How Long Do You Have To Keep Your Statements? A year? Seven years? It depends. “You should retain copies of your federal tax returns for 7 years.” Is that true, or a myth? How long should you keep those quarterly and annual statements you get about your investment accounts? And how long should you keep bank statements before throwing them away? Your age, wealth & health might shape your answer. If you are not yet retired, then you may [...]
The A, B, C, & D of Medicare Breaking down the basics & what each part covers. Whether your 65th birthday is on the horizon or decades away, you should understand the parts of Medicare what they cover, and where they come from. Parts A & B: Original Medicare. America created a national health insurance program for seniors in 1965 with two components. Part A is hospital insurance. It provides coverage for inpatient stays at medical facilities. It can [...]
How Is Health Care Reform Affecting the Federal Deficit? Some analysts think it is helping reduce the deficit; but others wholeheartedly disagree. Has the Affordable Care Act actually cut Medicare spending? The numbers from the Congressional Budget Office make a pretty good argument for that, and suggest that the ACA has had a distinct hand in the recent drop in the federal deficit. Detractors of the ACA say that statistical argument doesn’t tell the whole story. Medicare has been a [...]
Retirement Planning With Health Care Expenses in Mind It is only wise to consider what Medicare wont cover in the future. As you save for retirement, you also recognize the possibility of having to pay major health care costs in the future. Is there some way to plan for these expenses years in advance? Just how great might those expenses be? Theres no rote answer, of course, but recent surveys from AARP and Fidelity Investments reveal that too many baby [...]
How Much Health Care Reform Will We See By 2014? Can the federal government follow through on its ambitions? In 2014, we were supposed to see profound health care reform per the 2011 Affordable Care Act – but how much of that reform will roll out on time? The federal government has already conceded that it can’t enforce the employer mandate portion of the Affordable Care Act by 2014. On July 2, the Obama administration gave businesses with 50 or [...]