JP Morgan has a comprehensive guide on planning for retirement, investments, Roth IRA, and when to collect Social Security. You cannot start too young to think about these ideas.
Please consider the Retirement Insights and the 2024 Guide to Retirement by JP Morgan.
The PDF is 53 pages long and covers saving, retirement, investment, Medicare plans, when to collect Social Security, tax rates, contributions, Roth IRAs , Traditional IRAs, life expectancies, emergencies, and more.
I am only going to offer a couple of suggestions.
First and foremost, have a plan and act on it. Every day I read stories of people approaching retirement age with no money. Don’t be one of them.
Second, the PDF has a tiny section on Medicare Advantage Plans. There are regional variations and what applies to me, may not apply to you. But please look into these advantage plans. Advantage was a huge benefit to me, as in thousands of dollars.
Your results may vary. The PDF had very little information, but the subject triggered my suggestion to look into it.
My timing was was very good (lucky if you prefer). I enrolled late last year and was able to pick up a big dental benefit in 2023 (tooth extraction) and 2024 (implant), along with other significant benefits.
Biden Shrinks Medicare Advantage
On April 14, the Wall Street Journal reported Biden Shrinks Medicare Advantage
President Biden keeps accusing Republicans of trying to gut Medicare. No doubt he hopes seniors don’t notice that his Administration recently cut payments to Medicare Advantage plans, which will lead to higher patient costs and reduced benefits.
About half of seniors are enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans, which are administered by private insurers with government funding. These plans have been increasing in popularity, especially among lower-income Americans, because they offer additional benefits such as dental and vision care. Out-of-pocket costs tend to be lower than in traditional fee-for-service Medicare.
Critics of Medicare Advantage say insurers sometimes put up bureaucratic hurdles to covering needed treatments and procedures, which is true. But they also prevent unnecessary care, which is rife in traditional Medicare. Insurers also do a better job of coordinating care and keeping patients out of the hospital. If seniors disliked the program, it wouldn’t be growing.
Enter the Biden Administration, which is trying to limit the program’s growth by squeezing insurers. Progressives oppose Medicare Advantage because they dislike private market competition and want the government to control all of healthcare. The Administration last year restricted plan marketing and cut payments to insurers on average by 1.1%.
Medicare Advantage plans send notices of annual plan changes in the autumn—a few weeks before the November election. Seniors may be in for a rude cost and benefit shock when they try to renew. If seniors like their doctor, they might not be able to keep her.
Perhaps election considerations explain why a bipartisan group of 61 Senators, including Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, urged CMS in a January letter to “ensure payment and policy stability for the Medicare Advantage program,” adding that seniors must “have stable access to the extra benefits and out-of-pocket protections only available in Medicare Advantage.”
Will Mr. Schumer now protest the Administration’s cut to drive more seniors out of private plans?
By the way, CMS is also cutting physician payments in traditional Medicare to control its ballooning costs. The predictable result will be more provider consolidation, less healthcare competition, and a shift in costs to privately insured Americans.
If only Republicans had nominated a presidential standard-bearer who could explain all this to Americans.
I do not know where this heads other than to say Progressives oppose Medicare Advantage because they dislike private market competition and want the government to control all of healthcare.
But please look into it the Advantage plans if you are on Medicare. My understanding is some of the costs are based on whether you live in an area where seniors are active and healthy. I live in such a community. I was pleasantly surprised by some of the benefits.
One repeated error I see in the JPMorgan analysis, and similar methods, is that they do not factor in the risk that social security will be converted into a welfare like system. One with means testing and benefit phase outs based on income/wealth.
Similar to what was done for college aid. That there will be an equivalent to the college aid FAFSA added for Social Security. Which will then be used to reduce benefits for those with higher net worth or historical earnings.
There are numerous proposals out there, from both Republicans and Democrats, to do exactly that. Cut the social security payments of high net worth, or high life long earners, as a way to reduce the program burden on the federal government.
