My last works were directed by thousands of questions and comments, which focused largely on the height Medical religion Medicare as well as retirement confusion in social security and health savings accounts, known as HSAS. Below is a sample that was released from these 6000 comments-and a bad and bad!-And I take it on it.
As always, if you have a personal financing question, you are cLick here to drop me a note. I will try to answer in a future column.
Here we are. Let’s start with a person who was not very happy with me:
While the intention was good, I was disappointed in your article. I neglected to mention that Medigap policies will cover all or most of the Medicare. Also: The people you remember are likely to be qualified to obtain medical care plans that will reduce the costs of beneficiaries. The beneficiary of qualified medical care or QMB is the most generous plan and covers all payments and discounts, part B premium, and also provides additional assistance.
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Kerry: sinner. The regular Medicare does not come with integrated covers on a variety of costs outside the pocket, so don’t want to register in it if you also have no complementary protection. Bills that lead to medical religion usually include routine health care services such as laboratory fees, diagnostic tests, dental care, doctor visits, and long -term care services that are not covered by Medicare, according to KFF. Medicare usually requires patients to pay about 20 % of the doctor’s bills. Many retirees cannot.
Now let’s talk about Medigap Insurance Health Insurance. Not everyone has this coverage. These policies are sold by private insurance companies, and as you have noticed, they pay a part or all the costs of food residue, such as due discounts and mineral currency insurance, and may also cover health care costs that Medicare does not cover at all, such as most of the medical care that has been received when Traveling from the United States.
However, in most states, the guaranteed right to buy medigap is limited to the time you are registered for the first time at Medicare Part B. due to the lack of Medicare not allowing the Medigap grant of your rejection or charge of a higher premium due to a pre -existing condition during that period. However, in most states, your installment will differ depending on factors such as your age, gender and where you live.
Medigap is also good if you join a feature plan during the first year of medical care, but you have been delivered within a year and moved to traditional medical care. After that, though, Medigap plans in most states can reject you if you have a pre -existing condition, such as diabetes. Exceptions are New York, Connecticut, Min, and Massachusetts.
There is help there as you have noticed if you have a limited income, you may be eligible for medical care Additional helpWhich covers the installments of Part D and the discounts and costs of drugs. free Individual consultations Available through government health insurance assistance programs (SHIP). the Medical Care Rights Center The free consumer aid line provides: 800-333-4114. You can also contact Medicare directly on 800-633-4227.
QMB, which I mentioned, is Medicaid Beneficked with low -income medical care Paying their medical care costs, such as installments, discounts, and payments. It is a secondary insurance, which means that it pays to exchange Medicare after Medicare paid its share.
He is 60 years old and is very worrying about the costs of long -term long -term care. What can you add to?
Kerry: One of the factors that plays in the growing health care debts for the elderly is that the advantage of medical care and traditional medical care does not cover the cost of long -term care in the homes of the elderly care and auxiliary living facilities. The average price of the apartment in an auxiliary facility with a help of $ 74,148 annually in 2024, according to the National Investment Center for Housing and Care-and high costs with the progress of residents and needs more care. Units for sheep patients can run more than $ 94,000.
About 80 % of those between the ages of 65 years will require some long -term care, with approximately 20 % of high -density care for more than three years, ANQI CHEN, a participating author of a brief summary of the Boston College Research Center, told me.
Can one use HSA contributions to pay the Medicare Part B&D costs or any other insurance plans that may have (feature, Medigap etc.)?
Kerry: Yes, you can take advantage of your healthy savings account to pay for medical care premiums and other qualified medical expenses, including those covered by medical care parts A, B, C (medical care feature) and D (prescribed medicine coverage). But it is difficult not to use HSA money to pay the Medicare (Medigap) supplement installments.
Learn more: What is the health savings account (HSA)?
My husband and I are retired, in the seventies of the last century and we live in Mexico. My husband has HSA that he created through his work, perhaps 15 years ago. Can he use it for medical and similar expenses outside the United States? Can we continue to contribute to the current HSA?
Kerry: Yes, you can use your HSA to cover medical costs when you live outside the country as long as expenses are qualified medical expenses under American law. However, the transactions fee may be made by 1 % -3 % if you reach your credit card.
As for your account race, at the present time, you cannot contribute to more money in HSA at your age. Contributions are Kaput as soon as you are eligible to get Medicare, usually start at the beginning of the 65 -year -old. A The current draft law Before the Senate now, it may amend this eligibility if it becomes a law.
I am about to retire and plan to live in Canada. If I work and received a salary of about 50 thousand in Canada, are I obligated to a maximum level of social security income?
Kerry: This is one to take a social security officer directly. In general, if you live and work in another country, the limits of social security income usually remain as if you were working in the United States.
Here is the way in which he works: The profit test does not apply to people who collect social security between the age of 62 (the oldest age of eligibility) and their full retirement age, which ranges between 66 and 67 years, depending on the year in which it was born.
In the face of this, you are allowed to demand retirement advantages for social security during work, and the detained benefits are not lost. Social security re -calculates the monthly benefits when it reaches a full retirement age to credit the detained benefits. In general, the way the profit test works is if you range from 62 years, your full retirement age and earn more than 23,400 dollars (the maximum is modified annually) and social security collection, the administration will block one dollar for each two dollars to this limit.
For people who reach a full retirement age in 2025, the annual exempt amount is $ 62,160. This higher exempt applies only to the profits that were made in months before the month at which the retirement age has reached.
The good news is that the profit test disappears at the full retirement age.
But nothing is simple here. there last A method called foreign work test. With this method, your income can affect your current interest. If you receive social security advantages and are younger than full retirement life, SSA will block your benefits for every month, you work more than 45 hours outside the United States and are not subject to American social security taxes. It does not matter the amount you won or the number of hours it worked every day. Payment How does work affect your benefits (Publishing No. 05-10069).
He is 69 years old and plans to work up to at least 72 or 73 years. The advantages of social security income (SSI) will be the largest part of my income upon retirement, and I am currently $ 40,000 of debt through a payment plan that will cancel all or most debts before I retire. Warning is that I will need to claim SSI benefits to support this payment plan. I am 70 years old in September 2025 and I want to know when I can apply for the advantages of my social security income to maintain an increase of 8 % until I am 70 years old. Is it on my birthday in September, or do I need to wait until the first of October?
Kerry: To receive 8 % maximum in your social security entitlement, you must apply for your advantages a month before your seventieth birthday. This will ensure that your benefits will return on your seventieth birthday, and receive a full 8 % increase per year. You are late in obtaining advantages after a full retirement age.
It usually takes at least a month, or 30 days, to receive the first social security examination after processing your request. It can be 45 days in some cases. The exact time of delivery of checks depends on treatment times in social security management.
Read more: When will I get my social security check?
During a meeting of the recent operations in April in SSA, an agency official stated that field offices “are now fighting to keep pace with this year.” The fact that they are familiar with this is good, and if they take action, SSA will be under control as it is in favor of your interest.
In general, I recommend applying up to four months before you want to start receiving advantages.
Kerry Hannon is a great column writer in Yahoo Financial. She is a professional strategic and retirement expert and authored 14 books, including next Retirement bites: Gen X guide to secure your financial future,” “In controlling 50+: How to succeed in the new work world? And “is ever become more rich.” Follow it Blues.
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