After deciding that transitioning to a nursing home or elder care facility is the right choice for you, you need to take a little time to plan how you want to select the appropriate facility. While matching the right type of facility to your needs is paramount, you’ll also want to make sure that you get to know the facilities closely enough so that you can make an informed decision. Here are a couple of tips to help you do that.

Tip 1: Make a list of questions.

Start your process by sitting down and writing a list of everything you want to know about each of the facilities. The list can contain questions about care, costs, and activities, but it should also include questions you might want to ask residents, such as how they view the quality of food and how friendly or attentive the staff is.

Tip 2: Schedule visits.

With your questions ready, you can then schedule individual visits with each facility. Visit all of the facilities you’ve identified and, once you have completed your formal visit, you might want to take the time to show up unexpectedly once or twice for an unannounced visit. These are typically acceptable, but you should try to visit around mealtimes so it is more convenient for both staff and residents.

Tip 3: Get first-hand information.

Always talk to residents and staff, but don’t make the mistake of talking to residents only in the presence of staff. You should try to speak candidly with residents without staff looking over your shoulder so you can be sure you receive candid answers.

The Law Office of Michael Robinson, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

The time may come when you decide it’s best to transition to a retirement home environment. But before you begin looking at individual homes, it’s a good idea to gain a basic understanding of the types of elder care facilities that are available. Each different type will offer specific amenities and services, and you will want to match your needs and desires with those offered by the appropriate type of facility.

Independent Living

These retirement homes give seniors the opportunity to live as independently as possible while still receiving some assistance from the facility staff. Independent living centers are often organized in a similar way to upscale college dormitories or village-like resorts, providing a wide range of social interactions and recreational options, as well as personal care assistants and even some medical assistance.

Assisted Living

For those who need a little more assistance than independent living centers can offer, assisted living centers may be the best choice. These facilities provide a higher level of personal and even medical care, while still providing seniors with reasonable independent living options.

Nursing Home

Of the three main types of retirement homes, nursing homes provide the most possible care. They have staffs that can provide 24-hour medical and personal assistance to those with the most serious medical conditions or personal limitations.

The Fourth Option

Of course, the fourth option is to remain at home and adapt your home environment to meet your needs. Although this is not always possible, it is something you should consider if your abilities allow for it.

The Law Office of Michael Robinson, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

As baby boomers continue to get older and reach retirement age at a rate of thousands every day, health industry experts are becoming increasingly concerned with the prospect of facing an aging population that has more and more health problems.  According to a recent study, baby boomers are far more likely to live longer than previous generations, while at the same time having chronic diseases that lower their quality of life significantly.

The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Internal Medicine, shows that baby boomers are much more likely to go into retirement age with chronic problems such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity. Even though baby boomers are less likely to smoke and are thus less likely to have a heart attack and emphysema, they are also more likely to have significant physical disabilities because of their unhealthy lifestyles.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that Americans already spend over $300 billion to treat diabetes and obesity alone.  As boomers age and more and more of them are diagnosed with these chronic conditions, those costs are expected balloon.

Yet experts also say that it isn’t too late to begin to address these problems. Boomers who are overweight, pre-diabetic, or who are already experiencing high blood pressure can do a lot for themselves simply by adjusting their diets and getting more regular exercise. Taking these steps now, as opposed to waiting for medical treatments later, can significantly improve the quality-of-life boomers experience in their sunset years.

The Law Office of Michael Robinson, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

The chances you’ll live in a nursing home at some point in your life rise considerably the older you get. According to the Census Bureau, only about 1% of people between 65 and 70 live in an extended care or nursing home facility, but by the time someone reaches 90, that percentage rises to more than 20%. The prospect of having to pay for such care is not a pleasant proposition, as nursing home costs can easily erode a senior’s assets.

The average cost of nursing home care can easily be $134,000 or more per year. Medicare will only pay for very limited initial extended care costs, and Medicaid will only pay if the person meets very strict income and asset criteria.  Also, unless a person has extended care insurance, most private health insurance plans will not cover any nursing home care costs.

