SafeMoney 9-7-24

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Good Saturday morning to all. On this first Saturday in
September two thousand and twenty four, schools are in session.
That includes local public schools and private schools and universities.
Dick chilligear and this is safe money. We've been here
for a long time now encourage listeners to be safe

(00:23):
with their investment decisions. This is the fourth quarter of
twenty twenty four. September first began the fourth quarter of
twenty twenty four, if you can believe that. First and foremost,
This morning report on the thirtieth annual Run with Carl
held last Monday morning at Bettendorf Middle School. A huge

(00:45):
thank you to a Center Credit Union for their overall
sponsorship and a huge thank you for all of our participants.
We had a nice turn out over eight hundred participants
in this event. Thanks to all of you for your participation.
The results of the thirtieth Rone with Carl are posted

(01:06):
on www. Runwithcarl dot com website. KWQC. Titles coveraged the
thirtieth Year with Carl, celebrating thirty years Run with Carl
established in memory of Pleasant Valley High School student who
died in September of nineteen ninety four has been cherished

(01:28):
Bettendorf and Pleasant Valley tradition for over thirty years. He
was hit by a car during a Civil War and
reenactment in the village of East Davenport. Proceeds from the
event in Carl's memory, the family created a scholarship for
graduating seniors at Bettendorf and Pleasant Valley schools. Since twenty fifteen,

(01:54):
when the school foundations began organizing the race, nearly two
hundred thousand dollars dollars has been raised for both school districts.
Proceeds from the annual Labor Day Run with Carl benefit
Bettendorf and Pleasant Valley students. The twenty twenty three race
raised over thirteen thousand dollars for each foundation, and proceeds

(02:19):
are used to fund scholarships for graduating seniors in both
districts and are also used to support innovative classroom grants,
especially in the Bettendorf Community School district. We could not
do it without you, so this week's thirtieth Run with
Carl exceeded the twenty twenty three numbers. Again, thanks to

(02:43):
all of you for your participation and support of the
Run with Carl. We are currently planning the thirty first
Run with Carl schedule for Labor Day, September first, twenty
twenty five. Boy, that's only three hundred and fifty nine
days from now, so there's plenty of training days left

(03:04):
for the twenty fifth annual Run with Carl. Secondly, we
will continue our virtual community monthly meetings during this month
of September. These informational meetings will be held on Tuesday
September seventeenth and Thursday September nineteenth. On Tuesday, September seventeenth,

(03:29):
Craig from our office talks about the basics of Medicare
and then focuses on the Medicare supplement plans that are available.
You recall there are ten Medicare supplement plans. You get
to choose one of these ten plans. Two days later,
on Thursday, September nineteenth, Craig again reviews the basics of

(03:50):
Medicare and then focuses on the alternative to Medicare, and
that is Medicare Part C, the Medicare Advantage Plan, and
what we believe is the most competitive of these plans,
and that's the AAARP Medicare Complete Plan offered by United Healthcare.

(04:12):
So if you are aging into Medicare, turning sixty five
and becoming eligible for Medicare. I know you are receiving
lots of solicitation requests by various insurance companies to enroll
in their Medicare plan. If you would like to participate
in our informational meetings and learn more about your choices

(04:35):
for Medicare, remember these September meetings are virtual. We use
the Internet to broadcast these meetings. May you remain in
the privacy of your home. Of your own home, call
Craig at five six three three three two twenty two
hundred to receive instructions on how to join these meetings.

(04:58):
And remember, these meetings are coming up here on September
seventeenth and September nineteen, so it's just a few days,
not too far in the distance, in the distant future,
so you will find these meetings very helpful and very informative.
Attendees and our private and our attendees at our prior

(05:22):
meetings all tell us the same thing. They say, Now
I understand the choices we have with Medicare, and my God,
with ten Medicare supplements, we get to choose one of
those ten plans with prescription drug plans. There's eighteen eighteen

(05:42):
prescription drug plans available in this Medicare region, and we
get to choose one of those eighteen plans. And with
the advantage plans, there are eight advantage plans, and we
get to pick one of those eight advantage plans. Now,
let me say something about advantage plans Medicare Part C.

(06:05):
In twenty twenty four, more than half or fifty four
percent of eligible Medicare beneficiaries as thirty two million people
out of sixty one million Medicare beneficiaries with both Medicare
Part A in Part B are enrolled in Medicare advantage plans.

