Senile Texas Aggie - comic relief for the rest of you

[farmerjan]

Right now the SS website is probably the only way you will get answers. But, the country is going to open back up and get back to some sort of "normal".
Take this with a grain of salt... it is only my 2 cents....... Make an appt with a representative at the SS office as soon as you can get one which might take a month after the "reopening"..... They will not give you advice.... and they make that very clear.... but they will give you a chart which will show you exactly what you will gain every month that you wait after 62.5... and maybe the website did that for you. I am not as computer literate as you are I don't think.

Strange as it seems, the one thing you have going for you is that you are not working, so don't have an income that could lower the amount of SS you receive. For every dollar over a set amount that you are allowed to earn, you give up SS dollars. One good thing for me, I did not go over that threshold by waiting for the year I turned 66 which was my full retirement age. So that is why I waited those extra few months. Will never go over the amount allowed as I never made that much in a year when I was working either....

Okay, I turned 65 in the fall of 2018. By waiting to Jan 2019, I was into the YEAR I turned 66 so became eligible for the increase earning allowed. So I started my SS after Jan 2019. My medicare went into effect also since I wanted to get all the benefit of the company added money in my health savings account before I lost my full time status as of Jan 2019. I knew this was coming so I was able to plan it. Medicare pays better than my insurance ever did, and with the plan I have and the supplement, I pay about a 200 deductible and that is all for the year. My "drug plan" is a minimal one since I don't take anything regularly, so I have a small copay for drugs..... the last one was $1.25 for the 27 pills of painkillers that was prescribed. Gee I think that I can afford that.

So, they take about 135/mo out of my SS directly, before I get my check, that pays for the medicare part B. So the SS I get direct deposited has already paid my Medicare (A-free and B-$135). Then I pay directly for my supplemental insurance which is about $88./mo that comes out of my checking account. That is to cover all that medicare doesn't cover EXCEPT a prescription plan. Prescription plan is considered part D. I have a basic one.... costs me about 15/mo which I just pay once a year.....$190 m/l for the year. I pay it and am done with it instead of worrying about a small monthly deduction. So with all I am "paying" , my total insurance costs are about $250/mo and I am covered pretty much 100% of anything that I have done. Medicare has allowances for things..... like the rehab I was in, allowed for a semi-private room and after I opted for the private, I was responsible for the $55/day difference. But I am just now getting the bills for the ankle replacement, and so far I have seen everything is paid for except for the deductible I had to meet. I am talking THOUSANDS of dollars so far.

Whatever you do, when you get medicare, do not get the medicare advantage plans, if you have any idea of future surgeries down the road.... like I knew I would be doing with the ankle; and the knees and shoulders in the future....
They are okay for someone who hasn't ever had any problems and don't think they ever will. They will cover some things like glasses and some dental.... but there are way higher deductibles for other stuff.

My insurance lady said that my type was what she had put her husband on at 65, and she was going to do the same when she retired this past Feb...... She said that they only paid 187 out of pocket for his knee replacement which cost over 70,000 total. My girlfriend just had her knee replaced and her ins through the P.O. had her paying a deductible of over 3500...... with total costs of over 75,000 she said. And she has other co-pays which I don't have. I have no idea what the totals for my ankle are going to be with all the followup dr appts and still to come PT that I am supposed to do.

I think @Mini Horses changed her medicare to an advantage plan, but she is "healthier" than I am as far as the joints go and not looking at any replacement type surgeries. You have to gear it to your own health situation.... but I would rather pay more now, and not get any bills in the mail later.... especially since I know there are some future "fix me" things like the knees.....

However, this doesn't help with the SS as much. I think that your birthday is near to mine (month)? If so, and you turn 65 this year, it may or may not serve you to wait for Jan to take the SS for the income thing.... but if you don't have too much income in the year you take the SS then it might not make a difference.
Those are the kinds of things you have to ask questions about.

