The Declining Pool of Caregivers
Another article, this time in the Wall Street Journal caught my eye the other day. It’s about how this country is running out of family caregivers at a time when the need for those caregivers is increasing. Some of my recent posts have included statistics showing the continued trend
The Talk
I have written in past blog posts about how best to approach the topic of long term care with a parent or elderly loved one. There are no two situations that are exactly alike so there is no one best way to handle the delicate subject. It is especially
Buzz Aldrin’s Legal Fight
As the population ages so do our celebrities who face many of the same elder related legal issues as the rest of us. Buzz Aldrin is yet another example of this. His story caught my attention last month. Aldrin, a local guy, was born and raised in Montclair, New
What Medicaid Covers – Part 2
In last week’s post I was telling you about a call I received revealing a very common misconception about Medicaid. Julie will lose her alimony payments in 6 months, dropping her income from $5000 per month down to $1000 per month. She is 69 years old and
What Medicaid Covers – Part 1
The call we received last week raised a common misunderstanding about Medicaid. Julie called regarding getting Medicaid benefits. Julie is 69 and in relatively good health for her age. She is selling her home and will be moving to a rental unit in a senior housing complex.
Julie expects to sell her home and net $200,000 after paying off a $250,000 balance on her mortgage. She has another $200,000 of savings. Julie also has a long term care insurance policy that pays as much as $300 a day for long term care in a nursing home, assisted living facility or care at home for 3 years. She also has income of $1000 per month from Social Security and she receives $4000 per month of alimony from her ex-husband.
So why is Julie asking about Medicaid? It appears that $5000 of income per month is enough to support her lifestyle. Julie is concerned because her alimony payments will terminate in 6 months and she is looking to replace the $4000 of alimony income that she will lose. With only $1000 a month of income, Julie will need to dip into her savings to meet her monthly expenses. Julie figured that Medicaid could help plug that gap.
Counting on Inheritance to Pay for Retirement
A recent study of affluent children between the ages of 18 and 22 caught my eye. The study reported that 63% of 1000 people surveyed in this age group said they believe their financial security in retirement will depend in part on inherited money. Granted,
Update on Social Security and Medicare
The federal government has issued annual updates on the financial soundness of Social Security and Medicare, stating that each government benefit program will run out of money within the next 8 to 16 years or so. Here’s the latest news. For the first time since
A Family Story of a Different Sort
Most of the stories I write about involve parents helping out their adult children and how that might affect their own finances, especially when they need long term care. As a result of divorce, losing a job, having special needs that restricts or prevents the ability to earn a
Social Security and Student Loans – Part 2
Last week I wrote about Social Security recipients who are delinquent on their student loans, an increasing problem as the population continues to age. For disabled and retired student loan borrowers, if they fall behind on student loan payments Social Security can garnish their checks – hold
Social Security and Student Loans
The rising cost of higher education continues to be a problem. As annual college tuition increases outpace the rate of inflation so does the amount of money borrowed by attendees. Much has been written about the mountain of debt faced by college graduates who once out in