The probability of Social Security being converted to a welfare like program with means testing is therefore not non-zero. However every model I have seen appears to ignore this risk. In the NPV models for timing, implementation of future means testing should be taken into account, and a probability assigned. (Ideally one should run a Monte Carlo simulation.)
When one adds a welfare conversion probability factor into the valuation model, i.e. a potential payment reduction in 2031+, my personal model indicates that in the period 2024-2032 higher net worth individuals should take social security as soon as one hits 65. Get as many full payments in before the system has means testing added and payments reduced for top tier individuals.
Recent data indicates that Americans as a group understand this, with an increasing percentage claiming social security prior to reaching 67.
Models like the one used by JPMorgan, need to start factoring such an assumption into their calcs. Possibly even have an increasing probability as one moves up the decile in net worth in retirement.
Great post, Mish and equally great comments… one thing that was in the JP Morgan report that I didn’t know but the 2023 cost of living increase for Social Security was 8.7%, compared to 2.8% average from (1985-2023). This alone indicates the real rate of inflation which you also write about quite frequently (and accurately IMO).
Seems like it’d really depend on how much taxes you’d have to pay. Would it be better to live on tax deferred savings for awhile to get the balance down so RMD taxes one day wouldn’t be as bad? Taxes become very punitive when having large RMD withdrawals while collecting SS. With the current tax brackets, a couple can take out around 100k a year and only pay 10-12% tax. I just don’t know how long you’d have to live for it to really work out in your favor to not start SS early.
I take out far less and pay far more in taxes.
YMMV
In any case take the money while it’s there on the table.
There probably won’t be as much available to take later.
I’m collecting this year when I turn 62. I can invest my money better than the government can. My husband will start collecting this year at 66 1/2 (full retirement age). We recently moved to KS where our SS won’t be taxed.
Wise choice imo, and we are doing the same. Our Financial Advisor advised (who I am leaving after 25 years) ask us to take S/S as soon as it becomes available. This was for a few reasons, but important ones. So he had us answer a few questions (always be 100% Honest with your Financial Advisor & Doctor imo).
Q1. Do you require the Maximum Benefit (which is 67 here) to live on for the rest of your life?
A1. If you have no money saved up, and/or no investment portfolio in place, then you probably will)
Q2. Do you feel comfortable investing on your own?
A2. If you feel comfortable investing, and have money to live off of for now, then you can probably wait, but he said “Now” still.
Caveats:
1. “Now” was because it will be dropping (guesstimate now is by 20%), but maybe not (or by as much) if your grandfathered in.
2. “Now” was also because, if you didn’t require the money now, but don’t mind investing, then for example in my particular case. I am going to receive a total of roughly $150,000.00 in benefits before I turn 67, if I start collecting at 62.
We are in a situation where we can just invest that money, as you referenced, and stay the course where we are at for now, enjoying life.
Everybody’s situation is unique unto them, so please, this is not advice of any sort, as I am not a professional. The theory applies to me specifically, but not for everybody. I have friends that will need the higher amount, and must wait until they are 67. My wife and I did well investing over the years, so we are OK to grab the cash why we can, and again as you stated above, we can do better than the Government investing, and that should be pretty obvious to anyone paying attention…
It turns out that I ran my Social Security numbers just a few days ago, using my data from SSA’s online “my Social Security” account. Due to some oddities in the current Social Security payouts by age, I found out that I am better off in the long run to take Social Security at age 66, one year before my SS Full Retirement Age. I had been planning to start Social Security benefits at 70, and I was rather shocked by the calculations.
We all know that the US budget is in bad shape and they have to do some changes to make things work. What sucks is that when progressives cut the Advantage Plans in Medicare and then the press doesn’t mention it and the DNC and the press keep saying that conservatives will cut this stuff. The truth is … both will cut it and … if they don’t … it’s partially because of fiscal irresponsibility. Were it not for the intentional censorship of info … what they are doing may make sense (although they should be honest and cut across Medicare instead of only cutting the less socialist part)
While the hospital itself may be covered by your Medicare Advantage plan, certain services within the hospital (such as surgeons, labs, ambulance, imaging, and anesthesia) may be contracted out. This means that these services are provided by external providers who may not be part of the plan’s network. This is the rub with Medicare Advantage and a common issue with private insurance in general.