 

[Bruce]

You can change your Medicare every year, no? So if you don't expect any big surgeries you can do an Advantage plan and when you expect a surgery the following year switch to "original" Medicare?

Then there is the Part D- prescriptions. Somewhere in my mind is a thought that if you don't get it when you first sign up for Medicare then you either can't get it later or it costs a whole lot more (I don't recall which). Seems ridiculous to pay even $15/mo if you don't have much in the way of prescription drugs. I have only 1 and it is so cheap that I don't even have a co-pay for a 90 day supply. But if you are going to get screwed later you end up paying $180/year for nothing and that might go on for a decade or two before you actually need the coverage.

 

[farmerjan]

You pay a penalty on a per monthly assessment for all the time you don't have a drug plan. If you have an advantage plan, I believe it is part of that package but @Mini Horses could better address that.
I did mention that my prescription plan was Part D.
Yes, you can change your plan year to year. If you have an advantage plan, and develop any problems, the chances of getting a "regular medicare" plan AND getting the supplemental ins to cover is very slim to none. The supplemental plans are like life ins as they decide your risk factor and will either refuse to allow you to get a plan, or will charge ALOT more for it. That it is why you have to be very careful of the way to go, and your individual health considerations. If you go Medicare A and B and D (drug plan) then you need to add a supplement to cover all the things not covered by the other. And there is alot that is not covered and can easily cost way more than the supplemental plan like I have. I think it is either "plan F or G".....
Medicare sets a standard for what each plan has to cover.... then when you decide which one to have, you go shopping with the different companies that supply the plans for the cost.
It can be very confusing..... and after talking to our "expert" insurance lady at work, I followed her recommendations and I am not going to go looking to save a couple dollars and get something that has the fine print that will come back to haunt me because I didn't understand it.
You need someone you trust to walk you through medicare...... SS is easier as far as just deciding when to take it. ASAP is my thoughts on that in many cases nowadays if you are already not working and are eligible.

 

[Mike CHS]

I feel really fortunate that I am retired Navy since TRICARE covers pretty much everything that MEDICARE doesn't.

 

[farmerjan]

Yeah, I thought paying for the drug plan a "waste" since I take nothing on a regular basis - have no health issues that require a daily "pill" for anything. But after learning about the penalty thing, just went with the basic plan and it probably has come out about even for the cost of the pain pills and the supplements that were prescribed at the rehab, compared to the cost of the plan for the year. For me, it's the "what if" something happens and I have an accident/wreck/injury of any sort and have to take stuff..... the penalty far out weighs the not having it and then having to get the prescrip plan and you can only sign up for it at certain times of the year....

What I am paying - $250/mo m/l - is what my health ins was costing at work with 6500 deductible, and that was my part, not the company's full cost. It is cheap ins for me to be totally covered for about anything that comes along. And since $135 is coming off the top of the SS check, it is like "free money" because my SS is extra income for me...... I never see the $135 in the first place. I realize it is "out of my pocket" in a sense... but it is different if it is put into your account then taken back out..... and again, I don't HAVE to have my SS to survive but it adds a nice boost to my income.

The tester that started it at 62.5 said that she took that money, her SS check, and put it towards her payment on the tractor she bought for the farm and the implements..... I think she has it about paid off.... like one of those Kubota packages with loader, mower, bush hog, trailer.....

 

[farmerjan]

@Mike CHS , I think that the supplement I have is pretty much like your TRICARE.... covers pretty much everything else. Worth it to me.

 

[Senile_Texas_Aggie]

Regarding Medicare, I started the part A and B when I retired at 65. I signed up for Medicare parts A and B and elected COBRA to provide insurance coverage for Part D and for insurance coverage for my Beautiful Gal. Beginning in 2019, I ended the COBRA and signed up for Medicare part D (no penalty as the COBRA was a qualified plan) and signed up for AARP supplemental insurance for me after learning about it from Miss @Baymule (thank you for that, Miss Baymule ). I also learned at the time that my former company offered insurance coverage for my Beautiful Gal. I am glad they did, as it was quite a bit cheaper with better coverage than what I was finding available on the open market. So we are covered regarding the medical insurance.

