Medicare School Daily
The team at MedicareSchool.com led by Marvin Musick answers REAL Medicare questions from our callers, and help bring clarity to the VERY confusing Medicare System.
Medicare School Daily
Is Taking Social Security At 65 A HUGE Mistake? Financial Planner Explains
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Is taking Social Security at 65 a smart move… or a costly mistake?
In this video, a financial planner breaks down what really happens when you take your Social Security benefits before full retirement age, and how that decision can impact your income over time.
We’ll walk through the pros and cons of taking Social Security early, how your monthly benefit is affected, and what factors you should consider before making your decision. From reduced payments to long-term income strategy, this is one of the most important choices in retirement planning.
If you’re approaching retirement, already collecting benefits, or trying to decide when to take Social Security, this is something you need to understand — especially as it relates to your overall Medicare and retirement strategy.
Have questions about your situation? Join us live on Medicare School Daily or reach out — we’re here to help you make confident, informed decisions.
Well, hello, everyone, and welcome to Medicare School Daily. This is Marvin Music with uh MedicareSchool.com. We sponsor this program every day from uh 11 o'clock to 12 o'clock Central Time, Monday through Thursday. And it's always a joy to be with you to take your questions and talk about very important topics related to retirement, Medicare, and Social Security. And today we have someone on our team that uh is uh uh brilliant, honestly, in the whole investment field. His name is Eric Kofort. Uh Eric is the managing director of our financial planning division, uh, and he's been at this business like 30 plus years or so, and really, really it's a pro. And I ask him to join us today for this important topic. We're gonna talk about uh is it in your best interest or is it a huge mistake to actually take med uh Social Security uh benefits at 65? And there's a lot of different angles uh as we approach that subject, but Eric is uh certainly an expert on Social Security, so we're gonna be talking about that. Now, before we get into that uh uh subject, what I want to do first to give you a couple numbers, because I know some of you will want to call in today. We would love to hear from you. Uh there's no pressure, of course, when you call in. We just want to have a conversation, have a dialogue with you about really whatever is on your heart as it relates to Medicare, Social Security, uh investments, uh those kinds of things, especially with Eric Beg on the show today. Uh anything you'd like to uh talk about, if you have a testimony or uh you know a story you want to share, we learn a lot of things from uh our clients, and so we'd be thrilled to have you uh call in today. That number is uh 833-824-2004. Again, 833-824-2004. Uh we would love to hear from you today. Now, some of you may need uh now or maybe throughout uh uh our program, you may decide, hey, I need to talk to these guys. Uh and if that's the case, let me just give you our office number, because it's different than the show number. But the office number is 800-782-6676. 800-782-6676. Uh my son and I started this company actually 17 years ago. Uh and uh we have about 100 employees now, and we write business all over the country. Uh, do a lot of Medicare, a lot of uh uh Social Security advice, to course investments as well. So really anything uh that would uh pertain to uh your retirement uh questions today, we would be thrilled to take those. And so again, give us a call, 833-824-2004. All right, Eric, we're gonna get into this topic about Social Security, uh, a broad topic, a very important one, but really we're gonna talk about just to address uh this as a question: would it be a huge mistake for someone to take uh their Social Security benefits at 65? And again, I'm gonna we're gonna talk about other things around Social Security, but let's just start a conversation with this particular question.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, yeah, thanks, Marvin. Great question. Very, very interesting, also very topical. We have a lot of baby boomers that are turning 65 every day, and they have been for a while and they'll continue for a while. And uh it's it's always a big question. 62, 65, full retirement age, 70. There's all these numbers in there. And uh the question is which one is right for me, right? Now, I just read a headline recently that said that uh everyone should delay taking their uh Social Security till age 70. Uh and that seems to be a very popular sentiment. I would disagree. I I I think it's a very personal decision, and I think it weighs on a couple of different things that we need to factor in. Sure. Uh uh, like all things, obviously. And it's also very uh much uh based on the individual. Now, if you don't mind, I'm gonna I'm gonna use two examples. Let's do it. Yeah, the and these are uh real people. Uh they're people that I uh met in the last 12 months and uh helped out. Uh I'm gonna change the names just to protect the innocent, right? It's good. Yeah. So the first one is this guy, uh Tracy. Tracy had turned 62, he's a wonderful guy, fantastic outlook on why life, wonderful family, wife. Uh, but Tracy uh knows uh and and and uh he's got about 10 years to live. And so he came to me and we were discussing, you know, what his options were. Uh should he take uh Social Security at the earliest age of 62? And some of the things that we look at there, obviously longevity is one of them. Sure. Right? So so that that's a that's a big question. Taxes is another one, uh emotional, which is what a lot of people don't factor in, emotion emotions, because it's an emotional decision. It is. Uh, and then uh there are other big decisions happening at this time. He was also looking at retiring, which he would be receiving a pension, and then his spouse also, and spousal benefit, uh, something else to factor in. Now, she had been working her whole life, so the spousal benefit was not that much of an issue. The longevity we kind of knew uh uh what we were looking around at that. And