Long Story Short Medicare Open Enrollment, RMD Strategies & the Mortgage Payoff Debate
Open enrollment season is here, which means it's time to review your Medicare coverage. Adam walks through the ABCs of Medicare, explains the difference between original Medicare and Medicare Advantage, and shares why even if you're happy with your plan, an annual review matters.
Plus, Andy and Adam tackle two common retirement questions: how to reduce those dreaded required minimum distributions, and whether you should pay off your mortgage before retirement (spoiler: the math answer and the peace of mind answer might be different).
We cover:
Why you should review your Medicare plan every year
Original Medicare vs. Medicare Advantage: pros, cons, and who each works best for
The actual costs of Parts A, B, D, and Medigap plans
Tax diversification strategies to reduce future RMDs
Roth conversions and the retirement window of opportunity
Qualified charitable distributions as an RMD strategy
The mortgage payoff question: when the numbers say one thing but your gut says another
Why 2-3% mortgage rates change the math entirely
⏱️ Timestamps:
(00:34) Episode 19 and keeping track of topics
(01:52) Medicare open enrollment: why annual reviews matter
(02:58) Status quo bias and Medicare plan reviews
(04:27) Original Medicare: Parts A, B, D, and Medigap explained
(07:22) Medicare Advantage: lower premiums, more perks, less flexibility
(11:05) Who should consider each type of plan
(12:19) Healthcare costs in retirement
(13:27) RMDs: the required minimum distribution problem
(15:02) When RMDs exceed your peak earning years
(16:21) Tax diversification: planning ahead to reduce RMDs
(20:40) The retirement window for Roth conversions
(23:00) Qualified charitable distributions (QCDs)
(27:27) The mortgage payoff debate begins
(29:44) When debt feels divisive
(32:33) The math vs. peace of mind calculation
(35:05) Risk tolerance and generational perspectives on debt
(37:41) Maintaining flexibility even after payoff
(39:15) Don't over-optimize your life
(39:00) Podcast disclosures
Resources:
Follow Burney Wealth Management on LinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/burneywealthmanagement
Follow Adam Newman on Linkedin | www.linkedin.com/in/adam-newman-cfa-cfp%C2%AE-mst-ricp%C2%AE-cepa-48853916/
Follow Andy Pratt on LinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/in/andyjpratt/
Move Health: Medicare plan review partner | https://movehealth.io/
Ep. #16: The Psychology of Investing | burneywealth.com/blog/behavioral-biases-investing-psychology-episode-16
#Medicare #OpenEnrollment #RMDs #RetirementPlanning #MortgagePayoff #TaxPlanning
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