Retirement Planning Show

September 20th, 2025. 

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The opinion's viewpoints and promises made during the following program
are not those of wgy it's staff, management, or parent company. iHeartMedia.

Speaker 2 (00:15):
All right, Good morning, September twentieth. We're almost through September, folks,
which is hard to believe. Hard to believe. Monday, I
believe is the first day of fall. If I'm not mistaken,
will chill in the air today. My dogs were looking

(00:40):
at me this morning at four point thirty. Soon, something's
a little bit different out there, a little bit chillier.
It didn't take too long to do their business and
get back in the house for their snacks. What a week, huh.

(01:00):
I'm not talking about the markets. What a week? Talk
about a dysfunctional society. Kind of an understatement. What's going
on right now? It's gonna be trouble, folks if we
don't stop this, turn the temperature down. That's my opinion.

(01:23):
Just some of the comments, some of the speeches are
just so hateful, and as I've said over and over again,
you know, dialogue, conversation is a better answer than hostility
and anger. So hopefully I know that there's a major event.

(01:52):
I believe it's today for Charlie Kurt Ought in Phoenix
at the State Farm Arena, and hopefully that will go
through okay with no events, and then things will subside
and smarter people will come to the table to discuss
how we as a society can become maybe a little
bit better. As they say over and over again, my

(02:16):
father was a diehard Democrat, died in nineteen sixty eight.
I don't think he would recognize the Democratic Party today.
My personal feeling might be wrong. But the thing is
is that, you know, I find it amazing. I just

(02:40):
find it amazing that this is how we are in
twenty twenty five. But it is what it is. It
is what it is. You can only do so much right,
but a little housekeeping here. I'm here too. I've got

(03:01):
a guest. At seven point thirty, I've asked droielokem in
and talk a little bit about the rate cut. And
at eight the top of the hour, I've got Terry
Ann coming in from Marshall Sterling Insurance. They're independent insurance brokers,
and she handles. She's the healthcare specialist, and I don't
have to tell anybody what's going on with healthcare. So

(03:24):
I think you're going to find the eight to nine
to be extremely informative educational. I had her in the
office this week for numerous appointments. There's quite well aware.
We don't try to be something that we're not. We're
not healthcare specialists, so we have to bring people in.
But there's a lot of individuals out there that are
just scratching their heads trying to figure out what they

(03:44):
need to do for their pre and post retirement for
health care costs. If that is the case, you should
give us a buzz. We can put you in contact.
We're actually going to start doing some dog and ponies.
I talked to Terry the other day and we're going
to start doing some dog and ponies. What's a dog
and pony day. Well, we're gonna start doing some workshops.
They'll be topics specific, just like we did the annuity

(04:06):
topics specific. We're going to do one for healthcare, we'll
do one for social Security. We won't do them, We'll
have the experts commit. Don't try to be what you're not,
and we're just not up to speed enough about all
these changes that are happening in healthcare. So it's gonna

(04:27):
be a pretty informative show today. So but bottom line,
gets down to don't forget September twenty fifth, Swing for
a Cure. We're still taking I think we have two
foursomes still available, and of course you can come and
enjoy the luncheon. It's a great day, unbelievable. Jimmy's office

(04:49):
looks like Walmart. We've got so much stuff that people
have donated to us. And what I always say to individual,
you know, this is for the American Cancer Society and
for Tunnel to Tower, and both of them are great causes.
I'll have a Colton there, my hero, my little five
year old hero that battled cancer, lost the lung, lost

(05:11):
a rib, and did chemo radiation. It's just doing fantastic now.
I think he's in either kindergarten or first grade up
at Who's a valley in Scatty Cooke, And we're going
to have a great day and maybe we'll have him
speak a little bit. Colton, if you'll get up. But again,

(05:32):
if you could intend, call the office. If you can't attend,
you can still make a contribution. And he called Jimmy
at the office at eighty to eight five eight zero
one nine nine. I got to tip my hat to
Jimmy cork when he does a phenomenal job at this
Jim has been working on this now for god, I
can't tell you how long, and just really steps up.

(05:55):
I'm very proud of the team that I have. You
guys know that Nicholas Snico and my son Christopher are
going out for the National grid Clam bake out in
Syracuse today. So they'll be out there meeting with some
of our clients and hopefully some prospective clients, rubbing elbows

(06:16):
and looks like they're going to have a beautiful day
in order to do that. But I'm live if you
want to interact, talk, ask questions, one talk to be g.
I that's one eight hundred eight two five fifty nine.
And it happened, folks, the baby was born right. We

(06:37):
had the rate cut. You know, some people were happy
with the twenty five basis points. Son thought it was inadequate.
But we're moving in the right direction. We're moving in
the right direction, and you know it was well received.

(06:57):
I don't have to tell you that. As far as
the marks for the week me to see, I don't
mean I don't look at the markets focus on a
day to day, week to week basis, but I always
like giving it out. But the Dow was up one
percent s and p was up one point two, Nasdaq
was up two point two. And it's obvious that you know,

(07:18):
Powell did little to provide more guidance, that he beat
around the bush as far as what their outlook is
and his press conference, but he signaled the same thing
that he continues to do that the you know, they're
going to judge the conditions. I think his words were

(07:38):
meeting by meeting, So it's going to be data dependent,
and you know, I understand that they don't want to
lay all their cards on the table, and I think
that's you know, they're supposed to be independent.

Speaker 3 (07:55):
Uh.

Speaker 2 (07:55):
His position is it's challenging to forecast the impact of
the years trade and tariff policy with confidence. That's a
double edged sword. You hear some people and they say
it doesn't have any impact whatsoever. But I do know
one thing. They do know my thing. I was fortunate
last night to go out to dinner with my wife

(08:17):
and two friends of ours, her cousin Gina and Artie,
and then I stopped at my brother in law's house
and when he sat out on the back porch having
a refreshment and talking, and everybody agrees. Cost a whole
hell of a lot of money to live today. Go
buy a bag of groceries. Right, you buy a bag

(08:41):
of groceries, you're in sticker shock. I went over to
Price Chopper Market thirty two the other day and just
a handful of things, handful of things. There's kosher pickles
there that I love. At Market thirty two. Grab a
couple of things here and there. Got some vegetables because

(09:02):
I love ratitui. I make ratatoui and to make a
long story shirt. When I got up to the CASHW
is through it with seventy five dollars. So what seventy
five dollars? We have one little bag of groceries. So
I'm in the camp. I agree. That's one thing I
do agree with. You know, they're gonna have to get
prices down, folks. You're gonna have to you know, gasoline

(09:25):
they say is going down. I don't see it. You
guys see it in the Capitol District region. Price is
going down as far as gasoline. So we're gonna come back.
Open lines, if you want to talk, have a question.
I'm Dave Kopek. This is the retirement planning show.

Speaker 4 (09:49):
The biggest mistake in retirement planning waiting too long. The
sooner you start, the more options and peace of mind
you'll have. Dave Kopek and the Retirement Planning Group are
here to he help you build a smart plan that
grows with you. Whether you're five years out or just
getting serious, now is the time.

Speaker 5 (10:07):
Don't put it off.

Speaker 4 (10:08):
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Speaker 2 (10:19):
Attention future retirees. A financial threat who is putting your
retirement at risk. The cost of long term care can
be well over one hundred thousand dollars a year fidelities.
Recent studies suggest retirees could need hundreds of thousands of
dollars just to cover medical expenses in retirement. You need
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(10:40):
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Speaker 5 (10:49):
Ali Dwyer and her three sons lost their hero, Stephen
serving our country in the United States Army was Stephen's calling,
and flying helicopters was his passion. Stephen was killed in
a black Hawk helicopter crash over the Mediterranean Sea. Thanks
to friends like you, Tunnel to Towers provided his family
with a mortgage free home, giving them security and hope
in their darkest hours. Help more families like the Dwires

(11:12):
donate eleven dollars a month to Tunnel to Towers at
T two t dot org. That's t the number two
t dot org. Retirement is in a Sunday thing. It's
a now thing. Whether you're just starting out or nearing
the finish line. The best time to build your retirement
plan is today. Don't wait for the right moment. Let's

(11:33):
create a plan that works for you. Secure your future
and the freedom that comes with it. Call my office
today and take action. Eighty eight eight five eight zero
one nine nine. That's eighty eight five eight zero one
nine nine, and your future will thank you.

Speaker 2 (11:57):
All Right, it's Saturday, boy, they go by quick. You blink.
Just said to my wife yesterday I said, christ you know,
because we're going out to dinner. I said, I thought
we'd have a couple of days we blink and Friday.
So when your kids tell you. When your twenty six

(12:19):
year old son tells you that time goes by quick,
you know it goes by quick. But Christopher William was
saying to us the other day with some clients that
boy times really going. Yeah, you wait, the woman said,
Susan said, you wait, David, you wait till you get
older and see how quick it goes. So the kind

(12:40):
of highlight the labor market will keep the Fed inclined
to I think the ease. We got twenty five basis points.
They're looking for another twenty five at the next meeting,
possibly to this year. Uh, there's going to be looking
for signs of softness. It's crazy. They want to basically
beat up the economy in order for them to decrease

(13:01):
interest rates. So you're looking somewhere at the Fed Fund's
rate taking rates down to around three to three and
a half percent. We'll talk a little bit about that
with Droilo, with the housing market. But there's a couple
of things that people are worried about as far as
this declining interest rate environment. The reacceleration of employment. So

(13:25):
I mean, if you look at the unemployment it's actually
going ticked up a little bit. The second inflation. Of course,
you know the cost of goods and services, tariffs. I
say that you put ten economists in the room, you're
going to get ten different answers. So they're like forecasting

(13:46):
the stock market, you know. I think they're all full
of you know what. But bottom line gets down to
stay fully invested, stay diversified. Diversification is your friend, all right.
And then bonds. The bond market, we think has a
lot of upside as far as total return. The interest

(14:09):
rates cuts are pretty much priced in right now into
the market. But if we get a acceleration of the easy,
you know, you're gonna get some bang for your buck.
You're gonna get some total return. I know I've been
saying that I had a guy coming, you know, Dave Jesus,
you've been talking about that for the last year. Yes, sir,
you're right, and that's not happening. No, sir, But you've

(14:31):
had a coupon to be patient. What does that mean
you've had the interest rate. I traded bonds aggressively. When
I was at pain Weber myself and I sat next
to my good buddy. I always talk about him, Mo Marlin,
what are you doing? What are you doing sitting there,
get on the telephone. It was kind of like a

(14:53):
semi mentor to me. And then on the other side
of me was a glass wall with the branch manager
staring at me. Get on the phone. So, I honestly
believe that's one of the biggest reasons for my success
is where my seat was because I didn't have time
to play tittley winks. I'll tell you how long ago

(15:15):
that was, folks. We actually shared a quot ron machine.
If you remember the old days, you didn't sit there
and play it on the computer all day long. You
only went to the quotron machine when you needed a
accurate quote, and the computer never gave that to you.
If you wanted to trade bond, so you'd have to
call down to the bond desk and see what the
what the bid was the bid? What's the bid on

(15:37):
the bond that we're looking at? So how times have
changed now it's just the stroke of a click with
your mouse. So, but bottom line gets down to large cap,
small cap, mid caps. You're seeing more of a diversification.

