When you pay self-employment or payroll taxes, you are earning retirement credits that lead to eligibility for Social Security and Medicare. In 2020, you get one credit for every $1410 that you earn, and the maximum accrual is four credits per year. In past years, this amount was lower because there are annual adjustments to account for inflation. However, the amounts have been relative to the modest figure that we see this year. Once you have at least 40 credits in the bank as it were, you … [Read more...] about When Will I Get Social Security Payments?
Elder Law
Will You Be Caring for Your Aging Parents?
Many families experience role reversals at some point in time. When you reach your middle-aged years, you may find yourself providing more and more assistance for your aging parents. This is simply the way of things, but eventually, the level of care that is needed may be beyond your capabilities. We are going to provide some insight here to help you understand some very important facts about long-term care and the costs that go along with it. Government Statistics The United States … [Read more...] about Will You Be Caring for Your Aging Parents?
Can Medicaid Seize Assets in a Special Needs Trust?
There are pointed strategies that can be implemented to provide for each person on your inheritance list in the ideal manner. This is well demonstrated when you look at inheritance planning for people with disabilities. Need-Based Government Benefits Clearly, people with these challenges are going to require expensive medical care throughout their lives. Since many of these folks are not in a position to hold jobs, they cannot get health insurance through employers. Fortunately, Medicaid … [Read more...] about Can Medicaid Seize Assets in a Special Needs Trust?
Medicaid Spouse Allowances Can Provide Relief
It is natural to feel a certain sense of security when you know that you will qualify for Medicare as a source of health insurance when you are 65. There are out-of-pocket expenses that you have to pay yourself, but if you retire with some resources and income, you should be able to manage them. This being stated, there is one complete void in the coverage that is not easy to overcome on your own. Medicare will not pay for a stay in a nursing home, and it does not cover in-home care. About … [Read more...] about Medicaid Spouse Allowances Can Provide Relief
Be Aware of Medicare Gaps
As elder law attorneys, we are tightly focused on matters that are of interest to senior citizens. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 10.6 percent of people in Rochester were 65 years of age and older in 2019. This is a very significant portion of the population, and these folks have concerns about the eventualities that they may face as time goes on. There are a number of different elder law issues that are a source of concern at the present time, including physical and emotional elder … [Read more...] about Be Aware of Medicare Gaps
Medicaid Waiver Can Preserve Resources
The most pressing elder law concern at the present time is the matter of long-term care and the costs that go along with it. Many people assume that Medicare would pay for living assistance, but in fact, this program does not pay for custodial in-home care or a stay in a nursing home or assisted living facility. Long-Term Care Costs About 70 percent of elders will eventually need help with their activities of daily living, so this is a situation that you should take quite seriously. Genworth … [Read more...] about Medicaid Waiver Can Preserve Resources
Medicaid Planning and the Five-Year Look Back
You are probably aware of the fact that Medicaid is a government health insurance program for people with very limited financial resources. If you know you are going to qualify for Medicare when you reach the age of 65, you may wonder why Medicaid would ever be relevant to you. Many people would say that it is not fair, but Medicare does not pay for a stay in a nursing home or assisted living facility. It won’t pay for in-home custodial care either, and this is a problem, because the vast … [Read more...] about Medicaid Planning and the Five-Year Look Back
Can Medicaid Seize My Estate?
Until you understand some facts about long-term care, you may assume that Medicaid will never be relevant to you because you will qualify for Medicare. Plus, since Medicaid is a need-based program, you wouldn’t qualify anyway, because you are going to retire with some resources. This make sense on the surface, but the reason why Medicaid is relevant is because Medicare does not pay for custodial care. This is the type of assistance that you would receive in a nursing home, and some people … [Read more...] about Can Medicaid Seize My Estate?
Two Elder Law Issues Take Front and Center
As an elder law firm, we focus on matters that are of particular interest to senior citizens and their families. This is an area of specialization that has become more and more important, because the population is aging rapidly. There is a statistic that really puts this phenomenon into perspective. The Social Security Administration has been accepting over 10,000 applications daily for a number of years, and this volume is expected to persist into the foreseeable future. Why is there such a … [Read more...] about Two Elder Law Issues Take Front and Center
Alzheimer’s Can Have a Financial Impact
If you are planning ahead for your retirement years and the twilight years that will follow, it may be hard to imagine a time when you will need living assistance. This is understandable, but when you look at lifespans, if you are fortunate enough to live until you are 67, your life expectancy is at least 85 years. At that age, things can be considerably different than they were when you first started to receive Social Security benefits. In fact, the United States Census Bureau has done … [Read more...] about Alzheimer’s Can Have a Financial Impact
