variPhase Blog

With the start of a new year comes a restart in health insurance deductibles and co-pays whether you have Medicare, employer health insurance or purchase your own coverage.  As part of your financial plan and budget, the beginning of the year is a good time to review your health care plan...

Missing a deadline to change your health insurance plan can be costly.  So if you buy your own Medicare insurance plan or under-65 health insurance plan through the healthcare marketplace, make sure you act before the open enrollment period ends.  Missing a deadline might mean missing out on better coverage or...

  One retirement cost that people tend to underestimate is the cost of health care.  The costs are usually higher than expected; they are unpredictable; and, ironically – the longer you live the more your total spending on health care will be.  Failing to adequately include health care costs in your...

  If you are receiving Social Security payments you will see a very small increase in 2017 –just .03% which for the average recipient amounts to about $5.00 per month.  But it is better than last year when there was no Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for people receiving Social Security...

  Confused about the pros and cons of taking Social Security benefits at different ages?  You are not alone.  A new study from the General Accounting Office (GAO) found few people understand how much their benefit will be or the financial impact of taking benefits before full retirement age. And the...