For those concerned about nursing home costs eroding their assets and draining any savings, Medicaid planning is one possible option. Medicaid planning involves structuring your assets so that you meet Medicaid eligibility criteria. Because Medicaid allows for a five-year “look back” time period, it is best to begin your Medicaid planning efforts well before you think you will need nursing home care.

A good Medicaid plan will use a variety of tools to allow you to qualify for the program, including gifts, trusts, and other types of estate planning devices, though planning ahead is very important.

The Law Office of Michael Robinson, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

You Keep Yourself Happy

Work can be fulfilling. The chance to work with other people, help solve problems, build something, contribute to a goal, and organize other people, all offer a sense of purpose and fulfillment. Even when work is a chore, it’s also a way to feel like you’ve accomplished something and that you’re needed.  Also, if you stop working and suddenly find yourself out of sorts, you’ll probably make life a lot less happy for your family and loved ones.

You Keep Yourself Healthy

Though it may not feel like it, your job can be a good way to keep you healthy. If your job keeps you active, allows you to regularly interact with others, and keeps your mind challenged with new obstacles and ideas, there’s a good chance your job is helping you stay healthy. After that, all you have to do is make sure you eat well take care of yourself.

You Keep Yourself Busy

Though some retirees are able to easily transition into the post-work world, others find their free time to be unusually stressful. Not having a job to go to can be a difficult experience, especially when you’ve spent your life working and have developed a routine. To more easily deal with the increased amount of free time, you may want to consider volunteering or keeping a part-time job even if you don’t need the money.

The Law Office of Michael Robinson, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

Trap 1: The Reverse Pension Plan

Though they have faded in popularity over the past several years, reverse pension plans are a notorious scam and are always a bad idea. These plans come in a variety of forms, but typically try to convince you to pay a very small upfront fee, usually around $50, for a potential benefit of about $50,000 later on. If anyone comes to you offering a reverse pension plan and tells you how you can benefit from it, you should immediately walk away.

Trap 2: Carrying Credit Card Debt

This financial pitfall is so dangerous because it is so easy to fall into. When you are retired and no longer generating regular income, credit card debt that balloons out of control can quickly become a serious problem. To avoid getting killed on interest fees and credit card payments, you should always pay off the balance of each card you have at the end of the month. If you are unsure if you can pay off the balance, don’t use your cards at all. If you know you will carry a balance in advance, consider a card with a low or zero interest introductory rate, but always make sure you pay off the balance before that rate expires.

Trap 3: Long-Term Care Insurance

The chances that you will need long-term care of some kind are about one in two, while the chances that your house will be destroyed in a fire is about one in 1200. For this reason alone, long-term care insurance can be a great benefit and protect your assets from the associated bills required with long-term health care. However, if you don’t have a lot of assets, long-term care insurance may not be a good idea, and you should speak to a financial advisor to analyze your individual situation.

The Law Office of Michael Robinson, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

The estimated 10,000 baby boomers that will reach the age of 65 on each and every day between the years of 2011 and 2030 are making it more and more apparent that the traditional idea of what a retirement home should be is no longer adequate. Any baby boomer making an estate plan should consider several key topics and issues that you will want to account for if you are considering an assisted living community as part of your plan.

Issue 1. Lifestyle. For healthy and active baby boomers, the prospect of being confined to a retirement center all day is nothing short of nightmarish. Many new retirement centers have taken the active lifestyles that baby boomers have into consideration when designing facilities. These new facilities are much closer to resort style communities than retirement homes. They often feature modern designs, contemporary styling, access to hiking, water sports, fitness areas and other perks that fit an active lifestyle.

Issue 2. Location. If you spent your life living in your city home, you may not want to move to a retirement home in the country or in the suburbs. Many communities are being developed inside urban cores and bring with them access to all the amenities the city has to offer.

Issue 3 Pets. For many baby boomers, retiring without bringing their animal companions with them is out of the question. New facilities often offer dog walking areas, pet friendly facilities, increased access to veterinary care and other amenities that make it much easier to make a move with your pet.

The Law Office of Michael Robinson, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

There are a great many people who are reaching their sixties right around now due to the maturing of the baby boomer generation. The way that a majority of them will be financing their retirement years is going to be by using Social Security as the centerpiece of their income. To qualify for your full Social Security benefit you must reach full retirement age, which is 66 for people who were born between 1943 and 1954.