(15:58):
It's more broad based. Now, be careful, don't overweight you
know the ones that you know. I'm always I always
buy stuff that has been out of favor for a while.
You know myself personally and right now, and this is
personally myself. I like healthcare and I like financials where
you know, I really haven't done that well over the
last couple of years. So, but align your goals with

(16:21):
your financial goals. Talk to your financial team, time horizons,
what's your comfort zone. You don't want to be in
any type of investment program that's going to make your
knees knock and you want to pull the plug. The
worst thing you can do is to be into a
portfolio that gives you anxiety and you're staring at it

(16:45):
and you're wondering, you know, is this thing ever going
to stop dropping? Or how come I'm not getting the
type of return at Joe Blow at the water coolers
getting Because you probably haven't had a real deep discussion
about your RTQ, your risk tolerance. Right, You've got to

(17:06):
You've got to stay invested. Trying to time the market
will never happen, right, Trying to time the market is uh,
you know, fueltal, But I use the one that I use, folks,
And I know you've heard me say this over and

(17:27):
over again. You heard the screaming monkeys all over radio
and TV. Let's just use GE as an example, Generous Electric,
which is a huge company here in the Capitol District region,
getting bigger, more of a commitment to the Capitol District region.
Larry Culp, Right, you know, I used to hear people

(17:49):
all the time talking about GE. What a piece of
you know what it was, and get rid of it.
When people come into our office, we hold our nose.
If they got GE, well, I'll tell you what for
the people that stay aid and didn't try to time
it right. And basically GE alone just this year is
up sixty percent. How much do you think GE is

(18:13):
up in the last five years? Seven hundred and seventy
seven percent. So did it make sense? Did it make
sense for you to kind of sit tight? Now? I
know that there's three stocks now that make up GEGE Healthcare,

(18:34):
which is you know, basically doing pretty good over the
last couple of weeks, GE, which I just talked about.
Then there's GE Verona, right, that stock year to date
is up eighty four percent year to date, in the
last five years, it's up three hundred and fifty six percent.
And then all you heard whether he's screaming monkeys. Sell it,

(19:00):
get rid of it. It's junk. What are they saying now?
These smart people? So, as I said, broad diversification, know
what you own, do your own homework. I don't rely
on Wall Street that much, folks. As far as the research,
I use it as far as more of the financials,

(19:23):
the balance sheet, But we do our own homework. We
work with the team at Fidelity. We're part of Fidelity.
Excuse me, it's the wrong institutional wealth advisors. Excuse me.
Coffee went down the wrong pipe here, And we basically,

(19:44):
you know, build out our portfolios on things that we like,
that we like because there's a lot of people out
there that I think really don't know what the hell
they're talking about. And if you look at their numbers
and you look at statistically what they've done far as
total return. A couple of years ago, we looked at
one another and so, you know what, we do a

(20:04):
better job than they do. Why are we even listening
to these guys? So uh, you know, overall, I think
we're heading for a pretty good next three months unless
there's Unless there's a shock. You know, as I've always said,
beware beware of the black swan event, and uh, make

(20:26):
sure that your portfolio is constructed properly. Make sure you're
a good time to last quarter of the year. Look
at your allocation, look at your positions. You know, we've
had a lot of our strategic partners into our office
over the past couple of weeks, come in have chats
with us about what their overview is, giving us a

(20:47):
lot of their information, their research, their market data, and
consistently they're saying the same thing over and over again.
The market sells off, it's probably pretty good. I'd be
buying some keep some dry powder on the sidelines, right
but over and over. Like I said, you know, be diversified,

(21:09):
don't try to time the market, set it up right
on the front end, and go have fun, Go do
all the things. You know, it's amazing that I've seen.
I got Bob and Jean that came in, been clients
of ours for twenty years and just great people, salt
of the earth, just great people. Both of them had

(21:31):
really good jobs, good pensions in the whole night Yards.
And we've been managing their assets for twenty years and
helping them out as far as their estate planning, and
they're doing a lot of neat stuff. I mean, I
could sit and talk to them for a couple hours.
Just none of the things that they're doing, the river cruises,
they're doing, all of these traveling events as far as

(21:52):
going to places and destinations. That kind of, you know,
makes me a little bit jealous. But that's coming up.
Julie and I are going to start spending more time
doing some trips and no, I'm not retiring. People come
in and say, hey, listen, Dave, when when are you
going out to the green pastures. I'm not. I'm not.

(22:15):
I would drive my wife crazy. I suck at golf,
but those are capital words, s u c K. I
suck at golf and sitting on the beach, I can
only bake so long. Yeah, you know, I don't want
to be a French fry. You know, I kind of
like the ones that are not crunchy. But sometimes I

(22:39):
sit there and I watch these people that just lay
in the sun for hours and just bake. I don't
know how they do it. I don't know how they
do it. So so I'm going to stay active. We're
going to take vacations, We're going to do some trips
and stuff. But I figured if Warren Buffett can do
it to ninety three, ninety five more than I'm still

(23:01):
a teenager in this business. So great people we have met,
fantastic people, absolutely fantastic people from the radio, and there's
some surprises coming. We're doing more presentations. I told you,
we will be simulcasting this show to the Hudson region

(23:22):
w KIP starting October, I think either October or October fourth.
It's the first Saturday in October. So we're down in Poughkeepsie,
that whole area, and I look forward to it. It
should be something. We have a office that we just
established down there, so we get a lot of people

(23:43):
that drive up to us. Now we're going to drive down.
We'll have a presence in that Hudson region. And when
I say that I'm excited about it, it's an understatement
because I love that area, love that area, beautiful, beautiful part,
beautiful part of our state. But if we could be
of assistance or help, it's pretty easy one eight hundred
talk to WGY. You can call here and hopefully I

(24:04):
can answer your question. If not, call our office eight
eight eight five eats zero one nine nine eight eight
eight five eats zero one nine one nine. If you
want to come to our golf event on Thursday, September
twenty fifth, please do we have seats for the luncheon
and we also have When I say that we have prizes,

(24:25):
it's unbelievable the prizes that we have this year. You
want a car, hot tub, just you can't believe the
stuff that Jimmy's got. So we'll be back after this.
I'm Dave Kolpek. I've bet Droil coming on. We'll see
on the other side of the news. Good morning, good morning,

(24:56):
good morning, good morning. This is the retirement Planning Show.
I'm Dave, your host. Were here on the weekends. We
are broadcast throughout the United States. You probably even get
us internationally on iHeartRadio. So if you're not locally you
want to still listen to the show, you can. You

(25:16):
just go to the iHeart app. I do it all
the time when I'm out of town. So again we've
got Droiella. I'm gonna bring on the line. Now, you've
been on the show many a time, many a time.
Good morning, Drew, Good morning, How are you too bad?
How are you today? Are you local? Are you like living?

Speaker 3 (25:39):
I'm not local. I'm I'm actually down in North Carolina today,
coming back tomorrow.

Speaker 2 (25:44):
What the hell's going on with you? You're gonna move
down there?

Speaker 3 (25:48):
No parents weekend? Oh, which is it's kind of funny
because we just bought her to college a month ago later.
That's going on. You have time to miss up.

Speaker 2 (26:02):
Yeah, Mom and dad, easy to go home with.

Speaker 3 (26:07):
Exactly, exactly.

Speaker 2 (26:09):
I'll tell your daughter, I said, hi, and your you're beautiful.
Is your son there too?

Speaker 3 (26:12):
I will No, he's down in Tampa all right, with
one of your contingencies.

Speaker 2 (26:20):
Yeah, David Michael loves it. They'll never come back. Yeah,
loves Tampa. All right. All right, listen, what's going on?
You tell me what's going on with this bond market.

Speaker 3 (26:32):
Well, it's a little it's a little volatile. So you know,
it's not a big surprise that the Fed lover to
a quarter point last week. Everybody was expecting that. You know,
they telegraphed that back. I think in the August twentieth meeting.

Speaker 2 (26:45):
I want to say, it was already priced.

Speaker 3 (26:47):
They're pretty transparent. Yeah, said it again.

Speaker 2 (26:51):
It was it was already priced into the market.

Speaker 3 (26:55):
Oh yeah, yeah, right. Rates are great. Mortgage rates probably
went down about the lowest since maybe almost a year ago,
ten eleven months ago. So that's good. We're down the
low sixes. Everybody expected it. Bunt markets did move up
a little bit rate after the quarter point. The quarter

(27:16):
point was fine, everybody expected it. But then what Palell
said after in his press conference kind of moved the
markets the opposite way a little bit. He didn't really
he kind of gave a hawkish tone, not a dubbish
tone where he that dependent same speech, even though he

(27:38):
admitted that they're still restricted. He thinks there's still room
to cut by another seventy five one hundred basis points
if needed, but he sees some weakness in the labor market.
Job creations are running below break even level right now,
and that's why we're seeing the unemployment go up. I

(28:00):
think you'll you probably get you know, there's right now
there's they're saying odds are eighty eight percent chance of
a point twenty five cut October twenty ninth, and a
seventy eight percent chance that you'll see a cut December
tenth and point twenty five. So that's what that's what
the odds makers are saying. Basically, you know, not odds makers,

(28:20):
but you know economists, you know, you know, it was
back and forth a little bit.

Speaker 2 (28:25):
Yeah, old goats like me, Drew are retiring, and I
don't know what the number is, but I'm going to
do a guest it. I know it's over two hundred thousand.
I don't know if it's like two hundred and twenty
or two hundred and forty thousand boomers are retiring every month,
So that that's having an impact on the numbers because

(28:47):
of the amount of people. Sure, yeah, it's having a
huge impact because this the pig and the python, This
huge influx of the boomers that's going into retirement right
is skewing the numbers simply because of the age. You know,
eleven thousand, two hundred boomers a day for an age

(29:10):
sixty five, Well, yeah, I mean they're not all.

Speaker 3 (29:16):
I realized how old you were, Jesus, I'd say it.

