[et_pb_section bb_built="1"][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type="4_4"][et_pb_text _builder_version="3.0.101" background_layout="light"]
I hope you enjoy these humorous comparisons as much as I did when I first read them. How true they are!!!
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]
Medical Bill! HELP! April 2019
[et_pb_section bb_built="1"][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type="4_4"][et_pb_text _builder_version="3.0.101" background_layout="light"]
Bart and Grace are long-time clients and were enjoying their retirement. Hiking, biking, and some travel. It was what they had envisioned their lives would be after retiring. On a bright and early Monday morning we received a call from Bart, who was in a panic!
Grace had fallen ill, and they immediately scheduled an appointment with her Primary Care Physician, whom they had known for years. Some tests were run, and her doctor’s worst fears were confirmed. Grace needed immediate surgery. After verifying that the surgeon was in their Medicare Advantage network, as well as the hospital, Grace was admitted, and the surgery scheduled.
After the surgery was completed, Bart was relieved that everything went extremely well, and Grace would be able to go home soon. But as the surgeon was making the rounds that afternoon, he gave Bart some additional news he wasn’t expecting. While Grace didn’t need to be in the hospital, she was not quite well enough to go home. Her doctor was recommending that she be transferred to a skilled nursing facility for a few days. Then if she was doing well, she could go home. While disappointed, Bart knew that this was in his wife’s best interest, but he was starting to worry about what this was all going to cost.
On his way out of the hospital, he stopped by the business office and requested a copy of the bill to date. He was handed the printout and Bart folded it and stuck it in his pocket and took it home. Later that evening, while sitting at his kitchen table, he started reviewing the bill and was shocked that the bill was already almost $80,000. And this amount didn’t include the additional costs for the skilled nursing facility. At this point…… he called us.
After we reviewed the Medicare Advantage plan that they were both on, we were happy to report that he didn’t need to worry about the $80,000 bill. On their plan, they have no deductible, and the hospital co-pay was only $200 a day. The skilled nursing facility was also going to be at no cost for the first 20 days. So, their entire out-of-pocket expenses would be less than $1,000 in co-pays. She was in the hospital for 4 days, at $200 a day, for a total hospital co-pay of $800, and the skilled nursing facility was at no cost since she was only there for 4 days before she could go home.
Bart was incredibly relieved to be reminded of their co-pays. Now that he didn’t have to worry about the medical bills, he could focus on helping Grace get the care she needed. We originally assisted them in selecting their Medicare Advantage plan several years ago, and he was thankful he could call us for clarification of the coverage.
If you are not sure about how your plan works? Give us a call we can help!
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]
Is my 401(k) still appropriate to hang on to April 2019
[et_pb_section bb_built="1"][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type="4_4"][et_pb_text _builder_version="3.0.101" background_layout="light"]
Is my 401(k) still appropriate to hang on to, now that I’m retiring? Do I have to keep my retirement money in my 401(k) if I’m still working at my company? How about my 403(b) or 457 plans? How about cash balance pensions? These are just a few of the questions that I’m asked on a regular basis.
The short answer is, if you want more control and an actively managed account where you’re not stuck with mutual funds as your only choice, then you probably should consider moving your assets. The Fed was kind enough to give us a tax-free way to transfer our qualified retirement accounts like 401(k), 403(b), 457, and pension plans into our own IRA. Even if you are still working! If you are still working, you may be able to use the “In-Service Non-Hardship Withdrawal” clause in the tax code.
In-service withdrawals are made from qualified employer-sponsored retirement plans, such as 401(k) plans before participants experience a triggering event. These events generally include reaching age 59-1/2, being terminated from employment, becoming disabled, or death. Most employers will even allow you to keep the existing plan open and still contribute after you move the existing balance out, including employer matching continuation.
This move can open an entirely new world of opportunity for you. You may have your retirement assets actively managed in a variety of investments. We, here at American Retirement Advisors, specialize in retirement income planning. We understand that a portfolio of mutual funds, in or out of a retirement plan, may be too costly in fees, have a lack of client control, and have too much exposure to market risk. We seek to avoid these issues by building a well-balanced, fee-and risk-conscious portfolio, that adapts and changes over time with your renewed goals in mind.
Give us a call to schedule an appointment with your advisor, or come to one of our monthly Retirement Income Planning workshops. We are always here to help.
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]
Remote … April 2019
[et_pb_section bb_built="1"][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type="4_4"][et_pb_text _builder_version="3.0.101" background_layout="light"]
Remote? Now, what does that word conjure up in your mind when you think about it? What immediately pops into your consciousness? TV Remote? Garage Door Opener? Working at a task so many times that you can do it …by remote? Whatever you think of, or whatever came to your mind first thing, it makes you…. you!
Do you remember what your first experience with a remote was? I sure do. The parents of a well-to-do friend in my childhood days bought a brand-new color TV in the mid-1950s, and of course, all the kids in the neighborhood wanted to see it. Now back then the color quality wasn’t anything near what it is today, but it was incredible to those of us still watching black-and-white TV. The other amazing thing was it had a remote control to change the channels! WOW! Were we impressed by this box about the size of a pack of cigarettes with buttons for up and down and off and on? But that was about it. Again, nothing compared to what we have today. So, for the next few weeks, we all would go to his house after school to watch a cartoon or two on the new TV. At the time, many TV shows were still broadcast in black and white, so the novelty wore off, and soon, we were back outside playing ball or riding our bikes. But I never forgot our reaction to that advanced technology.
