Depending upon your income from 2 years prior, you may be subject to an Income Related Monthly Adjustment Amount (IRMAA), which will increase your premiums based on your income. This means as your income increases so do your premiums with Medicare Part B and Part D. For instance, if you sell a house and it pushes your income over the specified limit, your premiums will be higher.

Generally, if you are drawing Social Security payments, you will receive your Medicare card with Part A and B about 3 months in advance of the month you turn 65. If you are not drawing Social Security when you turn 65 and waiting until full retirement age to draw Social Security, you must apply for Medicare at 65.

Yes, you still need to pay Part B of Medicare and you must have Part B to get a Medicare Advantage or Medicare supplement plan.

You are assessed a late enrollment penalty if you do not enroll in Part B of Medicare when you turn 65 if you do not have creditable coverage. It is a 10% penalty added to your Medicare Part B premium for every year you’re not enrolled in Part B after 65, and the penalty stays with you as long as you have Part B.

This has become a frequent question with more and more people working longer. However, if you're still working and have what is considered creditable coverage, you may not need to sign up for Medicare when turning 65. To determine whether you have creditable coverage, it's advisable to speak to your HR or Personnel representative at your employer. As a rule, if an employer has 20 or more employees, it is normally considered that you have creditable coverage. Also, if your employer coverage is considered creditable, it’s still worth doing a plan comparison between Medicare and your current coverage.

This is based on the year you were born.
If you were born in 1956, then your full retirement age is 66 and 4 months.
If you were born in 1957, then your full retirement age is 66 and 6 months.
If you were born in 1958, then your full retirement age is 66 and 8 months.
If you were born in 1959, then your full retirement age is 66 and 10 months.
If you were born in 1960 and later, then your full retirement age is 67.

There is no need to delay taking Social Security past age 70 since your Social Security benefit will no longer grow past age 70.

Yes, you can. However, if you are younger than full retirement age and make more than the yearly earnings limit of $22,320 (2024), then Social Security will reduce your benefits. Once you reach full retirement age, Social Security will not reduce your benefits no matter how much you earn.

It depends. Obviously, avoiding major losses in retirement is a priority. However, it would also be nice to get enough growth on your investments in retirement to keep pace or outpace inflation, so you don’t run out of money. To start, understanding your risk tolerance can help point you in the right direction. Being well-diversified such as having cash on hand when needed for emergencies, having a portion of your money in large cap equities for growth and possibly putting a portion of your money in a safe instrument such as an annuity that provides a steady income stream for life may work depending on your situation. With that being said, everyone’s situation is unique and can change from year to year, which is why it’s beneficial to review your portfolio annually.

Depending on the vehicle you used to save for retirement, you could owe taxes on distributions in retirement. For instance, if you used a 401k or a traditional IRA, you will be taxed on distributions from these plans as ordinary income. Earnings on annuity investments are also taxed as ordinary income. You may also owe tax on Social Security income as well depending on your annual combined income. The general rule is the more you make, the more the government takes.
However, if you saved for your retirement with a Roth IRA, you can receive your distributions tax-free as long as you’ve had the account for at least five years and are at least 59 ½ years old. There are some other caveats to this but aren’t retirement specific. There are other investment vehicles such as municipal bonds (in your resident State) and cash value life insurance that can be used as a way to avoid tax on distributions. Depending on your specific investment vehicle, your retirement savings can be taxed as ordinary income, capital gains or not taxed at all.