Medicare & Healthcare Benefits Specialist
Derek Santos is a Certified Financial Planner with the Certified in Long-Term Care (CLTC) designation and 13 years focused exclusively on healthcare benefits planning for retirees. He served as a benefits counselor with the State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) for four years before joining Fidelity Investments' retirement guidance team. Derek decodes Medicare Part A, B, C, and D, Medigap policies, and long-term care insurance in plain English for retirees approaching 65.
His four years counseling seniors through SHIP put him face-to-face with the plan-selection mistakes that cost retirees the most: picking a Medicare Advantage plan without checking the provider network, missing the initial enrollment window and triggering a permanent Part B penalty, or underestimating IRMAA surcharges tied to prior-year income. Those recurring cases shaped how he now explains Medicare timing and enrollment deadlines at MONEYlume.
At Fidelity, Derek built retirement-income plans that coordinated Social Security claiming age, Medicare premiums, and long-term care coverage as a single decision rather than three separate ones — since IRMAA brackets and Medicaid look-back rules can quietly undercut a retirement plan that looks sound on paper. He now writes to help readers spot those interactions before they become expensive surprises.
View LinkedIn ProfileB.S. Health Administration, George Washington University; CFP Certificant; CLTC Designation (Corporation for Long-Term Care Certification)