djAdvocate
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Post by djAdvocate on Mar 14, 2022 0:05:19 GMT -5
Someone age 65 can expect to live 17 years on average. There is a significant number of people who live to 90. People underestimate their life expectancy then there is the issue of what your forward path looks like. if you are in poor health, and you need 24/7 nursing, you can expect to pay over $100k/year. well, in the US anyway.
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bookkeeper
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Post by bookkeeper on Mar 15, 2022 14:35:58 GMT -5
As we debated when to draw SS, our financial advisor reinforced our opinion that it really doesn't matter when you start your benefit, as long as you don't need it. If a person depends on SS for a large percentage of their retirement income, that person probably needs to work longer.
DH early retired at age 55 and started receiving SS at 62. His break even on benefit dollars paid out is at the age of 80. His own father passed at age 74.
The icing on the cake is when the last stimulus bill passed, we qualified for a health insurance subsidy in the marketplace. Saved us $1300 a month on premiums. That is more than my SS benefit will be.
We have always planned for SS to be "snowflake" money. We got lucky that there was still some left when DH got old enough.
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movingforward
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Post by movingforward on Mar 17, 2022 10:19:36 GMT -5
I plan to take it as soon as possible. I'm hoping to stop working full time around 55.
There is only person in my entire family (on both sides) that has lived past the age of 85.
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qofcc
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Post by qofcc on Mar 17, 2022 12:30:54 GMT -5
My other thought on this topic is my social security alone even at a reduced rate for taking early would easily cover living in income based senior housing (based on current amount I'd be under the income limit if i took early but over the limit if i waited until the max). While I would like to stay in my own home for the rest of my life I'm willing to take the gamble that if I lived longer than my life expectancy and my 401k ran out I might have to sell the house and either move into income based housing or with one of the kids (DD says she'd love to be the golden girls together when we're old... had her at 20). I'm not willing to spend all of my 60's being miserable working if at that time I have enough to conservativly make it to early 80's without running out of savings. I've been working full time since I was 17. I'm SO ready to be done with this and I want to enjoy life while I still can. I don't see my health holding out into my 90's.
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pulmonarymd
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Post by pulmonarymd on Mar 17, 2022 14:11:04 GMT -5
I think everyone should take a life expectancy calculator. You can find them in line. While they are not specific, they will give you a general idea of how long you will live. I would wager that most of you will be surprised to see how long you may live. Might as well have a better estimate of how long you will live, rather than the wild assed guesses everyone on here is making.
It will help you see what your trade offs are by taking it early vs waiting. And again, having your own resources when you are old and sick gives you more options than depending on public options.
ETA: did mine again. The estimate is 90. 75% chance to make 82
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 17, 2022 14:52:48 GMT -5
I think everyone should take a life expectancy calculator. <snip> It will help you see what your trade offs are by taking it early vs waiting. And again, having your own resources when you are old and sick gives you more options than depending on public options. ETA: did mine again. The estimate is 90. 75% chance to make 82 My estimate from the SS calculator is 87. No adjustments for family history, health, etc. Mom lasted to 85, Dad to 90. I totally agree with not depending on needs-based programs (Section 8 housing, Medicaid LTC) if you can possibly avoid it. Plenty of seniors seem to be planning on that and already the good places have very long waiting lists and many are in less-than-ideal situations. For everyone whose mother has "a cute little condo in a nice building for $200/month" there's someone frantically searching for a place that will take Mom on Medicaid and finding places 150 miles away where they wouldn't board their dog overnight. I think this will only get worse as more baby boomers can no longer live independently. Nearly half of retirees count on SS for 90% or more of their income and the average SS monthly payment is $1,700. The FaceBook-related posts I see on retirement frequently claim that if you don't shelter your assets "the government takes them to pay for long-term care". Ummm, no, the nursing home takes them to pay for the roof over your head and the people who take care of you.