Speaker 2 (29:21):
I looked at the mirror and I said, who the
hell came in the house?

Speaker 3 (29:25):
Who's that guy? But you still have you still have
massive generations with the largest generation ever right now with
the millennials, and then not too far behind are the
gen Zs. Gen Zers average ages twenty. So obviously they
got to get to work. They got to fill that
gap of the boomers retiring, and who knows, I guess

(29:49):
time will tell, But I look forward to that part
because you have massive generations too, back to back coming through,
and the millennials outweigh the boomers in terms of size.
So we'll see. I look at that now for the
retirement side, like you look at it. I look at
it for the housing side. So I see, I see
strong demand on housing just because of the basic supply

(30:11):
demand and the amount of millennials and Gen z ers
coming down the pipe over the next twenty thirty years.

Speaker 2 (30:18):
So here's here's the analysis. I just looked it up
real quick because it was on Fidelity's website and I
just did a real quick search. It says labor analysis
commissioned by the Alliance of what blah blah blah, you know,
it's part of Fidelity reve love that the US economy
would need to hire an average of two hundred and
forty thousand people per month over the next five years

(30:40):
to replace retiring boomers.

Speaker 3 (30:44):
Yeah, that would be hard to do. Yeah, that's definitely
a big yeah.

Speaker 2 (30:48):
But you don't hear the number. But you don't hear
that you don't hear that when they give out the numbers.
You know, it's all you know, it depends on what
side of the fence they're on, if they're Democrat or
you know, you're either going to be dancing or you're
going to be crying because everything is based off of
the elephant or you know, the donkey, the republic Republican.

(31:08):
So the uh. So you know when you hear, when
you hear the rates that are out there right now.
You know, we've got a lot of clients of ours
right now. Any time you get the tax bill in
the mailbox. You and I talked about this the other day.

(31:28):
You know, our our our school bill came that has
to be paid by the end of the month. You
told me you try to do you try to pay
that as quick as possible, because you don't like to
cry for an extended period of time.

Speaker 3 (31:41):
I don't like to look at it.

Speaker 2 (31:44):
But the bottom line there's I don't I can't tell
you how many people have told me in the last
few months they're leaving New York. They're going to retire.
You know, they're going to come back and visit, but
the cost of living here is just too much and
we'll think about it. You know, I pay tenth over
ten thousand dollars a year just for school taxes. Then

(32:05):
I got my county tax right. I mean for some people, right,
some people, that's okay, it's not a big deal. But
for people that are have fixed income, that have limited
amounts of resources, that are not working still, you know,
twelve hundred and fifteen hundred dollars a month just to
pay taxes is a whole hell of a lot of money.

Speaker 3 (32:25):
Us A lot. You gotta you gotta think you got
to make double that to pay it, right because of
income tax. So as you're paying a thousand a month,
you got to make two thousand to pay that thousand
dollars a month. So uh yeah, New York is. New
York is somewhat troublesome, and I'm not sure anything's going

(32:46):
to change, especially with elections coming up down in New
York City in November. You know, that's that's an enigma
I think by a lot of people.

Speaker 2 (32:55):
And I saw it.

Speaker 3 (32:57):
I saw I saw little anxiety about that.

Speaker 2 (33:00):
I saw a thing on TV that if this guy
gets elected, the financial services business will be decimated because
Florida and Texas are aggressively going after the financial sector
in order for them to move their headquarters to Texas
or Florida. And I'm going to tell you right now
it will happen. It will happen.

Speaker 3 (33:19):
Yeah, they have nothing to lose in today's society. I mean,
think about it. When it was COVID, you had all
the traders, nobody was there. Everybody was doing airbnbs one
month at a time. And in Texas, California, North Dakota, Deedninver.
You know, they had this group of traders that in
the media was just following around. They would change every month.

(33:42):
You know, they don't physically have to be there anymore.
So I could I could totally see that happen. If
if the if the economics or the political atmosphere down
there changes dramatically, why wouldn't they Obviously they could save
millions and millions of.

Speaker 2 (33:57):
Dollars in October and October.

Speaker 3 (33:59):
That would be terrible for New York State.

Speaker 2 (34:01):
Yeah, I was gonna say. In October, we go to
Boston for our annual meeting with Fidelity, and it's a
face to face it's it's a three day event where
you rub elbows, you hear presentations, you listen to portfolio
managers blah blah blah. Uh all the other months, every
other month, all of our meetings with Fidelity are zoom

(34:22):
zoom meetings. So all right, that's that tells you everything
right there. If you don't physically have to be anywhere,
you could be sitting on the moon. It's not. As
long as you have an internet connection.

Speaker 3 (34:34):
No. Yeah, I know. I know a guy in your
business that's in South America most of the year. Yeah. Yeah,
I'll come back periodically and have some in person client
meetings when needed. And uh, you know, he's got a
house down there and he's he's living the life and
he's not not even here, not even in this country.

Speaker 2 (34:53):
My next door neighbor, a next door neighbor in Lake
George is a trader for Morgan Stanley and he works
out of his house most of the time. In like George,
he's not lower he's not in Manhattan Midtown.

Speaker 6 (35:06):
No.

Speaker 3 (35:07):
So no, so they better get their act together. Yep.
Bottom line.

Speaker 2 (35:11):
So we're on a line.

Speaker 3 (35:13):
We're sucking sound.

Speaker 2 (35:14):
You know, where are rates now?

Speaker 3 (35:17):
So yeah, even with the volatility, we're still in the
low sixes. So it's it's come down quite a bit.
I mean, I think about two years ago October we
hit eight and a quarter yep, so we've spent a
lot of the year the last few years, I used
to say, in the sevens, high sixes, So now we're

(35:40):
coming down to the low sixes. And you look at
you look at the forecast. Apparently the CBO and a
lot of economists don't see a recession coming, but they
see growth over the next well, for twenty twenty five
about one point six percent, twenty twenty six some of
the same, so not a lot of not a lot

(36:01):
of high end growth. That's somewhat anemic. So because of
I think inflation being under control. Everybody, even Tal admittedly
said they think tariffs is a one time event, maybe
a point three or point two increase to inflation, but
a one time accurns and then it goes away. So
I feel like inflation's under control, especially if they start

(36:23):
using real time figures for shelter costs, because that's so
much of that inflation report. And if they use real
time figures, inflation would be a lot lower, a lot
closer to the target of two percent. So I feel
like that's in check. And now the Fed's obviously now
worried about the employment situation because that's showing a lot

(36:44):
of weakness. You're seeing it with jobless claims and extended
claims and the Jolts Report, all these reports that look
at employment. They're a little bit worried and that was
their main focus on why they lowered rates by twenty
five basis points.

Speaker 2 (36:59):
Here the day we got to take a hard break.
They just said, we got to take a heart break.
We'll come back after this quick message. I've got Droielo
on the line.

Speaker 4 (37:12):
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Whether you're nearing retirement or just getting started, now's the
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(37:36):
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Speaker 2 (37:44):
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(38:07):
your complementary consultation. Your future will say thank you.

Speaker 5 (38:12):
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killed in the line of duty, Tunnel to Towers provided
his wife and children with a mortgage free home. Since
Tunnel to Towers was founded in the aftermath of nine
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(38:32):
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Speaker 2 (38:42):
We are living through the greatest wealth transfer in the
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(39:05):
those that are prepared well. Eighty eight five eat zero
one nine. That's eighty eight five eat zero. All right,
we are back. I'm on the phone with Dreuroiello and
we're talking a little bit about the interest rate cut
and our crystal blow. Our crystal ball wasn't really too

(39:26):
good last year.

Speaker 3 (39:27):
True, No, it hasn't. Hasn't been that good the last
couple of years when it comes to interest rates, you know,
or I think we're good with housing numbers and appreciation,
but not so much with the interest rate scenario. But
I feel like it's starting to come into play. You know,
last year when they lowered three times, rates actually went

(39:50):
up because we had a really strong unemployment numbers after
that of those cuts, and we had inflation after those cuts.
So all that did was and the gate cuts, and
actually interest rates went up. Now I feel like inflations
in check labor market showing some weakness. These cuts will
have probably a meaningful effect on interest rates, and we're

(40:14):
starting to see it. Mortgage rates are the lowest they've
been probably ten to eleven months. You're looking at purchase volumes
up twenty percent this year. Refinances are up seventy percent
this year. Again, that's seventy percent. Makes it sound like
a huge number because there was probably a knemic last year,
but still that's up. ARM rates. They're saying a thirteen

(40:37):
percent of transactions or ARM rates, which kind of tells
you even the general market things rates are going lower
because if you take out an ARM, you just plan
on refinancing probably over the next three to five years.
Can an ARM rate and right.

Speaker 2 (40:51):
Now, can an ARM rate go down an adjustable rate
mortgage go down drough I if I like it? Can
it can? Are those apples available? Yeah?

Speaker 6 (41:03):
It has.

Speaker 3 (41:04):
I've had them over the years, and I've had them
go down rarely because it's tagged to a UH, it's
pegged to a it's got a margin on it, and
it's pegged to a rate. And you know, if rates
went down dramatically, yeah, the margin plus the index would
would make it go lower. But I don't see it
happening with where rates are at the moment. You know,

(41:24):
they're about a three quarter point spread between a fixed
rate and an ARM rate, But it really depends on
your margin. When people take out arms. I don't think
most of them even understand how the arms work. So
you got to be careful. You know the margins. You know,
two and a half that's great. You know two and
a half percent over the index, that's great. If it's
two three quarters or three percent, you know, maybe it's

(41:45):
not so great. So uh, you know, if your margin's
three you know, how could they go down? And the
index would have to be super super low. So got
to be got to be careful. That the housing market
seems to be way more active than it was this
time last year.

Speaker 2 (42:02):
Well, I hear constantly from realtors that are friends of mine, clients,
not enough inventory. Correct, it's going to.

Speaker 3 (42:12):
Get work, it's going to get it's going to change
a little.

Speaker 2 (42:14):
Bit, but it's gonna get worse January first, because then
the new rules going to New York State that everything
has to be electric. You know, you can't have natural gas.
I mean, these guys, I don't know, I don't I
don't know what they're smoking in Aubany, but new homes
as of January first can't have natural gas. Figure that
one out.

Speaker 3 (42:32):
That's crazy. I don't know how they do that. I
don't know how the grid supports that. Obviously, the builders
are up in arms about that. It just seems hugely
expensive to do that. I know, you have, you know,
people on the radio a lot Bob Marine and what
have you talking about that it's just so so hard,
and you know they're looking at building outside of New

(42:54):
York State, Bob fully, but surely Bob.

