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Our common understanding of education is going through school when we are young and finishing our grade school and then college. Once we get a job, we finally declare with relief that we are done with our education and we have learned it all. In essence implying that we can do anything, that’s ANYTHING.

Today’s quote attempts to throw this belief system out the window. Let’s see how…

“The only person who is educated is the one who has learned how to learn and change” - Carl Rogers

Let’s think about this for a moment. Our current education system doesn’t prepare us to handle changes well. Also, times change. Life is full of changes and no matter how competent we are in doing something, until we learn to unlearn our old practices and relearn new practices in times of change, our education is not complete. Completing our traditional “education” let’s us become minimally competent at best in surviving in the marketplace. But is not the end game. We must continuously educate ourselves and force ourselves to change and adopt to changing situations.

Note:

Speaking about learning and changing, we would like to let our readers know about an upcoming event, a webinar. The topic is “Boomer Longevity and Careers”. If you are interested in learning more about how to take advantage and prepare yourself for the increased lifespan and what to do during these additional years of your life, this webinar may be worth checking out. Especially because you can attend it in the comfort of your home or office or wherever you are. It is being conducted by two great individuals. Catherine Kitcho (author of Happy About Being a Baby Boomer: Facing our newfound longevity) and Jacky Hood (author of Happy About Working to Stay Young: Expanded Careers for Boomers and Seniors). We recently published a fabulous interview with Catherine Kitcho on this blog. We will be publishing another fabulous interview with Jacky Hood very shortly. You can find more details about this webinar and learn about the bonus gifts you can get for signing up. Find out all about this webinar using this link.

Continuing our guest column from last week, let’s ask our friend, Jim Merriman, our friendly medicare advisor to help us understand the eligibility criteria for medicare. Last week, we learnt about the enrollment procedures for Medicare. In consideration of the upcoming enrollment deadline of March 31st we chose to share with you the enrollment procedures first. Now let’s go back to the basics and understand the eligibility criteria.

The Background:
Originally, Medicare was targeted for people over age 65, on the assumption that they would be retirees and would be without the benefit of employer-sponsored medical care. The program has never covered people who take early Social Security retirement, although it does cover Social Security disability qualified individuals that are younger than 65 years of age.

Who is eligible?
Eligibility for Medicare is tied closely to the Social Security benefits eligibility. It must however be noted here that people can qualify for, and receive Medicare without actually enrolling for Social Security at age 65. They simply enroll in Medicare and pay the Part B premium as if they had also enrolled in Social Security.

Qualifying Social Security wages are earnings that had Social Security payroll taxes or Social Security self-employment taxes paid on them. Earnings can qualify if one worked for someone else or for self. One needs to have accumulated 40 quarters of qualified credits to be entitled to Medicare coverage. Generally, one is eligible for Medicare if he (or she) or the spouse worked for at least 10 years in Medicare covered employment, and is 65 years old and is a citizen or permanent resident of the United States.

One might also qualify for coverage if he or she is younger than 65 years, but has a disability or has chronic kidney disease. In addition, people can buy into Medicare without having the 40 quarters of Social Security eligible work credits; but the premiums are high for both Part A and Part B, and the premiums will increase every year over the age of 65.

To be eligible for Medicare, an applicant must be 65 years of age or older and be either:
• a United States citizen (either by birth or naturalization)
• a legal resident alien who has lived in the United States for at least five years.

Who is eligible for Part A premium exemption?
One can get Part A at age 65 without having to pay premiums if:
• he/she is already receiving retirement benefits from Social Security or the Railroad Retirement Board
• he/she is eligible to receive Social Security or Railroad benefits but have not yet filed for them
• he/she or their spouse had Medicare-covered government employment
• he/she has received Social Security or Railroad Retirement Board disability benefits for 24 months
• he/she is a kidney dialysis or kidney transplant patient

This concludes today’s post on medicare eligibility. For more information, you can visit the FAQ page on medicare website.

We are pleased to let you know that Boomer411 was selected to be included in the list of 10 Best Boomer Sites, published by the editors of PCMagazine. You can see their take on Boomer411 here.

