By Elaine Floyd, CFP ® Health savings accounts (HSAs) are such excellent savings vehicles that people rarely ask about distributions, or how to take money out without it being taxed. They’re too focused on putting money in—as they should be while they’re healthy and working. In 2025 an HSA-eligible person (meaning: not enrolled in Medicare) who […]
Spending HSA Funds Read More »
By Elaine Floyd, CFP ® Unlike Social Security, which people tend to think about many years before claiming, Medicare is almost an afterthought. As long as people are working and covered by an employer plan, they don’t think very much about how their health insurance might change upon turning 65 or leaving employment. This leaves them
Pre-Medicare Planning: 6 Caveats Read More »
By Elaine Floyd, CFP ® Scenario planning shouldn’t stop at retirement. It’s unpleasant, but necessary, to imagine what your situation might look like after the death or incapacitation of a partner. An early dose of reality can help you build a financial foundation. Two weeks ago, my neighbor died unexpectedly at the age of 76. Three
Using Expectancy Scenarios in Financial Planning Read More »
By Elaine Floyd, CFP ® The usual method for estimating spending needs in retirement is to take your post-retirement household budget and tack on an inflation rate, such as 2%. Not so for health expenses. Some expenses increase at a faster rate than the inflation rate you use, others at a slower rate, but overall, expenses
Planning for Future Health Care Costs Read More »
By Elaine Floyd, CFP ® The most accurate and reliable way to determine your spending needs in retirement is to sit down and make up a budget projecting costs in the areas of housing, utilities, food, transportation, leisure activities and so on. Depending on how your life will change (or not) after retirement, you can base
How to Build a Retirement Health Care Budget Read More »
By Charles Sherry, MSC Here is what you need to know to navigate the 3.8% surtax on unearned investment income and the 0.9% additional tax on wages. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was designed to make health insurance more affordable, expand coverage, expand Medicaid, and help lower the overall cost of health care. The law
By Elaine Floyd, CFP ® It’s not true what they say about aging and the brain. Good thing, too. Now that you likely will live (and work) longer than previous generations, it’s imperative that you understand how to maintain and improve your most valuable asset. Exciting research going on in the field of neuroscience is finding
How to Make ‘Brain Gain’ Happen Read More »
By Elaine Floyd, CFP ® If you’ve been covered by a generous employer group health plan, you may be in for a rude awakening when you retire. Here are some tricks for keeping health care costs under control after you retire. Although the government may subsidize some of your health care costs under the Medicare program,
How to Keep Health Care Costs Under Control in Retirement Read More »
By Elaine Floyd, CFP ® For the past four decades, age 65 marked the time when you would leave your job, start your pension, file for Social Security, and enroll in Medicare. Not anymore. Since then, the retirement landscape has changed. Full retirement age for Social Security is 66 or 67. The traditional corporate pension has
Do You Need to Sign Up for Medicare at 65 if You’re Still Working? Read More »
Medicare and health insurance open enrollment starts on October 15th. To help you find the best coverage for your money, here’s a step-by-step checklist of health care items to review annually. Each fall, it’s important to review your health care needs and consider your available insurance options for the coming year. A recent survey found
Health Care Checklist for Finding the Best Coverage Read More »