About 4.1 million Americans will turn 65 this year in 2024 and in each following year through 2027, according to a report from the Alliance for Lifetime Income.
This year, on average, 11,000 people will celebrate the arrival of that age every day between now and December.
In other words, it is the largest wave of withdrawals in American history, a "silver tsunami," as some experts call it.
"Age 65 is a critical year. That's the year you become eligible for Medicare, so most people, when they turn 65, can enroll, unless they continue to work in a job with insurance doctor," said Barron's senior personal finance reporter Elizabeth O'Brien, quoted by CBS News.
The United States is facing an unprecedented wave of people reaching age 65 and facing retirement.
Specialists advise planning ahead.Getty Images
When asked if everyone over that age should join Medicare, O'Brien said it depends on each person's situation: "Medicare has two parts: Part A [hospital insurance] and Part B. Even if work, you should sign up for Part A because you don't pay premiums for it," he explained to the news network.
O'Brien expanded that "Part B is a different story. If you are still working, and if your business has 20 people or more, then that comes first. If you are working for a very small business, Medicare becomes [ [primary insurance]. Basically, you want to avoid late enrollment penalties if you miss your enrollment window which is right around your 65th birthday."
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According to CBS News, although there are penalties for enrolling late in Part A and B, those for the latter
are even more severe
.
For each full year that enrollment is delayed after age 65, an additional 10% will be added to your Medicare Part B premium.
Unlike Part A late enrollment penalties, which are temporary, those penalties for Part B are permanent.
The moment of withdrawal
One of the most important questions about reaching that age is the money you will have for retirement: "You have to think about what you are going to do with your 401(k). If you retire, are you going to transfer it to a savings account? individual retirement? Are you going to leave it where it is at your company?" O'Brien said.
The questions people should ask themselves range from big questions about finances to details like "if you quit your job, what are you going to do all day? It's good to think about it," she stressed, quoted by CBS News.
And he stressed: "If you like what you do, there is no reason to quit at age 65. There are economic and cognitive benefits in continuing to work, so I would say that you have to continue working," he indicated and commented that one option is retirement. partial: "Maybe you're ready to retire but you still want to do something."
His advice is that even for those who find retirement far away,
they should start saving as soon as possible
.
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"One of the biggest mistakes is not starting to save for retirement. And it's understandable. When you're young there's not a lot of extra money in your budget, you're paying off student loans, your rent is too high. But that's precisely when It's important to start, because you really get more for your money if you start young, because of compound interest," he told CBS News.
And there is another possibility on the horizon.
Chances are, by the time you reach retirement, Social Security will still exist, but the money it provides will likely be much less.
According to a recent analysis by personal finance website GOBankingRates.com, the cost of retiring with dignity can vary by up to $1.36 million depending on where you live in the United States.
To determine the amount of money needed to retire, GOBankingRates calculated annual spending on housing, food, utilities, transportation and health care in each state, for people age 65 and older, using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Center of Missouri Economic Information and Research.
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Those totals were multiplied by 25 or 30 years, excluding Social Security payments, since these supplement retirees' personal savings.
The study assumed that retirees will receive average annual Social Security payments of $21,566.76.
It is important to note that these projections do not include adjustments for inflation and that the annual cost of living in each state will likely increase over time.
However, retirees' savings are also likely to increase in value during that time.