I gotta tell you, Tracy, even with getting this news from his doctor, one of the most optimistic, fantastic guys ever. He's an artist, and he said, I'm just gonna make my last decade my best decade, right? And that that was his good attitude. It was wonderful. It was wonderful. Uh so in a situation like his when we looked at all these different factors and uh the the what I call the freedom surge of retiring, right? Those when people reach retire, they get this emotional state which I call the freedom surge, where all of a sudden they don't have the set schedule, they got a lot of time, they have some money saved away, and they can go out and bucket list and do all the things that they wanted to do. Not always the best time to make your financial decisions, right? Emotions can really drive that decision making. But so uh we we talked about that, and for him, in his circumstance, the earlier age made sense, even before 65 made sense. Now, statistically, and I checked these stat statistics this morning, so I I think they're pretty strong. 65% of all Americans take their Social Security between the ages 62 and 65. So that's considered early before full retirement age. So a majority of people are doing that. Now I don't think all of them are is health, sometimes it's need, there are a lot of different factors, but that's something you gotta look at. What is your situation and and when is gonna be best for you? That and health is a uh a big one. Ron, so Tracy decided to take a 62 with his pension. Ron, another guy, I met him within two months of Tracy, uh, came to me and kind of a similar situation in that he had a short uh uh time to live. Uh he had a terminal disease, uh, he was a little bit older than Tracy, was 69, and he was pushing out his Social Security, and he was gonna start taking it at 70. That would max out his benefit, right? So at 62, you're gonna get a lower benefit than you're gonna get if you wait until 70. That's how social security works, right? And but Ron's uh the driving decision for Ron uh was he was gonna work until the day he dropped, his decision, and it was the spousal benefit for his wife. Right. And she had been a non-working spouse most of her life, so her social security benefit was not gonna be much relative to his. Right. So I think that those stories really illustrate that it's it's really based on individual circumstance uh as to when you take Social Security. So whether it's 65, 62, 67, or 70, it's it's very individualized, very personalized.
SPEAKER_04Sure, sure. Now let's let's talk about the whole issue of uh you know kind of break-even. Yeah. Uh I know some people uh are gonna decide uh they don't really need the money, uh, but uh I I assume that if they do delay it, they're optimistic about longevity. But I think the issue of break-even, uh, because uh we can get uh a little bit less money, but we have it in our pocket versus uh waiting. So address that if you want to.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, absolutely. And and if you ever want to know how long you're gonna live, you just ask the IRS. Okay, that sounds good. Yep. They have it calculated uh because that's how they're gonna calculate your required minimum distributions. It's how long they expect you to live. Now, all joking aside, they're they're just playing the odds there. So this is this is generally a good rule of thumb. If you make it to age 65, and that that's this is what we use in our planning approach, if you make it to age 65, we really plan for 25 to 30 plus years of life. So 65, that means we're planning to 95 or 100 for for you to live. And that that's that holds up pretty strong statistically. So if you take a look at that, and you're talking about delaying till age 70, and then what's the break-even on that? The break-even is uh depending on when you start taking your Social Security, is between the ages 78 and 82. Okay. So so if you took it 62 uh uh versus delaying it at 70, you break it even at about age 82. Okay. So uh it it depends on what when you're gonna do it. So if you are are delaying and and you are gonna take your retirement at 70, uh yeah, if you're gonna live past 82, or if you're pretty conf confident that you're gonna live past 82.
SPEAKER_04Sometimes it makes sense that you you don't need the money. Yeah, you might not need it. What's interesting, you talked about Ron uh waiting until age 70. I am in a similar situation. I just of course turned 65, just started Medicare, but I'm definitely waiting, uh, or my plan is to wait to 70 as well, because my wife would be the same uh position. Uh very little Social Security, uh raise kids, and so I work some, but uh you know, not enough, no, no, no, nothing substantial for sure. So I've always thought, well, even if it doesn't benefit me, if I didn't live to the breakeven point, maybe I passed away before 82 or whatever, uh then she would still benefit from that. And and of course, then everyone needs to know that the uh survivor benefit is 100 percent of whatever that uh that uh deceased spouse uh was eligible for at the time you know they passed away.
SPEAKER_05So the Social Security Administration does that calculation for you automatically, which is great. Right, exactly right. So yeah.
SPEAKER_04So I we all know there's there's no specific time for sure. But let's talk about uh well, let's go back to Tracy. Uh you said he wasn't going to work, so he would not be subject to the earnings tax. And so let's talk about earnings tax, the uh earnings test. Earnings tax. So let's explain that to our audience today, because that's a critical issue if people uh are going to work and still plan to take before their full retirement age.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. So say your full retirement age is age 67, right? But at age 65, you decide I'm gonna start taking Social Security, but then you're still working, right? Uh you're you maybe you're gonna re retire at 67, too, at your full retirement age. Yeah, that your Social Security benefit is gonna be subject to what they call the earnings test. The earnings test, right? And so you're gonna your benefit amount will will be Could be reduced. Most likely will be reduced, yeah. Most likely you're gonna get a reduction in your benefit. Right.
