Oh how my world has turned upside down - looking for advise

[FANOFJESUS]

This is true only if you qualify by income for the lowest premium. Starting with this month I am paying something like $188/mo. If my income goes back below their cutoffs, the monthly premium should once gain go down to base in future years.

So for one, my Medicare is $22xx/yr. Plan D (the cheapest plan I coulod find) is $37.50/mo, and my Medigap is $175/mo. Also, there are uncovered services, for which unless you can negotiate the price down you will be paying the Doc's top level uncut price.

So from my experience, $5000 for one person is closer. It varies by geography, type of Medigap, etc.

But no way is is dirt cheap, especially from the standpoint of couples who sometimes report living on $24,000 per year. And it goes up, devil mind the recession.

Ha

When I said dirt cheap what I mean is compared to the rates before 65. I should have made that clear.

 

[FIRE'd@51]

For us non-senior citizens, it appears that SS - lite is about $100/month/person. F will add about $200/month/person. Then there's Part D which I didn't get a price for. It looks like you can get up to $8-10,000 pretty quick.

If you went with just the basic SS, what's the annual, maximum out of pocket? Does F cover everything at 100%? What's the going price for Part D?

Not to nitpick, but I think you mean basic Medicare, not basic SS.

As I posted above, there is no maximum OOP since you are on the hook for the 20% Medicare Part B doesn't cover, as well as hospital deductibles and copays. Medicare plus plan F will cover 100% of your Medicare-eligible expenses with no OOP charges to you. Of course, things like dental and eyeglasses are not covered by Medicare.

As I posted above, the average part D premium nationwide is $30 per month (see Medicare.gov). The actual premium varies with location, deductibles, and copays. Medicare.gov has a slick program, whereby you tell it what drugs you are taking, and it ranks the part D plans in your area according to which is cheapest given your personal drug formulary.

BTW, I just plugged 77001 in as the zip code on the AARP website I linked above, and the plan F premium looks like about $150 per month per person (with the EFT and Household discounts), considerably more than here in Virginia, but considerably less than $200. And AARP may not be the low-cost provider in your area.

 

[2B]

Not to nitpick, but I think you mean basic Medicare, not basic SS.

BTW, I just plugged 77001 in as the zip code on the AARP website I linked above, and the plan F premium looks like about $150 per month per person (with the EFT and Household discounts), considerably more than here in Virginia, but considerably less than $200. And AARP may not be the low-cost provider in your area.

Yep. Basic medicare.

I plugged in my zip code and got $189. I was surprised how expensive it was.

 

[FIRE'd@51]

I plugged in my zip code and got $189. I was surprised how expensive it was.

I guess Houston is an expensive area. I just plugged in my old zip code in the NYC suburbs and it was $233 per person per month, more than twice the premium here in Virginia.

 

[old woman]

I didn't read all the thread but wanted to say not to roll your 401K to a IRA. At age over 55 when you leave an employer you can withdraw money without paying a penalty. You might not want to withdraw but since you might both be over 55 when you lose jobs it is worth thinking about.

 

[2B]

I guess Houston is an expensive area. I just plugged in my old zip code in the NYC suburbs and it was $233 per person per month, more than twice the premium here in Virginia.

I plugged the "new and improved" $5,000/person medicare cost into my barebones spreadsheet. Not surprisingly, it drops my "spendable income" in retirement by just a hair under $5,000. It doesn't create a crisis with my minimum cash/CD amount (for a barebones retirement) but it does make a the budget slightly tighter.

One obvious thing I need to look into is the cost variation of retirement medical coverage at different locations currently being considered. I don't think this will be real easy to do. I need to check into rules concerning moving to another state and getting into their "high risk" pool and how the rates change within the state for both Medicare and pre-Medicare coverage.

 

[militaryman]

There are several part time jobs to be had that offer Medical Benefits ---

If you can handle 20 hours a week at Starbucks you can get Health Coverage. (and a free pound of coffee a week )

I know after making 115K a year that $7 an hour might be depressing but depending on what medical problems come at you the $7 an hour could actually be FAR higher if your avoiding a $10000 hospital bill.

Here's a website with parttime jobs that have benefits..

Part Time Jobs with Benefits -

 

[citrine]

Wow.....you are in great shape Tom....your wife is in good health.
Money is just money....it is not everything. You have done a great job of building a good nest....1.2M is more than many people ever amass. Instead of looking at what isn't....look at what is.
As for the giving up vacation.....move to a better cost of living area and double your vacation money.....it is time to enjoy what you and your wife have worked hard to amass. Last I heard, you cannot take your millions with you in the afterlife.