Learning Center

What is Medicare Open Enrollment?

Understanding Medicare’s enrollment periods for eligible recipients can help you plan for the future. Enrollment periods will allow you to sign up for Medicare coverage when you first qualify, and change plans at certain times during the year if you choose to do so. Are Open and Initial Enrollment Periods…

How Does Medicare Supplement Work?

Out of the 64 million people in the United States who have traditional Medicare benefits, 81 percent of them have one sort of Medicare supplement insurance. These supplemental plans may include those that are provided by an employer, Medigap plans, or supplemental health care coverage through Medicaid. Medicare supplement insurance…

How Does a Medicare Advantage Plan Work?

When first enrolling in Medicare, beneficiaries are introduced to traditional Medicare coverage, coined Original Medicare. Original Medicare insurance is not designed to cover everything recipients will need, and the gaps in coverage can be filled by signing up for Medicare-approved options. Special rules apply for Medicare recipients who continue to…

How Does a Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Work?

Original Medicare benefits do not cover prescription drug costs unless the drugs are part of inpatient hospital care or are certain drugs that your health care provider administers in a medical facility. Today, prescriptions drugs that you take at home are not inexpensive, but there are more prescription drugs are…

Why Does Social Security Exist?

Historically, older individuals who had reached a point where they were physically or mentally incapable of working any longer were cared for by family members. In many cases, families stayed within the same home or on the same land for many generations, and because mass transit and personal automobiles didn’t…

Does Social Security Have a Death Benefit?

As seniors age, life planning issues become more important. Part of the process of life planning is ensuring that loved ones left behind after death are financially secure, but many seniors wonder whether or not there is a death benefit involved in passing on Social Security income. Many financial retirement…

Does Social Security Call You About Suspicious Activity?

Scams and scammers have existed since the dawn of human history, but these days, the Internet has made it easier than ever for unscrupulous individuals to gain access to personal data for nefarious purposes. While many scams involving personal data revolve around using information to open fraudulent credit accounts, more…

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Will Social Security Run Out?

The Social Security program was created as a way to assist seniors with a monthly source of income after retirement, and it is administered by the Social Security Administration. There were many contributing factors to the need for such a program, including improvements in medical care that extended life expectancies…

Does Social Security Increase with Inflation?

It seems that no matter what happens with the economy, prices continue to rise, and year after year, the purchasing power of the dollar drops. Much of this has to do with inflation, and unfortunately, inflation can take a huge bite out of your ability to utilize your income to…