The editors of PCMagazine explain Boomers tech savvy nature as below, “The common demographic stereotype of the 44-to-63-year-old generation is that they are less likely to embrace technology than younger generations. This may be the case during the early-adopter phase of a new technology or gadget, but the boomers succumb to owning cell phones, DVD players, and HDTVs just like the rest of us. Besides, boomers Steve Jobs , Bill Gates , and Eric Schmidt sure didn’t have a problem entering the technology world!” ….

“eMarketer.com reports that over the next four years, the number of US boomers who use the Internet at least once a month will grow by more than 4 million, rising from 59.4 million in 2007 to 63.7 million in 2011. “

Here is what they had to say about Boomer411, “This news-aggregating site is like Digg for the older set. With Boomer411, you can bookmark and share your favorite content, as well as submit content to be voted on by other users. Topics range from jobs and insurance to alternative medicine and real estate. Visit the Boomer411 blog to read interviews and guest columns and comment on them”.

Read the entire article on PC Mag here.

Congratulations to all of you. It is only because of your support and belief that this was made possible. So let’s join hands and make it even better.

Editor’s Note: It is important to note the unique value Boomer411 brings to Boomers. It utilizes the human expertise of people, called Trustees, to select only the Best content on the web as opposed to merely aggregating just any web content. This results in a rich, trusted set of content that Boomers can rely and act upon. We will be posting about this very topic in our blog very soon. So please stay tuned and check back again…

The recent actions by the Federal Reserve to help shore up failing businesses and then a strong move to cut the interest rates by 75 basis points was cheered by the street with a big upswing in the market indices. It showed that the government and the fed is going to do everything in their power to help keep the economy from failing. But a day later, most of the gains from the prior day vanished into thin air.

Here is an interesting or rather thought-provoking analysis of these actions and what might (just might, but nobody knows for sure) be our way. This article attempts to summarize some of the various views on these actions and try to help make sense of all of this. As explained in this article, ‘Path Dependency’ hints that while avoiding a downright crash, this downturn may be rather prolonged. Time will only tell.

I am no expert on the economics or finance. But observing all these actions make me wonder, if it was this easy for the fed to pump in additional money to prop up failing parts of the system, wouldn’t most of the past troubles (recessions) be avoidable? If not, then by adding this additional liquidity, are we creating more systemic problems that would come back to haunt us in the long-term; while in the short term it may appear that the impending disaster is successfully avoided? Do these actions bode ill for the dollar value compared to other currencies? What would a weak dollar do to our companies and our economy in general?

We must think in these pragmatic terms and make sure we are not shooting ourselves in the foot before it’s too late.

Today we are launching a new series of guest columns. From time to time, we will bring you articles from expert practitioners in the field. This we hope will bring you more relevant, practical information on topics that might interest you. Today, in our guest column, we are introducing to you, Jim Merriman of the MedicareMan fame. Jim Merriman is a health insurance, medicare, long-term care insurance advisor. In consideration of the currently open annual medicare enrollment, Jim would like to bring you the following information pertaining to medicare and is commonly asked of him. In this post Jim wants to share with you some of the basic information on medicare enrollment.

How does one enroll in Medicare?
One is enrolled in medicare through one of the following options:
• automatically
• or by submitting an application

What do we mean?
If you are receiving Social Security benefits (or Railroad Retirement benefits), but not yet 65 years old, then you will be automatically enrolled in Medicare and so do not have to apply. You are automatically enrolled in both Part A and Part B and the Medicare card is mailed about 3 months before you turn 65. If you do not want Part B, you must follow the instructions that come with the card.

A disabled person will also be enrolled automatically in both Part A and Part B of Medicare beginning on the 25th month of disability. His/her card will be mailed about 3 months before the commencement of Medicare coverage.

One must manually apply for Medicare if, not already receiving Social Security or Railroad Retirement benefits, three months before the person turns 65, or if the person requires regular dialysis or a kidney transplant. From that day that person has up to 6 months for completing their initial enrollment. By applying early, one can avoid a possible delay in the start of his/her Part B coverage. Application can be made by contacting any Social Security Administration office. If an individual or his or her spouse worked for the railroad, they should contact the Railroad Retirement Board.