Regarding SS, I am 1 year and 2 days older than you, Miss @farmerjan. I have been using the SSA retirement calculator for the projections, so that is my source data for my analysis. I just now checked the life expectancy found at https://www.ssa.gov/oact/STATS/table4c6.html and learned that the average (arithmetic mean) life expectancy for someone my age is around 83. But since they don't show what the median age is (the point where half of the folks have died), I am guessing that it would be around 80-81, about the time the crossover for me would be for taking SS now versus waiting until 70. So it is looking more and more that I should start taking SS right away.

I want to thank every one of you for your thoughts, comments, and advice, as it has helped me to be able to make a (hopefully) wise choice.

Senile Texas Aggie

 

[Bruce]

The supplemental plans are like life ins as they decide your risk factor and will either refuse to allow you to get a plan, or will charge ALOT more for it.

Would that not be true even if you go with a supplemental plan from day 1?

I am guessing that it would be around 80-81, about the time the crossover for me would be for taking SS now versus waiting until 70.

I don't understand why that would be true if 80 (ish) is the break even age between starting at 62 versus 70??? Seems like your break even would be at a later age since you are already about halfway between the two.

 

[farmerjan]

@Bruce yes it is somewhat true as far as the higher costs if you switch FROM advantage, TO regular A-B-D and supplement. BUT, if you sign up with it right at eligibility at 65. they cannot refuse you a supplemental policy of your choice. The cost may be very high, but you can still get whatever one you want ( I think that you had to have insurance previous, like through work or individual but I can't remember that part). BUT once you do advantage, and have any health issue, they can REFUSE to switch you to a personal choice of a supplemental policy instead. That is what my ins lady at work said for me to think about.... Again, this is taking into consideration my previous "health conditions" (none) so was eligible for a good rate on any of the supplemental plans I wanted. We did price several just for looking at what was covered, what co-pays might be, what deductibles were.
It is an individual choice.


Sounds like you got the ins covered, that is great. It costs too much for individuals, and got so much worse with the "affordable health care plan" that was put into place several years ago..... I remember how much our work group ins went up; and how we started to have to contribute a portion which we never did....
Glad that part of my life is over, as far as worrying about full time status, work ins increasing and deductible increasing.

Okay, so yes, @Senile_Texas_Aggie ... in my humble opinion.... MY PERSONAL OPINION ONLY...... I think it is past time to start your SS. Get the advantage of the money now instead of waiting for another 2-3 years to reach 70..... Make your life a little easier money wise, and not have to pull as much from your IRA's...... or just give yourself a "cash cushion". If you are paying a mtg like that, then you are pulling a fair amount and must have some good investments; that is SUPER planning on your part during working years, to have it to pull from.
Plus, get in before something goes totally haywire in this country and you don't get it..... or get a very reduced amount. There will be some kind of grandfathering in if things get really bad...... and if the economy keeps on and all these bailouts keep getting passed, there is no way we can stay solvent in this country. SOMEONE is going to have to pay the piper for the tune that keeps getting played. Sadly, I don't think my son will have much to look forward to 20 years.....

 

[Bruce]

I'm currently covered through DW's P.O. Blue Cross plan, so is DD2. DD1 aged out last year, I will "Medicare out" next March and DD2 will age out May next year. Presumably the ~$7K she is paying now will go down a fair bit when she is covering only herself.

I don't have any major medical issues, at least not yet. DW won't hit Medicare until 2027 and with her RA and her hips being affected her prior RA doc said she's in for future hip replacements. I guess we have to hope that can wait until she hits 65? But given she has a preexisting condition, a supplemental plan would be prohibitively expensive??

I agree with you on the future of SS, at least as it currently stands. If your son won't have much to look forward to in 20 years, I can only imagine what it will/won't be in 38 & 40 years for my DDs. Guess I better not spend their inheritance, they may need it to live on.