The medicare advantage cut for 2025 was a cut in the planned increase from 2.44% to 2.33%. And then at the final announcement Q1 2025 that number gets thrown out and the real probably higher number will be announced.
The advantage dental plans I would worry about. You would have to use a dentist who takes the insurance; and there may not be many of them — such a dentist might have a struggling business and be pressured to recommend unnecessary procedures.
Advantage saves money on dental and such, but does it give you good medical care when you need it? That’s the #1 priority IMO. Varies by plan. Caveat emptor. Some are pretty good, other plans seniors flee when they find out too late the quality of care is not what they expected.
With traditional Medicare you can go anywhere in the USA for specialists if needed.
I was diagnosed with a rare muscle disease, Inclusion Body Myositis 4 years ago. With Medicare Plan G, I have been able to consult with two of the top experts in the country at John Hopkins and U of C at Irvine. Couldn’t do that with an advantage plan. They may be great for lots of people, but for those with serious health issues they are not.
Typical of insurance.
The insurance works best when you don’t use it.
Not best for you but best for the insurance companies.
My turn to brag: I’m retiring in less than a year at age 59 with a federal pension. I get a “supplement” to my pension until I turn 62 at which time I plan to take social security.
Federal pensions aren’t huge: I get 1% per year of service. The most valuable part of the pension is the health benefits into retirement.
I will *not* be working in retirement. I’m moving to a low cost of living state that doesn’t tax retirees and will be paying cash for a house.
Just be aware that your SS benefits are reduced by 2/3s of the amount of federal pension you get. So if you get 600 a month in federal pension then you get 400 less a month in SS.
link to ssa.gov
I’m in FERS. That only applies to civil service which was the old federal system which ended in 1986.
From what I’ve been told by federal retirees I know, you are correct.
Under the old system (CSRS) the employee earned 2% of thier highest three year average base pay for each year of service. They did not pay into SSI while they were employed as a Fed and they did not get matching contributions to thier 401k. So if they only worked for the Federal government they get $0.00 in SSI benefits. If they worked at a non-fed job that did pay into SSI thier SSI benefit is reduced as detailed by Texas Tim. I was told this group paid in 7% of thier salary for thier pension benefit.
Under the new system, Fed retirees get 1% of thier three year high average base pay for each year of service, SSI (this group pays into SSI), and matching contributions to the Fed’s 401k equivalent program. I have no idea how much this group contributes for thier pension benefit.
New system FERS charged .8% (me) of pay, up to the NEW new 1.4%, for new hires, for the FERS pension. Basically 50+ years ago all governments ran on the 2% model (pension is 2% of pay for every year worked, and no Social Sec.) Then SS started having funding probs in the 1980s, so Greenspan pushed the new “FERS” pension which is 1% of pay for new Federal workers for every year worked, BUT we now had a 401k (called TSP) and we had to pay into and get Social Sec. Many of the states, counties, cities and teachers still run on the 2% pension model. Thats why a lot of them are straining. But you see the genius — get money for SS from new employees for 35 years, and finding the money to pay their SS benefits in 35 years is someone elses prob. 35 years is up. :).
This is only true for CSRS retirees. Virtually everyone working now for the feds is a FERS employee and the pension doesn’t reduce SS.
Thank gowd awmighty , naught can go wrong with you from now on ! , the future s smilin’ on you…. and on your financially, and, last but not least, morally bankrupt nation !
If something does go wrong, I have a stack of gold and silver I can always tap into.
