An actionable take from OJ was that funds within the T-IRA and 401k/403b cannot be touched, period, except by their owners. Even OJ's lawyer who were stiffed for their fees at some point (well, OJ was in jail) couldn't access OJ's retirement funds - they tried, including going through the courts.

We know that compounding on investments made early in one’s lifetime makes a huge difference in one’s financial success. Even though I was a very low earner when I started my career in 1970, we still were able to buy a house in 1973 based on my income alone. Interest rates were around 4%. I borrowed the 5% down payment from my father. My employer, despite paying me a pittance, paid 10% into my retirement account at TIAA. With one kid, one starter home, one car, and a frugality drummed into us by our Depression-era parents, we eventually realized quite amazing gains on what we honestly did not know would become our sources of “wealth.”
In today’s economy, as @Anna aptly points out, the young couple setting out on a path similar to ours, face overwhelming obstacles. The price of a starter home, in almost any part of the country, now presents the biggest barrier, to say nothing of the huge down payment. What employer these days would be paying 10% of base salary into retirement? It seems trite to say that our kids won’t do as well as their parents, a complete reversal of what had been accepted wisdom about the American economy. The American Dream, for a great many of our brethren, is nothing more than a chimera. The participants on MFO, IMHO, have a whole lot to be grateful for. I’m not sure that my kids, who are between 25 and 43, will be able to feel secure in their retirements.

Just purchased a 6 figure CD for my IRA, paying 5.2%, over an 18 month term--my first CD with a Maturity Date in 2025. I have 3 more CDs maturing in 2023, and 9 CDs maturing in 2024. When these remaining CDs mature, I will seriously consider buying replacement CDs, if they are paying 5+%. If CD rates start tanking before my remaining CDs mature, I will have to carefully evaluate my options at that point in time. "Making a lot more money in bonds than CDs" is not very important to me, as long as CDs pay a rate I consider attractive. Low risk and low stress are very important to me in retirement, but I do prefer at least a 4% to 6% TR, to replace RMD distributions, and I will look for the lowest risk investment options to meet that objective.

Not too long ago we were all talking in a thread about "the market" going sideways for a decade, or more.
Now we're being told that we should all invest in the 500, like Buffet "advises" his wife to do when he dies. Which sort of misses the point that she is likely to inherit a crap-ton of Berkshire shares, and heaven knows what else. Who is going to tell her to sell all that so she can plunk it all down on the 500?
Well. I don't have those resources. Sometimes the goal of investing is not to "beat the market" but to preserve capital that can be put to work to sustain a certain level of comfort in retirement.
As the man said after he fell from the roof:

Just to clarify- I'm not at all suggesting that CD or Treasury ladders are the only way to do things. I have about half in a CD/Treasury ladder through Schwab, and about half in a couple of MMKT funds.
Like @dtconroe said, "Before retirement, I was very aggressive with a ton of Equity oriented holdings (Sector holdings, Value and Growth Equity Funds, some balanced funds, Global and International Equity holdings, etc.)."
Same here- before retirement, made the stash. After retirement, protecting the stash.
Also, as @BenWP said above: "I do worry about leaving a complicated portfolio for my wife, say, who has no interest in investing. I assume that your ladders could be passed to a joint owner of the account with no problem."
Again, same here. My wife, joint owner, understands CDs and MMKT accounts, so we don't need anything fancy, and we really don't care about "beating" anything.

@dtconroe: I am intrigued by your explanation of how you use of CDs and their multiple maturity dates. I spend what some would probably call an excessive amount of my free time juggling MFs and ETFs. However, I did put $10K into a CD for the very first time a few months back. Most of my cash is in MM funds, namely SWVXX. Do you not spend any time on the equity side of your portfolio in favor of monitoring what appears to my inexperienced eye a complex operation devoted to CDs, ladders, and redemptions? For my part, I am content with the pretty generous yield on my MM stash, which allows me to buy and sell assets quickly and effortlessly, without worrying if I'm getting the last 1/10% out of the dough. FWIIW, I recall hearing it said about a stock trader in old days when stocks were priced in fractions that, "He'd sell his grandmother for an eighth." I guess I can accept my mileage varying a bit lest I become become too obsessive.

