retirement w/ 1.5 millions
http://money.cnn.com/2012/03/30/pf/expert/retirement-ira.moneymag/
perhaps this may answer what MF to buy in a retirement bucket
also look at this trust
http://www.bullmarket.com/digest/?id=338#1085

Reply to @AndyJ: hi andy. I agree with you. I thought that was what I was describing with the 3 legged stool, ss being 1 leg, annuities the 2nd and drawing from savings being that 3rd leg. All that added together supplements your retirement in come.
I've read a couple books on setting up bucket systems (for that 3rd leg). But like someone else mentioned, it's just another way to segment your investments for growth and supplemental income.

Hi msf. I suspect few people are more motivated than I to like Schwab. At one point I've had every account in our household at Schwab: 2 IRAs, a rollover, a Joint Savings/Brokerage, a checking, a Visa Signature, and through my work a Personal Choice Retirement Account (PCRA). All these accounts were linked on a convenient on-line summary page.
Hands-down, the PCRA is best account with diverse fund selection, low fees, fast settlements, and very responsive staff that really takes pride in the select service they offer. Maybe because of the first-rate PCRA, I have recognized the short-comings of some of the other services. For example, the $50 fee to buy or sell a fund not on the OneSource list. This applies for IRA accounts as well, which have limited yearly deposits. The $50 fee was effectively a 1% load each way on a $5000 transaction, making the option a non-starter.
OneSource is a good service offering, I agree. A few times I noticed fees appeared higher than advertised on MS. For example, Parnassus Equity Income PRBLX, TCW Select Equities TGCNX, and Matthews Asia Dividend MAPIX are 0.04-0.05% higher. But after double-checking, that difference may just be a manifestation of reporting source. MS publishes expense reported in annual report, while Schwab uses the prospectus. So I stand-corrected, which is good thing in this case. Now Schwab does up the redemption fee period to 90 days for OneSource funds, which is longer than the 60 days typically used by the fund houses.
As for WGRIX, the institutional class of Wintergreen WGRNX, it was not available at Schwab shortly after it was established. Since I own WGRNX, I checked right away. But it is available now, as you point out, and that availability is a good thing too.
Today, I just maintain the PCRA and brokerage accounts at Schwab. I recently transferred the 401 and IRAs directly to the fund houses, Dodge & Cox, Fairholme, and Seafarer. Schwab stopped offering its Visa, which was a disappointment, after which I closed the checking account also.
Trust all that provides a better perspective of my early post.
Thanks, Charles
PS. Schwab website still says Seafarer SFGIX is not available.

Reply to @MikeM: Mike, the way I've heard SS, pensions, annuities and any work income addressed in one bucket method is that they're a prequel you have to figure in before you structure the pots of $: quick and dirty, it's to come up with an annual budget as best you can, figure in how much of that can be covered by SS etc., & then structure short, intermediate, and long term investments around meeting the rest of the budget, plus (I suppose) emergency expenses you can't anticipate.
The linked article in Bee's OP is about how M* Discuss posters in retirement structure their investments. The original thread has a lot more than is in the article.
From what I've read it sounds like the object is just a simple way to organize your thinking about income and expenses in retirement.

Mike: your laddering of CDs is a losing deal at this time. You already knew that, so I'm thinking you believe rates will be on the rise by the time you decide to pull the (pin), retire. I thought cds would be a part of my retirement funding, but not using them at this time. To much dead cash at this time. What's one to do ?
Have a good wked,
Derf

I think it's important to remember "the three leg stool" when thinking how your investments need to be distributed within a retirement portfolio. The bucket system feeds just one leg of that stool. The other 2 legs of course being social security and any pension or purchased annuities you may have. I suppose you could add on a forth "removable" leg if you want or need to work for added income in retirement.
I'm not there yet, but I foresee the investment leg as being 2 buckets. One being 3-5 years of CD ladders and the second bucket being a moderate risk distribution of stocks and bonds.
I'd be interested to hear from others already in retirement or those, like myself, getting close to that next life adjustment.

Reply to @tgeno: If you dig into it, the bucket thing as applied specifically for retirement is primarily for people who use their savings or income from same for living expenses, which doesn't really apply if there's pension etc. income adequate to the task. All it is is a slightly different way to organize and allocate investments with "duration" built into the calculation.

