The writer says one needs more than just a financial plan for a successful retirement.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/22/opinions/retirement-planning-savings-perkins/index.html
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WellâŠDH called SS yesterday, the local office, and got a helpful person. He applied a long while ago, and nothing has happened. Apparently, SS does a call to verify the informationâŠand that needs to happen before one gets their money! The nice SS person did the verification, and sent it wherever it needed to go next. Nothing should be a problem, but if there is one, the SS office should note that within 10 days on his SS account page.
The good newsâŠhis first check will be for all of October, November and December. So that will be nice!
Posted here because if SS is part of your retirement incomeâŠI guess you need to stay on top of all of this. I do not remember any verification for my benefits 10 years ago. They did have a question about the spelling of my first nameâŠwhich was NOT correct on my SS card, and needed to be changed.
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I started getting ss this year. There was no verification phone call. I filled out the form on line and get notice by email when it was being processed and approved. Checks started about a month after I applied. There must have been something that caused your husbandâs account to need something extra.
Who knows? He did the application online. He was a U.S. citizen born abroad so has a SS number that reflects that. I wonder if that was the issue. Like youâŠI appliedâŠand poofâŠ
Hoping this is all set now!
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Definitely agree on importance on planning activities, staying active. DH does a great job on the money part, ignores most of my encouragement for walking, hiking etc. Sigh.
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Pensions are poised for a comeback?
https://www.seattletimes.com/business/the-pension-that-rare-retirement-benefit-gets-a-fresh-look/
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Has anybody been on Medicare (A/B) + employer plan + supplemental plan?
A friend who is almost 65 is considering this, since the new job might not work out. The idea is to be flexible by being ready with Plan G in the wings. It seems a tricky idea, so we advised thorough investigation.
We are on A,B,and secondary BC/BS. When we retired, H was on A,B,and secondary BC/BS but I remained on primary BC/BS, because I was under 65. At 65, BC/BS became the secondary.
Not sure what you mean by supplemental.
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The part that picks up RX costs, and the portion that Medicare parts A and B donât pay.
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Meds are covered in the BC/BS plan. I donât know what we donât have covered other than long term nursing home.
But what covers the portion of what your Medicare A and B donât cover? That is the supplement.
Are we using secondary and supplemental interchangeably?
No.
I never had a second full insurance coverage. When I went on Medicare, my husband dropped me from his plan entirely.
But when I enrolled in Medicare A and B, I also had a supplement that paid the balance of what Medicare didnât cover.
Iâm sure Iâm not the only one here who had thatâŠhoping others will reply.
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It sounds like your secondary regular health insurance covers your RX costs.
Iâm not sure most people who have Medicare have double insurance coverage like you have.
BC/BS does have a supplement one can get for Medicare.
Do you have total coverage under another plan (like being covered by an employer sponsored plan) in addition to your Medicare? That is secondary coverage.
Supplemental, in my opinion, is additional coverage you get to pick up what Medicare doesnât pay.
Maybe we are talking about the same thingâŠ
Sorry I had confusing lingo. By supplemental I meant coverage of the the copays etc not covered by A/B (âwraparoundâ) ⊠like PlanG and D. This would be redundant with the employer coverage (for the age 65 employee; spouse too young). The idea was to be ready for a quick switch if needed. To me it sounded odd - just running by the savvy gang here.
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Is the employer plan creditable coverage? If so, your friend doesnât need to get both. If the employment doesnât work out, he will have some time (8 months?) on COBRA to sign up for Medicare penalty-free.
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This may not be done ânormally,â but our insurance company gives a discount once you sign up for Medicare part B. It may be worth asking. Some federal retirees opt to not get Medicare part B, one reason being they donât want Medicare to be primary. Another is if they have high pensions they wind up paying quite a bit if they get Medicare.
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And if someone is working still and takes Medicare A and B, they very well could be paying more for that Medicare part BâŠask me how I know! And this is without keeping their employer funded health insurance.
And this affects both spouses. When I went on Medicare A and BâŠmy premiums were a lot higher because my husband was still working. A first world problem.
Ironic, because I attended Hâs (3 hour on zoom!) retirement info meeting yesterday afternoon. Medicare while working is a different meeting, but they touched on it. They said that you really only want to sign up for part A. Their insurance covers the same stuff as part B and at $150/month (for singles, for family itâs $2000/month!) it is slightly cheaper than the $167/month for part B. They said youâd only want to do both if you were really sick and needed double coverage.
Of course, this would vary depending coverage & cost that you already have, and any other policies your employer may have.
On a different note, I learned so much yesterday - and almost all of it was good. The best thing is that if you choose the spousal survivor pension benefit option - and the spouse dies before the employee - the pension reverts back to the basic option. I had no idea that would happen. I thought it was just âtoo bad, so sad.â So I asked my employer if ours worked the same. it does! Nobody ever mentions that. And in my case itâs great, because I expect to live longer than H based on genetics and age, but you just never know. And my pension is larger and he is terrible with $$$. He would need whatever help he could get. But at the same time, Iâd hate to ding my pension forever for the big what if⊠This helps a lotâŠ
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How can you tell if you have a credible coverage? I didnât know thereâs a way to opt out Part B. I thought it was compulsory for everyone.