SPEAKER_04Right. Yeah. Well, what is interesting about the whole uh earnings test, of course, this year it's $24,480 for every two dollars above we make uh that we were uh benefits reduced by dollar. But what's interesting about it is that the year that uh uh you turn full retirement age, as you know, that amount goes up uh uh drastically. Uh like this year, I think it's $65,160. And so we want everyone today that's listening to know that uh until you hit your full retirement age, you are gonna be subject to the earnings test if you keep working. They're not gonna test your uh pension income, annuity income, they're not gonna test your rental income, investment income, nothing but wages, but they will test wages. And so but once you hit full retirement age, no more. So sometimes people are are gonna wait just simply because of that. They want to continue to work and they make too much money, which is a great problem to have.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. Well, and in fact, I just talked to uh a lady the other day, uh school bus driver looking to retire, uh Social Security benefit, looking at her social security, and uh it would put her over that amount, right? So she would be subject to that, and she had no idea. And then, and as you can talk to this, when you start to uh talk about past age 65, there's another thing you gotta look at, and that's Medicare benefit, right? Right. Yeah, yeah. So uh and a lot of people look right past that. They don't they don't think of the two-year look back. Yeah.
SPEAKER_04Exactly right. So and I think that's important for people to know, even though uh those are separate decisions. When do we take Social Security and when we take Medicare, uh they are kind of hand in glove as we approach 65 for sure. And some people I think uh believe that, hey, uh I I ought to take my Social Security at 65 with my Medicare, but you don't have to. Now, you're gonna have to, you'll you'll get a direct bill. They're not gonna uh have a Social Security check to draw that premium from, but you don't have to. And uh I encourage people, if they're still working, if they don't need have to have the money and we do have longevity, waiting to that full retirement age for sure.
SPEAKER_05Absolutely. And and one other thing that I would throw in there, and and I'm and this has become more and more popular, especially in the last 15 years, has been Roth money. And uh either they have it in their Roth IRA or they have it in their uh 401k. They'll have a portion of it that's Roth money. And in particular, when you're like I talked about, entering into the retirement years, and and around age 65, you get that freedom surge, that feeling of, yay, I made it, right? And I can do all the things I've always wanted to do. It's it's you're you're it's like you're taking 30 years of uh dreams and putting them into a few, right? Uh uh living the life you wanted to live. I think to factor in when you're doing any sort of planning, at least what we look at also is how much do you have in Roth? Uh uh and how much if you uh can we maybe put some in Roth and not necessarily uh use it at that time, maybe, uh depending on what your goals and dreams are for those first two years of retirement. But also it can make a significant impact down the road, especially if you have that longevity. You're looking into your 70s and 80s, and you're allowing uh that tax-free money to be able to really grow tax-free, and it the interest is compounding on it, uh, it can really turn into a significant portion of an income source for you down the road.
SPEAKER_04Well, let me ask you this, Eric. Let's suppose some that someone has an income gap. They need $5,000 a month, and their guaranteed income is Social Security, pension, whatever is $3,000. So we've got a $2,000 a month gap.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_04Um and so uh i if i is it wise uh for some people to consider saying, well, I think I'll go ahead and take my Social Security because of the gap, or I may want to pull let my Social Security grow at 8% a year, you know, up to 70 and pull that from something else. Yeah. What is your general view on that and advice to people? Yeah. Fill in the gap with Social Security or filling it with um uh uh some of their kind of uh asset.
SPEAKER_05Fantastic question. And it's a big question. And and I, if you don't mind, I'm gonna broaden the scope a little bit on this. Please. Yeah. So uh uh another question that's kind of assumed and in behind behind this is probably I I would say one of the largest challenges facing most people as they near retirement. If you think about it, um you're working your whole life, you're getting paid once a month or every two weeks or whatever, you got this paycheck coming in, and you build your life and lifestyle around it. You know how much is coming in, you know how much your bills are, and you kind of plan around that. That's that becomes your lifestyle. And then all of a sudden that ends, right? And uh you still have this life you have to pay for. You've got utility bills and all this sort of stuff. Plus, you have hopes and dreams on on top of that, these other things that you want to do. So uh you have this 401k or whatever savings vehicle it is, and it's your nest egg. You look at that and you say, How do I turn this nest egg uh into that paycheck? Right? What's the vehicle, what's the way that I do this? And you don't want it to end up scrambled eggs, right? You want it to be uh literally a nest egg, and and that nest egg really, if you think about it, has to have two qualifications. Uh I don't ever want to run out of money, that's the biggest fear. And the second one is is I don't want to significantly change my lifestyle, right? I I like playing golf once a week. You know, I want to take the kids on a Disney vacation or the grandkids on a Disney vacation. And I don't think it that you should do that. I I think that with if you plan correctly, you can achieve you can achieve both. So with with that as kind of uh the backdrop and and turning this nest egg into a the consistent paycheck, I think that income gap that's where you start. That income gap analysis is a big part of what we do uh every day, every hour of the day, is we solve for that first. Okay, you're getting 3,000 from Social Security and maybe a little bit from a pension somewhere, less less today than it used to be. And you have 5,000 in expenses. The end of the month, you write a check for everything you got, it comes to $5,000. Um and then we want to have a little extra on that. So the first thing that we solve for is okay, we we need something that uh we call the foundation. Um the way we view money is like a house, right? You have a foundation, you have walls, and you have a roof. The foundation, what we're gonna do is that is lock stock, cannot lose, guaranteed, gotta have income. Okay. That is that is income source. So that foundation should be taking care of that income gap. So whatever we need to pull from that uh nest egg and put into that, we're gonna make sure that we're covering that. Bills are paid, lights are on. Okay. Then there's a portion of it that is kind of like what we call like the growth and income piece. That's your walls. And and the walls, they're good, they're important, they're holding the roof up, which is keeping the rain off of you, and and you need to have good, sturdy walls, and you need them to be insulated, right? Especially when you live in Kansas City.
