ShawD? Is your daughter old enough to receive Medicare…or is this supposed to be ShawW
Really? Are you sure about that?
Not allowed.
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This was even harder prior to Obama and where you were held hostage at your employment if you had any preexisting conditions. My ex-husband had a benign pituitary tumor that was non-operable but would kill him if it kept growing. He took medicine that cost something like $10k / month just to shrink it and keep it shrunk but his employer provider insurance paid most of it. Then he was laid off - back then, no pre-existing conditions were covered with the next employer. He had to stay unemployed and on Medicaid to get his medicine to live. Something terribly wrong with that scenario - he was a blue collar worker that made decent money but had to go broke to stay alive. The removal of the pre-existing condition restrictions and covering kids to 26 alone made such a difference in peoples lives. I sort of went off the rail here but many people my age (67/68) could not upgrade to a better job/wage because they were stuck if they had medical issues - you just tried to hang on to that insurance and hope you didn’t get laid off or fired. He was never able to recover from that backslide and I truly believe he’d have been self sufficient in retirement had he been able to go back to work right away.
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My understanding is that insurance rates are same whether or not you use a Medicare broker. (Broker gets a fee, but from the insurance company not the consumer.) My husband used one who came highly recommended by our financial advisor.
My understanding as well - my employer provided one to all employees after age 60 they were invited to several available seminars at work every other year. Very valuable service, to me at least. I also called my Auto/Homeowner insurance company that also provided what I thought was an unbiased recommendation - they came up with the same conclusion as the work broker. Neither charged anything, at least not to the insured.
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“MARRY YOUR MEDIGAP, DATE YOUR PART D” - The Medigap (supplemental coverage) decision is permanent (well I think changeable the first year? otherwise subject to underwriting). But you can revise the Part D / prescription plan annually.
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I don’t know that I trust that brokers only have my interest, when they are incentivized to sell Medicare Advantage plans. According to this article, there are serious financial incentives for the brokers to sell Advantage plans over Medigap plans, though they personally would choose Medigap plans for themselves. One broker in this focus group recalls getting paid three times the commission for selling Medicare Advantage plans than Medigap. And they don’t have to offer all the plans. It seems like you need to know something about what you’re doing before you choose, and not trust that they’re actually pushing something that is best for them, and not for you.
My niece’s boyfriend is a broker. I’m going to see if I can get some information without offending him. 
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Yes if you have a SS check and are on Medicare B, the gov’t has that come out of SS check. It makes it easier for them.
I believe you meant ShawW - it may be her earnings would be higher off of your SS than of her own, or she did not have enough earning periods. My return to work for sunset career (almost 5 years) had my earnings slightly higher than off of DH’s. So I drew mine right at 65, and he started drawing his when he was closer to age 66 - it made sense to hold off a little on his, as he did draw more monthly money while waiting – but we didn’t want to wait any longer as we would have been drawing money off retirement funds that were appreciating. We also drew money off our Annuities doing non-penalty monthly withdrawals. Annuities were set up for that (we have no pensions).
Good saying.
Medigap change most likely means going through health screening for acceptance. There are ‘open enrollment periods’ to make a change, but the change may not be approved by your health - and the premiums may reflect one’s health. The Medigap choice we made has specific monthly premiums that are spelled out, age 65, some years before age 70, and age 70+.
And yes, ‘dating’ Part D - only one year I have not changed, while DH’s has changed every year during the ‘open enrollment period’.
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Yes the housing paradigm has changed a lot.
DH’s parents purchased a home in 1960 - their prior home was a few blocks away where it had a second small residence – where grandfather lived, and his brother/family bought that home when his brother retired from the military. DH’s mom continued to do grandpa’s weekly laundry.
In the 1960’s, they were considering doing a room addition (bedroom/bath/laundry) when they did cabinetry and kitchen refresh; the room addition project would have cost $16,000. They regret not doing that room addition project at that time, as they finally were able to do it when bachelor brother left an inheritance for his siblings (he saw they could use the money). The addition was nicely done, providing a 4th bedroom and the home’s second bathroom (and only bathroom on main level).
Neither of the brokers advised me to go to Advantage, both said original Medicare with a Medigap supplement that I thought best suited my health and finances. I went with G and have been happy with it after 2.5 years. I think the screaming, yelling, repeating, repeating, repeating the Advantage ads that sound like the old 2:00 a.m. used car salesman in a plaid coat, would drive me to further research. MOST annoying ads ever during renewal season!
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Can’t be worse than the Burger King ads. But that makes sense that they’re cyclical, seems like you go from hearing them all the time, to not hearing them at all.
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and 100% on the Burger King ads - my H even said as much that they rival Advantage ad in annoyance ranking!
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Yes. Meant ShawWife. Sorry.
ShawD is 30 so no Medicare for her.
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ShawWife is taking care of her mother who has had a turn for the worse. I will take over her finances (bills, managing the tax accountant after replacing the old guy, probably replacing her money manager, and making sure there are not estate tax surprises). I’m waiting for her lawyer to draw up the Power of Attorney. I’d prefer not to do this, but neither ShawWife nor any of her siblings are particularly good with finances, taxes, etc. I did this for my parents so will do it for her as well.
Interesting to think about us when we are in need. I think ShawD could do a fine job on bills. ShawSon would be stronger on investments and taxes if he was able to focus on it. Fortunately, we have a good team in place. ShawD would for sure be responsible for medical choices.
The other thing that is interesting is how huge this house feels when there is only one of us. Just went out to feed the ducks, top up the water in the pool, and get the mail. While it is huge for two people, I don’t notice it, but it really seems huge for one.
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For folks who have set up a DAF (Donor-advised fund, for tax-advantaged charitable giving), did you give much thought to the DAF name?
We have a simple“Smith Family Fund” kind of name. An older church friend is thinking about setting up a DAF for church/stock giving (methinks just gifting shares would be easier, but I said I’d do some research) Seems intent on giving it a good name, which brought me to this article - How to name your donor-advised fund (Limits, tips, and more)
We did not give it any thought but named it Shawbridge/ShawWife Family Fund (ShawWife and I have different last names).
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Does anyone on here have any experience with exchange funds? I just learned about these.
The idea seems to be that if you have a concentration of an appreciated stock (perhaps from receiving grants or exercising options from a long-time employer) you, “swap,” that stock into ownership of an exchange fund which has diversified holdings. No Capital gains tax effects.
Think the minimum is $500k, you must be certified as a qualified investor, the fund has to want your stock, and I don’t think it can be held in an already tax-deferred account.
Allows for a way to obtain diversification without an immediate tax burden.
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Sounded interesting, until I saw the minimum.