Retirement expert Bob Carlson’s research and knowledge on how to get the most out of healthcare options
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Means-testing was introduced into Medicare premiums a few years ago. Higher-income beneficiaries pay higher premiums than others. That’s going to continue and expand, regardless of who wins the election or how Medicare is reformed (or not). Most people don’t incorporate medical expense planning sufficiently in their retirement spending plans. They think their medical expense will […]
The future of Medicare is a big part of this year’s elections. You’re going to hear a lot of sound bites and arguments about Medicare and various proposals to change it. I think it’s important to do research yourself before hearing the incomplete and sometimes distorted comments in the media. Here are a few facts […]
A high percentage of American seniors die having few or no financial assets and depending on Social Security for their income. Of those with few assets, a high percentage of those are single and don’t live as long. These are the conclusions from a new study published by professors from MIT, Dartmouth, and Harvard. The […]
The question of whether or not to buy long-term care insurance perplexes many people. They don’t know how to approach the issue and don’t want to be led around by an insurance agent seeking a commission. If you’re in that situation, or simply want a decent road map to analyzing the decision, consider this post. […]
What you don’t know about retirement can hurt you. In fact, just a few wrong decisions in your investments, taxes, or estate planning could completely derail your retirement plans. Worse yet, the rules of the game keep changing, making it harder to keep up. For these reasons, I’ve assembled all the key points – everything you need to know — into one comprehensive report. Click here today for free access.

Too many people aren’t receiving enough long-term care coverage for the premiums they’re paying. Some are paying twice what they should be. It’s not surprising. Insurance is an inefficient market. It’s tough for consumers to find prices and other details, and it’s something they don’t want to do to begin with. So, when people buy […]
Most people don’t know much about Medicare, even current beneficiaries. People planning for retirement don’t know much either, as surveys consistently show. As this article says, they’re clueless. A few points it makes are that we aren’t paying into a trust fund that funds our benefits during retirement. In fact, most of the benefits paid […]

The changes in long-term care insurance keep coming. The latest news was Prudential Financial’s announcement that it will stop selling individual LTCI policies but will continue to sell policies through employer-sponsored programs. The Pru is the tenth of the top 20 insurers by sales to exit the LTCI market in the last five years, according […]
The trustees issued their annual reports this week. Their projections show Medicare will be short the needed money in 2024, the same year as estimated last year, and Social Security will be in trouble in 2033, three years earlier than assumed a year ago. But those are only the official projections. The actuaries of the […]
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