Retirement Plans?

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Why would anyone pick those?
 
They often offer 100% coverage once you've reached your out of pocket limit. They may cover vision, dental, wellness costs, even gym memberships, or cover prescription costs (where you would have to have Medicare part D to have them covered otherwise). In certain situations, they may make sense for people. You just have to go into it understanding that now you are going to be subject to the insurance company telling you what physicians you can see and what services they may pay for.
 
Boone said:
Yep. Thanks for clarifying that. On the Managed Medicare plans - the problem is, being 'required to cover what Medicare covers' and 'covering what Medicare covers' are completely different things. The fatal flaw in all this is that Medicare Advantage companies are incentivized to deny access. They literally make billions denying services to patients that they would receive had they not signed up for these plans. It's so bad that Medicare itself is investigating improper service denials by these companies, sometimes at exponentially high rates.

We see major Medicare Advantage plans denying nearly 100% of requests for Inpatient Rehab stays for patients with medical issues Medicare pre-defines as qualifying conditions. They do it knowingly, consistently, and in total disregard to the impact on the patients and their families. Frequently, non-medical staff are issuing the denials routinely, requiring physican appeals on our end of the equation.

It is absolutely shameful, and probably in some cases criminal.
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That's what is sad, because the definition of being covered includes both "with or without restrictions". So with a lot of specialty drugs, that are being prescribed for an on-label indication, they will be covered by traditional Medicare, but require a prior authorization with Medicare Replacement/Advantage plans, which will deny them for various reasons, usually due to a medical policy with the payer or they will toss in a step-edit requirement that they try and fail another drug before being covered.
 
I hate to say this but all of my life I have told myself..."don't go cheap on lawyers or doctors" it is so true.

I had a case 15+ years ago that I got out of because I paid top dollar lawyer fees. I was definitely guilty but cops screwed up legal procedures and I got off. I walked out of that courtroom like the Teflon Don

I can buy heavy medical coverage in the Dominican for next to nothing compared to here, as well as keep a private doctor on retainer - like a lawyer. Plus my wife will be a doctor in 2 or so years

The medical system here is so screwed up compared to the rest of the world.
 
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Turned 60 this past March.
House has been paid off for years.
No debt, except for a truck that will be paid off by the time we retire.
Same company for 39+ years....with a 401K that the company has matched the 1st 6% of my contribution, that I've been contributing to since I started along with a contributory cash pension.
Mrs Skinsfan works for the same company, but not as long. She doesn't have a pension. She's covered under my benefits, so she saves a shit-ton on her 401K.
We'll probably stay in MD. People talk a good game about moving, but I've talked to a lot of folks who have moved and many regret it. Mainly because they've left most of their friends and family behind and they're lonely.
Makes sense...if you think about it...who actually makes friends, after you're in your 60's?

Edit: I'm retiring at 63...2 1/2 years to go!
 
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The problem in the US is that we’ve ceded control to the insurance companies instead of the physician who has actually seen the patient. The idea that some gatekeeper hundreds or thousands of miles away can make appropriate medical decisions based on documentation is insane, and yet that’s the system we’ve put in place. I am so glad to wash my hands of it all in a few years, if I can tolerate it for that long.
 
SkinsOrlando said:
Wtf is retirement, social security is bankrupt before I get close , luckily I'm hoping my tik tok takes off of me just becoming a grumpy middle aged man. So far I have no followers but I'm sure it'll pick up eventually after the past 2 years. You'd think working in finance I'd have a better plan, then ask yourself, have you met me??
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Might want to try OnlyFans. 😉
 
Sorry to hijack this thread with the insurance discussion, that’s just a small aspect. Stay healthy, that’s the most important retirement goal!
 
RedWolf said:
I hate to say this but all of my life I have told myself..."don't go cheap on lawyers or doctors" it is so true.

I had a case 15+ years ago that I got out of because I paid top dollar lawyer fees.
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So very true.
I had to pay top dollar too, but the statute of limitations had run out on whatever it was (iirc it was Progressive Insurance suing me over an accident where their dude hit me in the rear...my '84 Pontiac Grand Prix barely had a scratch but demolished his little Kia). I just needed the rep, paid for it, and walked out of their office without a care in the world.
And it took the Dr. Fauci of Emory University to literally save my life after a 3-week hospital stay...no idea what all that would have cost because we hit our deductible on the day I was admitted.
 
