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This is us and our kids! My recent grad totally appreciates that we paid for her education (I thought that might not happen for another decade or two 
)
We always saved for retirement first.
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Maybe things will get easier with Medicare Part D when there is a cap on what we will have to spend out of pocket for meds ($1200?).
As inefficient as our health care system is, generally speaking, we have access to the best medical healthcare globally.
As with anything, knowledge is power - so if that means looking around a little for the best med rates to spare out of pocket costs, so be it.
I told niece yesterday that I was glad we know our set out of pocket for the year (generally, except in the case of a new high cost medication and the unknown of how our Part D insurer will cover, or if something is not allowed by Medicare). Yes we pay for it, just like we paid our out of pocket for co-pays, deductibles, etc.
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IIRC itâs $2000 and that doesnât come into play until 2025. Someone else can verify.
ITA. Even calling to ask questions, the customer service folks at Medicare are not particularly helpful. I found the Blue Cross Blue Shield customer service rep (I have a Medicare supplemental plan with them) to be more helpful in answering my questions. For example, I recently received a bill from a provider for the portion of a bill that Medicare and BC/BS didnât pay. I had never received a bill like this before and I was curious about it. Apparently, the state where I live (MA) has no balance billing. In other words, the bill I received was not allowed. The Medicare customer service person didnât tell me this, but the BCBS rep did. She said I should ignore these types of charges and that providers often sent out invoices assuming people wouldnât know about balance billing and would pay.
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And nor should they be up to speed on 50 different state laws.
I didnât read most of the thread,
but does anyone have a âChinese Insurance Planâ?
Itâs supposed to be a kinda a joke, but weâre not joking.
Our older son (of 2 kids) is expected to take care of my husband and I when we are much older.
We need to learn how to give him our assets (reducing taxes/probate/capital gains, etc), and instead of purchasing long-term-care/disability, he will use some/most of it to take care of us (and his younger sibling).
Heâs expected to do well/comfortably in his anticipated career (vs his younger sister who may/not be a teacher).
Is there a âbetterâ state for financial transfers that weâre planning (may not be applicable, but thinking the no-income-tax states or something of the sort)? We havenât decided where to move to retire; currently in New England.
I havenât visited, but Colorado is high on my list:
- top reason: low humidity (I canât stand being hot and sticky)
- love the active live styles with the great weather
We have ~8+ years to learn all this stuff.
Would appreciate any tips/suggestion, what kind of people (tax accountants, trust lawyers, etc) for us to hire, etc.
Thank you.
You may look into living trusts for a start.
So many variables depending on your types of assets and state of residence, and future federal estate tax law.
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Twenty-one states have this same no balance billing for medical bills and the federal government has a âNo
Surprisesâ law that would apply in this situation too.
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Unless a state has a special negotiated deal with Medicare, state law is irrelevant to what/how Medicare pays its bills. If balance billing is occurring in violation of state law, it is from the state licensed providers, who are supposed to be knowledgeable about their own state laws and regs. It is the provider who is supposed to zero out that bill balance â not Medicare.
My understanding is if Medicare pays on a bill, the supplement pays. In my state (AL) we have yet to have any kind of bill - but we have an excellent supplement (Blue Cross Blue Shield of AL - âC+â is the full name, but on the card it identifies as Medicare Select Plan G).
I suspect most supplement plan customer service can tell you more on what Medicare is responsible to pay and what your supplement plan is to pay.
My sister in Iowa and her H have a Humana supplement. Her H needed a walker (physician script/met criteria for need), and they did have a relatively small amount to pay out of pocket (over $1,000 walker, and they paid $48).
I doubt that I will get any kind of bill for the orthopedic wrist/hand splint I recently received (I also found out that this splint cannot be replaced for 5 years, so I need to be sure to keep over this period of time).