Speaker 2 (42:57):
Is now building in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Speaker 3 (43:01):
Yeah, yeah, you know, he's between him and his dad.
They've been building homes for probably fifty years or more.
So thed to see that. I heard that the other
day also, But do you blame them? You know, it's
just gotten so restrictive when it comes to that. They
had these new scaffolding walls that are are going to

(43:22):
be difficult for a lot of commercial builders. So a
lot of restrictions that are I think prohibiting growth in
New York State that I wish would change, but obviously
it seems like it never does.

Speaker 2 (43:35):
Well. The bottom line gets down to is that they move,
they don't move with their vote because this is a
government that's controlled by one party, and I guess the
people like that, the people that get dissatisfied and reject
what's going on. They vote with their feet. They leave,

(43:56):
all right, they pack up and say see you later, alligator.
That's where I the boom boom and the bang bang
and the growth is in states that are a little
bit more less restrictive than the Empire state.

Speaker 3 (44:11):
Yeah. Well, people that move with the feet just realize
anything that they say, or do or vote won't change anything.

Speaker 2 (44:17):
Well, two of your kids right now, but true, two
of your children live in the South right now.

Speaker 3 (44:24):
Now. Yeah, one's going to college here.

Speaker 2 (44:26):
But do you ever think that they'll come back to
New York?

Speaker 3 (44:30):
No, No, I don't think so. Yeah, yeah, the world's changed. Uh.
My son loves the ski, don't get me wrong. You know,
he'll go up the Killing Tour a week and during
the winter and ski. Uh but that's good. You know,
he'll ski six seven days and he's happy. I mean
that's really the only reason why he uh yeah, he

(44:51):
doesn't need to be here anymore. And you get a
week of skiing in that's probably fine.

Speaker 2 (44:55):
That's great. That's great that you got the jet to
you know, you can just jet them up and jet
them back. Ever since you got the JA.

Speaker 3 (45:01):
Yeah, right, he's twenty five. He's paying his own bill thing.

Speaker 2 (45:07):
Oh yeah, right, you're so bully. Yeah, pick up your feet,
will you.

Speaker 3 (45:13):
I remember, I remember I saw my cap and gown
on May of nineteen eighty nine when I graduated college.
Still had my cap and gown on after graduation, and
it was middle of May, middle of May, and my
father telling me, you know, you're paying your own rent
June first, aren't you. I don't remember what I did yesterday,

(45:35):
but I remember that like it was yesterday, and uh,
never forget that talk about cold water on the face,
and uh, you know, we just can't do that with
our kids these days. But it's good to see him
on their own.

Speaker 2 (45:49):
You know. The theme, the theme, you know, we're starting
to see this wealth transfer, you know, eighty five trillion
dollars over the next twenty to thirty years, our generation
that's passing on it to our kids. And the thing
is is that the common theme that I hear consistently
with people, you know, is this going to be too
much for them? Are we giving them too much? You know?

(46:10):
When we pass away? You know, you know, because there's
a lot of different strategies in the ways that you
can explode, or you can leave wealth. You can add
a lot of velocity to the assets that you've accumulated
that are tax free for loved ones. And people sometimes
scratch their heads and they say, hey, listen, you know
we started with nothing. We created this. Yeah, we want
to give them some money, but is this going to

(46:32):
be too much? You you ever hear that or you
get any feedback on that at all from people?

Speaker 3 (46:39):
I haven't heard that. I guess it depends on the kid.
You know, if they're hard working, motivated, and they've learned
to make money on their own, that's probably a different conversation.
But luckily I haven't heard that too much, that they're
worried about giving them too much at the moment. But

(47:02):
most of my friends are in the fifties, probably not
retiring for another ten to fifteen years, So I don't
know if it's a huge conversation at the moment.

Speaker 2 (47:10):
You like hanging around with younger people.

Speaker 3 (47:13):
Yeah, yeah, so do you.

Speaker 2 (47:18):
No, I marry your people. I marry your people.

Speaker 3 (47:23):
They're funny. But you know, I saw this thing the
other day, and I hope it holds true about the
Congressional Budget Office, the same thing they mirrored the same
thing about inflation. They see it rising a bit, but
one time, you know, due to the tariffs. But they
also had some good stuff that they say about the tariffs.

(47:44):
They think the tariffs will bring down the budget deficit
by about four trillion over the next ten years. They're
thinking three point three trillion reduction just from the revenue
and then maybe another seven hundred billion from left debt service.
So that was a big argument I think with the
big beautiful bill and quite honestly, something I was concerned

(48:08):
about as well. So I'm hoping that happens. Obviously, if
they reverse the tariffs and we have to pay that
money back, that's that's a huge inflationary problem. You'll see
interest rates go to the opposite direction.

Speaker 2 (48:22):
That that would be financial suicide.

Speaker 3 (48:24):
If they did that, it would, it would, but that's scary.
You know, they said it a few weeks ago. Obviously
they're going it. But but if that ever really played out, yeah,
oh that would be detrimental, I think. So people we
need lower rates service are debt.

Speaker 2 (48:42):
Yeah. As we get closer to the end here, and
I got to say goodbye to you. So people that
are either on the fence that have waited to purchase
a new home or refine or whatever. Now might be
the time.

Speaker 3 (48:57):
On the reef side, you have to look at your
current rate and figure if rates are at least one
percentage point lower than what you have right now, and
you plan on staying the house for the foreseeable future
in five years, then yeah, it's worth taking a look
at some people, Like in my with my practice, I

(49:19):
have strike rates strike rates for my clients, meaning I
know when a client gets to a certain interest rate
level in today's market, it's worth having the conversation. Obviously,
we'll assess it and see if we think rates are
going lower before we pull the trigger on a refinance.
But a lot of people that you're not talking twenty twenties,

(49:40):
early twenty twenty, twenty twenty one, but we're talking people
that bought a house in the last few years that
have a high six or seven percent interest rate can
start to entertain the thought of refinancing or at least
put together a strike price of where it makes sense
financially to incur the closing costs plug you know, outweighed
by the monthly savings. And then on the purchase side,

(50:03):
I've been saying this for a while is trying to
get the house because like you said, there's low supply,
there's still multiple offers on every house. But if you
can get a house, even if you've got to pay
a little bit more for the house, I think with
the appreciation we see over the next two three four years,
they're going to be handsomely rewarded on appreciation. You know,

(50:23):
that five hundred thousand dollars house you buy today is
probably worth five point fifty in two years. So yeah,
you may feel uncomfortable paying a little bit more than
you wanted to, but I think returns will be there
for you, just based on you know, economics, one on
one supply and demand at the moment. So and then
you see barring costs go down, and what's that going

(50:45):
to do. That's going to make everything more affordable. More
people will be out there buying, people will come out
of the woodwork, the kids will try to get out
the parents' house and go see if they can afford
a house. Finally, so that'll exacerbate the problem and not
a problem, you know. I guess it'll help the appreciation
when uh, when rights go down and people start buying again.

(51:06):
So all right, yeah, we got some more supply.

Speaker 2 (51:09):
Yeah, we got about a minute left. So uh, how
do people get a hold of Drouiela if they want
to give you a call?

Speaker 3 (51:16):
Yeah? The best way is just go to Drewsteam dot
com all my informations right there. Could call me, could
text me, can you email me? If? Whatever works best?
But Drew's team dot com is the simplest and easiest way.

Speaker 2 (51:26):
All right, you're flying back? Are you driving?

Speaker 3 (51:29):
We are flying back tomorrow, beautiful. Yep. It's a quick
hour and a half flight. I love it, Belie.

Speaker 2 (51:34):
All right, be safe, we'll talk to you.

Speaker 3 (51:36):
Yes, have a great day.

Speaker 2 (51:38):
Thanks Drew. All right, that was Droiela. Uh. He'll be
on next week for an hour or two because the
Showcase of Homes we helped them. The second hour of
next week we'll have Drew and his buddy I talk
about the Showcase of Homes. We'll be back. I got
a special guest, Harry Ann talking about healthcare. A great topic,

(52:00):
a lot of good information. Stay tuned in. This is
the retirement.

Speaker 1 (52:07):
The opinions, viewpoints, and promises made during the following program
are not those of wgy it's staff, management, or parent company.
iHeartMedia all right.

Speaker 2 (52:25):
We are back. I'm Dave Kopek. This is the Retirement
Planning Show. We're here on the weekends from seven am
until nine am to hopefully educate you on the obstacles
some of the things that you'll face pre and post retirement.
And as we're all quite well aware, the topic that

(52:45):
we're going to be talking about in this hour is
one that probably is really starting to affect your pocketbook,
and it's the cost of healthcare. And we're going to
talk about healthcare, not long term care. That's another thing.
But you know, Fidelity just came out with a report
you heard in our advertisement here that basically says you're

(53:06):
going to need hundreds of thousands of dollars for health
care out of pocket expenses in your lifetime, in your
retirement years, healthy sixty five year old couple, and that's
for out of pocket expenses, and also, if you're unfortunate,
you're going to have long term care needs. So I
asked Terry Anne Montaigne to come in from Marshall Sterling Insurance.

(53:30):
She is a healthcare specialist and Terry, good morning.

Speaker 7 (53:34):
Good morning, Davee. How are you this morning?

Speaker 2 (53:37):
How could you not be happy today? It's a blue sky,
it's sunny, it's gonna be like seventy seventy five. God,
it's a good day to go play golf.

Speaker 7 (53:45):
Terry, absolutely absolutely.

Speaker 2 (53:49):
We got you all set up for the twenty fifth too.
We put you with some of the crazies.

Speaker 7 (53:54):
Wonderful. I'm looking forward to it.

Speaker 2 (53:57):
All right. Why don't you tell people a little bit
of what you do? How long you been doing it?
Just a brief summary?

Speaker 7 (54:07):
Okay. So I am employed by Marsians Sterling employee benefits.
I've been there seventeen years. I am a medicare specialist.
I work with individuals in the individual market, and I
do small groups ninety nine and under.

Speaker 2 (54:24):
All right, when you say small groups, you're talking businesses, right,
small groups.

Speaker 3 (54:29):
Small group health. Okay, that's correct.

Speaker 2 (54:31):
So you do do group health too. So I guess
to start off the sixty four thousand dollars question, which
I always like to hear, you don't represent any just
one company. You represent a whole bunch of companies, Am
I correct?

Speaker 3 (54:46):
Correct?

Speaker 7 (54:47):
That is correct?

Speaker 2 (54:48):
So you go where you get the best bang for
your buck. You're not obligated or you're not enticed by
somebody because you get either a bigger vague or you've
got an exclusive with them. You're out in the marketplace
trying to find the best coverage, whether they live here
in the Capital Distinct Region or outside the Capital Distinct
region we do nationwise.

