After I turned 21, I considered "big" milestone birthdays those that ended in 0. Smaller milestone birthdays ended in a 5. However, to celebrate my 2024 "smaller" milestone, a couple of weeks ago the Federal government sent me a special red, white, and blue card. I am now old enough to receive senior discounts at every location that offers them.
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My natal day celebration stretched from sunup to sundown, and included:
- New York-style bagels and cream cheese for breakfast from Bagel Union.
- A lovely pistachio latte for my free birthday drink from Starbucks and walk while Hubby Tony was doing physical therapy for his ankle.
- Lunch at Mod Pizza, where we split a pizza and salad.
- An afternoon showing of the newest movie version of The Color Purple. A friend had suggested I have tissues handy for happy tears at the end, and she was right. I needed them.
- A selection of miniature cupcakes for dessert after dinner at home.
- Texts and phone calls from the kids and grandkids.
Happy Birthday! Welcome to the "Seniors Club!"
ReplyDeleteAnd a good club it is!
DeleteHappy Birthday Kathy glad you were well celebrated -Christine cmlk79.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteThank you.
DeleteI couldn't wait to turn 65 and get on Medicare A&B and my wonderful Supplement F. F isn't offered anymore to new seniors, but Supplement G is just like it, only you pay the deductible each year, otherwise all else is covered. That way you can choose a Part D drug plan that matches your needs. Hooray! Have a good time! Linda in Kansas
ReplyDeleteTony has good retiree insurance (including drugs) that will be our supplemental.
DeleteI can't remember if you said you started SS or not. Now that I made it past 70, I wish I would have waited to take it. Are you a 66 or 67 person? Whatever you are, I read that your money in SS makes about 8% interest if you wait until 70.
ReplyDeleteFrom SS...
" Is it worth delaying Social Security to age 70?
If you start receiving retirement benefits at age: 67, you'll get 108 percent of the monthly benefit because you delayed getting benefits for 12 months. 70, you'll get 132 percent of the monthly benefit because you delayed getting benefits for 48 months."
Our financial person has given us suggestions about claiming Social Security. For me that will be next year at full retirement.
DeleteHappy Birthday to you!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you.
DeleteHappy Birthday to you dear friend Kathy!
ReplyDeletemay you celebrate it for so many years with loved ones!
And Happy new year as well (sorry bit late) may it bring you ,hubby and kids much health ,peace and joy ahead amen!
your health card looks promising which is nice indeed .congrats !
wow many treats on birthdays :) glad you enjoyed the day while spending time with hubby and receiving calls from family!
best wishes and hugs
Thank you. It was a wonderful day, and hopefully the first of many during the year.
DeleteTurning 65 did little for me. I had fabulous lifetime health benefits through the school district from which I retired, so I wasn't in any hurry to go to Medicare, and sure enough, the government takes a much larger amount from my social security payment for the medicare than the school district took for the coverage I had through them.
ReplyDeleteI now pay more for medical overage than I ever did when working, of course, working for union backed organizations really helped. I guess I didn't know just how good I had it!
I do appreciate having the Medicare deduction come straight out of my social security payment though.
We will continue Tony's retiree coverage as our secondary so the overall premium will go up, but between the two everything should be covered.
DeleteAnd with additional coverage through your employer, you will find doctors and medical facilities bending over backwards to provide care. Although we do pay a price for it, the really good coverage does provide really good care.
DeleteI was excited when I turned 65. I’ve had no complaints with Medicare. I supplement it with the department of defense’s TriCare. I’ve had 2 surgeries- knee replacement and rotator cuff and never got a bill. I was self employed most of my working years, and never had health insurance. So I’m grateful. As for collecting my SS, I collected early. No regrets.
ReplyDeleteIt's so very important to have insurance to cover medical expenses.
DeleteYes, TriCare is an excellent insurance coverage. My husband is retired military so it picks up any of the costs not covered by Medicare or the school district's coverage.
DeleteWell, big congratulations! You had a great day.
ReplyDeleteBelated birthday greetings! Sounds like a great day.
ReplyDeleteHappy Belated Birthday Wishes! It sounded like a lovely day. My tip: do not do medicare advantage. That is my tip that I have learned through friends. I am thankful our advisor steered us away because our friends has had such issues that we just don't have and we've had a lot of medical over the last 7 months with a stroke. it's been great but we also have a secondary.
ReplyDeleteWe decided some time ago that we travel too much to use an Advantage plan, which require using doctors within the metropolitan area except for emergencies.
DeleteHappy Birthday!
ReplyDeleteRegarding the taking of SS, the above 8% increase for ever year you hold off is correct. However it's all about the "breakeven" point. Remember those graphs in Algebra? (hey did just stop reading?)
The difference is two lines on a money received vs. time graph. If you don't make it to the breakeven point you lose out. If you make it past the breakeven then you benefit.
It's certainly is a prediction.
We use an independent broker who takes into account all aspects of retirement finances. She did the calculations for us, and advised us of the best strategies.
DeleteHappy Belated Birthday! Sounds like a delightful day!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
Delete