Were you born between the years of 1946 and 1964? If so, you are part of an age group known collectively as Baby Boomers. And guess what? You are hurtling toward your retirement and Medicare years, if you are not there already. And you are certainly not alone.
What will your membership in this immense population bulge mean for your financial future? Here are some statistics about you and other members of your age group.
- There are about 77 million Baby Boomers in the U.S.
- About 10,000 Baby Boomers reach age 65 every day. (No wonder you’ll be waiting a while when you call Social Security’s toll-free number when you want to enroll or ask a question.)
- Boomers don’t necessarily achieve financial freedom when they reach age 65. Yes, Boomers have had decades to plan their financial future post-retirement. But according to some estimates, nearly 60% of people who are age 65 are still supporting their children.
- Most Baby Boomers are not prepared to be financially self-sustaining when they retire. A study from Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies found that the median retirement savings of Baby Boomers amount to about $200,000. That should produce less than $700 a month in interest earnings, which in many instances is not quite enough to live on.
What Baby Boomers Like You Need to Pay For In Retirement
- Housing and affiliated costs like utilities
- Food
- Family-related expenditures like children’s educational costs . . . and maybe their grandchildren’s too
- Healthcare-related expenses that include medical care, dental care, prescription drug costs, at-home care services, and many other expenditures
When you look at those projected outlays, it becomes clear why Medicare is such a big part of Baby Boomers’ financial planning as they enter their later years.
Even routine and ongoing health-related costs can quickly drain the financial buffer (if one exists) from any aging person’s assets. The result could be that if you haven’t planned carefully, you could end up unable to pay your recurring expenses, not to mention any sudden and unexpected costs related to health care.
It’s Time to Take Control Where You Can
Aging people have limited control over how much they will have to pay for certain expenditures. Housing costs, for example, are only going to go up across the board. The prices for electricity, home heat, and gasoline are sure to increase, even though it is possible to save money on them by moving to a warm part of the country, by changing to a hybrid car, or by sleeping with a blanket.
But the good news is, healthcare is one area where you really can take control and limit your expenditures.
As you reach retirement years, you can limit your expenditures (and reduce the impact of expensive health expenditures like dental care, emergency operations, and more) simply by making the wisest Medicare coverage choices you can.
There are a lot of “moving parts” to consider as you simultaneously strive to maintain effective coverage and keep your financial outlays low.
There is a lot of information to absorb. There are important decisions to make regarding Medicare plans and policies – which Medicare plan is best for you?
But fortunately, you have access to a CoverRight Medicare Concierge, who can help you make the Medicare-related decisions that provide you with the coverage you need at a cost that will help you preserve your financial reserves as you enter a period in your life when being self-sufficient counts the most.
So Baby Boomer, get ready to boom as you cross the threshold to age 65 and beyond. Why not put the Coverright team to work for you?
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CoverRight is on a mission to make the Medicare plan selection process easy to understand. We are here to help you compare Medicare plans and find the one best suited to your specific situation. Try the platform for yourself.
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