SPEAKER_04Exactly.
SPEAKER_05Three weeks in the summer, three weeks in the winter, you want insulation, right? So uh you those walls, that's maybe real estate property. Those are things that are gonna grow a little bit, but they're also gonna kick off some income too. And then the last part is the roof. And the roof is keeping the rain off your head. And really, the you know, you don't ever change the foundation on your house, but you change the foundation or the roof on over your house every so often you have to get a new roof, right? Because it takes a lot of the beating. So the roof is really what is your hedge against inflation going forward. Over time, even though you're covering that $5,000, the $5,000 is gonna creep up over time, and you're gonna look back and say, gosh, I only pay $5,000 a month. Now it's $6,000, right? So you need to have something that is going to keep pace, if not exceed, that creeping growth of inflation over time. And that's that's what your roof is. All right.
SPEAKER_04All right. That sounds good. Well, that uh I think it's a great strategy. Yeah. It works for us. Yeah, exactly right. Well, that's good. Anything else uh that you think our our audience could benefit from as it relates to this discussion about Social Security, then I may be missing out. Otherwise, we're gonna get to some questions.
SPEAKER_05Oh, Marvin, there's so many things. Yeah, so Social Security is one of those things where uh we could break it into segments and have specific shows on all these different parts to it. It's uh yeah, it's a good one.
SPEAKER_04Well, for anyone listening, if it's something that you would like to have a personal discussion with, just call our office, ask for Eric and uh his team, and they will uh help you. Make sure you maximize Social Security and also take at the right time, whatever that's going to look like, because it is certainly an individual decision.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_04All right. We appreciate that.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. Thank you, Marvin. This would be great.
SPEAKER_04All right. We have Cindy calling from Oklahoma. Cindy, can you hear me?
SPEAKER_01I am.
SPEAKER_04All right. We're glad to uh hear from you and looking forward to uh having a discussion with you about your uh situation here. Why don't you uh give us your question? And uh we'll leave it.
SPEAKER_01Well, I didn't really have too much of a question. I just wanted to definitely uh tell you that I truly appreciate everything you educate people on in regards to cancer. I never really gave it much thought. Um at one point, and I just was not sleeping well. I just I just shuddered to think what would happen. Um I finally listened to your programs and got him to listen to me, and he switched to um back to plan F. It just worked out pretty good because the company that he had previously been with that he quit because they were so high. They went out of business. So he ended up being able to be uh able to choose whatever one he wanted to go back to. Um this year, I went ahead and encouraged him to go on plan G, and he did. Um, and then budget in January the 9th. Um he ended up in the local hospital here in the year, and they did a catch here. Um he had um they found a seven centimeter um quite unexpectedly. And we had locally and uh he had numerous other health conditions, um but totally um he refused chemo, which wouldn't have refunded that wouldn't have done him any good anyway. Stage three, it was inexpected and incurable from the beginning. Um February 19th, he had a and surgeon confirmed that it was terminal. Um he came home that day and that night, and February 21st. Um they they figure the tumor had been there about six to eight months.
SPEAKER_04Okay.
SPEAKER_01But I will be forever grateful that you educated me uh about the difference between the advantage plans and the uh supplement plans because uh I have yet to get a single bill um after his death. Yes from from anybody from anybody. And so that took a big load off me financially for sure.
SPEAKER_04Sure, sure. Well, sorry uh for your loss. Now, how long how long were you and your husband married?
SPEAKER_01Forty-six years.
SPEAKER_04Forty-six, wow, that is really tremendous.
SPEAKER_0146 years. Unfortunately, he had been disabled since 60 since age 62. Uh spinal stenosis, oh, you name it, he had it. Um, and so um, you know, he had been suffering for a number of years, a great deal of pain all the time. And so he was definitely, you know, tired of hurting as much as he was. So this was kind of a blessing in disguise for him. Uh he didn't linger long, like I said, diagnosed on the ninth and dead by February 21st. So yeah, it wasn't a long drawn-out uh illness or anything like that.
