Anyone who’s paying attention to the political arena knows we live in highly contentious times – and few government programs provoke more argument than Social Security. Politicians left, right, and center all claim they want to preserve this program which is critical to the livelihoods of roughly 64 million Americans. Yet as is so often…
It was a rare bi-partisan moment two months ago in Washington, DC, when the SECURE Act passed both House and Senate by a wide margin. This important piece of legislation, which took effect January 1, 2020, was the first major retirement-related legislation since the 2006 Pension Protection Act. In classic “Washington-speak,” SECURE is an acronym…
Last week on the AgingOptions blog, we presented part one of our report on this article from Kaiser Health News. In this insightful article, writer Judith Graham took a look into the future – well, into the coming decade, anyway – and described, as the title says, “What the 2020s Have in Store for Baby…
Congress recently passed a new piece of legislation known as the SECURE Act (yes, it’s an acronym – we’ll explain in a moment) and President Trump signed it into law just days ago as part of the federal government’s new spending bill. One article we read called it “the most sweeping retirement bill since the…
With four weeks (more or less) to go in the open enrollment season, many Medicare beneficiaries are shopping for plans for the first time. One of the biggest surprises for those who haven’t done their homework is the discovery that basic Medicare doesn’t cover dental, vision or hearing services: these important benefits require additional policies…
As if there weren’t enough to worry about in the arena of personal privacy, now comes one more red flag. This just-published article on the Politico website reveals that companies are secretly gathering your health care information and selling it to doctors, hospitals and insurance companies, all without your consent and – for now, at…
Medicare open enrollment came and went last fall, and now you’re a few weeks into the New Year – and that new Medicare Advantage plan you selected. We hope you’re happy with the coverage you’re getting, but if you’re not, this article from the CNBC website contains some good news: you have a chance to…
Just last week, according to this article on the NextAvenue website, President Donald Trump unveiled a plan the administration claims will allow more Americans to retire securely. Released by executive order, the new proposal does two things that may affect the retirement future for millions of Americans, including you. Significant Changes “President Trump last week…
Pick up almost any retirement-related publication these days and there’s bound to be an article about how today’s boomers plan to work well past what used to be called “retirement age.” Experts say that workers today, either out of preference or necessity, expect to work at least to age 70 or even longer, but they…
It seems like the rumors never stop flying: Social Security is going broke, they say, so you’d better start claiming benefits now because the program isn’t likely to be around much longer. Somebody in your circle of friends, probably your cousin’s next-door neighbor, always claims to have the inside scoop about how this benefit that…