So what should you do if you find yourself suddenly without a job or health insurance?

The COBRA Way

The Consolidation Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985, otherwise known as COBRA, requires that most employers provide continued coverage through their own group-sponsored plan for a term of up to 18 to 36 months. With COBRA, you will essentially keep the same type of coverage but will be responsible for paying the premium in full for the entire policy and any administrative costs that are incurred. Once your COBRA coverage has expired, you have a right to continuous coverage through an individual policy that does not pre-exempt you if there are preexisting medical conditions.

Inquire About Spouse Coverage

If your spouse has insurance coverage through their employer, you can check in with the benefits administrator and find out what type of coverage and rates are available for family members. If there is no outlet for reasonable insurance coverage with your spouse’s employer, you might find group health coverage plans if they belong to an association or organization that sponsors such programs.

Explore Different Policies

If the above-mentioned ways are not relevant to your situation, you can certainly take on the task of finding the best medical coverage for you, at a price you can afford. With the internet search capability we now have, it may be much easier to review and compare different plans and prices.

Check With Government Agencies

If you are in need of medical coverage but still have not found a new job, check with your local or state agencies about discounted medical care or programs requirements to enroll in government-sponsored health coverage.

Retirement Before Medicare?

If you are considering early retirement, it would be wise to cover all of your financial bases and that includes your medical insurance. If you retire before you reach 65, you are not eligible to receive Medicare benefits. Make sure you check with coverage, pricing, and insurance information before you retire.

Health Insurance To-Do’s When You Lose Your Job was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

For retirees who have dreamed of the day they can quit their day job, their dreams may be quickly being replaced by fears. They are worried their once secure retirement fund will not last long enough to meet their needs and many of those retirees worry they will not survive. Some have had to cancel their dream vacations or their plans to travel during their golden years. Because of the tight finances, many retirees will find they are becoming depressed by not being able to do what they want as they once imagined. They may also become bored with the same four walls they sit between day after day.

There is a solution that may help solve both the financial and the boredom aspects of the retired folk. Many retirees or those who are soon anticipating retirement may find that by turning their hobbies into a part time or side job can have its advantages.

First, a hobby can help keep the mind active and give people a reason to get up every day, looking forward to something great. A hobby can get people motivated and excited. Many people who have worked their whole lives will not be able to function once there is nothing to do. By keeping active and having a purpose in life, the health of a retiree can be improved and depression can be kept at bay.

Second, a hobby can keep people social. If a quilter networks with other local sewers, whole new relationships can be started, preventing loneliness. Networking with people can be a wonderful way to make new friends as well as create opportunities for additional income.

Third, a hobby can help supplement any retirement income already being received. For example, those who are handy at crafts can make a decent living from selling their wares. Nearly any hobby can be made into a profitable business with a little work and effort. Researching information online or at the library gets one out of the house and motivated to set goals to achieve during retirement.

Fourth, a hobby can help people overcome the fears of life changes as drastic as retirement. Working on something you have a passion for can make you stay positive and not focus so much on getting older and perhaps not being able to live life as you once did.

New Plan for Retirement – Turn Your Hobby Into Cash was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

Unfortunately, there are not many people who are lucky enough to be retiring from an employer that offers health coverage during the retirement years. Financial planners work with people to determine how much money they’ll need to replace their income during their retirement years – but very few focus on how much money you’ll need to save for your aging medical needs. With drug prices rising annually, and with some of the more commonly prescribed drugs for the older population costing a steep $1,500 per year – it’s easy to see that your medical needs should be taken into consideration in determining your retirement money needs.

Here are 5 ways to reduce your prescription drug costs during retirement:

1.  Buy Generic. You can save up to 80% off the brand name drug prices when you buy the generic version. When a doctor prescribes a medication, always ask whether there is a generic available and request that he or she write your prescription for that one, instead. Often, doctors remember the constant sales pitches they receive from the name brand companies and simply forget there are generics available – so don’t be afraid to ask.

2.  Comparison Shop. As with any other purchases you make, you can often save money simply by comparing the prices at several retailers before making your purchase. Try checking prices at Costco and/or Wal-mart for prescription drugs- they are almost always less expensive than nonchain pharmacies. Some neighborhoods offer a discount pharmacy that offers lower priced medication and caters to people without health insurance. If your own neighborhood does not offer such a service – check for mail-order discount pharmacies.

3.  Split Pills. Higher dosages of many medications cost the same as buying a smaller dosage. Whenever possible, ask the doctor to prescribe a higher dosage strength than you need, and then you can cut the pills in half to get the strength you actually are prescribed. There are pill splitters available for sale at most drug stores that ensure you split the pill evenly and get the prescribed dosage. You’ll get twice as many dosages for the same price.

