That amount will go up in 2016 for the “high income” individuals mentioned above, plus anyone who signs up for Medicare Part B for the first time in 2016. It will also increase for anyone at lower income levels who doesn’t have their Medicare payment deducted directly from their Social Security check each month. Hold … Read more
Prepare yourself for the paper deluge! If you are a Medicare enrollee, you will probably notice an uptick in the amount of mail you receive during the next couple of months. That’s because we are about to enter that special time of year designated to be the open enrollment period for Medicare plans. Various Medicare … Read more
“Hair is the first thing. And teeth the second. A man got those two things, he’s got it all.” Who am I to argue with the hardest working man in show business, Mr. James Brown? James knows what makes the world go around. But I might suggest that perhaps he has the order of importance … Read more
Lots of important financial announcements came down from the government this week that should be of interest to retirees and those looking to retire in the near future. As usual with Washington, there’s some good news and some bad news. Here’s a quick look… For those who are still working and can contribute to some … Read more
My 60th birthday is rapidly approaching. Yikes! On most every day, I feel much younger than my mental image of a 60-year-old, but the calendar tells the truth. My birth year of 1954 places me squarely in the middle of the Baby Boomer generation, defined as those born between 1945 and 1964. That placement resulted … Read more
Is the average Baby Boomer retiree’s glass half empty or half full? After several years of nothing but gloom and doom scenarios and projections for boomer retirees, there is finally some good news to report…maybe. A recent survey conducted by Baltimore-based investment management firm T. Rowe Price concluded that many newly-minted retirees are finding that … Read more
And yet, BankRate.com’s annual compilation of best places to retire: reveals that, according to their specific criteria, South Dakota should indeed be a contender, garnering the number one slot in combined scoring of cost of living, crime rate, health care, taxes, weather and personal well-being. Most of us would not have seen that coming. Is … Read more