One of my sources of entertainment is watching folks cope with the Government moving the goalposts after the same folks have been counting on the earlier promises
As a fellow Fed retiree just this year (at age 56 1/2), congrats. You/we started early (supplemental!!) and stayed the course (thru years of boredom. :)). Hopefully you put all your TSP in the C Fund and rode the stock market up — mine’s 6 figures). I would suggest you not do SS till 70 to max your SS benefit. My TSP will be gone by 70, but I dont have kids to pass it onto. I suppose you do.
I have a healthy amount in TSP as well as a separate 401K & a Roth. No kids but do have heirs to consider. I only plan to take out about $20K per year from my TSP (I’ll be living mortgage free).
I was thinking of quitting back around 2007 to start a business. So glad I did not do that.
Since more than half of all new businesses fail within 5 years, Im glad you didnt too. 😉
I live and work in NJ. While I am nearing retirement age, I work for myself and don’t I think I will ever completely retire. However, I am tired of paying all the costs to live here. I live in a decent, but not extravagant house which I recently just sold. Closing isn’t for a couple months, but no way am I buying another house here. Last year, my property taxes went from $18,000 to $23,000 in one year with *no* improvements. When I asked the town, they said “We should have raised your taxes more!”. That led to me saying, goodbye!
I am curious where you are looking to live? I have been considering N.C., S.C,, GA, TN though my significant other wants to stay in the NE.
Get a copy of your property tax bill and see where all the money goes. Ask yourself “Do I support this? Education? Cops? Firepersons? Parks? Affordable community college?” Thatll help. And dont think the south can evade all these taxes for long. A Phoenix cop costs as much as a Chicago cop.
Iowa (lived there before and liked it). Relatively high property taxes but the infrastructure and schools are good. Nice people, good healthcare, socially stable. Weather sucks, but better than the Northeast. It gets much colder in the winter but less snow and dreariness.
I was vaguely considering East Tennessee as a place to retire until the property prices took off post pandemic. Plus, the locals are going to resent anyone with a northern accent.
Arkansas still has affordable housing and it’s off the beaten path (except for Northwest AR where housing has really taken off). Conway looks real good on paper but gets real hot in the summer.
When I lived in DE, we had a huge number of NJ & PA retirees move in. No sales tax, low property taxes (minimal amount of services). They liked that they could visit NJ family & be just 2/3 hours away rather than 8-12.
OT – for those that didn’t want us to get involved in Ukraine, I say it might have been cheaper to go all in earlier on and finish Russia..Russia continues its westward tilt now striking a deal with Niger and aiding the coup there. This means they will have easy access to southern and western Europe via ports in North Africa.
Regarding social security, I say take it early if you can. At some point the US debt issue will hit home and all politicians may come looking for cuts.
Russia a country of about 150 million and a gdp of about 10 percent or so of the US and defefnse spending of about the same 10 percent of what we spend and not including the nato allies they sure do get a lot of mileage for their bucks. It is eaither that or the narrative coming out of DC has convinced people like you that they are indeed the invisible boogieman . If the former then we can only dream to be as efficient as they are spending money . If the latter we sure have a bunch people like you willing to swallow the official government prapaganda hook line and sinker .
….OT… sure ! Now that you are here though, allow me to use the opportunity to congratulate your Deep State Neocon perverse criminal monstrous bastards with the aid package for your utterly corrupt 51st state named Whorekraine, 90% of Americans can not even find on a map !…..Like I said CONGRATULATIONS, you are going to be responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths AGAIN ….you couldn t give a fckn shit of course, that s obvious ….your CV is full of them, of innocent victims, that is …….. FINANCIALLY AND MORALLY BROKE PREPOSTEROUS DISGRACEFUL MODDAFOKKAS !!!! That s what you are , the future though will catch up with you , no fckn doubt about it
1917?
Are you aware that Niger is a land locked country?
Poking the bear gets a reaction. None of what has happened since 2014, was happening when Yanukovich was president of Ukraine. Baker told Gorbechev that NATO would not take a step east. NATO took giant steps east. Two days before the 2022 invasion, VP Harris provoked by saying Ukraine should join NATO.
