By Robert Powell; MarketWatch ~ Apr 10, 2016
The reverse mortgage has won some new respect.
A decade ago, most financial advisers would roll their eyes at the mention of reverse mortgages, loans that give homeowners an advance on their home equity and allow them to delay repayment until the home is sold. Such products, these advisers used to say, weren’t for their clients, but rather for those who didn’t prepare financially for retirement.
By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar; The Associated Press ~ Apr 10, 2016
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Medicare proposal to test new ways of paying for chemotherapy and other drugs given in a doctor’s office has sparked a furious battle, and cancer doctors are demanding that the Obama administration scrap the experiment.
The vehement reaction is raising questions about the government’s ability to tackle high drug costs, the top health care concern for the public.
Dear Friend,
Thank you for being part of the AT&T Retiree Town Hall Broadcast on March 22.
We apologize for the audio and video difficulties during the town hall event. In an attempt to accommodates as much AT&T retirees as possible, we expanded the town hall to locations across the state.
Business Solutions
Through its powerful global networks, AT&T provides integrated solutions to business customers
and offers a wide variety of wired and wireless products and services to increase businesses’
productivity. AT&T serves millions of business customers—from the largest multinational
corporations to small businesses in all major industries.
Entertainment Group
AT&T’s Entertainment Group provides entertainment, high-speed Internet and communications
services predominantly to residential customers in the United States.
Consumer Mobility
The Consumer Mobility segment provides nationwide wireless service to consumer, wholesale and
resale subscribers located in the United States or in U.S. territories. Services use our U.S. wireless
network to provide voice and data services, including high-speed Internet, video entertainment
and home monitoring services.
International
The International segment provides wireless services in Mexico and satellite entertainment
services in Latin America.
Sharon Epperson, CNBC – April 6, 2016
If you’re fortunate enough to have a job with good health benefits, you may not think much of the cost of prescription medications you take. You may only have to make a co-payment that covers a fraction of the total cost.
When you are retired and on Medicare, you’ll still have to pay a share of health-care expenses out of pocket — and those expenses will likely consume much of your Social Security benefits and retirement savings.
If you’re fortunate enough to have a job with good health benefits, you may not think much of the cost of prescription medications you take. You may only have to make a co-payment that covers a fraction of the total cost.
By Jason Notte, MainSt – April 6, 2016
Amid not wanting to burden their families with their own long-term health, U.S. women are increasingly taking on that burden for others.
According to a Nationwide Retirement Institute survey of 709 women and 582 men aged 50 or older, 66% of women are worried about being a burden to their families when they get older (compared to 50% of men). Nearly 80% of those women say they are concerned about having money to cover long-term care expenses.
By Jason J. Fichtner, MarketWatch – April 5, 2016
On March 22, I presented testimony before Congress on a proposal to reform the Windfall Elimination Provision, or “WEP.” The WEP reduces a person’s Social Security benefit if they also receive a government pension from non-covered employment on which Social Security payroll taxes were not paid. While the WEP is intended to ensure that Social Security beneficiaries are treated fairly and that benefits are provided only for years in which people paid into the Social Security system, the result is that the replacement rate for some people with high lifetime combined earnings is higher than those with low lifetime earnings. Thus, the WEP mistakenly treats some high-income earners as if they were low-income earners.
By Jason Zweig, Wall Street Journal – April 4, 2016
New rules aimed at stockbrokers will have enormous impacts on the way Americans save for retirement.
The rules aren’t coming from the government’s financial regulatory apparatus but from the Labor Department. This week, it is expected to release final regulations that will require brokers getting paid to provide investment guidance on a retirement account to act solely in the best interest of the investor.
By Nancy Anderson, Forbes – April 4, 2016
Are you thinking of moving in retirement to be closer to family or to reduce living costs?
If so, you aren’t alone. According to a study by Age Wave and Merrill Lynch, 64% of retirees have moved, or anticipate moving, in retirement. The top reasons they give for moving: being close to family members (29%) and reducing home-related costs (26%). Of those who move after 65, about one in six moves to a different state or region.
By Austin Frakt, New York Times – April 4, 2016
New evidence suggests Medicare Advantage may not serve some sicker Medicare beneficiaries as well as it does healthier ones.
Medicare Advantage’s private health insurance plans offer at least the same benefits as the public, traditional Medicare program for older Americans, as well as some who are disabled or have certain diseases. The private plans may also offer additional benefits not available from traditional Medicare — like coverage for hearing aids and eyeglasses — and lower patient cost sharing. These features make Medicare Advantage attractive and help explain why the program is surging in popularity.