Speaker 7 (55:10):
Our job is to partner with our clients to give
them the best policy at the best affordable price that
meets their needs.

Speaker 2 (55:18):
Well, here's my sixty four thousand dollars question, when does
this end? This insanity? As far as the premium, because
I just read a report the other day that they
say next year premiums could increase anywhere from twenty to
thirty percent.

Speaker 7 (55:31):
They've already been approved for next year and it is
totally out of control. There are twenty five to thirty
percent increases for next year.

Speaker 2 (55:38):
Oh my god, why is it terry? What's going on?
What's what's causing this to happen like this.

Speaker 7 (55:46):
I don't have the magic answer, but between the taxes
that New York State add to the premium, the pharmaceutical companies,
I think it all adds together.

Speaker 2 (55:57):
So if I'm a sixty two year old couple and
I want to go into retirement, but I don't, I
don't qualify yet for medicare. I mean, this is very common.
My company does not give me health insurance benefits. When
I retire, I have to go out and basically bridge
the medicare. How ugly is that right now?

Speaker 7 (56:21):
Well, it's pretty ugly out in the market. If you
are looking for individual coverage, I would say the base
price for an individual plan is about nine hundred two
thousand dollars a month individual per person with the high deductible.

Speaker 2 (56:38):
Individual a thousand husband and wife is going to they're
going to pay almost two thousand dollars now for healthcare.

Speaker 7 (56:45):
That's correct. One of the options, and it's always predicated
on their income, is they could go through the New
York State of Health to see if they were eligible
for an Advanced Premium tax credit, which would be deducted
off that monthly premium. But again, it is predictare on income.

Speaker 2 (57:02):
So do you know what those brackets are in order
for it to be advantageous for individuals to look at that?
What kind of income would they need or is it
you know, somebody that's making let's say sixty to seventy
thousand dollars a year in retirement. Is that something that
they should be looking at?

Speaker 7 (57:21):
Absolutely? I would say if it's an individual making seventy
thousand dollars, they'd probagate about a three hundred dollars advanced
premium tax credit taken off. That's as ballpark.

Speaker 2 (57:33):
So when you say an advanced credit, does that mean
that the premium decreases or that's a credit that's paid
to you after you filew your taxes.

Speaker 7 (57:41):
No, it's decreased every month. So if your policy is
one thousand dollars a month, you're going to actually pay
seven hundred dollars if you are eligible for that.

Speaker 2 (57:51):
Okay, so let's start at the very beginning. I'm going
to retire. I don't have healthcare. I need to find something.
I got Cobra. I could do Cobra through my employer.
Is that still available?

Speaker 7 (58:05):
Cobra is still available through your employer, but it is
not credible insurance when you go to apply for Medicare,
I don't know. If you are on Cobra and they're
not considering it credible coverage, then you're going to get
a late penalty on your party because it's not credible coverage.

Speaker 2 (58:22):
I don't understand that. What does that mean? It's not
credible coverage?

Speaker 7 (58:26):
Credible coverage means your prescription coverage has to be equal
to or better than what Medicare pays. There's all different
rules out on the market, so people do need to
have insurance before they enroll in Medicare, well.

Speaker 2 (58:42):
They do, so you have to have some form of coverage.
You know my story, Julie was working when I turned
sixty five, correct, so I didn't have to do it
because I was in a large plan and I didn't
have to make the change until Julie retired. And to
say that there were sticker shock, you know, it.

Speaker 3 (59:03):
Was kind of absolutely it was kind of.

Speaker 2 (59:05):
An understatement for us as far as what the cost
of healthcare was going to be. Do people do people
realize nowd do they have any understanding and what they're
looking for as far as healthcare costs? Or when you
have a meeting with them or do their jaws drop
and they just kind of look confused.

Speaker 7 (59:26):
They're in jaws absolutely dropped. I think our jaws drop
as well. You know, we're just the messengers. We don't
create these rates. So when we get these rates that
come in, it's like we're just as upset as the
consumers are.

Speaker 2 (59:39):
So when you're retiring, at sixty five? How soon how
early should they be talking to you? A couple of
weeks before they retire, A couple of months, six months?
How soon should they be tactically going through this as
far as the cost of healthcare? Because you sat down,

(01:00:00):
you sat down with some clients of ours yesterday and
after you left they just said, wow, you know, that
was extremely informative to sit down with her and get
all the details. But he's about six months out before
he's going to retire? Is that about right? Right? Is
that about right?

Speaker 8 (01:00:16):
That is correct?

Speaker 7 (01:00:18):
But there are the customers that I met with yesterday.
They're already on Medicare, so they were enrolled in a
program that they should not have been, in their pain
and absorbing an exorbitant amount of money. Really, so there's
different Yes, there's different policies for different people's needs. So basically,
before you get your retire I would say, if you're

(01:00:38):
going to go on Medicare, you should contact Social Security
three months prior to apply for your Part A and
Part B. Then you can start looking at your options,
whether you want to look at a medical supplement plan
or you want to look at a medical advantage plan.
They both have pluses and minuses.

Speaker 8 (01:00:55):
So it's just what So tell me what.

Speaker 2 (01:00:56):
The pluses and minuses are because we've got plenty of time. Well,
we got about a minute if we're going to have
to take a hard break, so we'll get back to
that after. Okay, Okay, we'll go ahead.

Speaker 7 (01:01:07):
So No, the greatest misconception out there about medicare. If
people are still working past sixty five and they work
for a group of twenty employees or more, they do
not have to do anything to enroll in medicare. They
can stand their group policy until it's time for them
to leave, retire, or lose their coverage.

Speaker 2 (01:01:25):
That was my situation.

Speaker 7 (01:01:27):
Rights that is absolutely correct. If you work for an
employer that has less than nineteen employees, you must enroll
in A and B when you turn sixty five or
you will face penalties for life.

Speaker 2 (01:01:38):
Yeah, all right, goron with Terry Anne Montaigne, Marshall and Sterling.
She is a healthcare specialist. We're going to get back
to her after this quick break. This is the retirement
planning show. We'll see on the other side.

Speaker 4 (01:01:56):
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Speaker 2 (01:03:26):
You've spent a lifetime saving for retirement. Now it's time
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(01:03:47):
with confidence, retire smart, live well. Call eight eight eight
five eight zero nine nine for your complementary consultation. You
are back. You've got Terry ed Montaigne for Marshall lets strone.
You have any questions about your healthcare, I'm going to
open up the telephone lines. We can get you on

(01:04:09):
the air with Terry. Our telephone number, course is always
the same, one eight hundred talk WGY. That's one eight
hundred eighty two five fifty nine forty nine. The phone
should be ringing off the hook because this is one
of your biggest expenses, folks in your retirement years one
eight hundred talk WGY that's one eight hundred eight two
nine fifty nine forty nine. This is a unbelievably complex situation.

(01:04:35):
I'm finding this out. Julie worked for the school district.
We didn't really have to worry about this as far
as you know the overall plan. But I can't tell
you it's it's it's very complex, isn't it, Terry.

Speaker 7 (01:04:47):
It is absolutely complex, and it changes every day.

Speaker 2 (01:04:51):
So you were talking about two specific things that I
can't remember exactly how you classified them that.

Speaker 7 (01:04:58):
I said we when you went rolling Medicare, you have
an option. You can stay on traditional Medicare, which is
Part A Part B, and then you have to buy
a standalone drug plan. If you choose to do that,
the hospitalization you have to pay the first sixteen hundred
and ninety seven dollars out of pocket if you go
to the hospital having Part B covers medical expenses only,

(01:05:22):
but you're responsible for twenty percent of all charges and
there's no out of pocket match. Then you have to
buy a standalone drug plan to go with that. So
saying that in order to complement Medicare A and B.
You can either look at and enrolling in a medical
supplement plan or a Medicare advantage plan. The difference is

(01:05:43):
a medical supplement plan and I always in my mind
think it's for more chronically ill people. If you're going
to the doctors on a regular routine basis five six
times a month, having a lot of tests, it can
get very expensive. A medical supplement plan, you have a
monthly premium. You have to buy a standalone drug plan
to go around along with it. This year, the deductible

(01:06:07):
for Part B is two fifty seven and that's going
up for next year, and that's all the medical expenses
you would have for the year. But it's about a
five thousand dollars annual premium. So it's somebody who is
chronically at least you can figure out basically, here's a
five thousand dollar investment. I'm only going to pay the
two fifty seven out of pocket towards medical for the year,

(01:06:29):
and that's that. And you just have your code paates
to go wlong with the drugs and there's no bills
and whistles with a medical supplement there's no dental there's
no hearing, there's no vision, there's no extra so that's
a medical supplement overall. An advantage plan works basically like
your current health insurance. There's no deductible, you just pay coepays.

(01:06:53):
But the advantage plans come with Dentel, they come with vision,
they have free gym memberships that most of the time
times a Part D drugs are built right into the plan.
This year, there's zero monthly premium plans out on the market. Now.
We don't have the plan designs and rates for next year.
They'll be out at the end of the month. So
there's different options for people to look at right right,

(01:07:16):
and my job is to sit down with every client
and go through what their needs are. Make sure whoever
you're sitting down with as far as medicare goes, you
need to make sure that you check all their prescriptions.
You check that their doctors are all in the networks.
We have all the person who's been doing that for
you that they're not doing their job correctly.

Speaker 2 (01:07:37):
We have a lot of clients that vacation in Florida
for an extended period of time where they actually have
two homes. A lot of clients that are like their
primary might be Florida now, but they also kept their
home up here or vice versa. What do those people
do about healthcare?

Speaker 7 (01:07:57):
Well, first of all, the primary residents wherever you live
six months and one day is where you have to
write your Medicare policy. So that's number one. A PPO
gives you national carbridge. Does that mean you can go
to any national provider that's in the network and get
you're uptaining your services? If you're in an HMO, which

(01:08:17):
means it's local only, then you have to stay in
your surrounding thirteen counties. You can't go out. There's always
emergency carbadge. But you couldn't just go to an eye
doctor in Florida because you're down there for several months. Ok,
we have a full WHO national network is very important.

Speaker 2 (01:08:32):
Yeah, we have a caller, Terry. But what I'm going
to do, I'll give out the telephone number. Again. I'm
telling you, folks, this is extremely important. You got questions
about healthcare, you better get on the phone and call
us because I'll tell you what. Now's the time that
you can get some really good information. We work with Terry.
We think she's phenomenal. She was introduced to me by
Chris McCarthy and was one of the greatest introductions because

(01:08:53):
we have one hundred percent confidence and her expertise. But
I got my good friend Paul from can I Hey, Paul,
how you doing.