Right. It should be a breeze to finish off a major nuclear power.
The Biden boys were in the Ukraine, working to get them to join NATO. For Russia, that made it similar to Russia putting nukes in Cuba long ago. Remember how we reacted to that?
are you picking up your ammo and going over there? otherwise STFU
I think it’s more likely they will find ways to tax those with tax deferred savings rather than make cuts. Just lowering the rmd age would bring in quite a bit.
In 1983 the US Government started taxing Social Security benefits.
In 2031 they will begin taxing Roth IRAs.
Or sooner.
As far as when to take SS, if it is going to be your primary income then waiting makes since but also means you have probably not invested saved and prepaired like you should have . If it is a component then take it asap and retire and enjoy the earll years of retirement because you will want to do less and less as you age . Also for big 401 k accounts don’t hold on waiting to be forced by RMD to start taking it level load the withdraws earlier so you can have funds to do what you want and it will spread the taxes out over time .
Social Security is actually designed to pay you about the same amount, regardless of when you begin taking payments.
You will end up receiving more or less, depending on how long you live.
If you live to the SS projected age, it likely doesn’t matter when you begin payments. (Inflation may affect that some though).
If you live longer than expected then you receive more by waiting, because you are compounding a larger number.
If you die early, it pays to take payments early. Use your family health history as a guide.
People often talk about SS disappearing. That will only happen if gov’t stops collecting payroll taxes. But clearly it will be more difficult to fund, full payments, in less than 10 years.
The magic age I think is 80 or 81. If you have reason to believe that you will live longer than 80/81, you should wait till 70 as you will get more money over your life than if you retire earlier. Most people take benefits when they hit 62 cause they are desperate. They lost a job in their 50s and never found another one, and are running out of money. The SS system isnt going away, and all those horrible illegal immigrants will be paying in and getting no benefits — pay-ins only stop when everyone stops working, and that wont happen. Wait till 70 if you can and get more money.
Heres a new law: when the back channels on TV start aggressively advertising a particular “industry” day after day, all day long, you can bet a lot of “sharpie” companies know they can make a lot of money on the backs of unsophisticated clients. Medicare Advantage (and new windows and “sell you house directly to us!” and life insurance too) is one of those areas. You have to ask yourself: why are these companies, so many companies, spending so much money on advertising if not because there are “sheep to be shorn.” Watch the news articles on any of these offerings — even Medicare Advantage (money for groceries???) is starting to get bad press for preying on desperate people.
Medicare is traditionally a hospital/emergency only system, you pay out of pocket for regular doctor care. But, since you are paying out of pocket, you can see anyone you want. It works great if you have enough pocket money to pay for everyday expenses: doctors visits, radiology, dentistry, etc… which is actually very affordable if you shop around a bit. Medicare Advantage work better for a little bit less savvy customer who is willing trade a monthly payment and a limited network of providers for some care that traditional Medicare doesn’t pay for. And yes, Medicare Advantage plans can be very profitable.
my wife turned 65 last fall and now has advantage
getting needed care is worse than pulling teeth
endless appointments, doctors who outright steal from seniors(she paid $900 for useless orthotics)
so much for saving $$$$
of course going other route is $5,000 per year premium +++
You have to pay part B premium whether you get the Medicare supplement or medicare advantage . So you are looking at 100-150 for a good supplement vs maybe 0 on a medicare advantage plan . The difference is the government is paying the insurance company money to take you off their plans . You are then giving control to the insurance company and they can reject treatments your doctors may want and you will need to get approval. They do reject them all the time and will recommend different treatment before they will allow the doctors recommended treatment .Also deductibles and co pays will be higher in the lower teir avantage plans for sure . I would stay in the medicare system because a 1-2 hundred dollars a month is not worth giving up control of your choices .
