At the Stearns Retirement Group, our approach to Medicare is a crucial piece to coordinating the retirement landscape for our clients. You’ve earned your right to the benefits of Medicare after years of paying into the system, and you want to make sure that you understand how it works, what it covers and what it leaves out.

Many people are surprised to find out about the limits of Medicare coverage after they need care – and by then it’s too late. We specialize in educating you on how Medicare works and how to think about supplementing what’s left out. We have all the current pricing of potential policies in your area so that you can compare them all in one simple meeting. Then you can get back to enjoying life.

Like the original bill, the SECURE Act 2.0 further raises the starting age for taking Required Minimum Distributions, which are mandatory withdrawals the IRS makes you take from your retirement accounts starting at a certain age. For years that age was 70½. The first SECURE Act raised it to 72 — and starting in 2023 the age is now 73. That means if you turned 72 in 2022 or before you need to keep taking RMDs as usual. But if you turn 72 in 2023, you can choose to wait until next year before taking your first RMD. The RMD starting age will continue getting higher until it reaches 75 in 2033.

Raising the age is a recognition of the fact that people are living longer and often retiring later. It gives you more time to grow your nest egg tax free. That’s great news, but it doesn’t change the fact that having the right strategy to help satisfy your RMDs will continue to be one of the most important steps in your retirement plan!