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pulmonarymd
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Post by pulmonarymd on Mar 17, 2022 15:00:18 GMT -5
I think everyone should take a life expectancy calculator. <snip> It will help you see what your trade offs are by taking it early vs waiting. And again, having your own resources when you are old and sick gives you more options than depending on public options. ETA: did mine again. The estimate is 90. 75% chance to make 82 My estimate from the SS calculator is 87. No adjustments for family history, health, etc. Mom lasted to 85, Dad to 90. I totally agree with not depending on needs-based programs (Section 8 housing, Medicaid LTC) if you can possibly avoid it. Plenty of seniors seem to be planning on that and already the good places have very long waiting lists and many are in less-than-ideal situations. For everyone whose mother has "a cute little condo in a nice building for $200/month" there's someone frantically searching for a place that will take Mom on Medicaid and finding places 150 miles away where they wouldn't board their dog overnight. The FaceBook-related posts I see on retirement frequently claim that if you don't shelter your assets "the government takes them to pay for long-term care". Ummm, no, the nursing home takes them to pay for the roof over your head and the people who take care of you. Life expectancy when one is older is less affected by those issues due to the shorter time frame involved. Using those things would make it more accurate but probably not change the results much. The older you are, the older you will likely live. Part of it is the value of large numbers. Just like in insurance, over large numbers it will be correct, but it doesn’t mean much for any one person. But it is a good starting point. IME, most people don’t plan well for old age, and when a crisis comes, they have few, and mostly poor options, as you point out. Money gives you options. A larger SS payment helps in that regards. And I agree with you about the government taking their assists. Everyone is critical of people getting “something” for nothing. If we, the public, pay for your care, why shouldn’t we get reimbursed
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Lizard Queen
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Post by Lizard Queen on Mar 17, 2022 15:08:52 GMT -5
I think everyone should take a life expectancy calculator. <snip> It will help you see what your trade offs are by taking it early vs waiting. And again, having your own resources when you are old and sick gives you more options than depending on public options. ETA: did mine again. The estimate is 90. 75% chance to make 82 My estimate from the SS calculator is 87. No adjustments for family history, health, etc. Mom lasted to 85, Dad to 90. I totally agree with not depending on needs-based programs (Section 8 housing, Medicaid LTC) if you can possibly avoid it. Plenty of seniors seem to be planning on that and already the good places have very long waiting lists and many are in less-than-ideal situations. For everyone whose mother has "a cute little condo in a nice building for $200/month" there's someone frantically searching for a place that will take Mom on Medicaid and finding places 150 miles away where they wouldn't board their dog overnight. I think this will only get worse as more baby boomers can no longer live independently. Nearly half of retirees count on SS for 90% or more of their income and the average SS monthly payment is $1,700. The FaceBook-related posts I see on retirement frequently claim that if you don't shelter your assets "the government takes them to pay for long-term care". Ummm, no, the nursing home takes them to pay for the roof over your head and the people who take care of you. That's nice if you could ever possibly hope to save enough for pay for a nursing home for more than a few months. At over $10k per month, most can't.
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Opti
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Post by Opti on Mar 17, 2022 15:10:54 GMT -5
Recently filed my SS yearly statement. The payments vary significantly. I am in the age bracket that full retirement is now 67. There is a big difference between payments at 62 and payments at 70. I'm not clear on what happens Medicare-wise if I choose to retire at 70 for SS.
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Opti
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Post by Opti on Mar 17, 2022 15:13:44 GMT -5
My estimate from the SS calculator is 87. No adjustments for family history, health, etc. Mom lasted to 85, Dad to 90. I totally agree with not depending on needs-based programs (Section 8 housing, Medicaid LTC) if you can possibly avoid it. Plenty of seniors seem to be planning on that and already the good places have very long waiting lists and many are in less-than-ideal situations. For everyone whose mother has "a cute little condo in a nice building for $200/month" there's someone frantically searching for a place that will take Mom on Medicaid and finding places 150 miles away where they wouldn't board their dog overnight. I think this will only get worse as more baby boomers can no longer live independently. Nearly half of retirees count on SS for 90% or more of their income and the average SS monthly payment is $1,700. The FaceBook-related posts I see on retirement frequently claim that if you don't shelter your assets "the government takes them to pay for long-term care". Ummm, no, the nursing home takes them to pay for the roof over your head and the people who take care of you. That's nice if you could ever possibly hope to save enough for pay for a nursing home for more than a few months. At over $10k per month, most can't. Hopefully most people will not need nursing home level care. Assisted living is expensive, but less than that, often half if you do not have many medical issues. Plus there are options like having live-in aides or having an aide for one shift per day etc. Not cheap, but not everyone is going to need nursing home level care.