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We are not Chinese, but there is a bit of a level of expectation that our DDs will make sure we have what we need in the event we need to have help in old age or disability. We have somewhat low level long term care policies (better than nothing), and if we need to live close to DD2/nurse, that would happen to make it easier for family management. We have the assets to âspend downâ. DD2âs in-laws are going to run into a crisis it seems sooner than us (his health issues are more front burner, with progressing Parkinsonâs). It may be that we are the available ones to actually travel to them to assist in whatever transitions need to take place - right now they are âmanagingâ with getting the house with grab bars in bathroom, w/c for him, navigating some limited help coming in. From what I gather, his pension and some savings - but not where we are with our finances (we are pretty solid, wonât run out of money unless needing skilled careâŠ). An auntâs family (all the children) rallied together and managed home care with all of them pitching in for their mom with dementia (she was mild mannered, went with the flow, but no cognitive thoughts going on) - their mom lived at the youngest daughterâs home, and they had a rotation with the other siblings taking over all nights and weekends (this ladyâs son-in-law had a home business and he could oversee mom during the work day). The family was tight - they had an alcoholic father and went through a lot together; mom was rock solid before dementia. She âLâ had had multiple by-pass surgery when her brain did lose oxygen during the life saving procedure which who knows if that was the only cause of her dementia. Another of the momâs sisters âBâ developed dementia in her mid-90âs. âLâ lived to 92, while âBâ lived to 94. âBâ was competitive with another sister, and said in later live âI am going to live longer than âMââ - and she did, by one year (âMâ was 3 years older than âBâ).
At this point, our family is at a situation where the next step in the next 3 - 5 years is for DDs to purchase homes. By that time, DD1/SIL will be establishing deep roots in their city, and DD2âs BF will land a job in her city (in his beloved sports industry work), they will marry, and then be ready for home purchase. Although one health crisis, and parents move to the front of the line on priorities.
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SIL is currently having equal portion of retirement savings from paycheck going to 401k and Roth IRA. He asked what I thought; I believe he is best off doing all into Roth IRA, unless they would bump themselves into another tax bracket (his salary is relatively low; DD is the primary breadwinner at this point in time).
Any thoughts?
I doubt that they would ever âborrowâ off 401k, even for first time home purchase, due to the interest rate required as part of 401k loan payback (we would help them with an interest free loan).
He likes the idea of the investment growth w/o down the road taxation on gain.
First, the SIL should contribute whatever is necessary to the 401k to receive any company matching (free money).
Then it really depends on their combined income, not just his lower income, assuming they are filing taxes jointly, as to whether Roth or traditional would be more appropriate. General thinking is if taxes will be lower in retirement to go with traditional. If taxes will be similar itâs essentially a wash. If incomes and taxes are lower.now it is probably best to contribute as much as possible to Roth and later switch to traditional when incomes / taxes rise.
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He is in Army and not receiving any match at this point. IDK if the match also applies to Roth IRA.
DD has her things set the way she likes/wants them. She does get matching and gets the max match possible.
Being 30 years away from retirement age, IMHO it is wise to get as much money into Roth IRA as is feasible.
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Ummmmm, the DOD, Army, does match a percentage of contributions to the TSP (essentially 401k), after two years of service. Knowing he is in the Army that also means he can contribute directly to traditional or Roth TSP. All matching will go towards traditional no matter how he contributes. With this new knowledge I would say yes, contributing to his Roth TSP would be smart.
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I saw that article too and it was disconcerting, lol. 
Although - since calculations about how much one needs to retire are so centrally tied to how much people spend (w/variables that go beyond cost of living in each state) Iâm not sure how this article/conclusions can be that accurate or helpful? Wondered what others thoughtâŠ
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I call BS. It depends on how you live.
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My reaction was that housing costs are what drives up a lot of the living expenses on the West Coast, so that perhaps the situation does not look so grim if you retire in a home that is fully paid for?
Also, I assume the story evaluates how far $1 million gets the average retiree without bring supplemented by social security payments.
But, in general, the potential impact inflation could have on the nest egg over time is terrifying.
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