Speaker 9 (01:09:00):
Good?

Speaker 3 (01:09:01):
Dave.

Speaker 9 (01:09:01):
I've seen you a few things, and I'm going to
make a few bullet point statements and Harry can comment.
I won't necessarily stand on line number one. In Connecticut
and New York, they're the only states cleanly where you
can jump between plans and not have a problem with
residents' location. And it's a very detailed analytic I went

(01:09:22):
through on this. There are other states that have some conditions.
I wanted to comment on that because they're very liberal. Secondly,
if anybody has any resource level whatsoever, they have to
go with a Medicare supplemental plan and forget all the
stuff that manifested in the early two thousands regarding Medicare advantage.

Speaker 3 (01:09:44):
Which puts you in the position of.

Speaker 9 (01:09:46):
Being burdened by the insurance company gaming you through the gatekeepers.
And lastly, I've run the numbers on high deductibull Medicare
supplemental and quite frankly, it's cheaper in the five grand number,
and I explained to a New York resident that she
should go to a high deductible plan G. It used

(01:10:09):
to be you can get a plan F, but that
change about four.

Speaker 3 (01:10:14):
Or five years ago.

Speaker 9 (01:10:15):
So my general, you talking to a lot.

Speaker 3 (01:10:21):
H your plan.

Speaker 9 (01:10:24):
It's a no brainer going in the minimal usure.

Speaker 2 (01:10:32):
You're breaking up. You're breaking up on us, Paul. I
can't hear did.

Speaker 9 (01:10:36):
You catch the le Okay, you can't hear me at all.

Speaker 2 (01:10:40):
I can hear you now, so stay stay where you are, right.

Speaker 3 (01:10:45):
All right? I'm sorry.

Speaker 9 (01:10:46):
People should with resources explemental plan. There's no question one. Secondly,
people with resources should even look at supplemental high deductibles
because it ends up being cheaper. Thirdly, the point I
raised in New York is there very quote games and

(01:11:09):
jump around you're allowed like it's.

Speaker 2 (01:11:14):
Okay, okay, you're crackling on us. Paul, You're not. I'm
gonna let her come on the air and talk. But
h I apologize. I love Paul. He's a great guy.
He's extremely intelligent. So I wanted to get did you
get the jest of his question? Terry?

Speaker 9 (01:11:28):
I did?

Speaker 7 (01:11:28):
He broke up terribly? But yes, there are different supplemental
plans you can enrolling. So that's when you sit down
and you go through the numbers and you figure out
what the person's needs are. So I do agree with him.

Speaker 2 (01:11:40):
Okay, So let me get clarity on this. There are
high deductible plans once you reach sixty five and your
medicare eligible, so you can carry forward with a high
deductible plan for your additional coverage with correct Okay, explain

(01:12:00):
that to me.

Speaker 7 (01:12:02):
Well, it's just it's a medical supplement plan. They're still
a monthly premium for it, and you still have to
buy a prescription carbridge, but it has a high deductible
So it's like twenty six hundred dollars deductible right now
on one of the plans. So you pay the first
twenty six hundred dollars and then you have your carbage
after that and you're covered in ful So what do

(01:12:23):
we just depend on the premiums?

Speaker 2 (01:12:25):
So what about the people that say this, Okay, yeah,
I'll do that, and if I need drugs, I'll just
order them from Mexico or Canada or whatever, I'll drive.
I mean, we actually have clients that drive to Canada
for their drugs.

Speaker 7 (01:12:40):
Well, if you don't have drug carbridge, you're going to
get kind of life. Everybody has to have a part DATE,
So if you choose not to, you're going to still
have to pay a premium to Medicare for your Part
D carbridge, whether you use that.

Speaker 2 (01:12:55):
Whether you use it or not, that's correct, okay, But
if you pay the then you get in drugs anyway.

Speaker 3 (01:13:01):
Right, Well, if you.

Speaker 7 (01:13:03):
Pay the Part D, you still have to have some
type of a plan, and the rates are going up
next year as well. And that's all under this Inflation
Reduction Act.

Speaker 3 (01:13:12):
This year.

Speaker 7 (01:13:13):
I mean, as you know, in the past, used to
be out of pocket maximum for prescription drugs on Medicare
was eight thousand dollars as of January first, this year,
under the Inflation Reduction Act, anybody on Medicare does not
pay any more than two thousand dollars. That's going up
to twenty one hundred for next year.

Speaker 2 (01:13:31):
Well it's a positive, right.

Speaker 7 (01:13:34):
Well, it is positive, but unfortunately they're increasing the deductibles
on the prescription plan to try to make up for
some of the money that they're losing. Because once you
hit that maximum out of pocket, the carrier that your
plan is with pay sixty percent of the drugs. Medicare
pays twenty percent, and the pharmaceutical company pays twenty percent.

Speaker 2 (01:13:56):
So here's my question for you, because I did a
little home work before you came on, as I sat
and did some scanning this morning, our cost of healthcare
in the United States is astronomical compared to other countries.
Why is that?

Speaker 7 (01:14:14):
I wish I had an answer, Dave, I don't have
a magic wand a white here to say this is
why we're paying so much money. Yeah, I really do not.

Speaker 2 (01:14:22):
And not only is it by country, but it's also
by zip code as far as where you live. You know,
surgeries in New York City are a hell of a
lot more expensive than a surgery that you might get
in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Speaker 7 (01:14:38):
Absolutely, there are different rates. Now New York State is one.
It's just based on your age. There are states like
Florida and California. They are age banded. They ask if
you smoke or don't smoke, and those are the way
your rates come up. So across the country it's totally different.

Speaker 2 (01:14:56):
Okay, So if you can just kind of this is
a misconception by a lot of people. What is when
you sit down with people and you say Medicare and Medicaid.
A lot of people get it screwed up. They don't know.
I mean, what do you mean Medicare I'm on Medicaid
or no, I'm not on Medicare, I'm you know, they
don't know. How do you give them clarity as far

(01:15:17):
as Medicaid services and then Medicare.

Speaker 7 (01:15:19):
Services, Medicaid services are for low income people. So right now,
if you make questionss seventeen thousand, five hundred dollars annually,
you qualify for Medicaid. Why a couple?

Speaker 2 (01:15:33):
So why does New York? Why does New York State
have this astronomical amount of people that are on Medicaid?
I mean it's we have millions of millions of people
in New York State that are currently on Medicaid.

Speaker 7 (01:15:44):
You know that, yes they do.

Speaker 2 (01:15:47):
Why is that?

Speaker 7 (01:15:49):
It depends on how they report their income? Right now,
the way the system is set up to the New
York State of Health, they don't ask you about assets,
they ask you about income. So if you're not reporting
the income or if you don't have income to report,
you qualify for Medicaid. When this first started back in
twenty fourteen, I sat down with a gentleman. He was

(01:16:10):
actually a millionaire, but because he wasn't taking any funds,
he was living off of his girlfriend. He qualified for
medicaid and that you know that it totally is fraudulent
through the system. But I couldn't support it because it
was not my business. I only could do but he
told me he had his income.

Speaker 2 (01:16:28):
All right, we got to take a break. When we
come back, we've got Terry Anne Montana on. We're talking
about healthcare, the choices that are available to you. If
you want to participate, you have your own question. One
eight hundred Talk WGY, one eight hundred Talk WGY. This
is the Retirement Planning Show. We'll be right back after
this quick message. All right, we are back. This is

(01:16:59):
the retire I'm a Planning Show. I'm your host, Dave Kopek.
Been doing this now for over twenty five years. Hard
to believe. Hopefully you find it informative, educational, and that's
what we tried to do. Make sure you understand the
obstacles that you faced in your pre and post retirement years.
I've got a good friend on a here with me
this morning, Terry Anne Montaigne. She's a healthcare specialist with
Marshall and Sterling. I think she does a phenomenal job.

(01:17:23):
And Terry, we've got a caller. So what I'm going
to do is, rather than rattle on and ask you
a question, I'll wait until after there's Chuck from Sagart.
He's good morning, Chuck. How are you today?

Speaker 8 (01:17:35):
Yes, good morning Dave, and thank you for taking my
phone call. Yes, sir, so, I'm sixty eight years old.
Have Medicare Part A and B. I do not have
Part D, do not have an advantage plan. I'm an
excellent health don't have a maintenance medication, don't have diabetes,
don't have blood high blood pressure, don't have anything wrong

(01:17:55):
with me. I'm an excellent health active, et cetera, et cetera.
Am I okay, just staying enrolled in Medicare Part A
and B and disregard Part D and disregard an advantage
plan for the rest of my life.

Speaker 7 (01:18:09):
Ahead part If you do not have Part D, you
will get penalized down the road.

Speaker 8 (01:18:17):
But I'm not being penalized now. And the A and
B premium, am I no, not in the A and
B premium. It would come under Part D.

Speaker 2 (01:18:28):
So what do you, what do you mean? So, what
do you mean by that, terry, he'll be penalized down
the road. What does that mean?

Speaker 7 (01:18:34):
Well, it depends on how it's set up. Because right now,
when you enroll in Medicare A and B, they tell
you what your monthly premium is going to be for
your Part B. They also if you're highly income, they
charge you on your IRMA an additional premium. So I
am not sure if this gentleman is paying it. I
don't know what he pays the month first Part B.

Speaker 8 (01:18:57):
I think I think I'm paying about one hundred and
seventy five dollars a month for my part AMB.

Speaker 7 (01:19:04):
Okay, so right now Part B is one to eighty five,
so it doesn't sound like you're being charge anything additional.

Speaker 8 (01:19:11):
But because I could, okay, excuse me. So, because I
because I didn't enroll in Part D when I should have,
and I wait and wait and wait, and I get
to seventy four or five, Medicare is going to go
back and they're they're going to retro compute what I
should have been paying for Part D all those years,
and it will come back an astronomical number which probably

(01:19:31):
no one can afford so by not enrolling in d
when I initially became eligible, and I'm not enrolled in
it now, it just basically means that I've made the
decision that for the rest of my life, I'm going
to pay out of pocket for my prescription medications if
I ever have to have one. Is that right correct? Okay?

(01:19:51):
So for people that are in the profile that I
just mentioned earlier, when I called in, you know, good health,
not overweight, no maintenance drug. It's cetera, et cetera, et cetera.
Is it prudent just to say, Okay, I'll roll the
dice on the prescription stuff, and if I got to
pay it down the road, I'll just pay out of pocket.
I'm pretty well off. I've got enough money saved. I

(01:20:11):
think I'm going to be.

