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Original Medicare — Part A hospital insurance and Part B medical insurance — offers broad coverage, but many services are not covered.

Some may be fully or partially covered by a Part C Medicare Advantage Plan, which replaces Original Medicare, or a Medigap policy, which supplements Original Medicare. Both are offered by Medicare-approved private insurers. (You cannot have both a Medicare Advantage Plan and a Medigap policy.)

Whether you are looking forward to Medicare in the future or are already enrolled, you should consider these potential expenses.

Deductibles, copays, and coinsurance. Costs for covered services can add up, and — unlike most private insurance — there is no annual out-of-pocket maximum. Medicare Advantage and Medigap plans may pay all or a percentage of these costs and may include an out-of-pocket maximum.

Prescription drugs. For coverage, you need to enroll in a Part D prescription drug plan or a Medicare Advantage plan that includes drug coverage.

Dental and vision care. Original Medicare does not cover routine dental or vision care. Some Medicare Advantage and Medigap plans may offer coverage for either or both of these needs. You might also consider private dental and/or vision insurance.

Hearing care and hearing aids. Some Medicare Advantage plans may cover hearing aids and exams.

Medical care outside the United States. Original Medicare does not offer coverage outside the United States. Some Medicare Advantage and Medigap plans offer coverage for emergency care abroad. You can also purchase a private travel insurance policy.

Long-term care. Medicare does not cover “custodial care” in a nursing home or home health care. You may be able to purchase long-term care (LTC) insurance from private insurers.

A complete statement of coverage, including exclusions, exceptions, and limitations, is found only in the LTC insurance policy. It should be noted that LTC insurance carriers have the discretion to raise their rates and remove their products from the marketplace.

If you have the opportunity to contribute to both a 401(k) and a health savings account (HSA), you may wonder how best to take advantage of them. Determining how much to contribute to each type of plan will require some careful thought and strategic planning.

Understand the tax benefits

A traditional, non-Roth 401(k) allows you to save for retirement on a pre-tax basis, which means the money is deducted from your paycheck before taxes are assessed. The account then grows on a tax-deferred basis; you don’t pay taxes on any contributions or earnings until you withdraw the money. Withdrawals are subject to ordinary income tax and a possible 10% penalty tax if made before you reach age 59½, unless an exception applies.

You can open and contribute to an HSA only if you are enrolled in a qualifying high-deductible health plan (HDHP), are not covered by someone else’s plan, and cannot be claimed as a dependent by someone else. Although HDHP premiums are generally lower than other types of health insurance, the out-of-pocket costs could be much higher (until you reach the deductible). That’s where HSAs come in. Similar to 401(k)s, they allow you to set aside money on a pre-tax or tax-deductible basis, and the money grows tax deferred.

However, HSAs offer an extra tax advantage: Funds used to pay qualified medical expenses can be withdrawn from the account tax-free. And you don’t have to wait until a certain age to do so. That may be one reason why 68% of individuals in one survey viewed HSAs as a way to pay current medical bills rather than save for the future.¹ However, a closer look at HSAs reveals why they can add a new dimension to your retirement strategy.

HSAs: A deeper dive

Following are some of the reasons an HSA could be a good long-term, asset-building tool.

With an HSA, there is no “use it or lose it” requirement, as there is with a flexible spending account (FSA); you can carry an HSA balance from one year to the next, allowing it to potentially grow over time.
HSAs are portable. If you leave your employer for any reason, you can roll the money into another HSA.
You typically have the opportunity to invest your HSA money in a variety of asset classes, similar to a 401(k) plan. (According to the Plan Sponsor Council of America, most HSAs require you to have at least $1,000 in the account before you can invest beyond cash alternatives.²)
HSAs don’t impose required minimum distributions at age 70½, unlike 401(k)s.
You can use your HSA money to pay for certain health insurance costs in retirement, including Medicare premiums and copays, as well as long-term care insurance premiums (subject to certain limits).
Prior to age 65, withdrawals used for nonqualified expenses are subject to income tax and a 20% penalty tax; however, after age 65, money used for nonqualified expenses will not be subject to the penalty [i.e., HSA dollars used for nonqualified expenses after age 65 receive the same tax treatment as traditional 401(k) withdrawals].

The bottom line is that if you don’t need all of your HSA money to cover immediate health-care costs, it may provide an ideal opportunity to build a separate nest egg for your retirement health-care expenses. (It might be wise to keep any money needed to cover immediate or short-term medical expenses in relatively conservative investments.)

