Page 19 - North Haven Magazine Spring 2021 Issue 18

Medicare Insurance Questions?

203-239-4044

FRANK LANDINO NICK CASELLA
“The secret of getting things done is to act!”

—Dante Alighieri

ast month, I was fortunate enough to travel and spend some quality time with my wife and dear friends while enjoying the sun filled weather
Land beautiful beaches of South Florida. The sights and sounds of gentle waves washing ashore have an incredible soothing effect and can
make you forget the challenging times we are facing these days. But, before we knew it, it was time to get back home to Connecticut and get
back into the rhythm of our daily lives.

During our time together with our friends, What about Medicare eligibility? There are
we had a lot of time to chat about a variety certain requirements that Social Security
of things. Given that we are all in our 60s, has in order to qualify for Medicare. There
and I am in the Medicare Insurance business, are time frames in which you must apply
the subject of retirement, Social Security and for Medicare or you may be penalized later
Medicare came up. Fortunately, I have a con- on. Are you turning 65 soon? Are you over
siderable amount of knowledge in these ar- 65 and still working? Do you need to apply
eas and was able to clarify a lot of things for for both Medicare Parts A & B? What about
them, which is what led me to this article. Medicare Part C or Part D? This is all very
important information that you need to learn
before making any retirement decisions. The
key to it all is to start early. Give yourself at
least a 3-6 months head start, or more, on
learning this process. You’ll be glad you did.

But for those that want to retire as early as
possible, there are things you should be aware
of before you pull the trigger. For one thing,
you must understand how much of a Social
Security benefit you will collect once you re-
tire. Your Social Security check will be sub-
stantially lower at age 62 versus age 65 or 66.
That may not be a major issue for you, but for
many, that difference can be worth thousands
You see, my friends and I are part of the baby during your retirement years.
boomer generation. There are thousands of Our focus has always been to educate our cli-
baby boomers turning 65 every day in this Also, to be eligible for your “full benefits”, ents so that they can make good retirement
country and many of them are not exactly you should learn what your specific retire- decisions concerning their Medicare benefits.
ready for retirement yet. Many are in great ment age is with Social Security. Is it 65 + 9 We will walk you through the overwhelming
health, like their jobs or careers, are comfort- months, or 65 + 11 months, or is it 66? That Medicare process and show you how to nav-
able with their earnings and don’t see any rea- all depends on your date of birth. To be sure, igate the system. Best of all, there is no obli-
son to retire yet. Many need to continue to you can go to www.SSA.gov and navigate this gation and we promise service with a smile.
work because they need their health benefits site which is full of good information. You Call us at 203-239-4044. We look forward to
to cover a younger age spouse. Some must can always call us at 203-239-4044 and we speaking with you.
continue to work a few more years for finan- can walk you through this process free of
cial reasons. charge. Have a wonderful Spring!

Health Insurance Associates, LLP • 250 State St. • North Haven