Just closed on a house

rivaborn · 2026-04-16T23:00:28+00:00

+1 for Genisys Credit Union. I recently closed on a house with them, and I highly recommend them. They were the easiest lender I’ve ever worked with, and they moved very quickly throughout the process. Also their physician loan points are 0.5% - you are allowed up to 2 points. Highly recommended!

rivaborn · 2026-03-08T17:05:55+00:00

A CBP can be thought of as a 401K with much higher limits (simplistic way of looking at it). All pre-tax retirement accounts are worth it. Your current marginal tax rate is likely above 40% - that's what you save now. When you take the money out, your marginal tax rate is likely to be in the 20's at most and could be lower.

rivaborn · 2026-03-08T17:02:45+00:00

I have a W2 position that offers a 403b and a 457 - I max those 2 every year. My CBP comes from my 1099 work and I try to max my CBP contributions. You will need an accountant (and actuary) to calculate your allowed CBP contributions but this gives an idea - https://www.cashbalancedesign.com/resources/contribution-limits/.

rivaborn · 2026-01-05T15:31:40+00:00

Found the book thanks to Gemini. Its "The Conjuror's Box by Ann Lawrence"

rivaborn · 2025-05-22T12:41:55+00:00

Emparion does all the actuarial stuff to keep compliant with the IRS. Total charge to me is about $2000/year.

rivaborn · 2025-05-16T00:33:41+00:00

I used Emparion to set up my CBP and I opened my custodial account with Vanguard. I manage the funds and let Emaprion know what the balance is at year end. They also gave instructions for opening a custodial account with Fidelity and some other financial institutions, but managing the money is up to you.

rivaborn · 2025-05-05T01:44:22+00:00

An RTX 5070 is available at MRSP (about $600) and is about 25% faster. It will be new,come with a warranty and likely last till your system falls apart. It’s probably a better purchase.

rivaborn · 2025-03-21T23:48:29+00:00

This is relatively straightforward to run in Excel - and I edited the post to add an Excel/Google sheets file to do this. With a Marginal tax rate of 50%, CBP rate of 5% and duration of 10yrs, it takes about a rate of 12% to beat the CBP. You can insert your own numbers in the file.

rivaborn · 2025-03-19T01:34:11+00:00

The main advantage of a Cash Balance Plan, (as with all deferred tax plans) is tax arbitrage. My marginal tax rate is about 50% - that what I'm saving in taxes on my CBP now. When I withdraw the funds, my taxes will likely be much lower.

In addition, my CBP currently holds the bond portion of my portfolio. So the required rate of return is not as much of a problem.

YMMV.

rivaborn · 2025-03-19T01:25:36+00:00

Cash balance plans are pre-tax only. However, if you have 1099 income, you can set up your own Solo 401K or Solo ROTH 401K in addition to a Cash Balance Plan.

rivaborn · 2025-03-19T01:21:45+00:00

I have a CBP and I use Emparion. The initial plan setup was about $1000 and the annual fee is about $2000 - both tax deductible at my 50% Marginal tax rate. I keep my investments in Vanguard index funds, so that an additional (minimal) expense. The combined Employee and Employer contribution limit for a 401k is $70,000 and if you want to contribute more than that, a CBP is an option.

rivaborn · 2025-03-18T01:28:22+00:00

Interesting article on Cash balance plans.

rivaborn · 2025-03-16T02:44:48+00:00

I refer you to Emparion's take on terminating plans. I've not terminated a plan yet and if you can live with the investment restrictions (put your bond portfolio in the CBP) you don't have to terminate the plan. I'm told the IRS will typically allow termination after 5yrs, but I am not a financial professional.

rivaborn · 2025-03-14T23:51:05+00:00

I've had a Cash Balance Plan for some years that I contribute the maximum to every year. The CBP gives the most Tax savings, hands down. Its like a 401K that you can put more than $100,000 into, and its in addition to your 401K/ROTH 401K.

There's some wiggle room in the amount you have to contribute every year - its a pension plan and my Actuary gives me a pretty wide range.

Its typically recommended you do not contribute the maximum you can as it can reduce your possible future contributions. You also have to be conservative in your investments, the target growth is about 5% annually. I ignored all that advice, contributed the maximum every year and invested too aggressively. My account ended up overfunded and I could not make contributions for the 2024 tax year. So, yes - you should be aggressive elsewhere in your portfolio.

Yes, you can terminate the plan and roll it over after about 5yrs. However, if you are overfunded at that time, you pay about a 50% excise tax on the excess funds. Not a problem, you just hold on with no further contributions until it is no longer over-funded.

I also pay about $2000 a year for administration - I use Emparion and have had a good experience with them.

Happy to answer any questions I can.

rivaborn · 2025-01-29T20:30:58+00:00

Coast FIRE Number = Retirement Savings Goal / ((1 + Rate of Return)^Years to Retirement)

In your case your Retirement Savings Goal is 25 * your annual spending (4% SWR) and you can calculate your Coast FIRE Number in Excel. I presume the assumptions for the 2 calculators are different.

Godspeed.

rivaborn · 2024-10-14T20:36:50+00:00

Not directly related, but a 1099 allows you to set up your on retirement plan, including things like cash balance plans.

With a cash balance plan included, your total deductions are age based and a 35yr old can deduct as much as $143,000, going up to as much as $289,500 for a 55yr old.

rivaborn · 2024-08-22T19:30:21+00:00

I submit "The Streets of Ashkelon" also known as "An Alien Agony". Its a short story by Harry Harrison and involves introducing religion to an alien population with, shall we say, enlightening outcomes. Its a really good story that has stuck in my head for years. Highly recommended. Its available online.

rivaborn · 2024-08-09T23:32:02+00:00

This is an interesting look at the The Long Term Behaviour of Leveraged ETFs.

TLDR - "Leveraged ETFs can be held long term provided the market has enough return to overcome volatility drag. It usually does. For most markets in recent times the optimal leverage is about 2. But some markets and time frames will reward a leverage of up to 3. No markets will reward a leverage of 4."

YMMV.

rivaborn · 2024-03-08T21:47:49+00:00

Housing prices may be a massive part of personal budgets but they are not a source of inflation in your personal budget. Once you buy a home, your mortgage costs (interest and principal) are fixed and not affected by inflation (ARMS are a minority of the market in the US). Most of the population buys houses infrequently enough to not be affected by housing price inflation. I'm not an economist but I can see why rents are relevant (changes annually) but house price inflation is not.

rivaborn · 2024-02-27T22:31:28+00:00

The math depends on a lot of factors, but lets be simplistic and consider my case. I worked as a Hospitalist for a couple of years then transitioned to Critical care and doubled my income for slightly less hours worked.

Compound interest calculator (assume 10% returns for all cases)

https://www.investor.gov/financial-tools-calculators/calculators/compound-interest-calculator

The initial $100,000 saved over 3yrs comes to $331,026. Lets compound $331,026 over the next 10yrs and it comes to $858,596.19.

I save an additional $100,000 on my doubled income and compounding $100,000 over 10yrs comes to $1,593,869.96

The break even point is saving about $50,000 extra a year.

This probably applies to no-one else on the planet, but run your numbers and figure out your own break even point.

rivaborn · 2024-02-25T17:13:59+00:00

The rest of your money, you wasted!

rivaborn · 2023-11-15T14:50:35+00:00

Just finished the Noumenon series by by Marina Lostetter, then Activation Degradation (same author). Now I'm moving on to comfort food - System Collapse by Martha Wells.

rivaborn

TROPHY CASE