Buckets;shmuckets. I don't think in those terms. I'm in retirement and easily living off a couple of small pensions and social security. I have taxable and tax-deferred accounts at Fidelity totalling mid-6 figures that I invest for long-term growth and income with a little short-term trading for fun. I do have a bucket with a hole in it which is a house that is rented but with a mortgage under water; I hope to get rid of that leaky bucket in the next couple of years.

I heard this concept first from rono...a recent article with suggested funds:
What's in Your Retirement Buckets?
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/whats-retirement-buckets-110000016.html

http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/754915/000075491512000002/hyfhyasticker33012-13111.htm
497 1 hyfhyasticker33012-13111.htm
T. Rowe Price High Yield Fund
T. Rowe Price High Yield Fund–Advisor Class
Supplement to prospectus dated October 1, 2011
Effective April 30, 2012, the T. Rowe Price High Yield Fund and T. Rowe Price High Yield Fund–Advisor Class will be closed to new investors. Accordingly, the prospectus is updated as follows.
The following is added under “Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares” in section one:
Subject to certain exceptions, the fund will be closed to new investors and new accounts on April 30, 2012. Current shareholders may continue to purchase, redeem, or exchange shares of the fund.
The following is added under “More Information About the Fund and Its Investment Risks” in section three:
The fund will close to new investors on Monday, April 30, 2012. Therefore, the fund will no longer accept new accounts after the close of the New York Stock Exchange (normally 4 p.m. ET) on Friday, April 27, 2012.
Additional share purchases are permitted for investors holding shares of the fund directly with T. Rowe Price at the close of business on April 27, 2012, as well as for participants in their employer-sponsored retirement plans where the fund serves as an investment option. Investors already holding shares through intermediaries generally will be able to purchase additional shares; however, you should check with your intermediary to confirm your eligibility. New IRA accounts in the fund may be opened through a direct rollover from an employer-sponsored retirement plan.
The fund closing does not restrict shareholders from redeeming shares of the fund. However, any shareholders who redeem all fund shares in their account would not be permitted to purchase additional shares. Transferring ownership to another party or changing an account registration may restrict the ability to purchase additional shares.
The fund reserves the right, when in the judgment of T. Rowe Price it is not adverse to the fund’s interest, to permit certain types of investors to open new accounts in the fund, to impose further restrictions, or to close the fund to any additional investments, all without prior notice.
The date of this supplement is March 30, 2012.

http://www.mercurynews.com/personal-finance/ci_20283226/retirement-planner-money-market-funds-mostly-losing-value
junk bonds feed hungry market
https://www.google.com/#hl=en&sugexp=pfwe&gs_nf=1&tok=62l06OCPrPovtUOosatbzA&cp=31&gs_id=l&xhr=t&q=Junk+Bonds+Feed+a+Hungry+Market&pf=p&output=search&sclient=psy-ab&oq=Junk+Bonds+Feed+a+Hungry+Market&aq=&aqi=&aql=&gs_l=&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&fp=b6218bc58157cb1&biw=1366&bih=541
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304177104577311923227522232.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
gold fall
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gold-extends-declines-in-electronic-trading-2012-03-29?link=MW_latest_news
muni news
http://www.bondbuyer.com/news/distressed-municipalities-bankruptcy-1037914-1.html
funds in focus
http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2012/03/29/funds-in-focus/

WxByHart- Welcome to MFO!
Since we successfully built our retirement assets in a much earlier timeframe, many of the choices that you are faced with did not then exist. Consequently, I have very little direct knowledge of many of the options open to you, and cannot offer much in the way of direct advice.
But this I absolutely can tell you: I've followed MFO and it's predecessor financial site for many years. In answer to your questions you have been given excellent advice by some of the most professional and experienced long-term board members. I strongly suggest that you consider their advice, particularly with respect to the negative aspects of any variable annuity. We do have friends who, in ignorance, made the mistake of going the VA route, and the results have not been pretty.

