One of my favorite movies, especially at Christmas, is Frank Capra's It's A Wonderful Life with Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed. In 2003 I taught economics to English language learners (ELLs) at a high school in Elgin, Illinois, and we watched It's A Wonderful Life for almost two weeks. The movie shows various times in American history--the end of World War I, the Great Depression, runs on banks, World War II, and life in small town America. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), an independent organization, was created by the U.S. Congress in 1933 "in response to the thousands of bank failures that occurred in the 1920s and early 1930s." (Source: http://www.FDIC.gov) The movie also featured the role of the Savings and Loan institutions and their relationships with banks. This relationship played out in 2009 when Washington Mutual was purchased by J.P. Morgan Chase.
The Social Security Administration was also started after World War II. Baby Boomers (babies born between 1944 and 1960) are a large demographic unit and have contributed money all of their working lives to the Social Security trust fund. Fewer workers will be paying into the fund when the baby boomers retire--as many are starting to do now. Congress has tapped into this fund and has drawn down its reserves. There is concern that Social Security funding will be tapped-out by 1937--according to a media report I heard last month on ABC.
In the new economy ("after the great recession" [AGR]), baby boomers turning 62 are finding it difficult to keep or to find jobs that pay the salaries they need to pay mortgages, car payments, insurance, etc. Many companies, while not claiming to discriminate against baby boomers, are offering salaries that are half or less of what baby boomers were getting for the same or similar jobs a few years ago. Others are requiring specialty skills or training or experience that came after baby boomers earned their degrees.
Taking Social Security early results in a lower monthly payment--with everything adjusted based on individual contributions to social security. People under full retirement age (66 for many baby boomers) may earn $14,140 per year before having their social security income adjusted. If they earn more, any adjustments may come back to them when their social security benefits are reconfigured at full retirement age.
The point is this, by taking early retirement (social security) and working, baby boomers may be able to take jobs that pay half as much as they were used to because, with the social security income, they can still pay their bills. When they reach full retirement age, they can earn as much as they want without a negative impact on social security benefits.
Double check everything in this post with Social Security. It is as accurate as I can make it as of the date of posting.
Showing posts with label baby boomers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label baby boomers. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Health Care--Baby Boomers--American Recovery Reinvestment Act--COBRA--Medicare
As a baby boomer with an aging parent, health care, Medicare, and the American Recovery Reinvestment Act are all important to me in many ways.
My mother, now 94, has full Medicare coverage (she worked for 45 years and earned it)--both parts A and B. She also has the AARP Medicare Supplement Insurance and Aetna as her Medicare D (pharmacy-plan) provider. She's paying premiums for all of these insurance coverages and, after paying her doctors her 2009 deductible of $135, most of her medical bills are paid for. The pharmacy bills are different. Aetna offered a good plan--I've had to change providers every year since they started the Medicare D program). Mom has been averaging about $165 out of pocket per month since January for her medicines. We've switched all we can to generics. Coming up soon (perhaps this month) she will go into the "hole in the donut" of the plan. The initial coverage will have been used up and she will have to pay for her medicines until she reaches a "catastrophic level" of out of pocket expenses. When I looked into this last December, this may amount to as much as $450 more per month for September, October, November, and December.
As a baby boomer, I can expect higher costs for health care as I age.
I can certainly see that we do need better systems in place to provide quality healthcare to everyone--without anyone being "ripped-off" in the process (by scamming people, doctors, medical facilities, etc.). I have also experienced some of the health care providers submitting bills to Medicare, then billing my mother for the same fee. I have to stay on top of things to make sure that legitimate bills are paid by the appropriate organization or insurance and to remember not to write a check for every bill I receive in the mail from a healthcare provider.
There is much emotion and drama being reported in the media about people and their concerns for health care. My local congressman wants to have a telephone "town meeting" to talk about health care this evening. It's important!! (See my post about CCRCs last week.) Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia have forms of "socialized medicine" that include both public and private doctors. Various ideas have been proposed in the USA as to what kind of coverage is needed. Many Senators are advocating the health care package provided to Senators and members of the House of Representatives as the model for everyone. I don't know what their coverage provides.
I have Aetna's EPO plan with a dental supplement. I had a marginally effective vision plan and, since I have my eyes examined at Sam's Club and Costco and get my glasses there when I need new ones, the Sam's Club and Costco prices are not so high that I absolutely need a vision plan. I do need annual check-ups from an internal medicine physician, a dentist (twice a year), and an eye doctor. These are to keep me in good shape and to make sure I don't have major problems not being tended to in a timely manner.
Individually and for families, getting and affording good health care is essential. Not having it can cause permanent damage to health, family cohesion, and even death.
Keep working, Congress, to get all of us the best possible health care coverage from now on. (I'm worried about the ongoing viability of Medicare and Social Security as we baby boomers continue to age and there are fewer workers to contribute to these funds. Having a workable alternative that will be good for the next generations is important, too.)
My mother, now 94, has full Medicare coverage (she worked for 45 years and earned it)--both parts A and B. She also has the AARP Medicare Supplement Insurance and Aetna as her Medicare D (pharmacy-plan) provider. She's paying premiums for all of these insurance coverages and, after paying her doctors her 2009 deductible of $135, most of her medical bills are paid for. The pharmacy bills are different. Aetna offered a good plan--I've had to change providers every year since they started the Medicare D program). Mom has been averaging about $165 out of pocket per month since January for her medicines. We've switched all we can to generics. Coming up soon (perhaps this month) she will go into the "hole in the donut" of the plan. The initial coverage will have been used up and she will have to pay for her medicines until she reaches a "catastrophic level" of out of pocket expenses. When I looked into this last December, this may amount to as much as $450 more per month for September, October, November, and December.
As a baby boomer, I can expect higher costs for health care as I age.
I can certainly see that we do need better systems in place to provide quality healthcare to everyone--without anyone being "ripped-off" in the process (by scamming people, doctors, medical facilities, etc.). I have also experienced some of the health care providers submitting bills to Medicare, then billing my mother for the same fee. I have to stay on top of things to make sure that legitimate bills are paid by the appropriate organization or insurance and to remember not to write a check for every bill I receive in the mail from a healthcare provider.
There is much emotion and drama being reported in the media about people and their concerns for health care. My local congressman wants to have a telephone "town meeting" to talk about health care this evening. It's important!! (See my post about CCRCs last week.) Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia have forms of "socialized medicine" that include both public and private doctors. Various ideas have been proposed in the USA as to what kind of coverage is needed. Many Senators are advocating the health care package provided to Senators and members of the House of Representatives as the model for everyone. I don't know what their coverage provides.
I have Aetna's EPO plan with a dental supplement. I had a marginally effective vision plan and, since I have my eyes examined at Sam's Club and Costco and get my glasses there when I need new ones, the Sam's Club and Costco prices are not so high that I absolutely need a vision plan. I do need annual check-ups from an internal medicine physician, a dentist (twice a year), and an eye doctor. These are to keep me in good shape and to make sure I don't have major problems not being tended to in a timely manner.
Individually and for families, getting and affording good health care is essential. Not having it can cause permanent damage to health, family cohesion, and even death.
Keep working, Congress, to get all of us the best possible health care coverage from now on. (I'm worried about the ongoing viability of Medicare and Social Security as we baby boomers continue to age and there are fewer workers to contribute to these funds. Having a workable alternative that will be good for the next generations is important, too.)
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