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pulmonarymd
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Post by pulmonarymd on Mar 17, 2022 15:19:18 GMT -5
My estimate from the SS calculator is 87. No adjustments for family history, health, etc. Mom lasted to 85, Dad to 90. I totally agree with not depending on needs-based programs (Section 8 housing, Medicaid LTC) if you can possibly avoid it. Plenty of seniors seem to be planning on that and already the good places have very long waiting lists and many are in less-than-ideal situations. For everyone whose mother has "a cute little condo in a nice building for $200/month" there's someone frantically searching for a place that will take Mom on Medicaid and finding places 150 miles away where they wouldn't board their dog overnight. I think this will only get worse as more baby boomers can no longer live independently. Nearly half of retirees count on SS for 90% or more of their income and the average SS monthly payment is $1,700. The FaceBook-related posts I see on retirement frequently claim that if you don't shelter your assets "the government takes them to pay for long-term care". Ummm, no, the nursing home takes them to pay for the roof over your head and the people who take care of you. That's nice if you could ever possibly hope to save enough for pay for a nursing home for more than a few months. At over $10k per month, most can't. A nursing home is not affordable for most. But many people wind up there when they really do not need to. If they had enough to pay for some care at home, they could age in place at a more reasonable cost. In addition, people do not accept they are getting older, and remain in there home past the point where it is safe. So, when a crisis happens, they have very poor options. If they had planned for their declining health, they would not need to go to a nursing home. And having assists that can be tapped can help keep them home
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Lizard Queen
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Post by Lizard Queen on Mar 17, 2022 15:26:25 GMT -5
That's nice if you could ever possibly hope to save enough for pay for a nursing home for more than a few months. At over $10k per month, most can't. Hopefully most people will not need nursing home level care. Assisted living is expensive, but less than that, often half if you do not have many medical issues. Plus there are options like having live-in aides or having an aide for one shift per day etc. Not cheap, but not everyone is going to need nursing home level care. Why should assisted living be half if you don't have any medical issues? Even that's not affordable to most people. Anyway, why would you bother if you didn't have medical issues?
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Lizard Queen
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Post by Lizard Queen on Mar 17, 2022 15:28:34 GMT -5
That's nice if you could ever possibly hope to save enough for pay for a nursing home for more than a few months. At over $10k per month, most can't. A nursing home is not affordable for most. But many people wind up there when they really do not need to. If they had enough to pay for some care at home, they could age in place at a more reasonable cost. In addition, people do not accept they are getting older, and remain in there home past the point where it is safe. So, when a crisis happens, they have very poor options. If they had planned for their declining health, they would not need to go to a nursing home. And having assists that can be tapped can help keep them home Good luck finding home health aides. And who is going to manage them? (Unpaid family is who.) More like, more people should be in some kind of care facility but don't because of cost.
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Opti
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Post by Opti on Mar 17, 2022 15:38:20 GMT -5
Hopefully most people will not need nursing home level care. Assisted living is expensive, but less than that, often half if you do not have many medical issues. Plus there are options like having live-in aides or having an aide for one shift per day etc. Not cheap, but not everyone is going to need nursing home level care. Why should assisted living be half if you don't have any medical issues? Even that's not affordable to most people. Anyway, why would you bother if you didn't have medical issues? Assisted living is a level of care lower than a nursing home. Some people may need little more than assistance with daily living and meals. Help bathing, help with clothing, and having provided meals. Some folks are with it enough to take what few meds they need without a nurse, but being in a facility gives extra piece of mind if they mess up. Checking sugar levels and easy stuff fits in assisted living which has tiered rates generally based on what the resident needs. Nursing home level care includes people who are bed bound. People who must be tube fed, have colostomy bags, are on IV drips, etc. There are levels of issues, which is why campuses in my area are being built with independent living on site plus assisted living and dementia care. The independent living is usually expensive one floor villas but you have access to on campus activities and meals if desired. Plus, you are in the system so would be moved into assisted living when needed, quicker than someone new to the campus. Its not for everyone, but regularly scheduled activities, provided meals, and housekeeping can make things easier for those who are slower or less with it than they used to be.
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Opti
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Post by Opti on Mar 17, 2022 15:40:48 GMT -5
A nursing home is not affordable for most. But many people wind up there when they really do not need to. If they had enough to pay for some care at home, they could age in place at a more reasonable cost. In addition, people do not accept they are getting older, and remain in there home past the point where it is safe. So, when a crisis happens, they have very poor options. If they had planned for their declining health, they would not need to go to a nursing home. And having assists that can be tapped can help keep them home Good luck finding home health aides. And who is going to manage them? (Unpaid family is who.) More like, more people should be in some kind of care facility but don't because of cost. Are there not care providers in your area? By me there are many organizations that hire out HHAs, CHHAs, CNAs, LPNs and up. It will cost you, but it is cheaper than in facility living.