Reply to @WxByHart:
You asked: "And how do I compare all of the fees within the annuity, including the hidden ones, versus a self directed IRA?"
Request from your agent the contract you would have to sign, including all related documents and to use a yellow highlighter to mark all fees to be incurred by you on an annual basis. The fees list would be totally inclusive as noted by BobC in his reply. Request the agent to list and total all fees and include in the list the surrender charges going out for 8 years or whatever the period may be. Request the agent to sign the document for your records and request the document to be notarized (likely available within the office) at the time of signing.
Or for yourself, have the agent do all of the highlighting so that you are aware of the full, total fees. Have someone else qualified to review this type of contract and offer their opinion of fees and the value of the investment to you. Place the document under your pillow and sleep upon this proposed decision for as long as needed.
Our retirement funds accts., which include Trad/Roth IRA's has an average expense of .73%..........period. The only other expense one might find with a self-directed IRA is an annual dollar fee of $30 or so; if the total acct value is less the $30K or whatever value is set by the vendor. Your total will exceed this.
Your main decision appears to revolve between wanting an annuity with some future insurance payout versus an IRA. Obviously, only you can make this decision; based upon all other variables and assets going into your retirement years.
Our list:
FAGIX Fid Capital & Income
SPHIX Fid High Income
FHIIX Fed High Income
DIHYX TransAmerica HY
---Total Bond funds
FTBFX Fid Total
PTTRX Pimco Total
---Investment Grade Bonds
APOIX Amer. Cent. TIPS Bond
DGCIX Delaware Corp. Bd
FBNDX Fid Invest Grade
FINPX Fidelity TIPS Bond
OPBYX Oppenheimer Core Bond
---Global/Diversified Bonds
FSICX Fid Strategic Income
FNMIX Fid New Markets
DPFFX Delaware Diversified
TEGBX Templeton Global (load waived)
LSBDX Loomis Sayles
---Speciality Funds (sectors or mixed allocation)
FRIFX Fidelity Real Estate Income (bond/equity mix)
FDLSX Fidelity Select Leisure
FSAGX Fidelity Select Precious Metals
RNCOX RiverNorth Core Opportunity (bond/equity)

I am curious as to what people feel is the best way to invest in frontier markets. I now Wasatch just put out their new fund, but any one else have recommendations to it as a way to invest in frontier markets. Just looking to put about 3 percent of my retirement or so into it, thanks.

I would NEVER recommend rolling this to a deferred variable annuity. On the other hand, if you love your insurance agent a lot, understand that he will get a fat paycheck from your action. I have been in the advisory business since 1984, so I have seen how the commission folk operate. Understand that all of the dollars you roll into the annuity will not be available to you for 5-7 years without a deferred sales charge. And as others have mentioned, the redundancy of fees within the annuity is ridiculous.
My advice is to either 1) move the dollars to your new employer's 401k, or 2) roll the dollars into a self-directed IRA at Schwab, TD, Fidelity, etc. In either case, you will not be donating to your agent's retirement account, and you will have the freedom to select from just about ANY mutual fund, no matter how conservative you are. Just stay away from this annuity.

Reply to @catch22: Take a look at the issue with the Illinois Teacher's Pension Fund, which was invested (and probably still is) in a huge number of exotic derivatives products.
http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=166746
"Dale Rosenthal, a former strategist for Long Term Capital Management, the hedge fund known for its epic collapse in 1998, and a proprietary trader for Morgan Stanley, has seen his share of financial complexities.
But when shown a seven-page list of derivatives positions held by the Illinois Teachers Retirement System as of March 31, obtained by Medill News Service through a Freedom of Information Act request, the University of Illinois-Chicago assistant professor of finance expressed disbelief.
“If you were to have faxed me this balance sheet and asked me to guess who it belonged to, I would have guessed, Citadel, Magnetar or even a proprietary trading desk at a bank,” Rosenthal said. How bad is it? After losing $4.4 billion on investments in fiscal year 2009, and 5 percent on investments in fiscal 2008, the teachers’ pension is now underfunded by $44.5 billion, or 60.9 percent, according to the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability’s March 2010 report. By comparison, only 20.3 percent of the Chicago Teachers’ Pension Fund is unfunded."
There are pensions borrowing from themselves, as well.
http://articles.businessinsider.com/2012-03-14/politics/31162913_1_pension-costs-pension-system-pension-fund

