Tom Poje

of course, there is nothing to stop someone from adding additional items to the spreadsheet. the spreadsheet originated in the is way: years ago, when Benefits Link first started, Dave Baker had a spot you could 'articles' or something similar. too long ago for me to remember. I had been curious how the numbers for limits were calculated, the IRS would release them , and by coincidence always at the time of the ASPA Annual Conference. So I researched the issue and wrote an article about how the values were derived. Someone did contact me and said everything was fine, but I didn't indicate the calculation were done to 3 decimal places. Then someone else sent me a spreadsheet he created based on what I wrote up and asked me to see if it made sense. (I think it was Ken Vollmer) Spreadsheet worked great, I modified the spreadsheet to my tastes, and then the following year verified the numbers matched the IRS calculations. After that I would plug in the CPI values and post the 'projected' calculations on Benefits Link, probably as early as June. And then eventually posted the spreadsheet so others could use it. Certainly the spreadsheet was a better contribution than my postings in the humor column or any pension songs I attempted, I'm sure. God bless all, enjoying retirement, helping out at church in many different ways. Taught myself to play the psaltery. peeking in at the web site from time to time.

John- I still am somewhat in awe my spreadsheet still gets a lot of use, quite honored in fact. At least I was able to teach a few useful things! feeling really old now, seeing the deferral limit + catch up is more than back in the day when we waited forever for the annual addition limit to get above 30,000! Haven't looked at that spreadsheet for years, but that was in 2000. nice historical data for anyone who cares! Now for some reason I only update a sheet for Soc Sec! (which uses cpi-W) God bless all of you out there.

wish I had the idea to have created that parody. Congrats, Mr. Bagwell on your retirement from this business. Hope whatever you do is rewarding. To all I was able to share some knowledge years ago, while rewarding, nothing has been as inspiring as spending my time at church like I am able to do now. Peace from not being worried about deadlines and testing and other stuff. My spare time is spent with some gardening, building a cute little train set (n scale) , playing the psaltery and have continued to bake treats for others. the best are the springerle cookies which dazzle everyone. God bless all.

Thank heavens someone remembers. especially at 1:59 today Have a Blessed day all. I take no credit for these words...to the melody of "the day the music died A long, long time ago, Long before the Super Bowl and things like lemonade, The Hellenic Republic was full of smarts, And a question resting on the Grecian hearts was; What is the circumference of a circle?", But they were set on rational numbers, And it ranks among their biggest blunders, They worked on it for years, And confirmed one of their biggest fears, I can't be certain if they cried when irrationality was realised, But something deep within them died, The day, they discovered, Pi. They were thinking; Pi, pi, mathematical pi, 3.14 15 92, 65 35 89 7, 932384 62, 6433832 7 (not rounded). Well this kind of Pi is different than most, It hasn't got berries, ain't spread on toast, And that's how it's always been, We keep extending its decimal places, Pushing our computers through their paces, But we'll never reach the end, So why the fascination with, A number whose end is just a myth? Whence the adulation, For mental masturbation, It might have something to do with the stars, To calculate distances from afar, But that's just a guess 'bout the way things are, Regarding the precision of Pi, I am pondering; Pi, pi, mathematical pi 3.14 15 92 65 35 89 7 932384 62 6433832 7 Now I feel that I should mention, Pi is applicable in any dimension, At least as far as I know, If there were no Pi we'd be missing things, Like marbles and mugs and balls of string, And sports, such as soccer and curling, The orbs in their celestial paths, Navigate along elliptical graphs, Ellipses have pi in them too, Just one side of them has grew, You can see pi in most everything, It's in Cornell's Electron Storage Ring, And also in slinkies and other springs, And that's why it's important to know pi, You should memorize, Pi, pi, mathematical pi, 3.14 15 92, 65 35 89 7, 932384 62, 6433832 7, Once one night I had a dream, That pi was gone and I had to scream, Cause all pi things had disappeared. Can you imagine a world like that? Circles aren't round and spheres are flat, It's the culmination of everything we've feared, 'Twas a nightmare of epic proportions, One that gave me brain contortions, Oh wait! I mean contusions, They put me in some institutions, But then I escaped and now I'm free! To sing of the virtue of pi, Pi, pi, mathematical pi, 3.14 15 92, 65 35 89 7, 932384 62, 6433832 7.

