Retirement Planning

Go to the government website at: http://www.medicare.gov/find-a-plan/questions/enroll-now.aspx

Medicaid is a joint federal and state program that pays for health care services for those with low incomes or very high medical bills relative to that persons income and assets. Medicaid pays for nearly half of all nursing home care.

Medicare is a national health insurance program for people ages 65+, or younger individuals with certain disabilities.
Like most other insurance programs, Original Medicare does not pay for all health care costs. You must pay for deductibles, premiums, coinsurance or copayments. Medicare has four parts:
A. Hospital Insurance - helps pay for inpatient care in a hospital or skilled nursing facility (following a hospital stay), some home health care and hospice care.
B.Medical Insurance - helps pay for doctors’ services and many other medical services and supplies that are not covered by hospital insurance.
C.Medicare Advantage - plans are available in many areas. People with Medicare Parts A and B can choose to receive all of their health care services through one of these provider organizations under Part C.
D.Prescription Drug Coverage - helps pay for medications doctors prescribe for treatment. Go to the Social Security website for more information at http://www.socialsecurity.gov/medicareonly/

Generally not. Medicare only covers medically necessary care under Hospital Insurance Part A and medical insurance under Part B. Long-term care is custodial care given at home or in a nursing home for people with chronic disabilities or lengthy illnesses. Private insurance companies sell long-term care insurance policies. For more information on long-term care insurance speak to your local CPA or get a copy of A shopper's Guide to Long-Term Care Insurance from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners at 120 W. 12th Street, Suite 1100, Kansas City, MO 64105-1925

A defined benefit pension plan is a major type of pension plan in which an employer promises a specified monthly benefit on retirement that is predetermined by a formula based on the employee's earnings history, tenure of service and age, rather than depending on investment returns. The most common type of formula used is based on the employee’s terminal earnings. Under this formula, benefits are based on a percentage of average earnings during a specified number of years at the end of a worker’s career. In the private sector, defined benefit plans are typically funded exclusively by employer contributions. For very small companies with one owner and a handful of younger employees, the business owner generally receives a high percentage of the benefits. In the public sector, defined benefit plans often require employee contributions.

On traditional IRA's, the gains realized over the years in the form of capital gains, dividends, and interest are deferred and not taxable until you take IRA distributions. When you do take the IRA distribution, the amount is considered ordinary income and taxed as such, and not taxed as capital gains.

You should contact the Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration of the Department of Labor (PWBA). To find out the location of your local office, call 202-219-8776 or write to the US Department of Labor, PWBA, Division of Technical Assistance and Inquires, Room N-5625, 200 Constitution Ave., N.W. , Washington, D.C. 20210.

A pension rollover must be completed by the 60th day following the day on which you received the pension distribution.

Retirement plan distributions eligible for rollover are subject to a mandatory 20% minimum withholding tax if you do not notify your employer to make a "direct rollover" transfer into another qualified employer plan. Do not have the funds issued directly to you, with the thought that you will then roll it over into another qualified employer plan. This will lead to the 20% withholding.