If you go to an Advantage plan, then want to go back to traditional Medicare, you will be required to re-qualify for supplemental insurance. The new qualification considers your CURRENT health status.
There is another aspect to this. What happened to equal treatment under the law? This is one of the foundational principles of Western civilization. How is it one American can get full benefits at 66 while another has to wait till 67. I guess it doesn’t apply to government redistribution and Ponzi schemes.
Grandfathered items are very common. There’s nothing nefarious about them.
The question of when to start SSI is tricky. It obviously depends on how long you live and what you do with your social security payments. If you invest your SSI payments and they grow above the stated phoney inflation rate, then perhaps its better to start earlier rather than later. Also, perhaps our bankrupt nation decides to means test SSI recipients and cuts off payments to higher income individuals. Better to recieve a few years, than no years. Obvious the best choice depends on uncertain outcomes. One can optimize for the average outcome but it is impossible to optimize for the individual.
I hope the very first question as to when to take social security is … do you need it?
Why ? No one should impose a means test on themselves. With inflation raging, I think 90% of the population needs it. Even if I didn’t, I would still take the money and help relatives with it.
“government to control all of healthcare” leads to lowest common level of care
Just like our military!
A great post Mish!
First:
“ First and foremost, have a plan and act on it. Every day I read stories of people approaching retirement age with no money. Don’t be one of them.”
Absolutely correct. This has been my theme here for the last 4 years. It’s all up to you to make a better life for yourself, whether before or after retirement. No politician can do that for you.
And retirement does not mean you sit on your arse and complain about the government full-time like so many here. Your plan should still revolve around improving your life, in terms of health, wealth, family and friends.
Some never retire because they enjoy their vocation so much and it defines who they are. Others take on new challenges that provide them with a sense of purpose and satisfaction.
Second: Do not expect Social Security and Medicare to stay as they are. They can change at the whim of government, whether Democrat or Republican. Mish gave a perfect example of this. Your plan should assume that neither will be there eventually. If you do that and become independently wealthy, then SS and M will be bonuses, rather than something to fret over.
Third: If you focus more of your attention on your health and wealth during your entire lifetime, not only will you have a better life, but you are less likely to be a burden on society, which will help build a better America.
In my experience I have seen that what makes or breaks someone’s finances for life in many cases is divorce. Avoiding it will make it much easier to accumulate capital for investment and render your financial life easier.
Been there, and it messed me up for a lot of years. That’s why I’ll never get married again. It’s not cheaper to keep her.
The number one cause of divorce is marriage.
Fortunately divorce never seriously came up in my marriage. I have friends who divorced and most are worse for it.
Question: Why does divorce cost so much?
Answer: Because it’s worth it 🙂
Because the American justice system with its gangster lawyers and corrupt judges is rotten to the fckn bone ….that s why !
In your insane thieving lawyers run nation, aka the US of A, that must be ! In France, where you live , and in other European countries divorce will NOT ruin you ! It NEVER should in the first place !
Spot on!
Agree. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. The body needs to move to stay healthy, and the mind needs conundrums to ponder to stay sharp. Let either one atrophy and you’ll be in a pine box early in my view.
Assuming that government (Federal, State, and Local) programs will be around for you in thier current capacity is a fool’s game.
Delay gratification now to survive later, and always always always have a plan.
Wise words.
Social Security and Medicare arent going anywhere. Even brave Trump is scared to death of the voters — thats why he wont touch either program, or any other program that throws money at the old folks. Also, remember these horrible illegal immigrants are gonna have kids, and the kids will be “Americanized” — doing things our way, working and paying taxes. More people working means taxes, and taxes will come in and fund these programs. What really needs to happen is more taxing of the superrich, who have gotten away with murder the last 50 years. .
They are not going anywhere. But they will slowly be chipped away at; by government actions to reduce benefits or by inflation.
Either way, why would you take the chance of relying on these benefits without some other form of backup?