I am thinking of making a move in my retirement portfolio to benefit from inflation over the long hall (from countires inflating their way out of debt, increase in global demand for products, etc), but also have some shorter term questions. I am thinking of buying one of the currency funds run by Axel Merk (probably MERKX - Merk Hard Currency Fund), and gaining more exposure to gold and silver (selling PRPFX and buying GLD and SLV with that money). A few questions for anyone interested:
1) If Israel and Iran do get into a serious confrontation, and create more instabilty regarding oil, what will happen with the relationship between certain commodity currencies, such as Norwegian Krone and Canadian Dollar (countries that export oil), the U.S. dollar, and gold? If oil prices rise, that should benefit the Krone and Canadian dollar. However, in such a confrontation, I am also thinking there could be a flight to safety into the US dollar, which could make the US dollar stronger in relation to the Krone and the Canadian dollar. Would holding currencies belonging to oil exporting countries be a good idea to benefit from what may be an increase in the price of oil, or would it be bad because there might be a flight to safety into the US dollar in such a situation?
2) In an Iranian-Israeli conflict (as well as other future conflicts), if there was a flight to safety into the dollar, would that be bad for gold and currencies of countries that produce gold such as the Australian dollar, as gold often increases when the U.S dollar is percieved to decrease in value, and in this case, if there was a flight to safety, the U.S. dollar would increase in value? Would this be bad for silver also? Or could there actually be a flight to safety into gold?
3) As far as a longer term play regarding inflation, would investing in foreign currencies not be a great idea because countries often seek to debase their currencies to increase their exports? In this case, foreign currencies may not rise, or not rise signifacantly against the U.S. dollar.
4) Should foreign bonds be considered to be as good as an investment against inflation compared to foreign currencies, gold, and silver? If so, should the investments be focused on bonds from countries that export commodities? From emerging markets?
5) Just a curiosity...why is there a strong correlation between silver and the euro? From that can I assume there is a correlation between gold and the Euro as well?
As far as funds that could potentially benefit from inflation, I currently have PAUIX, HDCCX (Highbridge dynamic commodity fund), and TTRZX (Templeton total return). Also have OSIYX in my 401 K (Oppenheimer global statgic income which might help to a lesser extent). Also have PRPFX, which I am thinking of selling and buying GLD and SLV as I mentioned. I'm just looking for a little more exposure and a little more diversification to the different types of inflation (different inflation type investments might respond differently depending on different types of inflation).
Thanks for any input or advice you might have.

Reply to @WxByHart:
Likely that I have not had enough coffee yet this morning; and some days the old brain cells are not working, so I shouldn't even place a question; but I will ask anyway.
You wrote:
" The nice thing about my existing NWM Roth IRA Annuity, is that I bought it 20 years ago when I was 30, which locked in my minimum guaranteed settlement rate (based on a shorter life expectancy). So if I rollover into that account, that rate is going to be better than the rate I would get with a new annuity, since life expectancy is longer today than it was 20 years ago (and I've already absorbed a lot of the expenses associated with the annuity).
--- Assuming the following: Trad. IRA and annuities monies are taxed as ordinary income, and Roth IRA monies not taxed upon withdrawal.
>>> If I recall from your first write, you had the Trad. IRA noted above with NWM which you converted to a Roth IRA, yes? Also noted above.....NWM Roth IRA Annuity.
This is a tax sheltered acct. within a sheltered acct; with an additional layer of expenses to you, from the insurance company.
Is the noted guaranteed settlement rate you mention a fixed, annual rate of interest on the monies in the Roth? Is this what this statement means?
And what are you planning to rollover into the "NWM Roth IRA Annuity"?
As far as the non-Roth money is concerned, I could roll it into my new 401-k (which is better than my former), but then the bulk of my retirement will be determined by market performance over the next 10 to 15 years. At least with an annuity, I have some guarantees, while also staying in the market. And as far as the front-load sales charge goes, since I'll be rolling over 140k, my rate will drop from 4.5 to 2.0% for all money over 100k...which is comparable to mutual fund sales charges. And the expenses within the NW Mutual Select Variable Annuity will average 1.23%, which is about the same as the Morningstar Mutual Fund average of 1.22%, and much better than the Morningstar Variable Annuities average rate of 1.74%. The final advantage over a traditional IRA is the ability to move my money around among several different fund families without a fee.
>>>I'm confused with this above paragraph. It appears you're talking about rolling over an old 401k to your new employer 401k; and also stating you will be restricted by market performance. The answer would be "yes", regardless of which employer 401k. You could likely always place all of the monies into a "stable value" area of the 401k, which is available with most 401k's if you are concerned about making choices of other investment areas.
>>> You note: "At least with an annuity, I have some guarantees, while also staying in the market." What does this mean? I will presume the annuity has a life insurance package combined with investment options for type of guarnateed payout at some future point.
>>> Where is the $140k coming from?
>>> You note: " The final advantage over a traditional IRA is the ability to move my money around among several different fund families without a fee. " Who told you this, that there is an advantage with the annuity? We have Trad. and Roth accts with Fidelity and do not have additional fees unless we wander outside of Fidelilty offerings; and then may only find a fee here and there, depending upon which other fund family we may choose to invest with, among the several 1,000 other choices.
>>> You note: " my rate will drop from 4.5 to 2.0% for all money over 100k...which is comparable to mutual fund sales charges. " This is a one time 4.5% front load on $100K, yes? Or is there also an annual fee/expense of 2% on these monies?
>>> If this annuity is a life policy, with a guaranteed payout blended with investing choices; perhaps the fees are in line. I can not speak to this, as I am not an insurance person, nor do I choose to be one from the investigative side. I am also not able to validate your noted above regarding the M* numbers for these products. A plain jane variable annuity (to be used when all other tax sheltered options are exhausted or not available) with Fidelity, has 57 fund choices, an average expense of about .95%; but is not a guaranteed life payout insurance plan, but also does not have any penalty features associated with most annuities during the first 1-7/10 years.
You note: "I plan to get all of the expenses and fees in writing before I sign on the dotted line, but it seems like I can get some security with the little extra expense it would cost to go the annuity route. "
I am only playing the devil's advocate here; to better understand what you are attempting to do, and that you may also discover some additional questions to ask your insurance salesperson. If you are not involved in a "must do" time frame, you should investigate this plan to your fullest abilities.
Lastly, you suggest that you are wary of market losses going forward. You are not alone in that boat. Capital preservation should always be a prominent consideration for one's monies, regardless of age. If one goes backwards too far in losses, it requires that much more in future gains to offset the losses. This also applies to overcoming front-load or recurring fees. These fees are loss dollars that must be overcome with forward gains in one's portfolio. To this note; and regarding the insurance company variable annuity you mention, who will be making the choices of which funds to invest your monies? I note this; as with the few folks I know who use investment advisors, none were able to position their client monies coming into the market downturn in 2008. I also presume your monies in your 401k are placed to your own choices.
Welcome to MFO. You will gain much knowledge from the wonderful folks at this forum.
Respectfully,
Catch