BenWP, I am 75 years old, devoted to preserving my accumulations with moderate TR, so my investments are relatively low risk now. Before retirement, I was very aggressive with a ton of Equity oriented holdings (Sector holdings, Value and Growth Equity Funds, some balanced funds, Global and International Equity holdings, etc.). After I retired, my investment emphasis changed dramatically to lower risk funds, focusing on Bond Oefs with low SD and solid momentum--my favorites were multisector and nontraditonal and HY bond oefs. In March of 2022, I sold everything, was totally in MMs, and started investing in CDs as my chosen option for risk management to produce guaranteed income. CDs require a special set of investing skills, and I chose to spread my cash around to multitude of CDs, in a short term laddering system. 90% of my CDs are in six figure CDs, but I do have a small number of 5 figure CDs. All of my CDs stay within the FDIC insured amounts, but my CD selections are more short term (2 years or less) with banks with high quality ratings. At 75, I don't have that many years left, have plenty of money to live comfortably, and have no interest in taking "unnecessary" risks, and am more focused on a retirement life, with minimal stress, and as much joy as I can muster.
I wish you well, but I suspect you are in a different life situation, with a different set of investing objectives!

@Hank. You got me laughing at myself. Still thinking about going to Vwinx. Like everyday. Got distracted by ever increasing risk free yields and our retirement burn rate is very minimal. But going forward my motivation is an autopilot situation for my wife. I have heard people say that nobody ever got fired for buying from IBM and Wellesley as a one fund solution would not be the worst thing to do. Except in a taxable account.

Nothing new and is especially rampant in the USA. No need to go further than Toyota CEO compared to the USA car company CEOs, while Toyota is a much better company.
But, the solution is simpler in the US. Join the best stock market in the world and enjoy your retirement, you don't need to make a lot of money, just start young and invest 10+% of your salary in the SP500. The US has the lowest fees and the lowest min to start on mutual funds + ETFs.

"The focus should be on the minimum needed to achieve an income required in retirement."
The focus should be on risk-adjusted performance and after that look for the income. Income by itself doesn't guarantee better performance or better risk/SD.
Example:
PIMIX in its glory days 2010-2013(https://schrts.co/TRyXMDdV) was better than SPY, 2010-2018 better than many bond funds. In these periods it beat many funds for SD too.
On the other hand, PDI, managed by one of the best teams in the world, paid about 10% annually in the last 5 years but made less than 6% total in 5 years. RCTIX made a total of close to 23% and SPY made 71% (https://schrts.co/vszPEmPD)

Perhaps because of some of the ideas that this discussion brought up I started organizing our “family office” in case something happens to me sooner than expected. I ran across something from the esteemed Rick Ferri from 2/6/15. The piece was titled “The Center of Gravity for Retirees.”
“Retirees and those almost retired shouldn’t care what their highest level of risk tolerance is because they shouldn’t be investing anywhere near it. There is no economic reason for a person to take more investment risk once they have accumulated enough money for retirement.
The focus should be on the minimum needed to achieve an income required in retirement.
I believe Mr. Ferri says 30/70 is ideal.

We bought a retirement home on Cape Cod in a spur of the moment decision, but we were smart enough to buy one less than 20 years old, built by a guy who over engineered everything ( It was his fifth personal build). BR on first floor, etc. IF we took more time we might have gotten something with a view etc, but we love the quiet neighborhood and new friends.
We passed on new dog, because my daughter moved here too and has two lovely dogs we use to get dog fix every several days. As we helped her buy her house, she frequently acknowledges that she will help us when we can't drive etc. Not including travel expenses, our income needs so far have been met with SS and dividends, even in high tax Massachusetts ( realestate taxes up 30% since 2018)
I became convinced that going into retirement is not the best time to have large equity exposure, given risk of serious bear market, so in 2015 to 2018 I cut stocks back and now am around 30%. The fact that rates shot up has made that decision easier obviously.
I think there is more downside ahead than upside, at least for US market and I don't mind making 5 to 6% rather than 20% if it means avoiding a 40 % loss in capital.
This sorta makes up for the fact that in CT for the last 30 years our house lost us lots of money, my salary was stagnant and we were taxed to the max.
But you can't focus on the past, and we are grateful we are both healthy, our kids are generally happy and educated and employed, although one is 1200 miles away.

