Retirement Healthcare and Medicare
Retirement expert Bob Carlson’s research and knowledge on how to get the most out of healthcare options
Found 311 Articles.
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What Medicare is Worth to You
Most people don’t know much about Medicare, even current beneficiaries. People planning for retirement don’t know much either, as surveys consistently show. As this article says, they’re clueless. A few points it makes are that we aren’t paying into a trust fund that funds our benefits during retirement. In fact, most of the benefits paid […]
Why You Should Buy Long-Term Care Insurance Now
The changes in long-term care insurance keep coming. The latest news was Prudential Financial’s announcement that it will stop selling individual LTCI policies but will continue to sell policies through employer-sponsored programs. The Pru is the tenth of the top 20 insurers by sales to exit the LTCI market in the last five years, according […]
Social Security and Medicare Still Need Reform
The trustees issued their annual reports this week. Their projections show Medicare will be short the needed money in 2024, the same year as estimated last year, and Social Security will be in trouble in 2033, three years earlier than assumed a year ago. But those are only the official projections. The actuaries of the […]
Losing Another Long-Term Care Option
Long-term care insurance has had its troubles the last couple of years. Sales of the policies still haven’t approached sales levels many anticipated as the Baby Boomers age. There are a range of reasons: high cost, complicated terms, people not wanting to think about it, and more. The companies also are troubled by low interest […]
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Evaluating the Long Term Care Insurance Decision
Most people don’t buy long-term care insurance, and they also aren’t prepared to pay for long-term care needs. In general, Americans also aren’t well-informed about either long-term care or insurance to cover it. Let’s debunk some myths and then take a rational look at the decision of whether or not to buy LTCI. What’s the […]
5 Medicare Myths
Americans, even those participating in Medicare, are remarkably uninformed and misinformed about the program. Most don’t realize that the program pays only about half the medical costs of the average beneficiary and doesn’t cover a range of care. The Washington Post tackles some of the myths about Medicare. I don’t agree with everything in this […]
When Employers Slash Retiree Medical Spending
Retirees and employees of Kodak are likely to receive bad news in the near future. The firm filed for bankruptcy reorganization, and as part of that process it’s likely to decide eliminate their plans for retiree health care expenses. Companies don’t need to file for bankruptcy protection to do that, and many firms routinely reduced […]
Reducing 2011 Taxes Reduces 2013 Medicare Premiums
Your 2011 income taxes can affect the level of your 2013 Medicare Part B and Part D premiums, even if you’re not currently a Medicare beneficiary. Higher-income beneficiaries pay higher premiums, with the premiums rising as income rises. Modified adjusted gross income of a Medicare Beneficiary from two years earlier determine their premiums. There are […]
