Dr. Bob recently joined Charles Paikert from Financial Planning to discuss best practices when it comes to Medicare options. With 25 years of experience as an orthopedic surgeon and a second career as a Financial Advisor, Dr. Bob brings a unique prospective based on his experiences.
“There are a lot of similarities between the two professions,” Tucker says. “As an advisor, I develop relationships with individuals, help them identify a problem and a solution to the problem, and then I monitor the solution to be sure that it taking care of the problem. That’s exactly what I did as a physician.”
The initial task is to help clients pick which Medicare plan to choose: Traditional Medicare or Medicare Advantage. Advisors need to inform clients turning 65 who don’t have existing insurance coverage that they face an important Medicare deadline.
Individuals have three months before the month of their 65th birthday until three months afterward to enroll in Medicare Part B. If a client is age 65 or over and goes on a COBRA plan, he or she has eight months to sign up for Medicare Part B.
If individuals miss this deadline, they will be subject to a 10% penalty of their Part B premium for every 12 months missed. For example, if they miss two years, they will pay a 20% penalty. What’s more, the penalties will continue for life.
Read the full article here.