ArcaMax

Hello Toni:

In the new Medicare & You Handbook that I received about a month ago, I cannot find what the 2025 Medicare costs and premiums will be. I would like to know this information because I have been diagnosed with a heart condition and will need to undergo heart surgeries next year. I have looked online and cannot find the costs.

Do ...Read more

I have been saving up some emails from readers who want to know how other government benefits might affect their eligibility for Social Security, or vice versa. In other words, they wonder if their Social Security benefits impact whatever other government benefits they might be due.

I can always deal with that first issue. In other words, I can...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Jeff Johnson’s life is full of creativity and zest: He runs his own Minneapolis design firm, turns a mean polka and once starred in a Norwegian realty TV series. And he’s decided that a memorial to mark his eventual death — outlined in a seven-page legal directive titled “Jeff Johnson’s Awesome Funeral Party!!” — ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Jeff Johnson’s life is full of creativity and zest: He runs his own Minneapolis design firm, turns a mean polka and once starred in a Norwegian realty TV series. And he’s decided that a memorial to mark his eventual death — outlined in a seven-page legal directive titled “Jeff Johnson’s Awesome Funeral Party!!” — ...Read more

I received my new 2025 Part D premium with the plan increase going up by 250%, from $25.00 a month to over $60.00. I was informed that my diabetic insulin and one of my high blood pressure prescriptions are no longer covered beginning Jan. 1, 2025, on the Part D plan I am on.

Toni, please explain in easy-to-understand terms what I need to do...Read more

Readers are always asking me to explain various Social Security rules and regulations. But sometimes they want more. They want to see something official -- something in "black and white." In other words, they want me to give them a legal reference.

I sort of know where they are coming from. Frequently, they have heard one thing from a friend or...Read more

I began taking my RMDs (Required Minimum Distributions) from my 401(k) when I turned 72, and my Medicare premium in 2024 is $454.20 for Part B and $53.80 for Part D. Did taking my RMD with my Social Security check raise my Medicare premiums? My wife, Karen, was working last year and made about $250,000. Are both of our incomes used to determine...Read more

Because the presidential and congressional elections are on everyone's mind, more than a few people have sent me emails saying something like this: "I'm afraid that this upcoming election will lead to dramatic changes to Social Security. So even though I didn't want to file for Social Security for a few more years, I'm going to do it now so that...Read more

Hello Toni:

I have a few questions about enrolling in Medicare since I am turning 65 this January:

-- Will my Medicare start automatically in January since I am still working?

-- If I retire when I’m 67, do I stay on COBRA or enroll in a Medicare plan?

-- What happens if I get another job?

Friends and co-workers tell me one thing about ...Read more

I've always prided myself on being able to explain the rationale behind various Social Security rules and regulations. Many times, readers will send me emails in which they express utter befuddlement at a law or regulation that affects their eligibility for Social Security. It's usually a situation that results in them getting reduced benefits. ...Read more

In August, my husband and I enrolled in a Medicare Supplement, which has not paid a medical claim because we are in a Medicare Advantage plan. We could not leave the Advantage plan and return to Original Medicare due to Medicare rules.

I was told that Medicare’s Annual Enrollment is when Sonny and I can disenroll from this Advantage plan ...Read more