Speaker 7 (01:20:12):
Okay, right, And that's a personal decision. So I can't
tell you that's right or wong. It's just a personal decision.

Speaker 2 (01:20:21):
Okay. What about what about if he wanted to go
outside the continental of the United States? You know, you
read articles where the cost of drug and prescription is
so much cheaper than other countries, and you know, I'm
not going to be specific to the country, but I
read this this morning where a lot of people will
get their drugs, you know, from other countries. Is that

(01:20:43):
an option, Terry you it has.

Speaker 7 (01:20:46):
To be a US pharmaceutical company.

Speaker 8 (01:20:50):
Why is that that's the rules under the Medicare and
your center for Medicare.

Speaker 2 (01:20:56):
Well, how would they know?

Speaker 7 (01:20:59):
Because if turning it, well, first of all, if you're
just paying out a pocket it has nothing to do
with Medicare. But it doesn't mean you're not going to
get a penalty down the road, you know.

Speaker 2 (01:21:10):
You know, Chuck, it sounds like you're in pretty good shape, brothers.

Speaker 7 (01:21:15):
Yes, he does.

Speaker 8 (01:21:16):
Yeah, I mean, I mean, I mean the real, the real, uh,
the real ace in the hole for me was I
never smoked and I never drank ye, and I don't
have a family history of real real problems like cancer,
et cetera. And I'm active and I'm not overweight. So
let me ask you this. So, if I decided in
an annual enrollment period saying the next year or two

(01:21:38):
I want to get enrolled in a Medicare advantage plan,
is there going to be the retro calculation on the
d benefit I never enrolled for and then I'll just
pay that for the rest of my life to be
in an advantage plan going forward.

Speaker 7 (01:21:53):
When you enrolling an advantage plan, the drugs are part
of it, So I am not sure how Medicare is
going to look at it. You can roll in a
Medicare advantage plan during open enrollment, that's perfectly fine without
any penalties. But as far as how they're going to
treat your part d if they look to see that
you didn't happen, I can't speak to that.

Speaker 8 (01:22:13):
Okay, okay, all right, all right, well that's that's those
are my questions in my comments, so I'll look take
the rest of the program off off the phone here
on the radio. Thank you Dave for taking my call.
A good program, Thanks brother.

Speaker 2 (01:22:25):
All right, we do have open lines if you have
a question about your own personal health, Medicare, Medicare supplements.
You know, the question that I'm going to have for
Terry is probably more common than a lot of people believe.
But you know, we were fortunate to have our children.

(01:22:46):
And again the telephone number is one eight hundred Talk WGY,
one eight hundred talk WGY. If you have a specific
question about your own personal situation. There's a lot of
people that their kids turned twenty six terry. You know
where I'm going with this?

Speaker 7 (01:23:02):
Absolutely off you health insurance?

Speaker 2 (01:23:05):
What you know, they you're done. I think they get
thirty days in they're they're off the plan. What do
these kids do because you know, when they look at
the you know, you know, you've heard it in my
own office, they see the price for healthcare, even though
we're picking up some of the cost of it. You know,
it's sticker shock for these young people. What's what's a

(01:23:27):
realistic option for young people today that are over the
age of twenty six.

Speaker 7 (01:23:32):
To go through the New York If they're in New York,
I would go through the New York State of Health
because basically on their income, they're going to definitely qualify
for an advanced Premium tax credit. It's still going to
be expensive, but if the plan is eight hundred dollars
a month and they're getting a three hundred dollars a
month tax credit, then they're down to six hundred. So
it's not going to be cheap. But that's the only

(01:23:53):
option they have.

Speaker 2 (01:23:55):
So what do they you have to verify? You I'm
assuming there has to be some kind of income verification
in order to do that.

Speaker 6 (01:24:03):
That's correct.

Speaker 2 (01:24:06):
And how like with Medicare, the Medicare premium, what's you
get penalized based on income?

Speaker 7 (01:24:19):
There's no penalty on Medicare. I think what you're talking
about is the Part B premium based on your income.
If you if you're a married couple and you make
less than two hundred and twelve thousand dollars annually this year,
it's one hundred and eighty five dollars a month for
Part B. As your income is increases, so does that

(01:24:39):
Part B premium. So I've got lawyers and physicians that
are paying almost six hundred dollars a month just for
their Part B.

Speaker 2 (01:24:49):
Did you just say B or d B?

Speaker 7 (01:24:52):
Like invoice? Everybody has to have Part B until the
day we die. We all pay Part B. If we're
on Medicare, can you reject?

Speaker 2 (01:25:03):
Can you reject? Can you reject Medicare?

Speaker 7 (01:25:07):
Can you reject Medicare?

Speaker 2 (01:25:08):
Yeah? If I'm collecting Social Security and I don't want
to have Medicare as my health my choice for But
is that.

Speaker 7 (01:25:17):
Is that health plan or an individual plan?

Speaker 2 (01:25:21):
I just say I said, a hell with it. You know,
I'm going to get my own plan. Can you do it?

Speaker 3 (01:25:25):
Yes?

Speaker 8 (01:25:26):
You can do That.

Speaker 2 (01:25:29):
Is there any advantages? Is there any Is there any
advantages of doing that?

Speaker 3 (01:25:34):
No?

Speaker 7 (01:25:34):
I think I'll spend more money doing that.

Speaker 2 (01:25:39):
Okay, So a twenty six year old, a twenty six
year old, I want to get back to that because
I'm in a situation right now with my kids, David
and Tampa, and of course my son Christopher that works
with us. A twenty six year old, that's off mom
and Dad's plan. They're better off to go through. Now,
what about a child that lives not in the house.

(01:25:59):
You know, my son David, the older of the two,
lives in Tampa. Now, what's his option?

Speaker 7 (01:26:06):
He lives in Tampa, out of New York state.

Speaker 2 (01:26:09):
He's not in New York state. He listen, his permanent
address now is Tampa, Florida, my son?

Speaker 7 (01:26:14):
Okay, So then he would have to see I don't
believe Florida has their own state exchange, so he'd have
to go through Healthcare dot Gov. That's the national exchange
that was set up under the Obamacare when it started.

Speaker 2 (01:26:29):
That is that an option? Also Healthcare dot Gov for Chris.

Speaker 8 (01:26:35):
Rather than Healthcare Now.

Speaker 7 (01:26:36):
Chris lives in New York State, so he's got to
go through New York state of health.

Speaker 2 (01:26:39):
Oh he does, Okay, so he doesn't have that other option. Okay,
So I guess in this landscape of scratch, I mean
I don't want to, you know, bring too much up
because they're clients of ours. Uh, the couple that you
met with yesterday in our office, you said they were
paying a lot more in their healthcare quest than they
should have. Was it just misinformation or they just didn't

(01:27:03):
know where to go?

Speaker 7 (01:27:05):
I believe they were given this information. They told me
they listened to their friends who suggested the plan that
they got enrolled in. Okay, and after our conversation, they said,
oh my god, we could be saving so much money.
So I will be meeting with them when open enrollment
opens in October fifteenth.

Speaker 2 (01:27:23):
So the bottom line gets down to sit down with
someone that's informed and educated on this because you know,
what you think might be the right option might not
necessarily be the right option.

Speaker 3 (01:27:36):
Correct, That's correct.

Speaker 7 (01:27:38):
And I represent several carriers, So I mean, you don't
want to just sit down with somebody who just works
for one person or you know, one company, one carrier.
You want to see what options they are out on
the table. And I don't represent all of the carriers,
there's so many of them, but you sit down, you
go through your options, and you see.

Speaker 3 (01:27:55):
What works best.

Speaker 2 (01:27:57):
Well. I know that in long term care planning, a
lot of the companies that used to be here in
New York State are no longer here under the New
York State Partnership program. Matter of fact, none of them
zero right policies now in New York State. Is that
the case with healthcare in New York State where a
lot of them have fallen off and no longer right
business in New York State? Or that's not the case.

Speaker 7 (01:28:19):
No, I don't believe that's the case. As far as
the carriers, I mean, we live in the Capital region,
so our biggest carriers here are MVP, CDPHP, Anthem, time Mark.
So those are the basic ones, okay.

Speaker 2 (01:28:33):
And I guess the one question that I've got as
far as the overall the average cost right now for
a husband and wife in retirement is approximately what, well,
just a guesstimate, what you think it is?

Speaker 7 (01:28:49):
Two thousand a months, Bart.

Speaker 2 (01:28:51):
Jesus believe all right, we're coming back. We got one
more segment with Terry Ann. If you have any questions
one eight hundred talk w I one eight hundred talk wgy.
I'll be right back after this quick message.

Speaker 4 (01:29:16):
Retirement might feel far off, or maybe it's just around
the corner. Either way, it's never too early to start planning.
The experienced team at Retirement Planning Group makes the process simple,
straightforward and all about you. No pressure, just smart advice.
To help you feel confident about what's next. Visit rpgretire
dot com or give them a call at eight eight

(01:29:37):
eight five eight zero nineteen nineteen to schedule your consultation today.
That's RPG retired dot com. Your future self well, Thank you.

Speaker 2 (01:29:46):
Attention future retirees. A financial threat that is putting your
retirement at risk. The cost of long term care can
be well over one hundred thousand dollars a year fidelities.
Recent studies suggests retirees could need hundreds of thousands of
the dollars just to cover medical expenses in retirement. You
need to address this risk now. To be prepared, call

(01:30:06):
my office to fight out your options. Call eighty eight
five eight zero one nine one nine eighty eight five
eight zero one nine one nine for a complimentary consultation.

Speaker 5 (01:30:16):
Ali Dwyer and her three sons lost their hero Stephen
serving our country in the United States Army was Stephen's calling,
and flying helicopters was his passion. Stephen was killed in
a Blackhawk helicopter crash over the Mediterranean Sea. Thanks to
friends like you, Tunnel to Towers provided his family with
a mortgage free home, giving them security and hope in
their darkest hours. Help more families like the Dwiers. Donate

(01:30:39):
eleven dollars a month to Tunnel to Towers at T
two T dot org. That's T the number two T
dot org. Are you ready for retirement or just hoping
it works out? Don't leave your future to chance.

Speaker 2 (01:30:51):
At the Retirement Planning Group, we hope you create a
personalized retirement plan so you can relax knowing you are prepared.
Take action today called eight eight eight five eight zero
one nine nine. That's eight eight eight five eight zero
one nine one nine or visit us at our website
rpgretire dot com to schedule your complementary consultation. Your future

(01:31:12):
will say thank you. All right, we are back. We're
getting some phone calls, so we'll be patient here. Please
hold on. We're getting to those phone calls right now.
We'll go to our first call or didn't want to

(01:31:33):
identify themselves, So we'll go to that one and hopefully
we can answer your question. Good morning, how can we
help you?