Thanks for all of your advice. I guess I'm a pretty conservative investor, that doesn't want to lose half of my portfolio like some near-retirees invested in the market about 4 or 5 years ago. And I've often heard that it's a good idea to get your money out of a 401-k while you can, since you'll have more control over it/better options than an employer directed 401-k plan (which I would be locked into if I rolled my old 401-k money into it). I will still contribute the max with new money to my new 401-k plan, so the question is what to do with the existing money from my old plan.
The nice thing about my existing NWM Roth IRA Annuity, is that I bought it 20 years ago when I was 30, which locked in my minimum guaranteed settlement rate (based on a shorter life expectancy). So if I rollover into that account, that rate is going to be better than the rate I would get with a new annuity, since life expectancy is longer today than it was 20 years ago (and I've already absorbed a lot of the expenses associated with the annuity).
As far as the non-Roth money is concerned, I could roll it into my new 401-k (which is better than my former), but then the bulk of my retirement will be determined by market performance over the next 10 to 15 years. At least with an annuity, I have some guarantees, while also staying in the market. And as far as the front-load sales charge goes, since I'll be rolling over 140k, my rate will drop from 4.5 to 2.0% for all money over 100k...which is comparable to mutual fund sales charges. And the expenses within the NW Mutual Select Variable Annuity will average 1.23%, which is about the same as the Morningstar Mutual Fund average of 1.22%, and much better than the Morningstar Variable Annuities average rate of 1.74%. The final advantage over a traditional IRA is the ability to move my money around among several different fund families without a fee.
I plan to get all of the expenses and fees in writing before I sign on the dotted line, but it seems like I can get some security with the little extra expense it would cost to go the annuity route.

Just when I thought I could make a brilliant comment I noticed Hank had named 4 great funds for the purpose,I would just add pripx, the tips fund and use spectrum income rather than spectrum growth and again allocate based on discussions with the B.I.L. Based on the limited info If I gave an allocation it would be
40% spectrum income, 20% cap ap, 30% retirement income and 10% in tips. I think that works out to about 40% stocks many of which are conservative. To keep it real simple 90% retirement income and 10% tips also works well but has no investment in prwcx which seems like the best reason to move to TRP.