As a journalist covering retirement, I have written dozens of stories over the years about the ins and outs of Medicare enrollment. But when the time came recently for yours truly to sign up I discovered there was still plenty left to learn. And let me just say this: the whole thing was quite a project.
As a freelancer with no employer-provided health insurance, I have been fortunate to have coverage through my wife’s employer. But I became Medicare-eligible two years ago, and I have been looking forward to making the switch, because Medicare consistently receives high marks from enrollees for its breadth of coverage and reasonable cost. I decided that 2022 would be my year.
The enrollment process generally went smoothly, but it served as a disquieting reminder of the complexity of most of our retirement systems, which call for a level of knowledge and navigational skill beyond what is reasonable to expect from the average person.
Learn more in my column for Reuters.