While you’re thinking about your new lifestyle, allow time to monitor your health. Exercise is important for maintaining good health, so consider how you’ll get the needed exercise. Perhaps, after you retire, you’ll have the time to join that gym you have been thinking about, or maybe you can begin those yoga classes you’ve been promising yourself.
Retirement also offers an opportunity to fine-tune your diet; you will no longer need to buy a hamburger for lunch at work, or drink that daily 20-ounce cup of coffee every morning. Without the demands of a busy work schedule, you may find it is easier to include the recommended daily allowance of fruits, vegetables, and grains in your diet.
Talk to your doctor about your family’s health history and the likelihood that you could develop a problem. After you retire, schedule regular preventive health visits, particularly for blood pressure and cholesterol level checks.
What about Medicare?
Medicare, the government-run health insurance program, kicks in when you turn 65. If you retire before you are 65, you will need to decide how to handle your health care expenses. You may have alternatives to enrolling in a new health insurance plan. For example, if your spouse is working and has an employer-sponsored plan, you may be able to enroll in that plan. Or, you may elect to continue purchasing your health insurance through your old employer. With healthcare costs continuing to increase, it will be important to have some type of coverage during your retirement years.
Before you retire, you will need to check on your Medicare eligibility. Medicare doesn’t happen automatically; you must enroll. If you don’t sign up for Medicare when you’re first eligible — at age 65 — you may have to pay a higher premium for a portion of your coverage. Check with your local Social Security office for information and a copy of the Medicare Handbook or visit www.medicare.gov.
As you approach age 65, you will have to decide whether you need supplemental insurance beyond the coverage offered in Part B, and you will have to decide what prescription drug coverage to choose under Part D. Choosing a supplemental health policy can be complicated. Do your homework, shop around and don’t allow yourself to be pressured into a quick decision. Most states have a counseling program on senior health insurance issues with trained volunteers available to help older adults and their families with questions. Insurance companies sell long-term care insurance to help pay for nursing home or home health care expenses.
