This is a good topic and part of a larger issue of financial and household management as we age. For password management, I personally use KeePass, which I was introduced to at work many years ago. My parents had a written password notebook (I can still picture the scrawl of my dad's handwriting). I set them up with KeePass but they never felt comfortable using it. I started to assist my parents with financial management as they got older. With my mom's encouragement (and dad's encouragement before he passed), I am now her financial manager and tech support (highly recommend Team Viewer for remote computer management). I have full agent authorization for her financial accounts. She likes to log in frequently to her bank account and she has that bookmarked and password saved in her browser. I have it set up so that any login attempt from an unrecognized device will text my cell phone. However, for her brokerage account that has the vast majority of her financial assets we do not have any saved information (no bookmarks, no passwords) on her computer and nothing written on paper. She trusts me to monitor it for her (which I do using YubiKey on my system). I know a 70+ year old retired coworker who has significant financial assets and no one to rely on (no kids and no close family that he trusts). I often wonder what he will do as he ages...
The difference is that my mother met one of the qualifying life-changing events: she became a widow the same year of the sale. The property was sold after my father passed away.
Thank you to Richard for this article and thank you to Jonathan for HD! My father passed away in 2021 and my mother sold property (not her primary home) that same year. She received a letter from Social Security near the end of 2022 showing that her 2023 Social Security payments would be reduced because of IRMAA due to the higher income reported on the 2021 tax return resulting from the capital gains. After I helped my mother file her 2022 taxes, we submitted form SSA-44 using the tax information from 2022 instead of 2021. She received backpay for the IRMAA amount withheld since January 2023 and her new monthly payment increased by nearly $200. Not a bad rate of return for a few minutes filling out the form! I'm pleased to report that the local Social Security office was very efficient and helpful in processing the claim.
HD is merely a more intimate, thoughtful and humbler example (pun intended).
This is a great comment that rings true for me. I frequent Bogleheads quite often, but Humble Dollar has become my first stop for well-written and carefully curated articles from diverse contributors.
I see Capital One hasn't improved their customer service. Way back in 2012 I too was unsuccessful in getting a fraudulent charge reversed. Not only did I close my credit card account, I moved money out of the Capital One online savings account (which at the time had decent interest rates) and closed that as well. I vowed never to do business with Capital One again and have kept true to that promise. What's in my wallet? It sure as heck ain't Capital One! Like Jim, I've had excellent experience with Chase Bank.
Comments:
This is a good topic and part of a larger issue of financial and household management as we age. For password management, I personally use KeePass, which I was introduced to at work many years ago. My parents had a written password notebook (I can still picture the scrawl of my dad's handwriting). I set them up with KeePass but they never felt comfortable using it. I started to assist my parents with financial management as they got older. With my mom's encouragement (and dad's encouragement before he passed), I am now her financial manager and tech support (highly recommend Team Viewer for remote computer management). I have full agent authorization for her financial accounts. She likes to log in frequently to her bank account and she has that bookmarked and password saved in her browser. I have it set up so that any login attempt from an unrecognized device will text my cell phone. However, for her brokerage account that has the vast majority of her financial assets we do not have any saved information (no bookmarks, no passwords) on her computer and nothing written on paper. She trusts me to monitor it for her (which I do using YubiKey on my system). I know a 70+ year old retired coworker who has significant financial assets and no one to rely on (no kids and no close family that he trusts). I often wonder what he will do as he ages...
Post: Passing Them On
Link to comment from July 8, 2023
The difference is that my mother met one of the qualifying life-changing events: she became a widow the same year of the sale. The property was sold after my father passed away.
Post: Fighting IRMAA
Link to comment from March 11, 2023
Thank you to Richard for this article and thank you to Jonathan for HD! My father passed away in 2021 and my mother sold property (not her primary home) that same year. She received a letter from Social Security near the end of 2022 showing that her 2023 Social Security payments would be reduced because of IRMAA due to the higher income reported on the 2021 tax return resulting from the capital gains. After I helped my mother file her 2022 taxes, we submitted form SSA-44 using the tax information from 2022 instead of 2021. She received backpay for the IRMAA amount withheld since January 2023 and her new monthly payment increased by nearly $200. Not a bad rate of return for a few minutes filling out the form! I'm pleased to report that the local Social Security office was very efficient and helpful in processing the claim.
Post: Fighting IRMAA
Link to comment from March 11, 2023
Post: The Other Enough
Link to comment from March 11, 2023
I see Capital One hasn't improved their customer service. Way back in 2012 I too was unsuccessful in getting a fraudulent charge reversed. Not only did I close my credit card account, I moved money out of the Capital One online savings account (which at the time had decent interest rates) and closed that as well. I vowed never to do business with Capital One again and have kept true to that promise. What's in my wallet? It sure as heck ain't Capital One! Like Jim, I've had excellent experience with Chase Bank.
Post: Aftermath of a Scam
Link to comment from March 11, 2023