Medicare coverage choices and income-related premium adjustments aren't the same thing. Understanding the difference can help you review your coverage, premiums, and retirement finances with greater clarity.

Year-end can be a practical time to check whether your beneficiaries, accounts, estate-planning documents, and financial records still reflect the plan you intended.

Your estate-planning documents may reflect exactly what you want. But do the beneficiary information and records held by your financial institutions support the same plan?