SPEAKER_04No, yeah. In fact, I I wrote down your dates here from the when you found the tumor January 9th to February 21st, you're right. Six weeks. So that's that's very, very fast.
SPEAKER_01Um the only reason he did the biopsy was because for the sake of his heirs, uh, they needed to know exactly what type of cancer, uh pancreatic cancer it is, you know, that it was. And uh, but that surgeon confirmed that it was inoperable and uh just told us to go home and go on hospice. So we did. And uh one question I did have it just occur occurred to me. I have the plan uh in uh that I did because of our budget uh at the time, not knowing he wasn't gonna be here, you know, shortly thereafter. I just signed up for that in January, believe it or not, and I'm happy with it. But now will that change uh the amount that I have on my policy for plan in, will that change after I no longer have him as being multiple policy?
SPEAKER_04Sure, yeah. Well it it could. Now, let me who what what's the cure? Who do you have right now?
SPEAKER_01Humana.
SPEAKER_04You have Humana, okay. So what we can do, we can find out if Humana, it it truly varies company to company. Uh and for those that wouldn't know what we're talking about, what happens when someone gets um a Medicare supplemental plan, there's two types of discounts. One is uh called a household discount, which means you're not single. So because someone is married or they live with someone, regardless of their age or anything like that, then they get uh a discount for uh uh you know not being single. Uh they just found that people that uh are are married um or live with someone, they tend to have fewer claims, so they pass on a discount for that. The second one is if uh you all are both with the same company, so both of you with Humana, then they give it usually a deeper discount. So what we'd have to do is find out uh how Humana is going to treat that. Some carriers, uh the discount continues on. Uh other carriers, other carriers would would actually drop that. So uh we'd be happy uh you know to check on that for you. Um it's it's it's not a problem whatsoever. You know, we we're brokers, so we're a for a lot of companies, so I can't keep every company's uh specific uh uh you know rules in my mind, but that's that's it it it is possible that you could lose at least uh you know some of that discount. Now let me ask you this. I know you I know you're uh in uh Oklahoma. Um so did you did you just turn 65 in January or you just happen to go on a automatic you already were just you just chose a plan in at that time?
SPEAKER_01I I had been with uh well what was my previous company? Anyway, uh because of the whole discount thing, I shifted from mutual of Omaha, I believe it was, over to Humana, and I was with that for plan G. And then because of our budget, um uh I had thought, well, I'd try plan N. Okay, yeah. Um and so so I did so I did that for the budget safe. And uh and so here in Oklahoma, I get it for 8670 a month.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, that's a that's a really good rate. So uh I let me assure, first off, uh if you want to look at a G plan, you know, you can call in and and our agents could talk to you about all that to see if that's uh you know a possibility. But I will say this uh in plans are very good. Um uh Cindy, so I uh you know I I think in plans the the likelihood of an excess charge is very, very rare. Uh I we we never say it could never happen, because it could happen. Um and then with that kind of rate 8670, you know, if you're only going to the doctor even once or twice a month, you're still uh you know saving that that premium dollar. So I I think you're I think you're in a very good position. But if you feel like you would like to look at a G and you want to check out the household discounts and all that kind of thing, the impact of that, all you have to do is call in um and uh we'll we'll take care of you.
SPEAKER_00So uh do you think Okay now will I have to do the uh underwriting? I passed it this time.
SPEAKER_04Um Well i if you if you go back to a G, the answer to that is yes, you would. Uh and so I always tell people that's something you want to do, uh you know how it goes. Things can happen quickly. So if you could still qualify and you want to move to a G, then then I certainly would encourage that ASAP if it were me. Things changed, and obviously you know that. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So how how how old are you, Cindy? Which what's your I'm 69. 69. Okay.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I'm I'm 59.
SPEAKER_04Sounds good. Well, uh, do you have our number handy? If not, I'm happy to give it to you. Uh I'll write it down. Okay, let's let me get let me give it to you. This of course would would go into our main switchboard. Um it is 800 782-6676. 800-782-6676, and just ask to speak to one of our agents. Uh uh, we should you know we have lots of them, so they you should be able to reach someone. If not, uh they'll definitely call you back, and then you can kind of work through that scenario to see if there may be some options that make sense for you. If not, you have a great plan.
SPEAKER_01Um so yeah, I I haven't had uh uh hardly any. I think I've had one copay so far. Okay, yeah, that's good. That I paid for uh not too bad at all. No, but I thought being that he's you know, budget wise, being that he's not I don't have his now, you know, it might be smart to go back to the G.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, okay. Yeah, so I'd I'd go ahead and please call. We'll we'll you know help you shop it for you, look at all the implications, and then ask the agent too about that, you know, about that uh loss of household discount with human. Okay? Okay. Well, thank you very much.
SPEAKER_01Well, you're welcome.
SPEAKER_04You're very welcome, Mark.
SPEAKER_01Take care.
