JP Morgan has a comprehensive guide on planning for retirement, investments, Roth IRA, and when to collect Social Security. You cannot start too young to think about these ideas.
Please consider the Retirement Insights and the 2024 Guide to Retirement by JP Morgan.
The PDF is 53 pages long and covers saving, retirement, investment, Medicare plans, when to collect Social Security, tax rates, contributions, Roth IRAs , Traditional IRAs, life expectancies, emergencies, and more.
I am only going to offer a couple of suggestions.
First and foremost, have a plan and act on it. Every day I read stories of people approaching retirement age with no money. Don’t be one of them.
Second, the PDF has a tiny section on Medicare Advantage Plans. There are regional variations and what applies to me, may not apply to you. But please look into these advantage plans. Advantage was a huge benefit to me, as in thousands of dollars.
Your results may vary. The PDF had very little information, but the subject triggered my suggestion to look into it.
My timing was was very good (lucky if you prefer). I enrolled late last year and was able to pick up a big dental benefit in 2023 (tooth extraction) and 2024 (implant), along with other significant benefits.
Biden Shrinks Medicare Advantage
On April 14, the Wall Street Journal reported Biden Shrinks Medicare Advantage
President Biden keeps accusing Republicans of trying to gut Medicare. No doubt he hopes seniors don’t notice that his Administration recently cut payments to Medicare Advantage plans, which will lead to higher patient costs and reduced benefits.
About half of seniors are enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans, which are administered by private insurers with government funding. These plans have been increasing in popularity, especially among lower-income Americans, because they offer additional benefits such as dental and vision care. Out-of-pocket costs tend to be lower than in traditional fee-for-service Medicare.
Critics of Medicare Advantage say insurers sometimes put up bureaucratic hurdles to covering needed treatments and procedures, which is true. But they also prevent unnecessary care, which is rife in traditional Medicare. Insurers also do a better job of coordinating care and keeping patients out of the hospital. If seniors disliked the program, it wouldn’t be growing.
Enter the Biden Administration, which is trying to limit the program’s growth by squeezing insurers. Progressives oppose Medicare Advantage because they dislike private market competition and want the government to control all of healthcare. The Administration last year restricted plan marketing and cut payments to insurers on average by 1.1%.
Medicare Advantage plans send notices of annual plan changes in the autumn—a few weeks before the November election. Seniors may be in for a rude cost and benefit shock when they try to renew. If seniors like their doctor, they might not be able to keep her.
Perhaps election considerations explain why a bipartisan group of 61 Senators, including Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, urged CMS in a January letter to “ensure payment and policy stability for the Medicare Advantage program,” adding that seniors must “have stable access to the extra benefits and out-of-pocket protections only available in Medicare Advantage.”
Will Mr. Schumer now protest the Administration’s cut to drive more seniors out of private plans?
By the way, CMS is also cutting physician payments in traditional Medicare to control its ballooning costs. The predictable result will be more provider consolidation, less healthcare competition, and a shift in costs to privately insured Americans.
If only Republicans had nominated a presidential standard-bearer who could explain all this to Americans.
I do not know where this heads other than to say Progressives oppose Medicare Advantage because they dislike private market competition and want the government to control all of healthcare.
But please look into it the Advantage plans if you are on Medicare. My understanding is some of the costs are based on whether you live in an area where seniors are active and healthy. I live in such a community. I was pleasantly surprised by some of the benefits.
Alex Thompson
When should one plan to start collecting Social Security according to the JP Morgan guide? Is there a specific age range recommended?