What do you call a wreath made up of $100 bills? A wreath 'a Franklin, of course. Merry Christmas all.

from a part time lurker... my wife says I'm irrational and when speaking I go on and on and on... does that count?

Andy - Yes, without having the pressures of a work schedule, I now attend morning Mass. And taught myself how to play the psaltery, so they even get a little extra music for the morning. Wonderful instrument, wish I had discovered it earlier. I seem to recall one of the questions I worked into the Nondiscrimination answer book went something like "Andy's Heart Nut Company..." May God grant you many years of wonderful retirement.

Congrats Andy. Thanks for all the sharing of info. And putting up with my very dry humor over the years I only look in once and a rare while but at least I was inspired to look in at a good time. God bless on your retirement.

my calculations (though I don't remember if I included it on the spreadsheet) for SOC Sec is a 3.2% increase and lo and behold the numbers match what I came up with using the formula from https://www.narfe.org/federal-benefits-institute/cola/ There will be a 3.2 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) annuities, military retirement annuities and Social Security benefits; and a 2.2 percent COLA for Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) annuities, applicable to payments provided in January 2024. Each year’s COLA is determined by comparing the change in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) from year to year, based on the average of the third-quarter months of July, August and September. The CPI-W figure for September 2023 was 302.257, .33 percent higher than the average CPI-W for the third quarter of 2023, which was 301.236 (1982-84 = 100). The annual COLA is determined by comparing the change in the CPI-W from year to year, based on the average of the third-quarter months of July, August, and September.

my every once and a while peek in nice to see the spreadsheet is still being used at least I am remembered for something! God has been very kind to me the past year. still seem to be in good health. turned 66 last month and next month I put in my application for Soc Sec. what excitement, but I think my heart will hold out. Don't miss the rat race, able to get up every morning and get over to church without having the worries of testing and forms and deadliness God bless to all! Have a great day!

this was the spreadsheet from many moon agos controlledgroup.xlsx

Retired from pensions, but extremely active at church, and loving the time I can spend for God. No money, but what the heck...

A Mexican magician was going through his routine, card tricks and pulling rabbits out of the hat, etc. His last act, was one in which he promised to vanish in front of everyone! All props were moved, there he was standing all alone in the middle of the stage. He claimed this trick was as easy as 1 - 2 -3 No smoke no mirrors. The audience tensed in anticipation. He began "UNO" the crowd leaned forward The magician staring at the audience, in a quite dramatic tone announced "DOS" A hush filled the auditorium. It was now all very quiet and still. All were on the edge of their seats Suddenly the magician disappeared without a ......."TRES".

pop in my head once and awhile. Nice to see my spreadsheet still gets used. ha. I contributed something to the pension world. Soc sec will also jump sizably. Over 8.5%, for those of us that plan to start collecting within a year or so. Have almost taken out all of my pre-Roth 401k $, and no taxes. one Roth was permitted I deferred everything there. I remember the arguments presented regular deferral vs Roth, and the conclusion leaned towards regular 401k was better because you would most likely be in a lower income tax bracket. but I don't recall any of the arguments saying your soc sec incomes becomes taxable if you have over a certain amount of income, but all of a sudden that kicks in and the so called advantage disappears, at least in my opinion. anyway, as for me...in May 2021 my PSA count shot up to 16.6 (Anything below 4.0 is considered safe) MRI showed spots on the prostate, and the prognosis was probably cancerous. The doctor expected a "4", the biopsy came back a "1" which means everything is benign. The doctor simply shook his head and couldn't understand those results. Had a couple of priests lay hands on me before the biopsy, and many prayers. Results of my annual physical today was PSA of 3.08. Didn't change my diet, didn't take any medication. No real explanation given for such a dramatic drop in the last 15 months. But I believe it was the prayer. God gave me a wonderful gift.

Is the 'keep on smiling' a hint for adapting American Pie in the spirit of my other songs? Long long time ago, I can still rememberHow that music used to make me smile.... Apply apply for the Medicare Pie....