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pulmonarymd
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Post by pulmonarymd on Mar 17, 2022 15:42:41 GMT -5
A nursing home is not affordable for most. But many people wind up there when they really do not need to. If they had enough to pay for some care at home, they could age in place at a more reasonable cost. In addition, people do not accept they are getting older, and remain in there home past the point where it is safe. So, when a crisis happens, they have very poor options. If they had planned for their declining health, they would not need to go to a nursing home. And having assists that can be tapped can help keep them home Good luck finding home health aides. And who is going to manage them? (Unpaid family is who.) More like, more people should be in some kind of care facility but don't because of cost. Not true. Many people in nursing homes could be managed at home. Yes, someone will need to be responsible for them, but outcomes for people who are kept at home are frequently better than if they are in nursing homes. I am well aware of who needs to manage this as my wife was responsible for her father the last year of his life. But if you outsource this duty to someone else(the nursing home for example), you should expect them to get paid for it It is difficult to get home health aides because they are paid like shit. Like everything else related to health care, we want things but do not want to pay for them. If we actually cared, we could improve wages for home health aides, improve outcomes, and save money. But that requires our leaders to actually try to solve problems instead of scare points.
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pulmonarymd
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Post by pulmonarymd on Mar 17, 2022 15:46:17 GMT -5
Good luck finding home health aides. And who is going to manage them? (Unpaid family is who.) More like, more people should be in some kind of care facility but don't because of cost. Are there not care providers in your area? By me there are many organizations that hire out HHAs, CHHAs, CNAs, LPNs and up. It will cost you, but it is cheaper than in facility living. For my fil, assisted living was less than having in home care, once you factor in meals, utilities, and food. If he had been willing to consider it earlier, he may have lived longer and had a better quality of life. And if he had sold his condo, he could have financed it got4-5 years out of those proceeds without touching hi SS or pension
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Lizard Queen
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Post by Lizard Queen on Mar 17, 2022 15:55:05 GMT -5
Why should assisted living be half if you don't have any medical issues? Even that's not affordable to most people. Anyway, why would you bother if you didn't have medical issues? Assisted living is a level of care lower than a nursing home. Some people may need little more than assistance with daily living and meals. Help bathing, help with clothing, and having provided meals. Some folks are with it enough to take what few meds they need without a nurse, but being in a facility gives extra piece of mind if they mess up. Checking sugar levels and easy stuff fits in assisted living which has tiered rates generally based on what the resident needs. Nursing home level care includes people who are bed bound. People who must be tube fed, have colostomy bags, are on IV drips, etc. There are levels of issues, which is why campuses in my area are being built with independent living on site plus assisted living and dementia care. The independent living is usually expensive one floor villas but you have access to on campus activities and meals if desired. Plus, you are in the system so would be moved into assisted living when needed, quicker than someone new to the campus. Its not for everyone, but regularly scheduled activities, provided meals, and housekeeping can make things easier for those who are slower or less with it than they used to be. I know what it is. I took care of my mother for the lady years of her life. Any extra help you need, they add on considerably to the price.
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Lizard Queen
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Post by Lizard Queen on Mar 17, 2022 15:55:48 GMT -5
Good luck finding home health aides. And who is going to manage them? (Unpaid family is who.) More like, more people should be in some kind of care facility but don't because of cost. Not true. Many people in nursing homes could be managed at home. Yes, someone will need to be responsible for them, but outcomes for people who are kept at home are frequently better than if they are in nursing homes. I am well aware of who needs to manage this as my wife was responsible for her father the last year of his life. But if you outsource this duty to someone else(the nursing home for example), you should expect them to get paid for it It is difficult to get home health aides because they are paid like shit. Like everything else related to health care, we want things but do not want to pay for them. If we actually cared, we could improve wages for home health aides, improve outcomes, and save money. But that requires our leaders to actually try to solve problems instead of scare points. Aka, unpaid family.
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Opti
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Post by Opti on Mar 17, 2022 16:01:45 GMT -5
Assisted living is a level of care lower than a nursing home. Some people may need little more than assistance with daily living and meals. Help bathing, help with clothing, and having provided meals. Some folks are with it enough to take what few meds they need without a nurse, but being in a facility gives extra piece of mind if they mess up. Checking sugar levels and easy stuff fits in assisted living which has tiered rates generally based on what the resident needs. Nursing home level care includes people who are bed bound. People who must be tube fed, have colostomy bags, are on IV drips, etc. There are levels of issues, which is why campuses in my area are being built with independent living on site plus assisted living and dementia care. The independent living is usually expensive one floor villas but you have access to on campus activities and meals if desired. Plus, you are in the system so would be moved into assisted living when needed, quicker than someone new to the campus. Its not for everyone, but regularly scheduled activities, provided meals, and housekeeping can make things easier for those who are slower or less with it than they used to be. I know what it is. I took care of my mother for the lady years of her life. Any extra help you need, they add on considerably to the price. Yes, but they deserve the pay. They get hit, feces thrown at them, abused verbally and all sorts of stuff. It takes a special kind of person to do it for years IMO.
