An Invitation

Don't you just love getting invited to a party or being asked to join a group of like-minded friends in a new adventure?  

     Normally, I do but this is one invitation I wasn't quite ready to get......one dictated solely by my age.   And it made me feel so old, because since I've hit that magic number -- 64.5 years of age --
I've been invited by the Federal Government to begin the MEDICARE application process.  

And what a process!!    Let's face it -- the Government sends out your notice 6 months in advance, because it takes that long just to review the complicated maze of paperwork. 

Parts A, B, C or D --- what do I really need? 
It's like trying to figure out a jigsaw puzzle with my eyes closed!   And I even have an advantage over other Boomers because as a retired Federal employee, I'm used to the terminology and their long-winded way of explaining a simple procedure.  Still I get a headache just reading through the Government brochures and the numerous private supplemental policy offerings I've been receiving daily in the mail.
One thing I know for sure - though it's expensive, I'm keeping my Anthem-Blue Cross Federal Plan as my supplemental coverage as many of the nationally offerred plans just don't cover enough.

And please be wary of those "FREE" supplemental plans.   That's right - FREE -  no monthly charge, but just how good could that be?     NOT MUCH!!
        I found this out the hard way recently when my 87-year old mother was hospitalized.   She'd been bragging for years about the free supplemental plan she had.   Well, I never could get her to change plans and her recent hospital stay cost her over $2,000 when it probably would have cost her ZERO had she been paying for a better supplemental plan.

If you're on MEDICARE and have any tips to effortlessly get through the process, please share them.

Some helpful websites: 
Medicare:   http://www.medicare.gov/
AARP:  http://www.aarphealthcare.com/understanding-health-products/medicare-supplement.html

Madoff & Me

I know I'm one of the lucky ones because I had not invested any of my hard-earned money with Madoff and I do know where my money is.

Those investors are looking to the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) to reimburse them for their losses and may eventually receive up to $500,000.

Having lost over $100,000 of my own money in the 2000 market crash, I can certainly empathize with them. Yet, I never received a check from the Federal Government to cover my losses and at the rate of $3,000 per year I may not live long enough to recoup those losses. That financial set-back forced me to go into retirement with a large house payment, something I had hoped to avoid.

In my book, it's just not fair that those investors should be reimbursed for their losses from Uncle Sam.

You know none of them complained when they received huge yearly dividend checks from Madoff. Surely, some of them should have questioned "How can Madoff pay me a 10 to 12% return on my investment, when the rest of the market was paying only 3% or 4%? "

But none of them did, because they loved those consistently high yields. Since they received such large payments for so many years.....when all the accounting is done, I'm sure their NET LOSS will not be close to what they are claiming they loss.

So, fellow taxpayers.............what do you think? Should our tax dollars go to bailout those investors?

Capping the Crooks

Last week President Obama set a $500,000 pay cap for executives of failing firms. Now these are the men who have driven their companies into the ground; continually lied to investors and still have had the balls to ask taxpayers for a "bailout".

I find it infuriating that the Government would even give a failing executive that high of a yearly salary! Whatever happened to pay for performance? I am a retired Federal Gov't employee and over the years we've unjustifiably been tagged as lazy and inefficient.

Yet, I can guarantee you that I had an annual Performance Plan with specific quarterly goals that I had to meet. My performance against those targeted goals was closely monitored and discussed during quarterly reviews. No way would my boss have given me a bonus or pay raise if I hadn't meet those goals.

I don't know how a corporate executive can actually sit there with a straight face and ask for a bailout when they have so miserably failed as a leader and financially raped their company by taking millons of dollars in yearly salaries.

I'm a Boomer who was taught early on that you put in a hard day's work for a fair wage. Yet, if the Feds continue to grant bailouts to failing corporate leaders, then they are rewarding them for poor performance.

Seems to me that if the Federal Gov't doesn't also dictate that there must be a direct link between an executive's salary and profitable performance, then it's sending the message that they can still make at least $500,000 just for showing up!!

Where's the Line?

Are you like me --- sick of these bailouts? And now the auto industry wants a piece of the action! Corporate greed has been rampant for years and the Federal Government did nothing to stop their excessive spending, lavish lifestyles and the many tax deductible corporate benefits bestowed on officers like company cars, county club memberships and let's not forget the private jets. What happened to the fiduciary relationship between the Chief, Financial Officers (CFO) and corporate investors? Why isn't the CFO being held accountable --surely he and the accounting firm had to realize long ago that these corporations were in dire financial shape, yet somehow they managed to find the money to fund huge year end bonuses? What happened to people and corporations being forced to accept the consequences of their actions?

The inaction of top corporate executives to tighten their belts and begin to make prudent business decisions has caused this financial fiasco, so, why shouldn't they have to accept the consequences and be fired without a golden parachute? Instead, if the Government grants them a bailout, it is directly rewarding them for mismanaging their company. Since Uncle Sam seems to have so much spare cash to dole out to these failing corporations, I'd like to know where the line starts because I want some too. I know that many of us could use a Government handout right about now as we watch our retirement nest eggs fall daily. Some of my retired friends have lost as much as 70 to 80% of their entire stock portfolio.

Let's see -- corporate officers mismanage their money -- then the Government bails them out. But,you, a struggling retiree loses in the stock market (a direct result of these ongoing and ever-increasing corporate problems) and do you get bailed out---nope, you just have to tighten your belt, eat beans and maybe forgo a needed medical treatment.
Fair -- no way!

So, if you're tired of it like me -- please take the time to call or email your Congressman and let them know your fed up! http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/index.html