Additional points to consider

If you have the option to save in both a 401(k) and an HSA, ideally you would set aside the maximum amount in each type of account: in 2019, the limits are $19,000 (plus an additional $6,000 if you’re 50 or older) in your 401(k) plan; $3,500 for individual coverage (or $7,000 for families, plus an additional $1,000 if you’re 55 or older) in your HSA. Realistically, however, those amounts may be unattainable. So here are some important points to consider.

1) Estimate how much you spend out of pocket on your family’s health care annually and set aside at least that much in your HSA.

2) If either your 401(k) or HSA — or both — offers an employer match, try to contribute at least enough to take full advantage of it. Not doing so is turning down free money.

3) Understand all HSA rules, both now and down the road. For example, you’ll need to save receipts for all your medical expenses. And once you’re enrolled in Medicare, you can no longer contribute to an HSA. Nor can you pay Medigap premiums with HSA dollars.

4) Compare investment options in both types of accounts. Examine the objectives, risk/return potential, and fees and expenses of all options before determining amounts to invest.

5) If your 401(k) offers a Roth account, you may want to factor its pros and cons into the equation as well.

As you move through different stages of life, you will face new and unique financial situations. Did you just get engaged? Perhaps you are wondering how you and your partner are going to manage your money together. Do you have children? Maybe you are looking for ways to pay for their college education.

When you navigate through these various life events, you might seek professional guidance to help you make sound financial choices.

1. Getting married

Getting married is an exciting time in one’s life, but it also brings about many challenges. One challenge that you and your spouse will face is how to merge your finances. Careful planning and communication are important, since the financial decisions you make now can have a lasting impact on your future.

You’ll want to discuss your financial goals and determine which are most important to both of you. You should also prepare a budget to make sure you are spending less than you earn. Other issues to consider as a couple include combining financial accounts, integrating insurance coverage, and increasing retirement plan contributions.

2. Buying a home

Buying a home can be stressful, especially for first-time homebuyers. Since most people finance their home purchases, buying a house usually means getting a mortgage. As a result, you’ll need to determine how large a mortgage you can afford by taking into account your gross monthly income, housing expenses, and long-term debt.

And if you haven’t already done so, you’ll need to save for a down payment. Traditionally, lenders have required a 20% down payment on the purchase of a home, however many lenders now offer loans with lower down payments.

3. Starting a family

Starting a family is an important — and expensive — commitment. As your family grows, you will likely need to reassess and make changes to your budget. Many of your living expenses will increase (e.g., grocery, health-care, and housing costs). In addition, you’ll need to account for new expenses such as child care and building a college fund.

Having a family also means you should review your insurance coverage needs. Life insurance can help protect your family from financial uncertainty if you die, while disability insurance will help replace your income if you become injured or sick.

4. Paying for college

Paying for college is a major financial undertaking and usually involves a combination of strategies to help cover costs — savings, financial aid, income during the college years, and potentially other creative cost-cutting measures. Hopefully, you’ve been saving money on a regular basis to amass a healthy sum when your child is ready for college. But as college costs continue to rise each year, what you’ve saved may not be enough.

For this reason, many families supplement their savings at college time with federal or college financial aid. Federal aid can include student and parent loans (need-based and non-need-based), grants and work-study (both need-based), while college aid consists primarily of grants and scholarships (need-based and merit-based). In fact, college grants and scholarships can make up a significant portion of the college funding puzzle, so exploring the availability of college aid is probably the single biggest thing you can do after saving regularly to optimize your bottom line. In addition to financial aid, you might take out a private college loan or borrow against your home equity. Or you might pay college expenses using your current income or other savings or investments.

5. Saving for retirement

You know that saving for retirement is important. However, sometimes it’s easy to delay saving while you’re still young and retirement seems too far off in the future. Proper planning is important, and the sooner you get started, the easier it will be to meet your retirement income needs. Depending on your desired retirement lifestyle, experts suggest that you may need 80% to 100% of your pre-retirement income to maintain your standard of living. However, this is only a general guideline. To determine your specific needs, you’ll need to estimate all your potential sources of retirement income and retirement expenses, taking taxes and inflation into account.

Once you’ve estimated how much money you’ll need for retirement, your next goal is to save that amount. Employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s are powerful savings tools because you can make pre-tax contributions (reducing your current taxable income), and any investment earnings grow tax deferred until withdrawn, when they are taxed as ordinary income. You may be able to enhance your savings even more if your employer matches contributions. IRAs also offer tax-deferred growth of earnings.

