There’s a common misconception that Medicare is a simple, automatic process when you turn 65. Nothing could be further from the truth. The responsibility to enroll is on your shoulders, and if you miss deadlines or don’t enroll in just the right way, you can incur penalties that will...
There’s an ancient adage that says, There’s nothing new under the sun. And so it is with a phrase that began to emerge late in 2021—Quiet Quitting. It means employees show up for work putting in no more time, effort, or enthusiasm than absolutely necessary to collect a paycheck.
According...
The checklist when preparing for retirement is a long one. But you need to be aware of one item in particular if you intended to start taking Social Security before your Full Retirement Age (FRA) and continue working—the Social Security Earnings Test. It can suck Social Security dollars out...
If
you have an IRA then you know that at age 70 ½ the government forces you to
begin taking distributions so they can tax money that has, up to now, escaped
their clutches.
Most
people use the Uniform Lifetime
Table
to figure their Required Minimum Distribution. Find your age, get the life
expectancy factor and divide...
“I
can’t wait to get on Medicare!” I’m hearing that more often from people
approaching 65 years old. Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in
2010 health insurance has become anything but affordable. I know people paying
more for their health insurance than they pay for their mortgage. On top...
I remember years ago at a previous employer, several of us left for new jobs within a few weeks of each other. On a whiteboard, we drew a picture of a sinking ship in the ocean and a rat swimming to an island in the distance. Every time someone...
I was having a
conversation about retirement health insurance with an acquaintance of mine who
just retired. He’s a former corporate executive—an analytical person—who’s
always done his homework to avoid as many surprises as possible in the business
world. He’s done the same thing with healthcare and decided that a Medigap
policy is best...
When Medicare announced a 14.5% increase in 2022 Part B premiums there was shock and outrage. That’s more than double the already skyrocketing inflation rate in the U.S. Medicare said the hefty increase was necessary because they expected a large percentage of Medicare patients would be prescribed a controversial...
The maximum contribution limits to tax-deferred savings accounts have been set for 2022. You can put more into employer-sponsored plans, but not individual accounts.
IRA contribution limits, whether Traditional or Roth, will remain the same as it has been since 2019. You can contribute $6,000 and if you are age...