CHAPTER 14The Savage Truth On Social Security, Medicare, and Aging AloneGetting It Right Is Essential
The Savage Truth on Social Security
Some of the most important financial decisions you will make in your life revolve around Social Security and Medicare. Deciding when to claim your well-earned Social Security benefits, how to maximize your Medicare Part B benefits (Part A is automatic), and how to make sure you qualify for the most comprehensive supplement, are all among the choices you must make. Then you’ll also sign up for Medicare Part D, the prescription drug benefit, even if you currently don’t take any prescription meds. And making it very challenging for some baby boomers, most of this is done online without much advice.
If you’re divorced, remarried, a widow or widower, or the retiring spouse with a still-working spouse, the complexity of your situation expands. If you’re still covered by health insurance from your company, the way that plan interacts with Medicare will depend on the number of employees in the plan. You may also have to decide whether it’s important to keep your existing relationships with hospitals or physicians, or save money by signing up for Medicare Advantage, with its lower costs but limited networks for care.
If these two paragraphs haven’t overwhelmed you, let me say that the choices you make today could impact your retirement by literally hundreds of thousands of dollars. And they could also impact the health care you receive.
So don’t rely ...
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