Changes are afoot on the Social Security and Medicare fronts for 2016. Both programs are implementing measures that will have an impact on anyone who is currently retired or those making retirement plans over the next few years. Let’s look at Medicare first. Medicare Part B, which covers services like outpatient doctor visits and preventative […]
Making a List, Checking It Twice
As the year begins to wind down, it’s common to spend some time reflecting upon key events of the last twelve months. We think about the good and the bad and all the stuff in between and we look forward, with some combination of anticipation and trepidation, to starting again with a whole new set […]
A Crucial Decade
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 […]
Half Empty or Half Full?
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 […]
To Claim or Not To Claim
To claim or not to claim – that is the question. Is it better to postpone collecting your Social Security benefits until you are 66 or possibly 70, or is it better to take the money and run at age 62, the earliest possible moment it is offered? Certainly, popular opinion seems to favor the […]
The Cost of Caring
You know that bumper sticker that reads, “Be nice to your kids – they’ll choose your nursing home”? Well, if seeing it makes you uncomfortable, join the club. First, consider the folks, like me, who have no children. Who will help us when we need care in our elder years? Then, consider the vast majority […]