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I'm Mary johnson the social security and medicare policy analyst for the senior citizens league and I'm here to tell you the best ways to save in retirement. One of the best ways you can save is on your prescription drugs. If I were to tell you that you're spending 300 - 1000 more than you should be you may be a little surprised but that's exactly what happens if you have joined a drug plan and you don't compare the cost of the plan from year to year. The place to do this is to visit the medicare website. They have a tool called the drug plan finder that will print out choices that you have in your area based on the prescriptions that you take. You can find the lowest cost plan in your area. It often takes a skilled benefits counselor to help you make the right choice. Your local area agency on aging has a program that can provided free one on one counseling to help you choose the best drug plan. Check your phone book to get the number of the agency closest to you. One of the best ways you can save is to grow your own food. I save over 1000 a year by growing mine. I have salad, lettuce, broccoli, beets, spinach, and when it gets warmer I'll start planting corn, tomatoes, beans. If you live in the city you can still grow your own foods on warm sunny balconies in containers or look for community supported agricultural programs in your cities. Many of those programs have plots that seniors can use to grow their own vegetable gardens. Another way to save is on your electrical costs. That's important because electricity has gone up 50 percent since 2000. Replace your light bulbs with energy saver type that you can find at any discounter, even grocery stores. Another wat to save is to set your thermostat back to 68 in the winter and 78 or 80 in the summer. By doing that you can shave off a significant chunk on your electrical bill over the years. Another way to save is to check your supplemental medicare plan. Recently under health care reform congress cut the funding to medicare advantage plans one type of supplement. those changes will be phased in over the next 10 years, but many analysts, including myself believe that plans will be raising premiums and cutting supplemental benefits life vision and dental care that are not normally covered under Medicare. What you should be doing is checking your mail for changes from your insurer, and call the Elder Care Locator to find the agency closest to you where you can information about your medicare supplement and plans near you. My final best ways to save I'm joined by my dog, Mindy. Delay retirement. Doing so allows you to draw a higher social security benefit than you would if you took it at age 62 or even at full retirement age. In addition, By working longer you can add to your benefit account, and you can sometimes get health insurance through your employer helping you to cut your health care costs. Thank you for joining me today. and to learn more best ways to save visit www.SeniorsLeague.org