SPEAKER_04Our privilege to serve you. You take care now. Thanks for the call, Cindy.
SPEAKER_01Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Bye-bye.
SPEAKER_04All right, we have our next caller on the line. I hope I'm pronouncing your name correctly. Is it Saba or Sabah from Massachusetts? Can you hear me? Yeah, you can call me Saba. Saba. Okay, very good, Saba. Great to hear from you, sir. Uh, how can I be of help today?
SPEAKER_03I okay, well, I am um turning 67. I am still using my group insurance, my former employer influence. I'm just um wondering when do I have to start doing the Medicare and then uh when can control that one until I'm not sure, you know, when.
SPEAKER_04Sure. Yeah, no problem at all. Let me ask you this. Uh so you you have an employer plan. I'm assuming it's a large employer, meaning there's more than 20 employees on the payroll, is that correct? That's correct. Okay, sounds good. Now, Sabah, have you set a retirement date? Are you gonna work another six months, a year or two, or or do you know yet?
SPEAKER_03No, I don't work anymore.
SPEAKER_04Oh, you um I yeah. Okay, so you're okay, so you're on a retiree plan from your former employer. Yes. Okay, that sounds good. Did they put you on a is that uh a Medicare Advantage plan or some type of secondary plan?
SPEAKER_03I have the uh Cygna LLC, uh what do you call it? The regular, um like a former employee, the continue as before.
SPEAKER_04Okay, sounds good. Well, those can come uh in a couple different ways. Some some uh uh previous employer plans are uh truly just advantage plans. Cygna offers those, and sometimes they're secondary. So here's my question. When you go to the doctor, uh do you just give them one card or you do you give them two cards?
SPEAKER_03Oh, I see what you mean. So my primary is uh Medicare, the secondary is Signa.
SPEAKER_04Okay, very good. Uh okay, now so when it comes to uh your your your bills, you go to the doctor, do you do you have to pay a copay at a doc's office, or are you ever billed a certain amount of money, or is everything covered by Cigna after Medicare pays?
SPEAKER_03No, I do pay co-payment pretty much most of the time I pay like a 50 bucks, and then um some of them I have to pay out of my pocket, some of them the insurance pay, and then after the insurance pay, and then I get a bill from the Cygna and and uh the hospital over wherever I'm going.
SPEAKER_04Okay, okay, all right. Sounds good. Well, okay, so your question to me is uh you're you're you I think you want to know about what do you want to do in the future. Is that your question?
SPEAKER_03No, my question, I'm sorry, yeah. My question actually, so right now I'm 67. And um actual question is when is this going to? I don't know how is this how my insurance right now I have a signal. I don't know when is that's going to end. I don't know it's gonna go through December, then they'll have have me have another one in 2027 too. I don't know how long it's going to start, but once it's top, I have to start doing the Medicare of what my Twitch says. All right, all right, sounds good.
SPEAKER_04So now I would tell you if it's a a former employer plan, which it is, uh those are normally lifetime. Since you have been eligible for Medicare, your A and B, uh which would have begun September 2024. Uh, who did you have first? Uh did you have Cygna since then or or Cygna just started covering covering you in January? I always have Cigna. You always have? Okay. All right. Sounds good. All right. So first off, I I don't know the companies when they have retirement plans, I I never see them typically drop those plans unless there are some kind of financial problems with the company. So is there any reason to lead you to believe that you would you're gonna lose this coverage in the future? Anything you've read, anything you've heard?
SPEAKER_03I didn't see anything, but and also I'm uh uh when when um January 10, 2022, I was disability too. Okay.
SPEAKER_04Okay, I understand. All right. So um uh so probably you're gonna be able to have this plan uh you know for long term, um, you know, probably the rest of your life. That is the norm. Uh so what it what maybe they could you know change companies and they may move from Cygna to United Healthcare or to Aetna or some other carrier, but I just don't think you're gonna l lose this particular plan at all. Um and it doesn't cost you anything, so um you know that makes me think that it could still be an advantage plan. I'm not sure of that yet. You've never uh indicated by the information on your card, I still can't figure out what you have. Uh because there are some retirement plans that are truly secondary to Medicare, uh, and there's others that are truly advantage plans. But you told me when you go to the doctor, you're using your Medicare A and B card. Uh so normally when then when that happens, that tells me this plan could be secondary to Medicare. So here's what I would suggest, because I I've got uh I'm gonna I'm gonna have to uh get on to another caller here. We want to help you. If you want to know for sure what you have, you can call our office and we actually can go and and we can find that exact plan and tell you what you have. Okay? Um but it sounds like to me it's working. Now, you know, you said you had to pay fifty dollars, so is that what it costs you, like to see a specialist or is that a pri primary core?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, any every time anytime I go see uh uh any doctor, they um uh yeah, sometimes once in a while they they ask me 10 bucks. I don't know why co-payment. And then most of the time they ask me for I gotta pay 50 bucks. Okay.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, see that that that that kind of smells like an advantage plan to me. Now, uh maybe it maybe their primary care would be 10 and the specialist would be 50. Uh now on the front of your card, does it list those copies out or or nothing about copies on the card?