What happens if I don’t enroll during the initial enrollment window?
If you do not enroll during this 6-month period, you will have to wait until the next general (annual) enrollment period to enroll and receive Medicare benefits. General enrollment periods are from January 1 to March 31 of each year, and Part B coverage starts the following July. If you wait 12 or more months to sign up, the premiums will generally be higher. Part B premiums go up 10 percent for each 12 months that one could have enrolled but did not. The increase in the Part A premium (if one has to pay a premium) is 10 percent more regardless of the actual amount of delay in enrolling, as long as the enrollment was delayed.

Hint: This year’s general enrollment period will be ending soon on March 31st. So if you are eligible to enroll this year, but haven’t enrolled yet, now is probably the best time to enroll and thus ensure your coverage begins on time.

Can I delay enrollment if I have a special situation?
Under certain circumstances, however, one can delay his/her Part B enrollment without having to pay higher premiums. If the person is age 65 or over and has group health insurance based on self or spouse’s current employment, or if he/she is disabled and has group health insurance based on his/her current employment or the current employment of any family member, he/she has a choice:
• he/she may enroll in Part B at any time while covered by the group health plan
• he/she can enroll in Part B during the 8-month enrollment period that begins the month the employment ends or the month he/she is no longer covered under the employer plan, whichever comes first

When does my coverage begin?
If you enroll in Part B while still covered by an employer plan or during the first full month of terminating that plan, your coverage begins the first day of the month enrolled. You may also have the option of delaying coverage until the first day of the following 3 months. If the enrollment happens during any of the 7 remaining months of the special enrollment period, the coverage begins the month after enrollment. If you do not enroll by the end of the 8-month period, you will have to wait until the next general enrollment period that begins January 1 of the next year.

Even if you continue to work after turning 65, you should sign up for Part A of Medicare. Part A may help pay some of the costs not covered by the employer plan. It may not, however, be advisable to sign up for Part B if you have health insurance through an employer. You would have to pay the monthly Part B premium, and the Part B benefits may be of limited value as long as the employer plan was the primary payor of medical bills. By signing up you would also trigger the 6-month Medicare Supplement open enrollment period.

Applicants have three important decisions to make:
• Do I want to keep Medicare Part B?
• If I keep Medicare Part B, how do I want to receive the Medicare-covered services?
• Do I need supplemental insurance to pay for services and products that Medicare does not cover?

You must keep Part B to be able to join any of the Medicare managed care plans, Medicare medical savings accounts, Medicare Supplemental Plans, or other Medicare health insurance options. If you do not keep Part B, you will only be eligible to receive Medicare hospital coverage.

If you are turning 65 or are older, you can delay taking Part B medical insurance if:
• you or your spouse (of any age) continue to work
• you are covered under a group health plan from that employer

If someone is under the age of 65 and disabled, he/she can also delay Part B if
• he/she or any family member is currently working
• he/she has group health plan coverage from that current employment.

If one does not have group health plan coverage based on current employment, and still delays taking Part B, then the monthly premium may be higher. The premium will increase by 10 percent for every 12 months that someone does not take Part B in spite of being eligible.

If you do not keep Part B during your initial enrollment, you will only have a chance to sign up again for it only once a year – between January 1 and March 31. Your Part B insurance will start the following July. If you choose to delay taking Part B because of current coverage through a group health plan, you may be able to avoid paying this higher premium by signing up for Part B while you continue to have this group coverage. You can also sign up within eight months after the employment ends or the group health coverage ends, whichever comes first.

Things to remember while the medicare coverage is in force:
Once enrolled, the insured will receive a Medicare card imprinted with his/her name and Medicare claim number. It shows what coverage you have (Part A, Part B, or both), and the effective date your coverage started. You should show this card while obtaining medical care. This will assure that a claim for payment is sent to Medicare. Each person should make sure to use their exact name and claim number. If you are married, your spouse will have his or her own card and claim number. Under no circumstances should one ever let anyone else use their Medicare card. You should safeguard your medicare number just as you would safeguard your credit card number. You should also take your card with you during your travels, and have it handy while making calls about a Medicare claim. If you lose your card, you should contact the Social Security Administration right away.

Coming Soon: All your basic questions on medicare answered. So stay tuned…