Planned Assets Senior Technical Writer

Medicare Insurance: Part B, Enrollment (2)

Enrollment: Individuals, not meeting certain exceptions, failing to enroll during the initial enrollment period may find their Part B premium increased up to 10% for each 12 month period that the person could have enrolled but did not.  This penalty may be considered draconian because it remains throughout life.  If you believe you fall under an exception, a prudent person should consult with your local Social Security office or call 1-800 772-1213 for information and help.

If you do not enroll during the initial enrollment period and do not qualify for an exception, you will have to wait until the next general enrollment period.  Prior to 2011 open enrollment period was from January 1st to March 31st.  Starting in 2011 the open enrollment period begins October 15th and ends December 7th.   

While true you have 7 months (initial enrollment period) to enroll (manual) in Medicare A or B without penalty, there are exceptions:

1.During the initial enrollment period if you do not fall under an exception there is a penalty, not financial, for not enrolling prior to the month you turn 65.  

a.Depending on the month you actually enroll your effective date may be delayed up to as much as 3 months.

2.Employer provided group insurance.

a.If you or your spouse (Family member if you are disabled) is still working and they/you have health coverage through an employer or union you may have an exception.  However, you are well advised to contact your employer or union benefits administrator to determine if and how your coverage works with Medicare.  

b.It is very possible it may be to your advantage both financially and medically to delay enrolling.

c.If your employer has 20 or more employees you may not need to enroll in Part B, but if the employer has less than 100 employees you should determine exactly how your plan works with Medicare.

( If your employer has more than 20 employees or even a few more, before declining to obtain Part B you should insure your health plan qualifies you for the exception.)

Employer provided group health insurance: As discussed in a prior post, individuals covered by Health Saving Qualified Plans may be best served by not enrolling in Medicare coverage (Part A, B &D).

1.If you like your plan.

2.Your employer is paying most if not all the premium.

3.You have and are taking advantage of having and contributing to a Health Savings Account.

However, even if you meet these three items it may or may not be in your best interest to remain in the plan.  I would strongly recommend you discuss remaining with the plan with your HR department and even an agent qualified to discuss your current plan and Medicare considering not only the coverage provided, but out of pocket cost and the effect of coverage for your family.

For questions concerning Social Security you should contact your local Social Security office.  For questions concerning Medicare Supplement Policies or your current health insurance please call (888 270 9870) or email ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ). 

A Medicare Advantage Plan is another Medicare health plan choice you may have as part of Medicare.  These plans are often called “Part C” and are offered by private companies approved by Medicare.  Advantage plans provide all of your Medicare benefits under part A and B and many even include Part D or Medicare prescription drug coverage.

Advantage plans are quite different than Medigap plans which are private plans sold to supplement part A & M of Medicare coverage.  Some months ago in a report by the Wall Street Journal, Advantage plans were credited as providing better coverage than standard Medicare plus a Medigap policy.  Part of this may be due to Medicare paying these plans more per enrollee than the cost of care for beneficiaries in the standard fee-for-service program.  The 2010 health reform bill at first was a shot to terminate these plans but now is reducing federal payments to the Advantage policies per beneficiary and increasing cost for enrollees. 

If you are not aware of Advantage policies you should be if you are starting to reach that age.  These plans have been around since 1970 in one name are another and payments to them in 2012 is expected to reach $115 billion, accounting for 21% of total Medicare spending according to the CBO.  In 2011, 49 million people were enrolled with Medicare with 25% (12.25 million) enrolled with Advantage plans.  Today that number is 12.5 million and growing each day.

Recently the Japanese government stated; Japan and China will promote direct trade without using dollars and instead will use the Yen and Yuan. Japan has also stated it will also apply to buy Chinese bonds next year instead of U.S. bonds.

As a part of a plan outlined in October to promote use of the Yuan within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and establish free trade zones, China will complete a 70 billion ($11 billion US) currency swap with Thailand.

If our government continues failing to take action concerning debt and deficit issues, if it continues to only print more money based on nothing the rest of the world will have no alternative but to find an alternative to using US Dollars as a world reserve currency. A point made clear by Russia and supported by France.

This recent action and it continuance will be and is a significant blow to the US Dollar. Diminishing the strength of the dollar and reduced purchase of US bonds will not help the US economy. These countries, China and Japan, represent two of the world’s largest economies and largest purchaser and holder of US bonds.

As the world’s largest debtor nation, moving the US Dollar from the principal world reserve currency and reduced purchase of US bonds will affect our economy significantly. China is in direct economic competition with the US and China, the world’s largest creditor nation, is not the China of history.

A change of this magnitude will affect growth and recovery of our economy and each of us dramatically as taxpayers and consumers. As we move to 2012, the one thing we can expect is change. I we do not take note and continue to do what we have always done what will be the outcome. Now is the time to consider having an in-depth conversation about your wealth accumulation and optimization plans with us.