The other thought many folks have was their job at the time where many worked on assembly lines doing the same thing over and over all day. While boring at times, these new manufacturing jobs paid pretty well and we were happy to have a paycheck. But these jobs also became routine and we worked on remote.
As we walk through a typical household today, just about anything can be on remote and/or automated. Garage door, house lights, phone, TV, alarm system. Automatic timers on the stove, microwave, coffee pot. Just set the remote and ta-da! It’s ready when you are.
And…. what about the new cars! Keyless entry, remote starters, and you don’t even need a remote switch as the car computer talks to you! A friend had purchased a new car and was picking me up to go to an event. While driving on the freeway he pushed a button on the steering wheel and the next thing I knew he started working and typing on his laptop with no hands on the steering wheel! When I quickly became alarmed, he calmly stated: “oh, it’s a self-driving car”. I was fascinated when the car would speed up or slow down in the traffic and even change lanes if it was advantageous, all by itself……on remote.
So, whether you think technology is a blessing or a curse, it appears as we go through our future experiences, more and more of our daily tasks will be done for us. These new improved changes are a blessing to many that are disabled or handicapped, and some find the talking computers to be annoying. I still take comfort in knowing I can simply turn them off and enjoy some task at my leisure without a machine telling me I’m doing it right or wrong. I still have a wife for that.
By the way, make sure your retirement needs are on remote! If you are not sure that all your plans are complete, call us! We can help.
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]
HELP!!! No, really, I need help-April 2019
[et_pb_section bb_built="1"][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type="4_4"][et_pb_text _builder_version="3.0.101" background_layout="light"]
Do you ever look into the future and wonder who is really in your corner? Is it your spouse, your kids, your friends? Let’s get past TRUST. Let’s just say you have a team. These are the folks you would bet your life they have your back.
Hmmm. How many friends have a key to your home, just in case you need them to check on something? Perhaps you need them to check on you?
I ask these questions because of a recent experience. Recently, we had two family members in different states that had significant life-threatening issues. One has an adult dependent living in the house, and another has no one.
Scenario one, The Fall.
This 90 plus year-old lives alone in an apartment complex, does not drive and uses a flip phone. You can’t get an UBER on a flip phone. You can’t get a Life Alert type of app on a flip phone. You can’t attach a smartwatch with a Fall Monitor to a flip phone. You get where I’m going. She is 100% dependent on luck. She would have been lucky after her last fall if she made a LOUD noise so a neighbor could have possibly heard and come to help. It didn’t. Her neighbor found her a couple of days after she didn’t answer her phone -- on the floor, passed out. She was dehydrated, and not coherent. The good news is, she was lucky; her neighbor found her, got her to the hospital via ambulance, and after a month, she is back home from rehab and back to her routine. But now she has a Fall Monitor, so help is automatically called if she plops over, whether she is responsive or not, help is on its way!
Scenario two, The Flu.
This 80 plus year-old lives with his child of 50 plus years. She does not work, she is his dependent. He cooks, he cleans, he drives, he pays for and takes care of everything. He promised his late wife he would honor her request to care for their daughter, and he is.
He was stricken with the flu. A terrible case that escalated to pneumonia. The dependent daughter did not know what to do. So, she allowed him to rest and try and shake the cold. As the virus worsened, he became less and less responsive. His other daughter hopped on a plane and flew across the country. She arrived to find her dad in a soiled bed, and hardly able to respond. Off to the hospital. Its been over a month and this guy still needs help getting out of bed and performing simple activities of daily living.
Here is my point. You gotta know who is in your corner. Some folks are physically present but may not have the ability to act. Sometimes you may need physical help, other times you may need help with cognitive things, like making decisions. Who knows? I’m just suggesting that you make sure you have a TEAM in place when you need them most.
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]
Ah Spring! April 2019
[et_pb_section bb_built="1"][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type="4_4"][et_pb_text _builder_version="3.0.101" background_layout="light"]
Happy April Fools’ Day! Most of us have a warm fuzzy (or funny) memory of a prank played on us during this special day each year, so I hope you have a good giggle of some memory of a family member or good friend and …...what was the joke? But April is not only for a day of jokes, as there are many other special days for the month of April.
On the serious side, it’s the month many Americans dread each year, as we get to pay our yearly tax bill. But in some cases, it’s also a great time of year as many receive a tax refund check! Ahhh…. the pros and cons and ebb and flow of good vs. evil! Which one do you fall into?
We also have Easter Sunday that falls on the 21st this year. Religious sunrise services, and, of course, the other member of this day as the Easter Bunny hides his eggs for the annual Easter Egg Hunt! Love those chocolate bunnies!
Let’s not forget our office staff on the 24th for “Administrative Professional Day”! Time for a special lunch or maybe some flowers on the desk of your ‘attention-to-detail’Admin at the office that makes our business lives much easier to deal with, as they screen calls to protect us and take care of all those little nagging details that keep your day from unraveling. Appreciate them with a treat!
And for our tree hugger friends, it’s “Arbor Day” on the 26th (last Friday of the month). Plant a new tree or join in and
volunteer for a cleanup day in your local neighborhood. Keep American beautiful!
Got a daughter? Remember, the 25th this year (4th Thursday of the month) is “take your daughter to work day”. This is an opportunity to show your kids that “no, money doesn’t grow on trees”, Mommy or Daddy work for it! Get them involved and let them help! It’s Spring! So, pick one of the wonderful opportunities and enjoy April!
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]