SPEAKER_03Um okay, you know what? I I have here open access plus uh wellness zero percent, PCP visit 25, specialist 50, allergy insurance, uh something like that, it's a zero, and hospital ER 150, urgent care 25, and then uh network co-insurance it's a in eighty eighty percent slash twenty percent, eighty-twenty. All right, and the other one out. Yeah, what is it?
SPEAKER_04Okay, okay. Well, I definitely don't I definitely don't like that. Uh so uh the meaning, you being in 80, 20, 60, 40, that is not yeah. I I would tell you uh uh I I would be if I were in your position, I definitely would want to make sure that you you're on the best plan. Uh you're you're paying nothing for it. I am almost sure uh this is this is structured like an advantage plan. Uh but it says open access, which means you can go to anyone that takes Medicare. So what this is is probably we call them waiver programs, and this is a specially designed plan by Cigna that was made available for retirees from your employer. I'm sure this is a plan designed sp specifically for them. And and again, I everything you said was fine. My only concern would be that in network 8020, are they saying that's what it is if you went to the hospital? What what what was the 8020 64 for what kind of of services?
SPEAKER_03It says uh network coin coincidence and then in the patient. Inpatient.
SPEAKER_04Okay. Okay, I got it. Yeah, I understand now. So that they're talking about if you went to the hospital, and that's what I figured. It could be skilled nursing. So on your card does this say what your what your max out-of pocket would be, or would you know that max out of pocket for the year, that amount?
SPEAKER_03It doesn't say, but yeah, also I it says in D E D 1,000 slash 2000, and then co con NED 4,000 to 12,000. Okay, okay.
SPEAKER_04Well, what that means, that that's individual and then a family max out of pocket. That's what that means. So if you stay in network, uh your your your max out of pocket individually is that that number you said, I think it was a thousand, and the other one was two thousand. If you go out, it's four thousand and twelve thousand. Four thousand individually, twelve thousand. Okay, so all right, all right, so here's what's going on. I'm I'm I'm now now I'm uh what here's what I'm pretty convinced of. Uh based upon what you just shared there, that would not be the way they would typically structure an advantaged plan, okay, with with that wording there. So I think you probably do have a secondary plan uh to to uh um to Medicare. So Medicare pays first, that's why you're using your A and B card sign is in the secondary position. Um I will say this, I I don't think your plan is bad. So please know that. Uh but I do think you you you know you have to decide, are you comfortable um with that? Uh if you did have to go out of the network, you can see your exposure. Your exposure is 4,000 individually, 12,000. Now are you are you married or uh you have a spouse on this same plan? Yeah. Okay. Yes, my I'm Melly, yeah. Okay, sounds good. All right. Well, what you may want to do is take the time at least to compare. Uh uh again, you have a fine plan, please. So if you're you you like it, stay there. Uh I don't think you're gonna lose it. I think it's gonna be a a retirement benefit that you'll have for the rest of your life unless your, you know, your company is having some financial problems, and they're probably not. I hope so. Yeah. Yeah. So I think it's lifetime. The only thing that you may want to look at, you do live in Massachusetts. Massachusetts is what we've called what we call a waiver state. Uh, and that means they do have um uh supplemental plans that that um are are equivalent to the normal uh letters that are within the the Medicare system. Most people today are getting a G plant or an N plant. In Massachusetts, they're not called G or N, but they're but they're equivalent to G and N plants. So if you want to call in and just check the price on those, you could. I can tell you this, it's not gonna be zero. You know that. You're gonna have some type of a monthly premium. Uh and the reason some people may want to consider doing that is because uh there they would be uncomfortable with that max out-of-pocket. But the bottom line is this, Seba, if you stay in network, that's a very low uh risk. 1,000 individual, 2,000 family is very low. Uh I don't like the out-of-network. Uh that was 4 and 12,000, so that's quite a bit of exposure. Uh so I would say you have a you have a certainly a decent uh retiree insurance plan. The only way you can improve that is if you know spent some more money and just got a traditional Medicare supplemental plan, either a G or an N. And again, you can do whatever you're comfortable with, sir. But let me give you our number. If you decide, you know, today or down the road you would like to at least compare it to the normal uh med-sub market, then you could call us and we'd be happy to give you those numbers. Does all that make sense, sir?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, and also I I vote you guys a lot. Um, and then I see you guys saying, even though I I mean I'm not anybody have like this type of uh internet, then uh either we can get uh N or G. Yes, sir. Is that yep?