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Post by minnesotapaintlady on Mar 17, 2022 16:07:51 GMT -5
Recently filed my SS yearly statement. The payments vary significantly. I am in the age bracket that full retirement is now 67. There is a big difference between payments at 62 and payments at 70. I'm not clear on what happens Medicare-wise if I choose to retire at 70 for SS. Don't you still apply for Medicare at 65 no matter what you're doing with SS?
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pulmonarymd
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Post by pulmonarymd on Mar 17, 2022 16:21:04 GMT -5
Not true. Many people in nursing homes could be managed at home. Yes, someone will need to be responsible for them, but outcomes for people who are kept at home are frequently better than if they are in nursing homes. I am well aware of who needs to manage this as my wife was responsible for her father the last year of his life. But if you outsource this duty to someone else(the nursing home for example), you should expect them to get paid for it It is difficult to get home health aides because they are paid like shit. Like everything else related to health care, we want things but do not want to pay for them. If we actually cared, we could improve wages for home health aides, improve outcomes, and save money. But that requires our leaders to actually try to solve problems instead of scare points. Aka, unpaid family. So, who should do the work? And who is paying for it? This is the system we have. People do not work for free. Medicare does not cover this. Until the system is different, what is supposed to happen?
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Opti
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Post by Opti on Mar 17, 2022 16:23:56 GMT -5
Recently filed my SS yearly statement. The payments vary significantly. I am in the age bracket that full retirement is now 67. There is a big difference between payments at 62 and payments at 70. I'm not clear on what happens Medicare-wise if I choose to retire at 70 for SS. Don't you still apply for Medicare at 65 no matter what you're doing with SS? I think so, but I'm not sure.
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cottontail
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Post by cottontail on Mar 17, 2022 16:39:13 GMT -5
Recently filed my SS yearly statement. The payments vary significantly. I am in the age bracket that full retirement is now 67. There is a big difference between payments at 62 and payments at 70. I'm not clear on what happens Medicare-wise if I choose to retire at 70 for SS. You can still apply for Medicare at 65 (actually a little earlier and it kicks in at 65). You face penalties later if you don't sign up right away, unless you have creditable coverage through work or a spouse's work. Insurance from the exchange is not credible coverage. Get your info directly from SSA as there is so much misinformation and even more incomplete information online.
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seriousthistime
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Post by seriousthistime on Mar 17, 2022 16:40:46 GMT -5
Recently filed my SS yearly statement. The payments vary significantly. I am in the age bracket that full retirement is now 67. There is a big difference between payments at 62 and payments at 70. I'm not clear on what happens Medicare-wise if I choose to retire at 70 for SS. Don't you still apply for Medicare at 65 no matter what you're doing with SS? Assuming you have adequate work history (10 years of work for which you paid into Medicare), Part A is free at age 65 and there's no extra benefit to waiting to sign up for Part A. Parts B and D cost money. Whether you should sign up for Part B (or Part D) when you turn 65 depends on whether you have other "creditable" insurance coverage (for example, a group plan through your employer if you are still working). If you don't have other "creditable" insurance coverage and you don't sign up for Part B or Part D when you are first eligible, your premium when you eventually sign up will be increased forever. I took Part A at age 65, then worked to age 69. When I retired, I signed up for Part B, and kept my former employer's insurance (low premium, good coverage). As a retiree, Medicare Parts A and B are primary, and my former employer's insurance is secondary. I did not sign up for Medicare Part D because my former employer's insurance covers my prescription drugs.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 17, 2022 16:52:31 GMT -5
The new places here offer "transitional living" with everything from independent living apartments/townhomes to assisted living to memory care and nursing care. It's supposed to make it easier for the resident and their family as the resident progress through life stages.