4.  Shop Online. Drugstore.com is a well known bargain provider of prescription drugs. Just be sure that wherever you buy from has got a solid reputation and that the drugs are reviewed by physicians.

5.  Discount Programs. There are a number of discount prescription health plans that you can pay a membership fee to receive discounts on medication. Medco Health Solutions is one fo the most well-known and respected discounted programs. Visit www.medcorxdiscountprogram.com to get details and see whether or not you can save on your prescription drugs with this discount program.

5 Ways to Cut Down Your Prescription Drug Costs During Retirement was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

Other favorite posts this week for me included:

1. Debt Freedom Fighter’s great ideas for spending your tax refund.
2. Digerati Life gives us tips for changing jobs based on her recent experience.
3. Get Financially Fit tells us the easiest way to start a Roth IRA.
4. This girl plans to retire at age 35.  What do you think?
5. Daily Money Tips helps you prepare for a recession.

You can read the entire Personal Finance Carnival, hosted on BeingFrugal.net here: http://beingfrugal.net/2008/03/17/personal-finance-carnival-144/

Carnival of Personal Finance is Available was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

One million dollars seems like it’ll be a lot of money to retire on, but a million dollars simply does not buy what it used to, and when it comes time for you to retire a few decades down the road, it’ll be worth even less. This money has to last you for the rest of your life, which could easily be 25 years after you say goodbye to work for the last time. The typical life expentency for someone in the United States is around 70 to 75 years, but that statistic factors in individuals who died when they were very young. If you make it to 65, you have a very high likelihood of making it to age 85 or 90.

When it comes to planning for retirement, you have to expect that you’re going to live quite a while after you retire, potentially 25 years. You don’t want to underplan and then find yourself being 85, have no means to provide yourself an income and be flat-broke. For someone in their thirties and forties in the middle of their working lives, one million dollars simply will not be enough to retire on.

Let’s look at some numbers. The median family income in the United States is approximately $40,000 a year and most financial planners recommend that you only spend 4% of your nest-egg each year, so with the value of today’s dollar, you would need exactly $1,000,000 to retire on. Unfortunately, you’re not retiring today, so you’re going to need a lot more than that. If you’re 35 right now and plan on retiring in 30 years, you’ll need a lot more like $3.25 million to retire on to live the same type of lifestyle someone retiring with $1,000,000 would today.

This assumes that your living expenses don’t increase as you age. Most people think that their living expenses will decrease as they retire, but sometimes medical issues and additional lesiure activities such as vacations actually cause seniors to spend more than they when they were in their working lives, so potentially you could need even more than just the 25 times your income that most financial planners recommend.

The moral of the story is that you have to be very serious about planning for retirement. To live well in your golden years is not an inexpensive proposition. You need to be intentional about saving and investing so that you have plenty of money to retire on when the time comes.

Why Some Millionaires Don’t Even Have Enough For Retirement was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

Federal Law permits anyone making under $114,000 (or $166,000 a year if you’re married) a year to invest a certain amount of money into a special type of investment account known as a Roth IRA. You will never have to pay a dime in capital gains or dividend taxes on the money you put inside of your Roth IRA, meaning that it will be able to grow much faster than if you were to put it into a taxable account. For 2007, you will be able to invest up to $4,000 into your Roth IRA and in 2008 you’ll be able to invest up to $5,000. After that the amount you can invest will increase in $500 increments every year.

Most financial advisor will recommend that you put at least 15% of your income away for retirement, and if you make more than $26,500 a year, you’re going to want to put in more money than your Roth IRA will allow. At this point, the number of tax beneficial options you have really start to dwindle, but there are still some things you can do.

If you have any sort of small business or self employed plans, you can invest inside a Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) plan or a Solo 401(k). You can deposit up to 20% of your business’s revenues or a maximum of $45,000 a year into a SEP plan. With a solo 401(k) plan, you’ll be able to deposit $15,500. It’s probably worth while to sit down with a fee-only financial planner to help you get started with either of these two options.

If you don’t have any self employment income and have already maxed out your Roth IRA, you can start looking at what are called tax-managed mutual funds. They’re essentially mutual funds which invest into bonds and the stock market and are designed to minimize the amount of taxes you have to pay. You’ll essentially pay zero tax until you decide to sell your investments then will have to pay the 15% capital gains tax on the amount of money that your investment earns for you. It’s not a great a deal as putting your money inside a retirement plan, but it’s better than paying taxes every year on your investments.

Just because you don’t have a 401(k) plan at work doesn’t mean that you can’t prepare for retirement, there are plenty of options to help you put money away on a tax-advantageous basis.

How to Plan for Retirement If You Don’t Get a 401(k) or a 403(b) at Work. was created by and is property of American Consumer News.