“ … in my lifetime as an investor, I haven’t seen cash yields this high ”
Gosh, I do remember earning 15-20% on money market funds during my early working years. :)
Along with that, the aisles in grocery stores (1970s) were often filled with store employees busy changing the previously marked prices to try and keep up with the ongoing increases. Without bar codes / scanners every bottle of ketchup or loaf of bread carried a marked price. One wonders if all this remarking itself contributed to the inflation rate.
No doubt. Cash at today’s 5% (+ -) looks very compelling, especially to the “over the hill” crowd.

I am also experiencing some degree of nostalgia with some of the recent posts, especially looking at the past 15 years. Around the 2000 to 2007 period, CDs were paying 5+% and I was shopping banks for the best CD rates and terms. Then the financial markets went into a crisis period, with banks closing, major business closings, and the government cutting rates, stimulating the economy, and trying to focus on financial stabilization and economic growth. I have never seen anything like the Covid years, supply chain and manufacturing disruptions, and the renewed fight against inflation in the last few years. 5+% CDs are back, we are fighting inflation again, but now I am in retirement, focused more on preservation of assets than accumulation of assets. I hope I am around for another 15 years so I can participate in investing philosophy, but the odds are that I will not be alive.

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1359057/000089418923005408/hoodriverintl497einvestorc.htm
497 1 hoodriverintl497einvestorc.htm 497 HOOD RIVER INVESTOR CLASS
Filed pursuant to Rule 497(e)
Registration Nos. 333-133691; 811-21897
Hood River International Opportunity Fund (the “Fund”)
Institutional Shares (HRIOX)
Retirement Shares (HRITX)
Investor Shares (HRIIX)
Supplement dated August 4, 2023
to the Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”),
each dated October 31, 2022, as supplemented
Effective August 11, 2023, the Investor Shares of the Fund will be offered for purchase.
The Prospectus and SAI are hereby amended to add HRIIX as the ticker symbol for the Investor Shares and to remove all statements to the effect that the Investor Shares are not currently offered.
Please retain this supplement with your Prospectus and SAI for future reference.

@MikeM Would a T-bill work instead of CD ? Purchased in taxable account , except retirement accounts, NO state tax in most states.

Stable-Value (SV) Rates, 8/1/23
TIAA Traditional Annuity (Accumulation) Rates
No changes.
Restricted RC 6.75%, RA 6.50%
Flexible RCP 6.00%, SRA 5.75%, Newer IRAs 5.20%
TSP G Fund hasn't updated yet (previous monthly rate was 4.00%).
Options outside of workplace retirement plans include m-mkt funds, bank m-mkt accounts (FDIC insured), T-Bills, short-term brokered CDs.
#401k #403b #StableValue #TIAA #TSP
LINK

The PBS segment from Friday (I linked earlier in the thread) focused on the advent of pharmaceutical middlemen / brokers - a fairly recent development. These are companies that serve as a “broker” and set the prices drug wholesalers or insurance companies pay to big pharma and, in the end, what retail must pay and than charge customers. ”Gouging” is a better term than brokering.
Anyways … these middlemen / brokers have been buying up the insurance companies that cover prescription drugs. One they bought is Optum RX - which happens to be mine (as part of my retirement benefits). And that helps explain why with insurance I might pay $30, $40 or more for a common drug, while by skipping insurance and printing out a Good RX coupon in advance I might get the same medication for $10. Really nuts.
ISTM David Giroux in the recent Barron’s interview prophesied that big pharma will be a better investment if the R’s win the Presidency in 2024. So politics might enter into the Pud’s question. Healthcare has been the “in” thing for as long as I can remember. Old Ted liked it. Personally, I tend to run the other way when something’s in vogue - often at my own expense. Thus, I’ve never invested in it aside from indirectly through some fund(s).