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countrygirl2
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Post by countrygirl2 on Mar 17, 2022 17:07:05 GMT -5
My husband worked till age 69, I had been out of the work place for years and wanted some money of my own. Like an idiot I applied at 62, BIG MISTAKE. Cut about 25% and if I outlive hubs his benefit to me will be cut. I don't know if that is the basic benefit or his increased payments. I had called and asked over and over if this happened would mine be cut, they said no. You really have to be careful.
Since hubs could prove he had credible coverage he was able to put off taking medicare. He had coverage for both of us but SS recommended I take medicare A the part with no premium. But when we got ready to switch his, it was a nightmare. He did not take Part A, the basic till he retired. It took us forever to find a SS person that understood it. For a year they screwed with our premiums. Retirement is considered a "life changing event" and you need to use that as they tried to charge us a ton extra for premiums as before he retired hubs was considered a highly compensated individual. It ended up that did not matter and wasn't counted against us on income but it was a battle royal.
After we got it sorted out it was ok. But now our medicare premiums for the supplement and drugs is raising every year. In the next few years my whole SS check will go for premiums, hope a lot of you have good insurance in retirement.
Yet if you make too much money in retirement and its not all that high you will be paying increased premiums for insurance. I also debated on tax deferring money for after retirement but hubs just wouldn't see us not doing it. So now that increased our income and now 85% of our SS benefits are taxable. Damned if you do damned if you don't.
My advice defer what you need to get the whole max from your company. Pay taxes on the rest of your income, do not take SS at 62 unless you can't work. And yes you will have to find insurance until age 65 and pay the premiums. And who knows what the laws will be, I think son will be almost 68 before he can get full SS benefits. He will have a military pension if he can finish his years out. He bought 10 years of seniority from the military and carried it over when he went to work for the DOD so he had that much when he started with them.
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NoNamePerson
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Joined: Dec 17, 2010 17:03:17 GMT -5
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Location: WITNESS PROTECTION
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Post by NoNamePerson on Mar 17, 2022 17:16:06 GMT -5
The new places here offer "transitional living" with everything from independent living apartments/townhomes to assisted living to memory care and nursing care. It's supposed to make it easier for the resident and their family as the resident progress through life stages. We have quite a few places here like that. Had a friend who got on waiting list and finally got apartment/room.. Her reasoning was she would probably go from independent living to non independent living so might as well be in one “spot”. She didn’t have any family here so I understood in a way. No clue the cost since not my nature to ask that kind of question.
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Deleted
Joined: Apr 19, 2024 0:16:06 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Mar 17, 2022 17:19:19 GMT -5
For my fil, assisted living was less than having in home care, once you factor in meals, utilities, and food. If he had been willing to consider it earlier, he may have lived longer and had a better quality of life. And if he had sold his condo, he could have financed it got 4-5 years out of those proceeds without touching hi SS or pension When DH was in his last months I used a very good home health care firm to have someone sit with him while I went out for a few hours. He was mostly weak, and a fall risk, but could get himself to the bathroom with help, feed himself, dress himself with help. They were also willing to prepare meals, give meds (just pills, no IVs), take people to doc appointments, do light housework and pick up groceries or prescriptions (before COVID so these services weren't widely available). They were $22/hour in 2016, so if you lived alone and had them 24/7 or even just during the day it would add up. They told me they had one 97-year old client who still lived at home and used their services- I think it would be very isolating. That's an example, though, of what "assisted living" can provide- you may not need a doctor or a nurse but there's just stuff you can't do yourself. I ended up parceling out DH's pills, for example, because he'd forget to take one or two and leave them lying around. There was no way he could drive. And, for those who say they can't afford LTC- as pulmonarymd says, selling a house can free up enough equity. Many places will take you if you have enough to self-pay for 2 years and then accept Medicaid. If you can't pay for the beginning, the choices dwindle.
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Deleted
Joined: Apr 19, 2024 0:16:06 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Mar 17, 2022 17:23:26 GMT -5
[ Parts B and D cost money. Whether you should sign up for Part B (or Part D) when you turn 65 depends on whether you have other "creditable" insurance coverage (for example, a group plan through your employer if you are still working). If you don't have other "creditable" insurance coverage and you don't sign up for Part B or Part D when you are first eligible, your premium when you eventually sign up will be increased forever. I had ACA coverage from age 61 when I retired to age 65 when I qualified for Medicare and I thought that was the same thing as "buying off the exchanges". I am not paying any late sign-up penalty. My ACA coverage was considered creditable. I'm pretty sure that the Christian Healthcare ministries (which aren't really insurance and they're very open about that) are not, though. I didn't collect SS on my own record till last month at age 69 but had no problem getting Medicare at 65.
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