In addition to this age requirement, you must also have paid a sufficient amount into the program through your payroll taxes. But what if you have not done so, are you totally left out in the cold with absolutely no income during your elder years? The answer is that there is a bare bones safety net program called Supplemental Security Income or SSI that can provide a minimal source of income if you can qualify.

At the present time, the maximum amount that an individual can receive per month in Supplemental Security Income from the federal government is $674. For a couple, the maximum monthly benefit is $1,010. There are resource limits however; you cannot qualify for SSI if you have total assets that exceed $2,000 in value.

But, there is personal property that does not count toward this figure, such as your home, your car, your tools and other equipment used for maintaining your well being, and your wedding and engagement rings.

One of the things about qualifying for Supplemental Security Income that is important to a lot of seniors is that you automatically become eligible for Medicaid. Unlike Medicare, Medicaid will pay for the costs associated with a stay in a nursing home or assisted living facility, and these expenses are considerable to say the least. The average charge for a year in an assisted living facility in 2010 was just under $40,000, and a year in a nursing home averaged about $83,500.

If you would like to develop a comprehensive plan that addresses all of the eventualities of aging, simply get in touch with an experienced elder law attorney to arrange for a free consultation.

The Law Office of Michael Robinson, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

There are people who think that they can personally seize total control over matters that involve dynamic outside influences, but the fact is that this is simply not possible. Think back to the financial meltdown of 2008 and you can see how true the above statement is. Many people who had been carefully planning for retirement for years leading up to that time saw their “best laid plans” hit a snag. None of us has a crystal ball, but what you can do is keep a very close eye on all of the issues that could impact your retirement and plan intelligently from a fully informed perspective.

With this in mind, anyone who is planning for their retirement around now would do well to keep a close eye on all the talks about budget cuts coming out of Washington. You can’t really consider any significant decrease in federal spending without Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid entering the discussion because outlays for these programs comprise about a third of the budget. And that is the way that it was in 2010. Due to the fact that the baby boomer generation is reaching retirement age, there are 10,000 new applicants for Social Security every day, and this daily volume is expected to remain constant for the next 20 years.

There are those who analyze public sentiment from time to time and scratch their heads when they see how many people seem to advocate against their own interests. When it comes to Social Security and Medicare, if you are planning for your retirement while legislators are considering cuts, this is something that directly affects you. Much of the media coverage that you see surrounding the matter somehow fails to mention the fact that all these baby boomers who are now reaching retirement age paid into these programs for 30 or 40 years, or more. It is only natural that they would expect to receive significant benefits in return.

Will budget cuts impact Social Security? Only time will tell, but if such cuts would impact your retirement it would probably be a good idea to keep a close eye on the ongoing discussions taking place among the politicians on Capitol Hill.

The Law Office of Michael Robinson, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

In excess of 60% of Americans who are receiving Social Security say that they rely on it as their foundational source of retirement income. So if you are among the majority, your anticipated Social Security benefit is probably something that will play a role as you are planning for your retirement years. But even if you have been successful enough to be in a position where you do not really need your Social Security benefit to get by, you certainly paid into the system and it can only help to enhance your legacy and enable you to provide that much more for your loved ones after you pass away.

According to current parameters, if you were born between 1943 and 1954, you reach full retirement age on your 66th birthday. After this, full retirement age goes up by two months per year until the year 1960. Those born in 1960 and later reach full retirement age at 67. It should be noted that you do not have to wait until you reach full retirement age to claim a Social Security benefit. You can apply for Social Security when you’re as young as 62 and receive a reduced benefit; for those born between 1943 in 1954, that reduction would be 25% below the full benefit.

On the other side of the ledger, you can choose to work beyond your full retirement age in an effort to earn delayed retirement credits, which will increase your monthly benefit when you do apply. The amount of the increase would be 8% for each year that you worked past full retirement age up until the age of 70.

Working past your full retirement age can result in an increase in your benefit in another way as well. Your highest 35 earning years are used to calculate the amount of your benefit. So if you earn more during the years that you work past your full retirement age than you did earlier in your career these years could replace years during which you earned less and your benefit would rise as a result.

The Law Office of Michael Robinson, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.