farmerjan
Herd Master
- Joined
- Aug 16, 2016
- Messages
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- Location
- Shenandoah Valley Virginia
Hi everyone. I am @farmerjan and have been on the site for over two years. I do post on others' threads but have never started my own.
Anyway, I am going to hit 65 this fall. Have been inudated with 900 million things for supplemental ins and all this stuff in the mail. Crazy.....
What do you other retirees have, or like or don't like with medicare and supplement plans? Our health ins provider has been trying to give us some info as there are HALF of us milk testers in the 60 + over age bracket and very few young ones willing to take on the crazy hours and such. With the state of the dairy industry, I'm not sure that this isn't a dying breed/job anyway.
I have talked to several financial advisors that have said to keep working as long as I can and the SS check will be bigger. One of the girls at work said her financial advisor told her to start her SS as soon as she wanted; they did cost comparisons as to how much less she would get and how long it would take to "break even". She started hers and has been putting the whole thing towards what mortgage she has left and said it will get paid off soon and that she is GLAD she opted to start it. Also, her advisor said that it would take an average 7-10 years to reach that break even point and that who knows how long you will live. Case in point; the former CEO of our company waited to retire at 65, and collected SS for 5 months and dropped dead of a heart attack. So I can see the reasoning. Plus there are rumblings that by 2030 there might only be enough to pay 70 cents on the dollar due to the financial solvency... The difference for me to wait til 66 is only about $100 month and I can make that up with cattle money so I am probably going to start SS.
I try to explain to the financial advisors the pain in the ankle and my knees, the years of being on concrete, and the limited options I have for the ankle besides fusion. Being off concrete for a few days, really does make it not quite so painful. I have tried everything that has been suggested, have been for consultations to over 10 different doctors over the last 5 years. I have been doing prolotherapy; the 2nd level which is PRP (platelet enriched plasma) injections to help possible regeneration of the cartliledge without the hoped for results. Some of the damage is wear and tear, some is from a couple of accidents. I just had some stem cells harvested from my hip and injected into the ankle joint. It will take some time to see if it will help.
Mind you, none of this is covered by ins., so is all out of pocket, but I really don't want replacements if there are other options and replacement of the ankle is iffy since there are 3 joints and only one is replaced. Knee replacement has been discussed too. I will wait for medicare to kick in since it will cover much more than my present ins. due to our high deductible.
So all that said, I take no "drugs", no high blood pressure, no diabetes, no cholesterol, nothing except being overweight and that has partly come from the joint problems; I cannot walk the pastures checking on the cows and cannot ride the hay wagons as I am not stable enough on my feet on the moving wagon, so I am not getting the exercise I used to. I am working on trying to figure a way to drop some and I usually do in the summer just from sweating while raking hay and such.
So please, anyone willing to weigh in on the different plans, pros and cons, and how you have dealt with it all.
Thanks, Jan
Anyway, I am going to hit 65 this fall. Have been inudated with 900 million things for supplemental ins and all this stuff in the mail. Crazy.....
What do you other retirees have, or like or don't like with medicare and supplement plans? Our health ins provider has been trying to give us some info as there are HALF of us milk testers in the 60 + over age bracket and very few young ones willing to take on the crazy hours and such. With the state of the dairy industry, I'm not sure that this isn't a dying breed/job anyway.
I have talked to several financial advisors that have said to keep working as long as I can and the SS check will be bigger. One of the girls at work said her financial advisor told her to start her SS as soon as she wanted; they did cost comparisons as to how much less she would get and how long it would take to "break even". She started hers and has been putting the whole thing towards what mortgage she has left and said it will get paid off soon and that she is GLAD she opted to start it. Also, her advisor said that it would take an average 7-10 years to reach that break even point and that who knows how long you will live. Case in point; the former CEO of our company waited to retire at 65, and collected SS for 5 months and dropped dead of a heart attack. So I can see the reasoning. Plus there are rumblings that by 2030 there might only be enough to pay 70 cents on the dollar due to the financial solvency... The difference for me to wait til 66 is only about $100 month and I can make that up with cattle money so I am probably going to start SS.
I try to explain to the financial advisors the pain in the ankle and my knees, the years of being on concrete, and the limited options I have for the ankle besides fusion. Being off concrete for a few days, really does make it not quite so painful. I have tried everything that has been suggested, have been for consultations to over 10 different doctors over the last 5 years. I have been doing prolotherapy; the 2nd level which is PRP (platelet enriched plasma) injections to help possible regeneration of the cartliledge without the hoped for results. Some of the damage is wear and tear, some is from a couple of accidents. I just had some stem cells harvested from my hip and injected into the ankle joint. It will take some time to see if it will help.
Mind you, none of this is covered by ins., so is all out of pocket, but I really don't want replacements if there are other options and replacement of the ankle is iffy since there are 3 joints and only one is replaced. Knee replacement has been discussed too. I will wait for medicare to kick in since it will cover much more than my present ins. due to our high deductible.
So all that said, I take no "drugs", no high blood pressure, no diabetes, no cholesterol, nothing except being overweight and that has partly come from the joint problems; I cannot walk the pastures checking on the cows and cannot ride the hay wagons as I am not stable enough on my feet on the moving wagon, so I am not getting the exercise I used to. I am working on trying to figure a way to drop some and I usually do in the summer just from sweating while raking hay and such.
So please, anyone willing to weigh in on the different plans, pros and cons, and how you have dealt with it all.
Thanks, Jan
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