January 1, 2012 is the start of the 2012-2013 college year and all students (new or ongoing) hoping to receive financial aid for this period must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form, the sooner the better. The form is available as a paper version, PDF or there is an on line version. The application will only be accepted after the first, but any and all aid is based first on results of this form and all aid is first come first serve the sooner your student may get in line.

Private colleges and some public also require and electronically completed CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE Form as well and you will want to determine if a school your student is interested in requires this form. Understand that this form is more invasive than the FAFSA and will requires information the FAFSA does not.

Then some schools, mostly private, require completion of their own forms for aid. Graduate and some professional school students may also have to complete a Need Access Application.

To find out which forms are required by schools your student is interested in should be in the information booklets you have receive or on the schools website.

Caution:

1. These forms take thought, care, research and time. Do not rush to get them completed.

2. Make sure that you have all of the correct information required before you get started.

3. I stress correct, even more that you Tax return, these are forms you do not want to hedge on or provide almost correct information. Although the IRS must get a subpoena to see your FAFSA form the Secretary of Education has the authority to verify information of the FAFSA with the IRS.

4. Make darn sure you use the correct FAFSA form; for 2012-2013 the paper form is orange and purple.

The paper FAFSA can be obtained from most school guidance counselors or by calling (1-800-433-3243). Make sure you ask for the specific year form. To down load or complete on line go to www.fafsa.ed.gov.

Will Rogers once said “Return of your money is sometimes more important than return on your money.”

IMF Chief Christine Lagarde recently speaking at the U.S. State Department in Washington said; “There is no economy in the world, whether low-income countries, emerging markets, middle-income countries or super-advanced economies, that will be immune to the crisis that we see not only unfolding but escalating.”

Economist’s as opposed to market commentators forecast economic ‘deflation’ as the only possible scenario in the decade ahead. The cliché about things in our time being unlike the experience of our parents or grandparents is well known, but wrong touching economics. “Nothing new under the sun” is more appropriate, because we see the current situation similar to the U.S. of the 30’s or Japan of the 80’s and 90’s. Deflation and the nation’s response will affect us dramatically as taxpayers and consumers right when we are trying to address our own goals, needs and retirement planning.

--How do I recover from my losses since 2008?

--How do I secure my finances for the future?

--Will I run out of money in retirement?

--What about the volatile stock market?

If you lost money, we can show you how to recover back to where you were and grow without increasing your risk.

Planned Assets is a financial planning firm helping individuals and families throughout Texas protect and grow wealth through successful financial strategies.

Whether you have a net worth of a million dollars or more, in the middle of your wealth-building plan or trying to dig yourself out of a financial hole we can help protect and grow your wealth through safe and predictable financial strategies.

We believe in building with Safe Money, and we only work with programs not exposed to the open market.

We believe stopping unnecessary transfers of wealth is an appropriate accumulation strategy to increasing rates and risk.

We believe in Reasonable Rates of Return.

And, we believe in Simple. If you don’t understand it, you shouldn’t own it.

For a no-cost phone consultation, feel free to call us at (888) 290-9870 or complete this form.

Planned Assets 131 West Brook Dr. Texas 77484

A successful retirement doesn't just happen; it must be planed for. Initial panning involves control of current assets and income through a budget process. Developing or proceeding with a systematical saving plan for the money you will need, making sure it is suitably invested has always been considered the next step. However, the majority now in retirement and those actively planning for retirement are not only underestimating the amount of money that will be needed, but allowing 10, 20 even 30% of income and invest-able assets to be transferred unknowingly and unnecessarily out of the family. With the decrease of invest-able assets because of wealth transfer many resort to chasing investments with higher rates of return and high risk often with disasters consequences. Once retirement starts, emphasis shifts to spending and safeguarding, but with continued wealth transfers compounded by volatile financial market and underestimation of required assets most retirement plans have little chance to be as effective or successful as planned.

Americans, particularly Baby Boomers, are more nervous about and unprepared for their retirement today than at any time in history. Though 401(k) balances reached an all-time “high “of $71,000—reetirement confidence has fallen to an all-time low. Even though the greatest challenge in retirement and probably your greatest fear, is outliving your money, most Americans spend less time planning their retirement than they do a vacation. It is never too late to start retirement planning, and it is never too early to refine plans you have already made.

Without professional financial help, you know your chances of “Stumbling Across” or developing a retirement program you desire and obtaining the success you know you’re capable of achieving is less than optimal. Planned Assets has the capability of guiding you to a successful long term plan.

We each get only a few opportunities in life to get on a higher path and Planned Assets will help you find your higher path—and guarantee you take consistent action to meet your retirement goals. Call or email us today, (888 270 9870 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ). If you procrastinate or wait, the chances of you taking action in the future are very slim.