Publicly traded companies are required to report their financial performance to regulators and shareholders on a quarterly basis. Earnings season is the often-turbulent period when most companies disclose their successes and failures.
U.S. companies included in the S&P 500 index suffered year-over-year earnings declines in the first two quarters of 2019.1 Rising wages and higher material costs (partially due to tariffs imposed on traded goods) had started to cut into profit margins.2
Earnings reports are closely watched because they reveal a corporation’s bottom line. However, they generally reflect past performance and may have little to do with future results.
Performance lingo
A quarterly report includes unaudited financial statements, a discussion of the business conditions that affected financial results, and some guidance about how the company expects to perform in the following quarters. Financial statements reveal the quarter’s profit or net income, which must be calculated according to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). This involves subtracting operating expenses (including depreciation, taxes, and other expenses) from net income.
Earnings per share (EPS) represents the portion of total profit that applies to each outstanding share of company stock. EPS is often the figure that makes headlines, because the financial media tend to focus on whether companies meet, beat, or fall short of the consensus estimate of Wall Street analysts. A company can beat the market by losing less money than expected, or can log billions in profits and still disappoint investors who were counting on more.
An earnings surprise — whether EPS comes in above or below expectations — can have an immediate effect on a company’s stock price.
Shaping perception
In addition to filing regulatory paperwork, many companies announce their results through press releases, conference calls, and/or webinars so they can influence how the information is judged by analysts, financial media, and investors.
Pro-forma (or adjusted) earnings may exclude nonrecurring expenses such as restructuring costs, interest payments, taxes, and other unique events. Although the Securities and Exchange Commission has rules governing pro-forma financial statements, companies have leeway to highlight the positive and minimize the negative. There may be a vast difference between pro-forma earnings and those calculated according to GAAP.
Many companies also take steps to manage expectations. Issuing profit warnings or positive revisions to previous forecasts may prompt analysts to adjust their estimates accordingly. Companies may also be able to time certain business moves to help meet quarterly earnings targets.
The media hype surrounding an earnings surprise can sometimes draw attention away from important details that may be revealed in a company’s quarterly report. Factors such as sales growth, research and development, new products, consumer trends, government policies, and global economic conditions can all affect a company’s longer-term prospects.
The return and principal value of stocks fluctuate with changes in market conditions. Shares, when sold, may be worth more or less than their original cost. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged group of securities that is considered to be representative of the U.S. stock market in general. The performance of an unmanaged index is not indicative of the performance of any specific investment. Individuals cannot invest directly in an index.
Prepared by Broadridge Investor Communication Solutions, Inc. Copyright 2019
1FactSet, August 9, 2019
2Reuters, April 9, 2019

If you need to renew your driver’s license, you may want to get a REAL ID. The REAL ID Act, passed by Congress in 2005, enacts the 9/11 Commission’s recommendation that the federal government set minimum security standards for state-issued driver’s licenses and identification cards.
Beginning October 1, 2020, residents of every state and territory will need to present a REAL ID-compliant license/identification card, or another acceptable form of identification (such as a passport), to access federal facilities, enter nuclear power plants, and board commercial aircraft. Although implementation has been slow, states have made progress in meeting the REAL ID Act’s recommendations. A majority of states and territories, along with the District of Columbia, have complied with all REAL ID requirements. The remaining noncompliant jurisdictions have been granted a temporary extension from the Department of Homeland Security.1
To obtain a REAL ID, you must apply in person at your state’s department of motor vehicles (or other approved service center). Your picture will be taken and signature captured electronically. You must provide more documentation than you would normally need for a standard driver’s license or identification card. A REAL ID requires that you show (in original or certified form) proof of identity and lawful presence (e.g., U.S. passport, birth certificate), state residency (e.g., mortgage statement, utility bill), and Social Security number (e.g., Social Security card, paystub). In addition, if your current name doesn’t match the one on your proof of identity document, you must prove your legal name change (e.g., marriage certificate).
When states first implemented REAL ID recommendations, applicants were faced with delays and long wait times. However, many states have since streamlined the process by allowing applicants to start the application process online. For more information on applying for a REAL ID, you can visit your state’s department of motor vehicles website or dhs.gov/real-id.
Prepared by Broadridge Investor Communication Solutions, Inc. Copyright 2019