Healthcare Benefits During Retirement

Tips and advice for personal finance from the Dolans. This video focus' on the healthcare benefits during retirement that you are entitled to.

Ken: We’re the Dolans. Daria: Thank you. Ken: I’m Daria and she’s Ken. No, I was reading in the paper today, something perfect for today’s video shoot. I’m not sure of this—we read so much I think it was a journal when you handed me the handed that personal journal section. And often a lot of people are deciding whether to retire or not to retire depending on the availability of healthcare benefits, that’s how crazy it’s got. Daria: And we got a lot of boomers out there that are heading 65 this year, 60 62 and they’re saying “hmm I don’t want to do this anymore, I want to retire”. Well its fine if you’re 65 because then you sign up for Medicare and then all you have to do and we’ll talk about that in a minute is confuse yourself for all the Medigap policies and the other choices that go along with Medicare. Ken: Don’t confuse everybody before we begin. Daria: But if you’re going to retire early, where is your house insurance going to come from? Ken: Yeah the American Association of individual investors and their magazine, I guess last month are sold had a very, very good article about a survey done by the National Association of Insurance Commissions that talked about some of the options available for well, it post retirement Medicare but pre-retirement paper. American’s qualifies Daria just said, Americas qualified for Medicare at the age of 65 and then okay so that’s that at the age of 65 you’re in pretty good shape. However before that pre 65 with our choices? Daria: Well there a couple, neither which you are in expensive which is something you really need to put into your calculations before you take that early retirement. Ken: Yeah. Daria: If you work for a large enough companies, 25 people or more by law they have to offer you COBRA which allows you as much as 18 months to pay as an individual on their group policy. Ken: Not free. Daria: Its not free, it’s going to cause you more than when it did while you’re working for them but it gives you all the benefits that you had at least for the next 18 months before hopefully Medicare case in. Ken: Yeah its about Daria and I’m going to quote something. Its about a 102 to 105% more than you were paying as an employee but I’m going to tell its worth it. Also if you’re not COBRA eligible for some reasons a company is too bigger, too smaller or whatever it maybe, you want to consider a high deductible policy health care policy that typically carries a lower premium, high deductible is going to carry a lower premium then something we’ve seen people have call this and we’ve talked about across the country. The individual policies on $2,000.00 a month. Daria: Oh I know it. Ken: It’s unbelievable. Daria: Because what you’re trying to do here until you get to age 65 is just cover the big catastropic cost. Plan on paying for your doctor visit etcetera and take good care of yourself, exercise it right it etcetera etcetera so that you don’t have to go to the doctor more than maybe your once a year annual check up. Ken: Yeah, before becoming Medicare eligible you should also consider a plan that purchasing a major medical plan that covers doctor visits, prescription drugs and hospital care. PPL, preferred, provide, organization PPO, HMO—we’ll do videos, we’ll talk about this in Dolans.com. They’re a little bit confusing. Daria: Or POS, Point of Service but there again, that’s going to cause you a lot more if you’re trying to cover all your doctors’ visits and your drugs along with your hospital care. So you want to try and do this as cheaply but it’s safely as possible. Ken: From one thing that’s concerning us Daria, a lot of people who are 65 and do qualified for Medicare are not taking the time to make the right choices whether its medic to the basic Medicare or Medicare advantage. By the way on the Medicare advantage be careful about if your doctor or what hospital are in the network. But many people just don’t take—our Medicare okay find it the stuff to know about there. Daria: Exactly and if you’re ready to take your Medicare benefits, be sure you invest in a Medigap policy because Medicare is paying for less and less and less and there are a lot of doctors out there now that starting to drop out of accepting new Medicare patients because the reimbursement is so pitifully low. So you’re going to want to have that Medigap policy to cover all the other expenses that Medicare does not cover. Ken: For more information on Medicare when its awfully important if you are 65 or approaching 65 so you understand what it is, you simply have to go to Medicare.com and something we’ve got, there’s a three part series on Dolan’s.com about LTC, Long Term Care Policy. Again, another way to ensure you’re golden retirement years. Take a look at that on Dolan’s.com and Medicare.com. Daria: And not to worry because as soon as you approach your 65th birthday, they sell your name to every market are out there. You’ll hear from an insurance company, you didn’t know existed. Ken: You have a long way to go. Daria: Thank God. Ken: We’ll be back.