Rest in Peace, Beverly Cleary
It was announced that children’s author Beverly Cleary died on Thursday. She was 104, born in 1916, and a prolific writer. Many of her books were set in the neighborhood in which she grew up, a middle class neighborhood in Portland, Oregon, and based on her own experiences growing up…
The Fallacy of Irreplaceability
This morning I was discussing options with a colleague for a medical research study, we also discussed current work challenges including the poor ergonomics and physical pain caused by working from home. In encouragement to push back enough to take care of myself, my colleague gave me a great compliment….
What does the new COVID-19 stimulus bill mean for you?
The new COVID-19 stimulus bill has passed both the House and the Senate at lightening speed, and is on to the president’s desk for his signature. Assuming he signs it, we get a 4th Trump administration major tax overhaul in his 4 years (not evenly distributed, of course; TCJA in…
December action item: look at the effects of the November pension lump sum re-calculation
Obviously, I’m a data nerd. Add to that being a money data nerd, and I’m out looking at my pension estimate every October and December. Why am I looking at my pension estimate at those two time frames? In November every year, my employer re-assesses the interest rates, and locks…
Should I cash out my pension?
Last time we talked about why you can’t peer into the future, to see what the value of your lump sum payout would be if you retired on a certain (post-November) date. This time we’ll talk about why you might or might not want to cash out your pension, based…
Did my employer remove the lump sum pension payout option?
If you’re planning to retire at the end of this year, and your pension has both an annuity and a lump sum payout option, you may be confused as to why you can’t look at the lump sum value for your planned retirement date. First, some background. A 403b or…
Can I go for a picnic today?
A rain/retirement parable Question: It’s fall. Can I go for a picnic today? The forecast is great! Thought process: The forecast is great. There’s a 0% chance of rain. Sure, I can go for a picnic. Reality: It didn’t rain today, but it had rained yesterday and the ground was…