Monthly fees charged by investment firm are troubling

DEAR BRUCE: I am 66 years old, and I have been retired for five years. My wife and I do pretty well financially. We have our money with an investment firm in a managed account, and we are currently drawing 6 percent a year.

The only thing that bothers me is the monthly fee they charge us: $850 a month. You add that up over five years and that's a lot of money. Maybe I shouldn't complain. I have more money now than I did when I retired, and the direct deposit is there every month.

The main question I have is, should I look around and check other companies to see what they charge or keep what I have? — D.J.

DEAR D.J: You've got to be kidding! Only if you have a tremendous amount of dough would $10,000 a year not be outrageous. I would get out and start looking yesterday.

DEAR BRUCE: I am retired as of 2014 after many years of working. I am married to a man who had a hard time saving money, so I had to be the saver.

What would be the best way to deal with my TSP — a federal government-sponsored retirement savings? When I was working, I contributed to it. Since I retired, I have not put any money into the plan or taken money out. As of today, it is over $93,000. I do receive a monthly annuity and a small amount of Social Security because I also worked in private industry.

Recently, I received a reminder to begin making plans for how I will start receiving the money in my TSP account. I could choose monthly payments, a life annuity, a single payment, or a combination of these options. Do you have any thoughts on the best way to handle this? — C.M.

DEAR C.M.: You've asked a bunch of questions, but I can't give you a decent answer without some more specifics. For example, you asked about choosing monthly payments. How much a month would that be? Likewise, how much of a life annuity would it be, or the combination of these options?

If you get back to me and give me the specifics, maybe we can sort this out. I certainly hope so.