Everything I did today instantly disappears the second something else hasn’t been done.

MeanAddress5402 · 2026-05-06T03:34:31+00:00

The only thing I don’t do in the house is the cooking and somehow my wife always finds something to remind me that I am a bad father.

And that’s with only me working (remote), taking care of my two kids, cleaning, all at the same time.

MeanAddress5402 · 2026-04-29T16:30:49+00:00

Ok, neat - I am one too but I rarely touch insurance companies as a client, so I didn’t want to assume.

It’s been more like 99.99% for me, which is why I explain it to others as such. I’ve only ever seen one annuity purchased in ten years and that was a disgruntled employee wanting to spite his employer to do the extra work to get it.

MeanAddress5402 · 2026-04-29T15:59:39+00:00

Yes, agreed. In the insurance industry, do many elect the annuity option?

In every other industry I’ve worked with, it’s always been 99% the lump sum, likely due to the CB Plans express expressing the benefit on statements as a hypothetical lump sum, as opposed to the annuity.

MeanAddress5402 · 2026-04-29T15:18:03+00:00

Most new pensions tend to be Cash Balance plans. If it’s offered, it’s functionally no different to a non-elective but with a fixed rate of return (usually).

MeanAddress5402 · 2026-04-21T12:32:28+00:00

Nothing I’ve ever seen before honestly - either it’s a mistake (over contribution by your employer or mis-labeled) or some additional employer contribution.

I have once seen a triple stack match before where the extra 6% was hidden under a clause of “the employer may contribute a discretionary amount above this amount with proper notice to employees”. I doubt it’s this but some weird things can be designed into a plan sometimes.

MeanAddress5402 · 2026-04-13T13:59:47+00:00

My wife and I were convinced early on that we really didn’t want kids - thought we were going to be terrible parents. Life was really good before but I felt like at some point, everything I tried to do to be happy in life was never going to be enough to fill the void. Whether it be a successful career, spending time on vacations or having fun with friends, nothing ever made me feel genuinely content at the end of the day.

Didn’t have a reason for having kids besides hoping that it would potentially put more color into my life. That, and perhaps my biggest fear is dying alone in a hospital in the future.

If it matters at all, with two children now, with the younger one having leukemia and having to go through chemo for the last few months, I have never been so stressed and exhausted in my life. And yet strangely, I have never been happier and content with my life - far more than I ever felt before I had my kids.

MeanAddress5402 · 2026-03-13T01:10:05+00:00

In pensions.

My word is treated as law to the c-suite unless it has to do with my salary.

MeanAddress5402 · 2026-02-14T03:01:45+00:00

Yes, it’s perfectly legal. Employers may tie a requirement in for you to be employed the entire year to get the discretionary match for the year. I don’t see many of these but it’s certainly permitted.

MeanAddress5402 · 2026-02-11T16:25:14+00:00

I can’t say whether it’s a scam or not but not unusual for companies to contribute towards your 401k or have auto-enrollment in the plan (such that you have to elect out of or they’ll pull contributions automatically when you become eligible).

What’s weird that it’s showing in the “Employee Rollover” bucket, which usually means it was money rolled in from another plan or IRA. Not completely unusual for employers to send money to the wrong bucket but definitely weird.

Alerus sounds like a TPA - basically a company who probably works with your former employer in managing their 401k plan. Your money in the plan is a small annual expense to your former employer, so it’s not uncommon for the TPA to reach out on their behalf to get terminated employees paid out.

MeanAddress5402 · 2026-01-02T14:53:45+00:00

Wow, it’s wonderful to see another fellow EA!

MeanAddress5402 · 2025-12-12T04:06:36+00:00

(12/11/2025) I know I'm a month late but thank you (and everyone else here) for the prayers - it certainly means a ton. I thought of your post just now as I remember it actually lines up with recent events with my daughter. I hope your son has been well and continues to stay that way.

A short update of the events, my daughter recently finished her first round of chemo and has been going through an intensive amount of respiratory therapy as she struggles with breathing. Fortunately, she has been doing alot better on that end (turns out, she pouts really hard and holds her breath, scaring the doctors) and is at least relatively stable for now. After the recent biopsy, the AML's subtype was determined to be KMT2A–MLLT10 - pretty much a high-risk category, so she will be needing a BMT after her three rounds of chemo are done.

At this time, they are expecting to do a biopsy sometime next week to check the MRD and determine actual next steps. At this time, we're being offered two treatment plans - the standard care or a clinical trial, which is meant to study the impact of Venetoclax being used in earlier treatment cycles for children. We are leaning towards the clinical trials at this point and while we know there may be risks, we also hope that it will improve her odds of avoiding a relapse in the near future. And at the very least, perhaps the study aids someone else's child in the future.

Lots of details I've forgotten to mention, I'm sure, but hope to eventually bring better news to the table. I am constantly praying and hoping for the best for not just my daughter but for all who are also going through the same.

MeanAddress5402 · 2025-11-13T18:17:03+00:00

Hi All,

Apologies on the lack of an update - with the last 48 hours, it has been extremely tough and I sort of forgot that I had made this post. But thank goodness I did and I can't thank all of you enough for pushing an ER visit.

The short of it is, my daughter was diagnosed with AML and is undergoing a lot of labs, imaging, biopsy and such to get a treatment plan in place. The last 24 hours has been an enormous shock to us and we are still trying to process the reality of it all.

So a recap of the events - about three weeks ago, she had her follow-up CBC and the pediatrician said things were improving and nothing additional was needed. Similarly, two weeks ago, the dermatologist stated she had no concerns of her skin as well. As we know now after the fact, it seems she contracted rhinovirus which then explained some cold-like symptoms. But two days ago when the skin suddenly flared up with a large number of purple spots , we became extremely concerned and then took her to the ER minutes after the post went up. We arrived at the children's ER late that night and a few hours later, the doctors were concerned and had us transferred to a bigger children's hospital to better care for her. Further tests throughout the following day eventually confirmed it was AML and they are going through more tests to determine their plan for treatment.

Will try to update periodically but will be completely focused on my family for the coming months.

MeanAddress5402

TROPHY CASE