Well, there are angels and there are devils :)
 
Boone said:
Well, there are angels and there are devils :)
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And my Mother named me Michael Lucifer...OY! Such a good Italian name! 🤣🤣🤣
 
,Great question and topic, as I hope to be on out of the workforce in just under a year. I just turned 61. Healthcare professional and part time farmer. I hope to draw SS as soon as I turn 62, and supplement that with the 401k as I see fit, Wife is 60 and after 37 years with the same employer has a decent pension to supplement her SS. Both of my parents are in their 90s and healthy, same is true for mother-in-law. We aren't planning on inheritance to guide our plans. Luckily neither of us are worldly, not needing fancy things, although I did recently purchase my "retirement" tractor and truck to make sure that need was met before I left the workforce.
As for plans: Fish more, hunt more. Go visit my grandkids (ages 3,2, 4 months) whenever I want to. Spend more summer days out on the boat. Maybe take an occasional tour of Italy. I am learning to enjoy managing my investments, investigating some heavily and buying others on a "gut" feeling lol. Healthcare cost before age 65 is one of my primary concerns, I'm budgeting for a $1k/mo expense and hope to be pleasantly surprised.
 
I'll be 68 in 4 weeks & retired on my birthday in 2018. We have base Medicare (A & B), an Anthem Medicare Advantage plan (Part G), prescription drug plan (Part D) & separate dental insurance. All in for both of us is $700/mth. I'm not going to discuss the US health system vs East BF country becuase I'm not an expert in either. I look at all of the non-A/B/D Mediare plans similar to the options I had when working: High deductible PPO, Low deductible PPO, etc. Each has it's pros & cons, AND, more importantly cost different amounts. Obviously your choice needs to fit your budget (A lot of people only have the base A & B. We're fortunate to be able to afford more coverage). The med insurance years prior to Medicare can be costly - we had my wife's county/state insurance that didn't increase too much when she retired. That made my 61-65 age years easier financially.
What's important to us is access to medical expertise when we need it. Never had a problem with that body part or that medical condition before you retired? You do now. You better hope there is someone local to treat you. Yes, this has made us pause when talking about moving to a place closer to the ocean/beach and/or a smaller city.
So, retirement. When I retired I thought about doing local consulting with small manufacturing companies (I implemented ERP systems at process manufacturers for ~30 years). Hourly rates were a joke so I dropped that idea after my first interview. I lucked into my new career: catering deliveries for local companies. I'm independant working under my own LLC. So my advice is to find something that you can leverage into making money & establish an LLC. There are a lot of tax advantages including paying those health insurance premiums with pre-tax money. Make money, meet people, get tax benefits.
Financial - in 2016 I turned over all of our IRA accounts to a financial advisor at one of the major finance companies. Upon retirement, we transfered everything there, too. Yes, we pay for it but we're getting a discount because he's someone we know. I managed everything until 2016 and knew I wasn't knowledgeable enough to do it in retirement. Plus I have no desire to keep up with the financial world minutia on a day-day/week-to-week basis. I talk to him quarterly, discuss goals, risks & options and we try to make some money. I've been extremely happy. No way I could have financially navigated these past 6+ years & been successful. A man has to know his limitations.
Travel - we try & take at 2-3 decent vactions per year to the Caribbean or US destination plus several multi-day/overnight trips. As a former Road Warrior I like to play around with frequent flyer, hotel points & credit card points to use for free travel. Having an LLC improves the ability to get more points. I guess you can call it my hobby.
Many of our expenses decreased when we retired -example: my wife used to drive ~9k miles/year when she worked. She drives ~3.5k now.
My advice: If you're close to retiring and can afford it, do it. I have yet to meet anybody who says "Yeah, this retirement thing sucks."
 
My biggest concern is that my father is 97. Not in great health but living on his own in a nice residential facility. I don’t want to stick around that long but it could happen.
 
Chris said:
My biggest concern is that my father is 97. Not in great health but living on his own in a nice residential facility. I don’t want to stick around that long but it could happen.
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For the most part, outside of the United States there are very few retirement homes. Most countries take their elderly into their homes unless a very severe sickness is involved. I really admire and support that.

If I get too old and require excessive care I'm going to OD on some really good black tar opium.

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I already live between two countries now. Luckily the only serious heath event that I have ever had took place in a country with very good quality doctors and facilities, plus national health care. But my most valuable asset is a considerably younger wife but I don’t discount a plan b like you described.
 
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