I sometimes come across a moderately sophisticated intuition, and find that while I don't strictly speaking agree or disagree with it, I do find it basically meaningless without additional context. This intuition says, "anything that can be done in an urgent situation can and should be done before the situation becomes urgent." So, for example, if you would need to tap your … [Read more...] about On the dryness of powder
Archives for October 2017
How you might be, but probably aren’t, affected by the TIAA “scandal”
A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing, and last week the New York Times published a pearl-clutching article that contained a little bit of knowledge. They reported that a TIAA (formerly TIAA-CREF) insider had filed a whistleblower complaint alleging: "that TIAA began conducting a fraudulent scheme in 2011 to convert 'unsuspecting retirement plan clients from low-fee, … [Read more...] about How you might be, but probably aren’t, affected by the TIAA “scandal”
The Social Security magic trick
I often say I like writing about money because it's an area of human activity that naturally lends itself to my unfortunate literal tendency. Today's post is a good example of what I mean by that. Everybody knows Social Security retirement benefits rise the longer you delay claiming them Usually this is framed as an incentive to "delay retirement" or "keep working" past age … [Read more...] about The Social Security magic trick
Come to terms now with the fact that you will feel poorer in old age
Today we are enjoying the fruits of a politics founded, at its core, on the principle that the wealthiest, most powerful people in our society feel ill-used by the political system they exert an almost unfathomable amount of control over. They feel that someone, somewhere, must be pulling one over on them, whether it's immigrants, ethnic minorities, the poor, public school … [Read more...] about Come to terms now with the fact that you will feel poorer in old age
What should you do if your Vanguard 403(b) account is getting access to Admiral shares?
Workplace 403(b) retirement plans are, very roughly speaking, the non-profit and public sector's answer to the 401(k) retirement plans offered by private companies. If your workplace 403(b) account is administered by Vanguard, you probably recently received a letter explaining some changes to your account. The most important changes are: a change in fee structure from a … [Read more...] about What should you do if your Vanguard 403(b) account is getting access to Admiral shares?