Countdown to retirement

[Dan Murphy]

no - totally different rant, lol. I was piggybacking on the posts discussing teacher/govt WEP rules by commenting that there are a few other rules in SS land as well, that don't seem quite fair to everyone playing.

My example is anyone not a W-2 employee (gig workders.) We pay employER and employEE social security tax - so 15% of every dollar plus 2x the medicare tax as well. Yet we don't accrue any more retirement dollars for double the spend than employees who just pay half of what we do.

Sorry OP and others: I didn't meant to hijack the Counting Down to Retirement thread.

Ahhhh, I see. Makes sense now. I am familiar with your thoughts there. Though now retired, for many, many years, and until retirement 4 years ago at age 76, I was both a W2 and 1099 person. So I do understand the employee/employer thoughts on the 1099 side.

 

[sk!mom]

We didn't ask. But it is kind of part of a Financial Planner's responsibility as a Fiduciary to disclose those things even if they are on assets outside their control. He also disclosed that the High Tech Fund he put us in in 1999 lost 75% of it's value.

It’s his responsibility to run scenarios of what could have been had you made a different choice?? I don’t see that at all.

Disclosing the bad outcome of an investment he put you in, of course it must be revealed. But saying, “hey, your decision to transition to safer investments cost you $$$.” I now question everything about his professionalism.

 

[tvguy]

It’s his responsibility to run scenarios of what could have been had you made a different choice?? I don’t see that at all.

Disclosing the bad outcome of an investment he put you in, of course it must be revealed. But saying, “hey, your decision to transition to safer investments cost you $$$.” I now question everything about his professionalism.

Wow, you certainly have a different view. I expect a Financial Planner to know all my financial information and evaluate all our decisions. To do otherwise would be a violation of his fiduciary responsibility and be VERY unprofessional. Your Financial Advisors can't have blinders on.

 

[sk!mom]

Wow, you certainly have a different view. I expect a Financial Planner to know all my financial information and evaluate all our decisions. To do otherwise would be a violation of his fiduciary responsibility and be VERY unprofessional. Your Financial Advisors can't have blinders on.

Revealing the outcome of decisions made, yes. Complete transparency prior to any decision being made, yes. Years after the decision, running numbers on a different path than you chose, what’s the point? So you can rub her nose in it?

 

[tvguy]

Revealing the outcome of decisions made, yes. Complete transparency prior to any decision being made, yes. Years after the decision, running numbers on a different path than you chose, what’s the point? So you can run her nose in it?

The point is, a Financial Planner should review past decisions to help clients make better informed future decisions. Not necessarily different decisions. That's not :rubbing your nose" in it IMHO.
He even monitors the value of the classic car I bought 9 years ago as well as the value of our house.*

EDIT *Actually, those values are monitored by software that many Financial Planners use that uses public date. He doesn't appraise the car or the house on annual basis.

 

[sk!mom]

The point is, a Financial Planner should review past decisions to help clients make better informed future decisions. Not necessarily different decisions. That's not :rubbing your nose" in it IMHO.
He even monitors the value of the classic car I bought 9 years ago as well as the value of our house.*

EDIT *Actually, those values are monitored by software that many Financial Planners use that uses public date. He doesn't appraise the car or the house on annual basis.

I just asked an expert and he said absolutely not, a good financial planner is not going to say, “Hey, that decision you made 10 years ago? Big mistake, huge! You could have another $200,000 had you chosen a different path.” That ship has sailed. There’s no point. Financial planners report on investments made and advise on current/future investment plans. Once a decision is “not” made- it’s off the spreadsheet. A planner doesn’t track every scenario he presented you for what would have been had you chosen it.

Monitoring the value of all your assests (including classic cars), of course.

 

[tvguy]

I just asked an expert and he said absolutely not, a good financial planner is not going to say, “Hey, that decision you made 10 years ago? Big mistake, huge! You could have another $200,000 had you chosen a different path.” That ship has sailed. There’s no point. Financial planners report on investments made and advise on current/future investment plans. Once a decision is “not” made- it’s off the spreadsheet. A planner doesn’t track every scenario he presented you for what would have been had you chosen it.

Monitoring the value of all your assests (including classic cars), of course.

Well, we will have to agree to disagree. He didn't advise her either way 10 years ago, just said she had reasonably reached an account balance that would carry her through retirement, and that she needed to decide if she wanted to remain aggressive and risk losing that principle, or be more conservative and preserve it. Just the facts, no commentary from him.

. He did also comment on an IRA my wife opened 44 years ago with $1,500 that is now worth almost $100,000.

 

[sk!mom]

Well, we will have to agree to disagree. He did also comment on an IRA my wife opened 44 years ago with $1,500 that is now worth almost $100,000.

Again- of course, that’s an investment made - not running a scenario of a path not chosen.