Most people sign up for Medicare HMOs rather than PPOs, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Health maintenance
organizations, or HMOs, usually get higher ratings than preferred provider organizations, or PPOs, but you can only use your in-network doctor. Conversely, PPOs may cover some of the medical costs outside a network.
A third option — private fee-for-service, or PFFS, plans — should be avoided, says Blair. Costs can run higher than original Medicare plans, and doctors may be harder to find because you’re not part of a network.
Within these categories, plans vary widely. Some may cover vision or dental, others enhanced drug coverage. The key is looking at total annual plan costs, copays and deductibles, says Blair.
Armed with this information, here are six questions to research before choosing a plan.
If you notice warning signs at your company that clearly say, “Somebody’s going to be leaving here on short notice,” don’t wait until you’re handed a pink slip to start thinking about your next career move.
Here are nine tips that can help make a layoff less traumatic, and put you on track to quickly land a new job.
Assess Your Next Move
It can be unnerving to show up for work every day knowing that a layoff is looming. Help relieve some of that tension by taking stock of your professional situation. Ask yourself:
1) If you had to change jobs quickly, would you pursue the same type of assignment you have now?
2) Where would you focus your job search and how would brand yourself for the next project?
3) What have you learned on your current job that could be beneficial in your next venture?
4) Would you consider independent consulting — perhaps even for your soon-to-be former employer?
Revive Your Resume
An effective resume nowadays draws a smooth line between your background (highlighting your entire career, not just your current role) and the positions you’re targeting in your job search. If a layoff is, indeed, in the works at your company, you’ll want to rewrite your resume to focus on the relevance of your previous jobs in relation to the positions you’re pursuing now.
Spot platinum headed for a seventh consecutive session of gains on Wednesday, after buying interest was triggered last week when its value relative to gold dipped to a discount for the first time since the 2008 financial crisis.
The spread between spot platinum and gold prices hit a discount of $31 (U.S.) an ounce last week, its lowest in nearly 26 years, as economic concerns boosted the safe-haven appeal of gold but weighed on industrial metal platinum.
It quickly returned to a premium of $32, still well below an average of $205.80 since 1985, but the dark clouds over the global economy may still dim platinum’s longer-term outlook.
If you’re tempted to sit out this wild ride in the stock market, you’re not alone. A recent MFS Investment Management survey showed investors allocated 26 percent of their portfolio to cash, on average—not through money market funds or certificates of deposit, but savings accounts.
“Across the age cohort, people have decided that they want to have greater access to their money, and it’s got to be ATM access,” says William Finnegan, senior managing director of U.S. retail marketing for Boston-based MFS. “They want it in the bank.”
The survey also found that Generation Y investors (those 18 to 30 years old) allocate even more to cash—30 percent, on average.
“I think it’s probably driven by fear, and it’s driven by prior experience,” Finnegan says. “When you look at the past decade [when] a lot of these folks came of age in investing—bubbles and bursts, that was their experience.” Finnegan blames what many refer to as the “lost decade” for stocks—2000 through 2009—during which the Standard & Poor’s 500 index finished in the red.
Gold has climbed by a phenomenal $339 an ounce since the start of July, proving its worth as a safe-haven investment, but the yellow metal isn’t the only commodity that can offer a refuge for investors.
“After all, no matter what happens to paper markets, physical commodities will still be in demand,” said Jason Schenker, president and chief economist at Prestige Economics LLC.
Gold prices are up 28% year to date. Other commodities have seen impressive gains as well, despite the bloodbath in the U.S. equities markets and often grim news on the global economy.
Year to date, silver’s up 31%, corn has added 13%, coffee’s up 10%. Heating oil’s added 13% and gasoline’s up 18%.
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