SPEAKER_04And you you can you can get you can yep, you can do that. Uh you can get that in um uh Massachusetts. Again, they it's not gonna be called G or N, but it it it's the it's equivalent. Uh we we uh yeah they there there's three states Wisconsin, uh Massachusetts, oh boy, and there's one other I am blanking. That's terrible. But anyway, so Massachusetts is one of the three states that has their own system. Oh, Minnesota, that's what it is. So Minnesota, Wisconsin, and uh Massachusetts have equivalent plans. So I really it's truly identical. They just don't give them that sp specific letter. So you could get those, but again, it's gonna be a monthly premium for you. Um and um yeah, you know, I don't I I I personally I don't think you need to have all of them. And so you're paying zero right now out of your pocket to be on this plan that the retire uh the retiree plan, correct? Correct. Okay, yeah. All right. So that's what I would do. I would compare it to say, do I want to spend more money on a monthly basis to reduce my risk? Again, in network, you don't have a lot of risk. Out of network, you have a little bit. So let me give you our number. And if you ever want to have that conversation, give us a call. We'd be happy at least to give you, you know, those premium amounts, and then you and your wife can think about it and say, hey, I think we'll just stick with what we have, and that's fine. If you want to switch, that'd be fine as well. Um uh now keep this in mind also. When you do make a switch in your situation, um uh I I think in Massachusetts, I'm pretty sure they don't require any underwriting. So I'm pretty sure you can get that without underwriting. So regardless of health condition, you should be able to make a switch. Okay? And and that varies state to state. Go ahead.
SPEAKER_03So so far, you think I don't have to have the extra thing because right now it is a I pretty much I don't pay anything.
SPEAKER_04Okay, yeah, I think you can stay right where you are, and I don't think you're gonna lose it. Uh I I just don't. I think uh your employer has negotiated uh uh you know a a good plan uh with uh Cigna. And so um it's zero premium to you. You got a little out of pocket, but look at your exposure. I mean, remember that what it said on the card, a thousand uh individual, two thousand uh family, that that's very little exposure. So I think you're in a very good position. I just want to make sure you know that if you ever were concerned about that out-of-network risk, then that would be the uh time you may want to look at a supplemental plan. But again, I think you're very, very uh uh you know, where you're sitting right now is is is excellent. Okay?
SPEAKER_03Okay, beautiful.
SPEAKER_04Thank you so much. Oh, and you're welcome. I'm sorry it took so long to get to this place, but it, you know, I I have to, I want to be honest with people, and so I had to really uh figure out what do you have? And uh I'm pretty confident that the advice I've given you is is gonna be very accurate. Okay.
SPEAKER_03Very good. I've been every every time I've been watching guys for a while now. All right. I like to watch anything live, especially if I'm going through uh this thing, and then I don't know when I'm gonna start the Medicare. So I'm so interested in every every single time I watch uh if I can.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, well, Saw, but just remember something. You are on Medicare. You because you have that Medicare A and B card. Uh and if you yeah, yeah, if you have that red, rhine, and blue card, you're gonna look at it, it does have A and B on it, doesn't it? Because it it should. Yes, it does. Okay, good. Yeah, so you're on Medicare. And that's that that part of your Medicare is for life. You don't have to worry about it. And then now Cygnus paying second. You've got a you know, you've got a good plan uh because your employer has provided that. So if I were you, I'd stay right where you are. I think you're sitting well. You got a drug plan included in that as well. So uh yeah, you you really are in a great position. But uh, we're glad you watch and listen. And hey, you can be a great resource for your friends as well, okay?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I'm looking at my card, uh the Medicare card. It is hospital part A, hospital part B. 2024.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, exactly right. On on both A and B. Yes. Yes, sir. So you're good. So that's for life. You'll never have to change that. And of course, you probably are on Social Security, so they're taking that premium out of your Social Security check. Okay? Okay. That's what that's what's happening. So really you have to do nothing. You're you're you're set and probably will be for years to come. Alrighty? Okay. Okay, so I'm gonna you're very welcome. I I enjoy talking to you. Take care, sir. Thank you. Thank you. Bye. All right, folks. Well, that's it for today. Uh hope you enjoyed uh uh the session, uh especially on Social Security. Uh excellent information from Eric. Uh and then uh we'll be back tomorrow, of course. And so if you want to uh call in and be on the program, let me give you the number real quickly. It is 833-824-2004. And we'd love to hear from you. And everyone has different uh situations, different circumstances, and we're happy to dig into those and answer your questions to make sure that you're making great Medicare decisions. Okay, so uh give us a call, 833-824-2004 to be on the show. And then again, if you need an agent, uh uh we we are brokers. We're in every single state in the country. We write in all 50 states and DC. And so uh you can call in anytime, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Central, that's uh Monday to Thursday. Then on Friday at 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. And so you can call in. Uh our office is 800-782-6676. If you need help enrolling in the Medicare, if you uh need help with prescription drug plans, uh, submental plans, advantaged plans, you want to compare plans. Uh some of you may be retiring right now uh and you know you got to go on Medicare. Well, you may be down to the wire. We'll be happy to walk you through that entire process. And if you just want to compare to see, make sure you're on the right plan, or uh you have an employer plan available, but it's not real good. Uh many times people uh like to come off those at 65. You can certainly do that as well. But whatever your situation is, uh, we'd be delighted to serve you, to help you to make sure you're making great Medicare decisions. We'll see you tomorrow.