(06:28):
Medicare advantage enrollment as a share of the eligible Medicare
population has jumped from a low of nineteen percent in
two thousand and seven to twenty twenty four with over
fifty four percent. My gosh, that's a fantastic growth. So

(06:48):
that says something about the benefits of the Medicare advantage plan.
So I encourage you to look into the advantage plan.
We are independent insurance agents, so we provide Medicare advantage
plans as well as we provide original Medicare with the
Medicare supplement plans and the prescription drug plans. Between twenty

(07:14):
twenty three and twenty twenty four, total Medicare advantage enrollment
grew by about two point four two point one million beneficiaries,
or seven percent, a similar growth rate as in the
Brier year. Now, the Congressional Budget Office projects at the

(07:34):
share of all Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare advantage plans
will rise to sixty four percent by twenty thirty four.
By ten years from now, sixty four percent of all
Medicare beneficiaries will be enrolled in Medicare advantage plans. So

(07:57):
that says something about advantage plans and the value or
the benefit about advantage plans. In twenty twenty four, nearly
two thirds of Medicare advantage in rollees or in individual
plans that are open for general enrollment. More than six
in ten Medicare enrollees sixty four sixty two percent, or

(08:23):
twenty million people are in plans generally available to all
beneficiaries for individual enrollment. That is an increase of nine
million enrollees compared to twenty twenty three. Individual plans have
declined as a share of total Medicare advantage enrollment since

(08:48):
twenty ten, so today there's over seventy one percent enrolled
in Medicare advantage plans. More than six point six million
Medicare beneficiaries are enrolled in special needs plans in twenty
twenty four, more than double the enrollment in twenty nineteen.

(09:10):
More than six point six million beneficiaries are enrolled in
special needs plans. Special needs plans restrict enrollment to specific
types of benefit beneficiaries with significant or relatively specialized care needs,
or who qualify because of their because they are eligible

(09:33):
for both Medicare and Medicaid. Enrollment in special needs programs
increase by sixteen percent between twenty three and twenty four
and accounts for twenty percent of total Medicare advantage enrollment
in twenty twenty four, an increase from twelve percent in

(09:56):
twenty ten. Since twenty nineteen, special needs enrollment has more
than double from two point nine million two six point
six million my gosh, almost three times what it was previously.
Group enrollment as a share of total Medicare advantage in

(10:17):
rollment has fluctuated between seventeen to twenty percent since two
thousand and ten, but the actual number has increased from
one point eight million in two thousand ten to five
point seven million in twenty twenty four. With a group plan,
an employer or union contracts with an insurer, and Medicare

(10:42):
pays the insure a fixed amount per and roly to
provide benefits covered by Medicare. For example, thirteen states provide
health insurance benefits to their Medicare eligible retirees exclusively through
Medicare advantage plans. United Healthcare and Humana account for nearly

(11:07):
half of all Medicare advantage enrollees nationwide in twenty twenty four. Now,
as independent agents, we represent both United Healthcare and Humanum together.
United Healthcare and Humanum eighteen percent account for nearly half

(11:29):
of all Medicare advantage in enrollies nationwide, the same as
in twenty twenty three. In more than a quarter of
the counties twenty nine percent of counties or nine one
hundred and thirty one counties, these two firms account for
at least seventy five percent of all Medicare advantage enrollments.

(11:52):
United Healthcare and Humanum have consistently accounted for a relatively
larger share of Medicare advantage enrollments. United Healthcare has had
the largest share of Medicare advantage enrollment and the largest
growth in enrollment since twenty ten, increasing from twenty percent

(12:13):
of all Medicare advantage enrollments in twenty ten to twenty
nine percent in twenty twenty four. Humanu has also had
a high share of Medicare advantage enrollment, through which share
of enrollment has grown more slowly, from sixteen percent in
twenty ten to eighteen percent in twenty twenty four. Blue

(12:38):
Cross Bluchial plans share of enrollment has been more constant
over time, but has declined has declined moderately since twenty fourteen.
As independent agents, we represent both United Healthcare and Humana,
along with other companies providing that advantage plans and prescription

(13:02):
drug plans. Advantage plans are known as Medicare Part C.
Prescription drug plans are known as Medicare Part D. Now,
when you are enrolled an advantage plan, that's what we
call the one card system. You have an advantage plan
issue by a private insurance company that provides coverage for

(13:25):
both Medicare Part A and Medicare Part B, and you
have a prescription drug plan with it. So that's known
as the one card system versus the three card system,
which consists of original Medicare. So your Medicare card is
issued by the federal government. That your first card. Then

(13:47):
your second card is a Medicare Supplement guard issued by
a private insurance company and that is your second card.
And then your third card is the Prescription Drug Plan
or Medicare Part D. So that is a three card system.

