Hello, June 2022
I hope things have been going well for you and that you have been able to get out enjoy the warm weather. It was long overdue. I want to thank all of those who have sent referrals my way. It means a lot and it really helps my business. Well, there’s a lot to cover so let’s get right to it.
Some good news on your Medicare premium. It sounds like they are not going to raise your Part B premium at all next year and there is a good possibility it will actually go down. Put that together with a large Social Security increase next year due to inflation and most people should end up with a pretty good raise next year.
I have a new prescription drug place for you to check. For those who are in the donut hole or about to get in the donut hole this may save you some money on those expensive prescriptions. Go to https://www.pharmstore.com/new-customer and enter your prescriptions and they will automatically show you what the prices are or you can call them at 1.800.281.8347 – Press 2 (New Client). Shipping takes 2-4 weeks, and you pay for it automatically out of your checking account. Like all these discount prescription places you won’t be able to save money on some prescriptions but hopefully you will be able to on others.
The FBI estimates that the seniors lose more than 3 billion a year to scammers. The scams mostly involve romance, online purchases, timeshares and travel, job offers and investments. A common one today is an overpayment scheme where somebody overpays you for something you are selling and then asks for a refund to try and get information from you. If you are buying things online, take the name of the company you are buying from, put it into the search engine and type the word scam or reviews or complaints after it to see what other people are saying. The best way to keep your information safe is using strong original passwords for different accounts and making sure you have two factor authentication on your accounts. Lastly, another really good thing to do is to do a gut check by waiting before you purchase or invest in something and talk to a family member or friend.
Here is a brief refresher of the different end of life documents that you may need. Keep in mind this is a brief and incomplete description of them.
Health Care POA A Health Care Power of Attorney allows someone you appoint to make decisions for you regarding your health care should you become unable to make these decisions. Healthcare providers will more readily recognize your power of attorney if it is a separate document expressly addressing health care matters. A general power of attorney will not usually work.
DNR – Do Not Resuscitate A DNR must be completed by your doctor and states that you do not want any of the various methods used to revive people whose hearts have stopped or who have stopped breathing.
Living Will It documents your wishes regarding life sustaining treatment and can be completed by you at any time. A DNR provides better protection if you are sure you do not want CPR or other life prolonging interventions compared to a living will. It is probably good to have both as well as a health care power of attorney.
Financial POA This document is used to appoint someone to act on your behalf regarding personal, financial, and business matters. Due to the rising rate of elder abuse, many financial institutions are reluctant to accept these documents. Be sure the person you name is trustworthy. You can build in checks and balances to ensure they do exactly what you want if you become incapacitated. To minimize problems, you may want to consider showing your bank, brokerage house and other institutions your POA document as soon as it is drafted to be sure it is acceptable to them.
Living Trust This can provide detailed guidelines on how your property should be managed if you become incapacitated. It remains in force after you die and allows the trustee to transfer your property to your beneficiaries without having to go through probate. Naming different individuals as your living trust trustee and as your POA helps assure that neither person abuses their authority. Many people no longer need a living trust because their assets can be “transferred on death” or TOD if they have a title to them or they are at an account like a bank or investment house.
This is a very brief and incomplete explanation of each of these documents. My intent is to bring it to your attention and give you an idea what each one does. You can get a more complete description from the Ohio Bar Association at www.ohiobar.org. It is also a good idea to see an attorney.
Updated Extra Help limits for 2022 To qualify for extra help for prescription drugs your income needs to be below $1,719 per month for an individual or $2,309 for a couple and your assets need to be below $15,510 for an individual $30,950 for a couple. If your income and assets are close to or below those limits and you do not have “Extra Help” from Medicare, then you need to contact Medicare or me and fill out the simple form to request the extra help.
My wife (Cathy) and I are doing well. She is now a licensed agent like me, and she is enjoying learning the business although she still puts a lot of time in at the family farm. Nathan (my son) and his family are doing well, and his two boys are growing like weeds. Things are also going well for my other son Andrew and his wife. He is very busy with work and taking seminary classes for his masters degree.
Thanks again to those of you able to send me referrals. They are greatly appreciated.
Take care and have a great summer!
Chris
