Some Medicare beneficiaries may have an extra charge added to their premium, which is called the Income Related Monthly Adjustment Amount or IRMAA.

 On this episode, TheStreet's Retirement Daily Editor Bob Powell talks with Jae Oh, author of Maximize Your Medicare. 

During the conversation Jae noted that if you are enrolled in a Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug Plan (MAPD), then IRMAA will be added to the stated MAPD premium.

How to Plan for Medicare Surcharges

When Karl Pillemer, a Cornell University professor and author of 30 Lessons for Living, first began his interviews of the oldest Americans in 2003, he got the advice of hundreds of people who had lived through the Great Depression and World War II. 
Perhaps more striking, however, was that he interviewed around 60 people who lived through the Spanish Influenza. Recently, he went back and distilled their advice for living through a world-shaking crisis. 
“After all,” says Pillemer, “they are the only ones who went through something worse than we are today.”
So, what advice does that generation that survived one the most devastating events of the 20th century and lived to tell the tale have for younger people on how to live through times like now. Here’s their topline advice:
Take the long view.
Be generous.
Don’t worry, prepare.
Savor small daily pleasures.
And lastly, ask your elders your questions while you can and find comfort in their resilience.

Four tips for surviving the Coronavirus pandemic from Spanish Flu survivors

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was signed into law on March 27, 2020 and includes a provision that allows individuals to take a penalty-free coronavirus-related early distribution from their retirement accounts. 
What’s more, there’s a provision that temporarily waives required minimum distributions from qualified retirement accounts. 
In an interview, Denise Appleby, the CEO Appleby Retirement Consulting, discussed those and other provisions of the CARES Act that pertain to retirement account owners.

The CARES Act Makes It Easier to Take Distributions and Loans from Retirement Accounts

Prior to passage of the CARES Act, retirement plan participant loans were limited to $50,000 or one-half of the participant’s vested account balance. 

For a period commencing with the date of the passage of the Act, March 27, 2020, and lasting for 180 days thereafter, the CARES Act doubles the amount that a participant can borrow to the lesser of $100,000 or 100% of the participant’s vested account balance in the plan. 
For plan participants with outstanding loans at the time the CARES Act is passed, any payments due through December 31, 2020, can be deferred for one year.

Listen to Denise Appleby discuss this provision of the CARES Act in this Retirement Daily podcast.

The Society of Actuaries recently launched an online conversation about the impact of COVID-19 on retirement risks. To facilitate the conversation, the SOA utilized the listserv it maintains for its Committee on Post-Retirement Needs and Risks, and Aging and Retirement Strategic Research Program. 
And this week it published a brief - Impact of COVID-19 on Retirement Risks - that summarizes the thoughts and questions raised during the conversation about the potential impact of COVID-19 on retirement risks and planning. 
What did the brief reveal? What can you do right now with your personal finances?
According to Anna Rappaport, the co-author of the brief, there are several steps to take, and not take. Employees, for instance, should consult with their employee benefits department and take full advantage of any guidance and counsel there. Many firms offer financial wellness programs, employee assistance programs, and other trustworthy resources.
The coronavirus pandemic highlighted the fact that many Americans had virtually no emergency funds and were managing paycheck to paycheck. This crisis serves to remind us all of the importance of having money set aside for emergencies.  
According to the report, the importance of housing wealth in retirement portfolios will likely increase for many people. Some might consider refinancing their mortgage while others might consider a reverse mortgage.
There is, according to the report, significant concern about an overload of information—much of it contradictory—and general misinformation. And this, the report notes, can lead to decision-making paralysis and confusion. What’s more, fraud has also become a major concern, with many scammers taking advantage of the crisis.
Loss of income through job loss or reduction of hours may push people into claiming Social Security earlier. That, however, could be a mistake according to Rappaport, who notes that the monthly benefit difference between claiming at age 62 versus 70 is quite large. Read Early or Late Retirement.  
What’s more, the COVID-19 pandemic has raised questions and concerns about assisted living facilities, nursing homes, and the like. Now would be a good time to re-evaluate what sort of changes need to be implemented.
To be sure, the impact of COVID-19 on retirement risks promises to be evolving and riddled with uncertainty over the coming months and perhaps years. But that doesn’t mean you have to lose control of your retirement plan.

How to Stop COVID-19 from Wreaking Havoc on Your Retirement Plan

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