LIVING IT UP Lyndon Thomas Insurance
Making the Retirement Bucket List of Your Dreams
Some retire with all sorts of plans in mind, ready to do everything they never had the chance to do. Others worry about how they’ll fill the days without a daily job. If you’re not making the most of your golden years, it may be time to create a retirement bucket list. Start by thinking about what you value most. When are you happiest? What have you always wanted to try? What would you do if you could do anything in the world? Not every idea on this list will be realistic; you probably won’t win a gold medal at the Olympics or walk on the moon. But you might be able to run a marathon or visit a NASA space center. These questions will help you understand your priorities and how you’d like the rest of your life to look. It also helps to start small. Creating a 50- line list can leave you too overwhelmed to accomplish anything. And while it’s okay
to include the trip to Rome you’ve always dreamed of, remember that many ideas are less expensive and closer to home. For example, maybe you’ve always wanted to take a cooking class or a Zumba lesson. Perhaps there’s a historical building in your town you’ve never taken the time to visit. Or you might aspire to something as simple as getting up early and watching the sunrise. Whatever you include, you should be excited about every item on your list. Simply going through the motions won’t help you find fulfillment. It might be cool to say you’ve visited all 50 states — but do you want to spend that much time traveling? You should consider whether an idea is interesting and whether you are willing to commit to accomplishing it. It’s also okay if your priorities change. You don’t have to cross an item off your list just
because you wrote it down two years ago. Your retirement bucket list should be about fun and fulfillment, not an obligation. Give yourself permission to abandon the ideas that start to seem like chores. Creating a retirement bucket list is an opportunity to find meaning in your 60s and beyond. None of us wants to reach the end of our lives with regrets. So, take the time now to focus on what you value most.
You get a lot of junk mail. But every month there is one letter you get that you will want to open and read, and that’s the Monthly Report from your Part D Prescription Drug Program. All Part D programs have four stages, Deductible, Initial, Gap, and Catastrophic, and all Part D plans send a monthly Prescription Drug Report if scripts are being received. This monthly statement includes important information including prescriptions that were filled during that month and the amount applied to the Annual Deductible of $505 in 2023 IF applied to your plan. Then in the Initial Coverage Stage , it lists the co-pay you paid for each prescription and the amount the plan paid for each, which together equals the Total Drug Cost. As prescriptions are filled from month to month, the report will show the accumulated Total Drug Cost to date and how far you have to go before you reach the Initial Coverage Limit (the 2023 ICL is $4,660 of Total Drug Cost). The majority of people do not reach the ICL: Those with a Low IT’S NOT ALL JUNK (MAIL) Read the Monthly Part D Report
prescription changes from the Tier Copay to 25% of the cost for both generics and brand drugs. Please read your monthly report, because going into the Coverage Gap or “Donut Hole” is even more unpleasant when you find out about it during the next refill at the drugstore! The amount the member pays in Copays in Initial Coverage and the 25%’s paid in the Coverage Gap are together known as the “True Out of Pocket” amount, or TROOP. If the TROOP reaches $7,400 (not counting premiums), the member has reached the Catastrophic Stage for the remainder of the year, where the cost of prescriptions goes down to the greater of 5% or $3.70 for generics and $9.20 for all other drugs. 5% of the manufacturers’ brand drug cost is applied to the TROOP, hastening the arrival to Catastrophic. The silver lining in this cloud is that if you are in the Gap or Catastrophic, each January 1 all accounts are reset to $0 and you are back in the Initial Coverage stage. Recent legislation will change Part D in 2025, when a “hard” cap of $2,000 for out-of-pocket costs for Medicare beneficiaries. How this will alter premiums and drug costs before $2,000 is yet to be seen. If you have any questions about your Part D Prescription Drug Program, do not hesitate to call us. Prescription drug costs can be frustrating. While we can’t bring drug costs down, we try to help you understand your program better and review potential options. * For those with Low Income Subsidy through Medi- Cal or Medicare Extra Help, the Coverage Gap and Catastrophic do not apply, as they pay a specific co-pay throughout the year.
Income Subsidy through Medi-Cal or Medicare Extra Help, the Coverage Gap and Catastrophic do not apply, as they pay a specific co-pay throughout the year. For those who do max out the Initial Coverage Limit and move into the Coverage Gap Stage , the amount the member would then pay for each
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