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If you’re going to turn age 65 you must make choices about your healthcare and finances.
Three months before – or in the three months following, your 65th birthday, you must do the Following:
Healthcare Choices:
- Enroll in Medicare Part A and Part B.
- Almost everyone age 65 and older is eligible to enroll in Medicare Part A and Medicare Part B . You can sign up as early as three months before your 65th birthday to ensure that your coverage begins on the day you turn 65.
- To fill in the gaps in Medicare payments, retirees can buy a private Medigap supplemental insurance policy.
- Consider a Part C Medicare managed care plan.
- Many people age 65 and older enroll in a Medicare Part C Medicare Advantage HMO or–other managed care plans.
- These plans provide broader coverage than traditional Medicare Parts A and B.
- They are often cheaper than the combination of a Medicare Medigap supplemental plus a drug policy from a private insurance policy, but limit the health providers you can select.
- Most Part C Plans include prescription drug coverage.
Legal and Money Matters:
- Consider long-term care insurance.
- A private long-term care insurance policy can help pay for long-term care at home in an assisted-living facility or nursing home – Expenses that Medicare does not cover.
- These policies can be expensive, and are a “Use it or lose it” gamble.
Get The Most From Social Security:
- Age 66 is now Social Security’s “full retirement age”- When you can claim your full Social Security retirement benefits without any penalty for continuing to earn an income.
- Some people claim reduced benefits as early as age 62, while others wait until after full retirement age to claim the higher benefits.
- Deciding when It’s best for you to claim Social Security benefits for yourself, your dependents, and your survivors takes planning.
- You can delay taking your social security by dipping into you 401k until your reach full benefits.
Inquire if you qualify for extra help if you have few assets and low income.
- There Is both full medical coverage and direct financial help available to people 65 and over who have low income and few assets other than their homes.
- Medicaid can pay the full cost for medical care and also for long-term home care and in nursing home residence.
- Supplemental Security Income can provide small monthly cash aid in addition to Social Security benefits.
Get your legal papers in order:
- Although 65-year-olds may still have many years to live, a sudden illness or accident could make decision making difficult or impossible later on.
- Getting your legal papers in order to insure your wishes are followed with regard to health care, including end-of-life care, your ongoing finances, and your estate.
- These papers include a Will, a power of attorney for finances, and an advance medical directive.
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