Retirement

Go to the Social Security Website http://www.socialsecurity.gov/medicareonly/. You can use the online Medicare application if you:
•are at least 64 years and 8 months old, •want to sign up for Medicare but do not currently have ANY Medicare coverage, >br>•live in the United States or one of its commonwealths or territories and •do not want to start receiving Social Security benefits at this time.
(If you aren't sure, you can apply for Medicare now and apply online for benefits later.) Traditional medicare comes in 3 parts, Part A and Part B. At age 65 you are automatically enrolled into premium free Part A which helps pay for hospital, hospice and some nursing care.
Medicare benefits most often used come from Part B which helps pay for doctors, outpatient care, laboratory and other medical services which is voluntary.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), a branch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the Federal agency that administers the Medicare program and monitors the Medicaid programs offered by each state. Medicare makes it easy for you to get information. You can find answers to general questions about eligibility, coverage, and Medicare Summary Notices (MSNs) on this Web site. You can also compare health and drug plans, Medigap policies, hospitals, nursing homes, and more! For specific questions about your claims, medical records, or expenses, visit MyMedicare.gov, or call 1-800-MEDICARE .

When you first become eligible for hospital insurance (Part A), you have a seven-month period (your initial enrollment period) in which to sign up for medical insurance (Part B). A delay on your part will cause a delay in coverage and result in higher premiums. If you are eligible at age 65, your initial enrollment period begins three months before your 65th birthday, includes the month you turn age 65 and ends three months after that birthday. If you are eligible for Medicare based on disability or permanent kidney failure, your initial enrollment period depends on the date your disability or treatment began. If you accept the automatic enrollment in Medicare Part B, or if you enroll in Medicare Part B during the first three months of your initial enrollment period, your medical insurance protection will start with the month you are first eligible. If you enroll during the last four months, your protection will start from one to three months after you enroll. If you do not enroll in Medicare Part B during your initial enrollment period, you have another chance each year to sign up during a “general enrollment period” from January 1 through March 31. Your coverage begins on July 1 of the year you enroll. However, your monthly premium increases 10 percent for each 12-month period you were eligible for, but did not enroll in, Medicare Part B. In addition to using the SSA website, http://www.socialsecurity.gov, you can call us toll-free at 1-800-772-1213.

The Medicare Special Enrollment Period (SEP) is essentially an exemption that allows seniors who meet certain circumstantial events to make Medicare Advantage plan purchases outside of the annual open enrollment period. Qualifying circumstances include: •Seniors with a change in there permanent address •Seniors who enter or leave a nursing home •Seniors who are eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid, who lose cost sharing assistance provided by Medicaid •Seniors eligible for low-income subsidy •Senior who lost credible Rx coverage •Seniors dis-enrolling from employer sponsored health plan

Any transfer of assets to an Inter Vivos Irrevocable Trust will not automatically create a 60 month period of ineligibility for Medicaid. When a transfer to a trust is made the period of ineligibility will be calculated by taking the dollar value of the asset transferred and dividing it by the average monthly cost of a nursing home as determined by the Department of Social Services in your area. Not all transfers to a trust will automatically create a 60 month period. There can be transfers made to a trust which create periods of ineligibility of less than 36 months. Speak to your local CPA or an elder law attorney for more information on trust transfers and Medicaid.

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.

A Defined benefit plan is a pension plan in which the sponsor agrees to make specified dollar payments to qualifying employees.
The pension obligations are effectively the debt obligation of the plan sponsor.

Yes. The IRS lets you make changes from Roth IRAs to regular IRAs and back, more than once. After you re-characterize a Roth IRA to a regular IRA, you can convert it again but not until the following year, or thirty days later, whichever takes longer.

No. You may re-characterize your Roth IRA to a conventional IRA by filing an amended return. You would file IRS Form 1040X with Form 8606. This would enable you to get a refund on the Roth conversion payment amount you already paid with the original 1040 income tax return.