Regarding immigrants paying more taxes to help pay for these programs; that’s just not reality. We are running trillion dollar deficits already. We would need tens of millions more immigrants paying a lot of taxes just to cover the current deficits, never mind fund SS and M. And the odds of that happening are low.
In addition, the US has never funded SS properly. There is no real SS fund. Just IOUs. Even Canada, which is more socialist than the US has a big investment fund for their CPP. It’s crazy that we didn’t do the same thing here.
And good luck trying to tax the super rich.
In the 1990s I was kinda concerned about the Federal debt and deficit and all that. 30 years later, we’re still cooking. As an investor, perhaps you’ve had an investment that was a long shot, but you invested anyway? And it worked? Sometimes things just work out.
I turned 62 this year and took Social Security (payments start next month). It’s actually going to be a pay raise for me, as I scaled way back on working during the covid mess (no, I’m not going to wear your stupid piece of crap rag on my face or get injected with your experimental poison). Right now I’m living off my savings and sharing expenses with my 92-year-old mother, who I refuse to put in a nursing home again due to the covid mess (I’m NOT, repeat, NOT going to let her die alone in a nursing home if they ever decide to shut everything down again).
Still have 3 years to go before deciding on Medicare Advantage or not, we’ll see what happens during that time. Right now I’m walking the highwire without a net – no insurance. That’s because I’m one of those people in reasonably good shape and health who only visits the doctor when something is really wrong (it’s been quite a few years), and Obummercare won’t let me buy the kind of policy I really could use – a catastrophic-only one. Guess as long as I don’t get really sick (knock wood, so far so good) and don’t break anything, I can wait 3 years.
My prediction is youll be writing to one of Shedlocks kids who takes over the blog, and at the age of 78 youll realize you may have made a big mistake. Youre gonna live longer than you think, and the crappy age 62 SS benefits is why we have MAGA in the first place … MAGA is mostly 60somethings who realize SS at 62 aint gonna work. Get your big flags ready. 😉
You start getting your money at 62, period. Never wait, no one knows how many ticks their ticker has. We are all one stroke or heart attack away from no longer enjoying the golden years.
Odds are you arent gonna die as fast as you hope.
All it takes is a drunk driver or a tornado and you’re not collecting anything.
If you don’t need it, invest the money.
Or, buy a red sports car.
You don’t have to look too far to read horror stories about Medicare Advantage. Denial of expensive care. Limited network of doctors. Delays in care due to needing prior authorization for treatment. Don’t believe me, just Google it.
According to Consumer Reports, Medicare Advantage is not ideal for people with chronic conditions. And that makes perfect sense, if you are healthy then the insurance company has less to pay out and passes some of those savings, if you are ill and need care, it will cost the insurance company.
link to consumerreports.org
It’s cheaper when you can’t use it.
You do need to check it out before signing up. Where I live there is one hospital and it is part of the one MA plan offered in the area.
I went looking for a Medigap plan too, but there was a shortage of options, and that one was $270 a month plus I still had to pay Part D. MA is free (to me at least). MPO45v2 will be offended I’m sure.
I’m in good health. MA is regional, low copays, no premium, meds included. My wife has conditions, needs specialists, so she has a gap plan and premiums.
Staying healthy is the best revenge you can have on your “friends”
Good useful post!
There is a very useful social security tool at Open Social Security link to opensocialsecurity.com
It is a calculator that will optimize the benefits payout based on your PIA. If you’re married it will do the math for both of you. I’m decades away from collecting social security but I periodically check into things like this to see how it changes over time.
How do you figure out the PIA part? I clicked another link to guesstimate what it might be but that wasn’t super useful either. So not sure what value is meant to go in there.
Once upon a time not too long ago SS used to mail you an estimation of benefits once a year based on your work history. They haven’t done that for a few years now (10?). Presumably that’s meant to be the PIA value?
You can get access to your SSA account online, and it has an estimate.
Somehow the pols must pay for that 100 billion for their wars. Noone will notice, I’m sure.