mother inherited. However, the scenario of moving from a joint RMD schedule to a Single RMD schedule quickly accelerated the withdrawals that she had to take from my father's IRA. This forced her to liquidate the IRA quicker than she needed, caused higher tax bills because she had more income(than needed) and her tax filing status changed from married to single, and also created more emotional angst that she would run out of money. Having witnessed this, I decided to use my part of my IRA as the funding source for the SPIA. Why 1. To remove the emotional angst of outliving your money
2.Spread the tax hit over a potentially longer timeframe
3.Created a "paycheck lifestyle" that made my wife feel more comfortable assuming I checked out earlier then her Food for thought that should also be considered in purchasing an SPIA or not.
Comments
I would think that would be an immense incentive for many people to do one big Roth conversion. That's what I would do
Post: IRA Flat Tax Proposal
Link to comment from February 19, 2026
If you're interested in mixing/matching bond types, interest rates and time horizon inside an ETF instrument, you may want to consider iShares iBond or Invesco's Bulletshare ETF products. Easy to construct a bond ladder and matching time horizon with your investment needs. Websites below: iShare - https://www.blackrock.com/us/financial-professionals/tools/ibonds Invesco - https://www.invesco.com/bulletshares/tools/bond-ladder
Post: High Interest Savings Accounts vs Bond funds
Link to comment from February 8, 2026
Mark - kudos to you & your wife for what I believe was a successful intervention and checks the "good enough" box. After all, humility & compromising make our lives less turbulent and a lot "sweeter", especially with our significant other. Nice job.
Post: The High Cost of Financial Advice: A Tale of Two Portfolios Revisited
Link to comment from February 7, 2026
Trying not to be political, but I think we have larger and more pressing problems facing our country as of this moment that need addressing than the SSA deficits. If we can't take care of our current challenges, I'm not sure how well we can orchestrate a successful landing with Soc Sec. Many of our trading partners & allies that we do business with are holding a significant amount of treasuries and settle many of their financial transactions with dollars. If those two start unraveling, Soc Sec deficit may be the least of our problems.
Post: Social Security is not going bankrupt, but that is not the full story
Link to comment from January 25, 2026
Rachna, I have 95% at Fidelity and 5% at Schwab. I have found both brokerages to have excellent customer service; can't comment on Vanguard. Many folks have commented about their experience using Fidelity and I would agree with their assessments. I'll highlight one example that occurred recently using their Cash Mgt Account(eg we use Fidelity's CMA as our checking account). I wrote a check to cover my daughter's house rent(first check to this payee) and I received an email and text from Fidelity asking if this was a legitimate check that I wrote before processing the check. Since this was the first time the payee showed up in my bill processing, they held the check from processing until I confirmed that it was legit. I have had similar experiences with other financial dealings. All this to say they take "customer service and security" very seriously and in this day & age it's needed. Also my experience with online access, security lockdowns, physical offices, wealth mgr assigned to your account, no upselling pressures, a slew of investment options, everyday bill pay & credit cards(earning 2%) are also reasons. Good luck with your brokerage evaluations.
Post: Schwab or Vanguard?
Link to comment from January 13, 2026
Jeff, I agree with Dan - 6% seems pretty high given where interest rates are today. I've used FIAs as substitutes for CDs or Treasuries so the concept is valid. But 6% for 3yrs raises a red flag. Anytime an institution has to pay a higher rate to attract money, their credit worthiness comes into question. As the adage goes, "Measure twice cut once", seems appropriate so do your due diligence first. Good luck
Post: Fixed Indexed Annuity for 3–6 Years: Worth It as a Short-Term Move?
Link to comment from December 28, 2025
Kevin, I concur with your use of Fido; similar to my own profile and use of their services. I have Schwab as a backup but have a very small acct presence there.
Post: Where to Keep Cash
Link to comment from December 7, 2025
Quan, the characteristics you laid out in your "bank requirements" can be fulfilled with Fidelity's Cash mgt account with the exception of safe deposit box & notary services(maybe). With Fidelity's CMA you can have your cash swept into FDIC partner banks on a nightly basis thus exceeding the $250k bank acct limitation up to a max of $5m($250*20 banks). https://www.fidelity.com/spend-save/fidelity-cash-management-account/overview
Post: Where to Keep Cash
Link to comment from December 7, 2025
Kathy, I currently live in the RTP area like you. My wife and i have just started discussions concerning CCRCs. May I ask which CCRC you chose?
Post: Assisted Living: How Will You Choose?
Link to comment from May 12, 2025
Dan, I would also agree that I'm in the camp that Soc Sec will get fixed eventually. One last point that made me consider an SPIA was death of a spouse and it's impact on the surviving spouse's RMD depletion of IRA withdrawals. I was the executor of my parents' will and assisted in managing their investments. When my father died in 2016, he had the largest IRA balance which my mother inherited. However, the scenario of moving from a joint RMD schedule to a Single RMD schedule quickly accelerated the withdrawals that she had to take from my father's IRA. This forced her to liquidate the IRA quicker than she needed, caused higher tax bills because she had more income(than needed) and her tax filing status changed from married to single, and also created more emotional angst that she would run out of money. Having witnessed this, I decided to use my part of my IRA as the funding source for the SPIA. Why 1. To remove the emotional angst of outliving your money 2.Spread the tax hit over a potentially longer timeframe 3.Created a "paycheck lifestyle" that made my wife feel more comfortable assuming I checked out earlier then her Food for thought that should also be considered in purchasing an SPIA or not.
Post: A False Sense of Security
Link to comment from April 29, 2025