Demystifying Medicare

For most Americans, planning for retirement also means planning for, and taking advantage of, the Medicare program. Medicare offers eligible participants access to a wide array of medical and prescription benefits – and significant savings.

There are three parts to Medicare:

Part A
Part A covers inpatient care, nursing homes and hospice. There's no premium, but there is a charge for services.

Part B
Part B covers medical care (doctors, exams, lab tests, etc.). The fee for most participants is $96 per month (2008) and is usually deducted from your Social Security check. There are also deductibles and coinsurance you have to pay.

Part D
Part D covers prescription drugs. There are many plans, with monthly charges averaging $28 (2008).

There are choices you will need to make that will affect your bottom line. For example, financial planners advise most seniors to enroll as soon as they are eligible (usually at age 65) to qualify for the lowest out-of-pocket expenses for the long term.

Understanding Social Security

For many, Social Security will provide part of their retirement income. The age you can collect benefits is determined by your year of birth. For instance, if you were born in 1960 or later, you can begin receiving benefits at age 67.

The Social Security Administration mails you a statement each year summarizing your annual contributions and providing you with an estimate of your monthly benefit amount.

Check it out

To learn more about Medicare, including requirements, plans and tools to help you get a handle on meeting your long-term health needs, visit:

www.medicare.gov

www.kff.org/medicare/7067/ataglance.cfm#know

For more information on your individual Social Security account, visit www.socialsecurity.gov and click on "Your Statement." The Web site also has a handy calculator – just click on "Calculate your benefits."


Retirees speak out

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Here's what they have to say.