(14:08):
So when you are enrolling in Medicare, remember you have
your choice between the one card system or the three
card system. Now we represent independent as independent insurance agents.
We represent different insurance companies. So these virtual monthly meetings

(14:28):
coming up here in September and September seventeenth and September nineteenth,
we encourage you to participate in these virtual community meetings
and learn more about the choices you have for Medicare
and be one of those attendees at are meetings that

(14:50):
say afterwards they say, now I understand, Now I understand
the choices I have with Medicare. As independent agents, we
once again represent both United Healthcare and Humanity along with
other companies providing advantage plans and prescription drug plans. Advantage

(15:15):
plans are known as Medicare parts see Prescription drug plans
are known as Medicare Part D. I can't conclude this
week's program without saying something about the stock market. As
you know, the market continues, it's polatility. As a financial professional,
I want to conclude this week's program by saying something

(15:38):
about the stock market. No person or machine can accurately
predict what direction the markets will go in the future.
Volatility remains. As a financial professional, I know that now
is the time to take gains off the table at

(15:58):
a minimum and position those gains in a safe financial
vehicle like our split annuity strategies. And you know, we
use our formula, the safe money Harbor formula, which is
a very simple formula. You take your age and subtract

(16:20):
your age from the number one hundred, and the result
of that calculation gives you a percentage, which, according to
the Golden Rule of investment, is the maximum percentage of
your assets that you should have invested in stocks and
mutual funds because of the risks that are involved. So

(16:42):
if I'm fifty years old, from the number one hundred
gives me fifty, that means fifty percent, So no more
than fifty percent of my assets should be invested in
stocks and mutual funds because of volatility. If I'm seventy
years old from one hundred, that means no more than
thirty percent. No more than thirty percent of my assets

(17:05):
should be invested in stocks and mutual funds. That's the
safe money harbor rule. At age eighty from one hundred
is twenty percent. That means that no more than twenty
percent of my assets should be invested in stocks and
mutual funds. The other eighty percent of my assets should

(17:26):
be invested in safe money harbors. And those safe money
harbors that we use are our annuities, are indexinuity strategies.
The index anduities share in the growth of the market.
They do not share in the downside of the market. Today,
our indexinuity, our most popular indexinuity, is paying a thirty

(17:50):
five percent bonus on money that you invest. Thirty five
percent bonus. So if you invest in that index annuity,
you receive a bonus of thirty five percent immediately and
you invest in that bonus over a period of time.
If you like to have additional information on that indexinuity,

(18:13):
please give me a call. Call me at five six
three three three two twenty two hundred. Call me at
that number, call Craig at that number, or go to
my website go to Dickshilling dot com and scroll over
to the contact icon and drop that down for my
email address, and if you like to correspond via email,

(18:35):
we'll be happy to do that with you as well.
So that's a safe money harbor. We encourage our our clients,
and that's why I can say my clients have not
lost money. You know, I always talk about those Barkcraft
shorts that we create at the end at the end

(18:56):
of each quarter, starting at the latter part of the
cave of the nineteen nineties and moving on up and
down until this beginning our fourth quarter of two thousand
and twenty four. So I think you'll find those barograph
charts very very interesting, and you can relate to those

(19:19):
charts from the value of your retirement account over the years,
the value of your four oh one K or your
retirement account. I think you'll find those charts very very
helpful and very very understanding. So are you on the
fence about what to do in this volatile market? I'm

(19:39):
here on safe money for the last twenty years because
market volatility and recent market voluntility, seeing especially this past week,
as many retirees and pre retirees concerned about how there
accounts and and future financial stability may be a I

(20:01):
don't want to mean the sky is falling type of messenger,
because truthfully, I don't know what the stock market will
or will not do. Many retirees recognize that because they
are no longer contributing funds to their retirement accounts, it
is far more difficult to whether financial losses and turmo.

(20:23):
I'd like this message to serve as a reminder that
we are here to help you. We haven't based our
entire annuity strategy, service and practice to serve folks just
like you, those who appreciate the financial wisdom that elimiting
losses during retirement is more important than capturing all the gains.

(20:46):
Please call our office so we can show you how
we can do this for you. No pressure, no obligation,
no strengths attached. Don't forget Next week we continue our
virtual month community meetings and they'll be held here on
September seventeenth, which is a Tuesday, and September nineteenth, which

(21:09):
is a Thursday. Call us at five six three three
three two twenty two hundred, or email me by going
to my website texshilling dot com, scroll over to the
contact icon from my email address, and if you'd like
to participate or correspond in this manner, That's all I

(21:30):
have for you this morning, so have a great, great
September weekend. Good day,