Me, Myself and I have been holding a discussion, should I say argument? Retire - don't retire - retire - don't retire. The discussion has gone from one extreme to another. I think we have reached a decision (at least for now). The question has gone from "if" to "when". It has to be no later than December 31st. If I wait until January 1st, it severely impacts the number of vacation days that I would get a pay-out for. The discussion now is, do I want the pay-out in 2008 or 2009? I am starting to lean toward a 2008 pay-out. That way, I can pay my taxes and have it over with and it will not impact the amount I can earn in 2009 without losing part of the Social Security. Either way, they take taxes out of it, but it is a nice chunk of change!
Can't retire before November 1st, since I have to wait until the first month after my birthday so the cut in Social Security is not as bad (13 1/2% vs. 20%). I plan to live long enough to more than make up for the cut. There is risk involved. I will be without insurance for several months until Medicare kicks in and COBRA is too darned expensive. I will have to explore a private insurance for catastrophic illness, even though I have been very healthy for the last 11 years or so and take very only two prescriptions and one of them is $4.00 at Kroger's and the other one I can live without until it goes generic.
I will also be looking for part-time employment (something easy and with little or no stress). I can make it on Social Security and pension, but I like to "play" now and then!
Seven months! The countdown is on!
5 comments:
Do you still have the link for online test scoring? It would be perfect for you. Also, you really need to be careful about the length of time you plan to be uninsured. COBRA is retro-active for a certain number of days...meaning, if you drop your insurance and then have some catastrophe, you still have an option to take advantage of COBRA. In our case, it was 180 days.
This is when you should take some time and look at your insurance's certificate of coverage and ask about their COBRA policy. I can help you navigate some of that.
Yes, and remember with private insurance and your past medical history, they will not cover for pre-existing. That is why COBRA is a little expensive - I believe they have to cover everything your previous policy did, whereas a new private carrier will not.
Actually, as long has you have continuous coverage, (or less than a 3 month lapse) you can not be denied insurance for a pre-existing condition. That's part of the HIPPA act of '97. (Thanks Pres. Clinton)
Congrats? Ramble...
I think???
:o)
Good post.
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