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1096344/000119312523197702/d486209d497.htm
FAIRHOLME FUNDS, INC.
The Fairholme Allocation Fund
(the “Fund”)
Supplement to Prospectus and Summary Prospectus
Dated March 30, 2023
Supplement dated July 28, 2023 to the Prospectus and Summary Prospectus of the Fund dated March 30, 2023.
On July 27, 2023, the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of Fairholme Funds, Inc., at the recommendation of Fairholme Capital Management, L.L.C., the investment adviser to the Fund, approved the liquidation and termination of the Fund. Effective at market close on July 28, 2023, the Fund will suspend the offering and sale of its shares. The Fund expects to make the final liquidating distribution on or about August 31, 2023 (the “Liquidation Date”).
At any time prior to the Liquidation Date, shareholders may redeem shares of the Fund, or exchange shares of the Fund for shares of the Fairholme Fund or the Fairholme Focused Income Fund, both of which will remain open to investors, in the manner described in the Fund’s Prospectus. In connection with the liquidation, the Board has approved the waiver of the redemption fee of 2.00% imposed on Fund shares redeemed or exchanged within 60 calendar days of their purchase.
Shareholders should be aware that the Fund may convert assets to cash and/or cash equivalents before the liquidating distribution is made to shareholders. Accordingly, the Fund will no longer pursue its stated investment objective or engage in any business activities except for the purposes of winding up its business and affairs, paying its liabilities and distributing its remaining assets to shareholders. If a shareholder has not redeemed his or her Fund shares prior to the Liquidation Date, the shareholder’s account will be automatically redeemed and an amount equal to the shareholder’s proportionate interest in the Fund’s assets will be distributed to the shareholder on the Liquidation Date.
The redemption, sale, exchange or liquidation of Fund shares may be a taxable event to the extent a shareholder’s tax basis in the shares is lower than the liquidation proceeds per share that the shareholder receives. Shareholders should consult with their personal tax advisers concerning their particular tax situation.
If you hold Fund shares in a tax-deferred retirement account, you should consult with your personal tax adviser or account custodian to determine how to reinvest your liquidation proceeds on a tax-deferred basis.
* * * * * *
YOU SHOULD RETAIN THIS SUPPLEMENT WITH YOUR PROSPECTUS AND SUMMARY PROSPECTUS FOR FUTURE REFERENCE.

I was assuming the OP was specifically talking about Traditional/Rollover IRAs as titled in this thread, not other types of retirement accounts such as 401/403/457 accounts. Those are two very different kind of retirement accounts, and when you set up your Schwab Accounts, I believe they are handled separately, in separate Schwab accounts. I do not believe Schwab would ever co-mingle Rollover IRAs with any remaining 401/403/457 holdings. I don't currently own any 401/403/457 accounts, so I do not have any personal experience with my Schwab brokerage holding both kinds of retirement accounts.

5.22 total return in 2022 for FSUTX.
Past performance, and future returns, and all that . . . But, widows and orphans rejoice.
I didn't get that FSUTX 2022 return. I had PRUZX, and one of the etf's, and I wanted to consolidate the ornaments on the retirement tree.
BTW. RSPU came through 2022 with a 4.35 return. And it only yields 2.50. I didn't have that either.

"Take note that calculating your RMD works a bit differently if your spouse is the only primary beneficiary to your account and is more than 10 years younger than you. In this case, you must use the IRS Joint Life and Last Survivor Expectancy Table. You can also find this on IRS Publication 590. However, your life expectancy factor would be based on the ages of you and your spouse. But the formula doesn’t change. You’d still follow the same IRA withdraw rules listed above."
Just discovered this. My spouse is indeed the only primary beneficiary, and is more than 10 years younger than me. Does that work to my advantage?
"...The IRS has other tables for account holders and beneficiaries of retirement funds whose spouses are much younger."
I still have 4 years until reaching age 73.
....And just try to locate those withdrawal tables (and alternative withdrawal tables) re: "combined life expectancy." I dare you. Your tax dollars at work. Geniuses, everywhere:
https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-publication-590-b