Speaker 10 (01:31:40):
Good morning? I have a question. I live in New
York State. I have assumed to be ex husband in Massachusetts,
so I don't know if you'd be able to answer
this question. And it has Medicare parts A and B.

Speaker 7 (01:31:55):
I get in D, but.

Speaker 10 (01:32:00):
I'm looking for I guess what kind of advantage plan
he could get. He doesn't qualify for Medicaid because he
makes too much Social Security.

Speaker 8 (01:32:08):
Go ahead, Terry, So he lives in Massachusetts.

Speaker 7 (01:32:13):
Correct, Okay, I'm not like he's in Massachusetts, so he'd
have to tacktoo.

Speaker 2 (01:32:21):
Well, wait a minute, she lives she lives in New York.

Speaker 7 (01:32:25):
She lives in Massachusetts. Right, so you're asking about his coverage. Correct. Okay,
so he's done Medicaire A B, he's got direcked just yet.
Be low income?

Speaker 10 (01:32:44):
No, he makes he makes a high only through social Security.
He has no other income, but his Social Security is
higher than he would qualify for Medicaid.

Speaker 7 (01:32:55):
Okay, there is something called low income Subsidy that he
can check out. The chief good help with his prescriptions.
And that would reduce some of his costs.

Speaker 10 (01:33:05):
Good to know, I never heard of that.

Speaker 2 (01:33:09):
What I'll do is, if you keep on listening, uh
to the show, I'll give out Terry's telephone number and
you can call her directly. Because this might be personal.
You don't want to give a lot of personal information
out over the over radio. So I'll give out she
can contact you Terry on Monday.

Speaker 7 (01:33:27):
That's correct.

Speaker 10 (01:33:27):
That OK, thank you?

Speaker 2 (01:33:31):
Yeah, I know it's difficult when you're talking about a
landscape like that. It's difficult sometime. Let's go to Nancy
in Albany more than Nancy, Good.

Speaker 7 (01:33:39):
Morning, How are you?

Speaker 6 (01:33:41):
I'm enjoying your show. Good how are you? I wanted
to say, a good way to remember the difference between
Medicare medicaid is that medicare is for seniors. Both words have.

Speaker 3 (01:33:52):
An R in it.

Speaker 6 (01:33:53):
Yep, that's how I remember beautiful which which one is which?
But a couple of things. I listened to the caller
who said he's going to take his risk with you
know he's healthy, and so on with not getting the drugs.
The part D and UH, can you can you tell
me again?

Speaker 8 (01:34:13):
UH?

Speaker 6 (01:34:13):
Is a doctors and B hospitalization and the is supplemental.

Speaker 9 (01:34:18):
And THEA drugs.

Speaker 6 (01:34:19):
Right.

Speaker 7 (01:34:20):
You know, Part A is hospitalization, Okay, Part B is
your medical Okay, Part D is your prescription drugs. And
Part C is either a supplement or an advantage plan
that would complement Part A and B.

Speaker 6 (01:34:38):
Okay. When I was this is the thing. When I
was diagnosed, I was previously healthy and go get on
Medicare at age sixty five, and I got the advantage plans,
and then sadly, that year, I got diagnosed with a
deadly form of cancer, two kinds of cancer U. I

(01:35:00):
had like a fifteen percent survival rate, and I was
on a Medicare advantage plan at the time. And thank god,
my diagnosis happened during the Medicare open enrollment because I
was able to change my plan. A couple of things.
With the Medicare advantage plan I was on because it's cheaper,
I switched to original Medicare, because I had someone who

(01:35:24):
helped me navigate through this, thank god. And because on
a Medicare advantage plan, I was denied a whole bunch
of stuff. For example, I started to have needed a
cat scam, it was denied and I had to pay
fifteen hundred dollars for the cat scam, and then.

Speaker 3 (01:35:46):
I needed to.

Speaker 6 (01:35:46):
See a specially special surgeon after I had lots of chemo,
and for the gentleman who said that, you know, it's
not worry about the drugs. Well, I went through chemo therapy.
One bag of chemo was fifteen thousand dollars and I
needed too at a time, so it was probably, you know,
twenty thousand dollars for treatment. I had sixteen treatments of chemo.

(01:36:11):
You can do the math on that alone. Previous to that,
I took one pill or something and that was a healthy,
non smoker, non drinker, no history of this kind of
cancer in my family. And when I went to when
I wanted to go see this particular surgeon in New
York City who was specialist, Medicare advantage plan denied me.

(01:36:37):
So thank god I was able to switch to original Medicare.
I did see the surgeon after I had sixteen rounds
of chemo and I had big surgery and everything, and
obviously i'm here. I survived, And so it's a gamble
to stay on a Medicare advantage plan because if you

(01:36:59):
get hit with catastrophics, I think I could only guess
how much my everything costs from start to finish, five
six hundred thousand dollars. If I have paid twenty percent
of that, that would give hundred thousand dollars. I would
have been incredible medical debts. So I always tell people

(01:37:19):
go into the original Medicare. I don't know if you
can speak to the difference between original Medicare and Medicare
damage plans, benefits versus downside.

Speaker 7 (01:37:30):
Well, under the Medicare traditional Medicare A and B, that's
what I said. Part B, you pay twenty percent of
all your bills, all your medical bills. That's that's right.
And I didn't.

Speaker 4 (01:37:43):
I didn't.

Speaker 6 (01:37:45):
I didn't pay anything. I didn't have any copays because
I also was on a supplemental plantry.

Speaker 7 (01:37:50):
And well, that's exactly right. You had a supplemental plan.
And that's what I said. A medical supplement plan is
or in my mind, more chronically ill people. So you
pay the first deductible this year to fifty seven, and
then they picked up.

Speaker 3 (01:38:04):
All the costs. So that was two years direct yeah.

Speaker 6 (01:38:07):
Corrected, and it was yes, yes, and it was it
was miraculous. I found out that I didn't know a
relative who was in the insurance industry, set me up
as I had no idea how to settle this up
during the open enrollment period, and thank god, he got
me onto original Medicare, got me off the Medicare advamage plans,

(01:38:30):
and then I had a supplemental plan because my medical
builds were in the hundreds of thousands. And I'm so
glad I got to see the surgeon I did in
New York City because he was the one that was
able to do the surgery without killing me, and not
the surgeon in the Aubany area. When I went to

(01:38:51):
a surgeon about my particular health issue, I asked him
how many of these surgeries do you do in the year,
and he said twenty. The doctor in New York City,
when I asked him how many of these surgeries do
you do any year? He said me personally one hundred
and fifty. He said, my team three hundred. I said, oh, well,

(01:39:11):
then you're the doctor I want to go to, but
the Medicare advantage plan denied me going to him. Oh,
I say, buyer b aware on that, And like I said,
totally come out of the blue. No history of this
kind of two kinds of cancer is this? You know,
it would have been a catastrophic financial law for sure.
Then I could have died right Medicas and I'm seventy.

(01:39:35):
I'm five years out from all of that now. So oh,
in grag glory to God.

Speaker 2 (01:39:40):
All right, listen, we got to get one more phone
call and answer. God, bless you, God, bless you, glad
that you know cancer runs in our family.

Speaker 6 (01:39:47):
God bless you, my dear, thank you, thank you, God
bless you to that.

Speaker 2 (01:39:51):
Okay, let's go to a Robert. Are you still there?
Robert from Troy. No, he canceled out. Okay, all right. Uh,
you know cancer is horrific. It's just horrific. You know
it's Uh, I know you did, Darling, I know you did.
It's it's all over our you know that it's all

(01:40:13):
over our family, and you know it's just it's a
horrific disease. So again, absolutely, Terry, we're going to have
you back. I got a little housekeeping to do. Thank
you for taking time out of your weekend. So our
listeners know, Terry and I are going to do a
dog and pony show. We're going to have a topic
specific presentation. We don't know yet, but it'll probably sometime

(01:40:34):
in October, and uh, I'll give you out the dates
and the time and Terry will be there and we'll
discuss all of this in greater detail. So Terry, thank you,
my love.

Speaker 7 (01:40:44):
I'll see you soon, a thank you gave had a
great weekend, all right.

Speaker 2 (01:40:48):
God bless bye bye, and uh I'll give out Terry's
telephone number in greater detail. But uh uh, that's the
other thing that I wanted to do, is I just
wanted to, you know, for these people that called in,
especially the woman in Albany that battled cancer. Some of
the things that she just talked about, as far as
being able to select your physician, the doctor that you

(01:41:09):
want to go to, and it gets rejected and you've
got to get a cat scan. He won't let you
do the cat scan. I think it's horrific. I think
it's horrific because I've lived it, I've seen it, I've
seen the end result. For you know, I talk about Colton,
my cousin's grandson. You know, he has been blessed by
God lost you know, like three years old, lust to

(01:41:31):
rib lust alone. It was in really bad shape. But
God has blessed him and he's doing fine. I believe
he's pretty much cancer free right now. Went to Boston.
He went to Boston for his health. So you know,
be happy, be healthy. You know, don't let small things
become bad things or big things. You know, if you

(01:41:54):
got your health, you hear as you get older. Believe me,
your health is everything. So but I want to give
out one more time before we have to say goodbye,
because it happens is Thursday. We are having our Swing
for a Cure and this year it's not only the
American Cancer Society but also Tunnel to Towers. It's going
to be held September twenty fifth, the Fairways of Half Moon.

(01:42:17):
It's a great day. It's there's a putting contest long
as drive close to the pin. Mulligan's Raffle prizes a lot.
You can't believe the stuff that we got this year.
Everybody's going to leave with a whole bunch of stuff.
If you want to participate, fantastic. All you have to
do is call my office called Jim five eight five
EETs zero one nine one nine. If you can't participate, right,

(01:42:38):
if you can't golf or come to the luncheon, you
can still make a gift or a contribution. One hundred
percent of the money. One hundred percent of the money
we'll go to the American Cancer Society and Tunnel to
Towers will be representatives at the event from the American
Cancer Society and also T for te and like anything else.
You know, as I always say, our mission, our mission

(01:42:59):
at the retire my planning group, as you've heard me
say a thousand times ADTRT, their mission is to do good.
God bless you all. Have a great weekend and we'll
see you next week. The show is for informational purposes only,
and it's not intended to be personal financial advice.

Speaker 5 (01:43:20):
The investments and services offered by us may not be
suitable for all investors.

Speaker 2 (01:43:24):
If you have any doubts as to the merits of
an investment, you should seek advice from an independent financial
advice