Proper Planning Helps Mitigate Retiree Health Care Costs, Says Virginia Beach Long-Term Care Planning Attorney

Hook Law Center (formerly Oast & Hook)

Virginia Beach, VA (Law Firm Newswire) February 18, 2016 – Although retirees’ health-care expenses are often high, there are options to handle their potential medical expenses.

In a study conducted by Fidelity Investments, it was revealed that in 2014, a couple aged 65 would have required $220,000 to pay for health-care costs in their retirement years, excluding skilled nursing care. According to the American Council of Life Insurers, the average annual cost of care in a nursing home is approximately $81,000, with 2.6 years as the average time spent in a home by an elderly female patient, and 2.3 years for a male.

Some experts believe that health care costs for retirees are not as alarming as they might initially seem. In contrast to long-term care insurance, the expenses associated with medical insurance during retirement are made up of three principal parts. They are premiums for Medicare Part B, Medicare supplement premiums, or if not bought, Medicare co-pays, and premiums and co-pays for Medicare Part D, which covers prescription drugs.

“Health care costs during retirement and pre-retirement years can be expensive, but if clients plan early, they can avoid considerable costs, and will be more likely to increase their savings, thus preserving assets for their families,” said Andrew H. Hook, a prominent Virginia long-term care planning attorney with Hook Law Center with offices in Virginia Beach and northern Suffolk.

However, paying for health care in the retirement years prior to the time at which Medicare applies to an individual can be complicated. In addition to the financial aspect of health care costs, retirees are encouraged to consider wellness initiatives, and to try to obtain access to such programs, which can be available at local YMCAs, churches and clinics. A more expensive option is long-term care insurance. Another possibility is to become part of a continuing-care retirement community, some of which are affiliated with universities, which contain different types of care on campus.

In response to the increasing cost of long-term care insurance, there are some new products that are intended to help alleviate the financial burden associated with such insurance. Among them are a combination of life insurance and long-term care insurance, deferred-income annuities, which are tax-deferred, and Medicaid-compliant annuities.

A combination life insurance/long-term care policy requires clients to make one lump sum payment, usually between $50,000 and $200,000, depending on their age and health. Funds in an amount that is four or five times greater than the payment are accessible right away to cover the cost of long-term needs. Using deferred-income annuities, clients can defer their income until they reach age 70, at which point they begin to receive distributions from their individual retirement accounts (IRAs). And Medicaid-compliant annuities require the state to be a beneficiary, and the client to work with an elder care attorney.

Learn more at http://www.hooklawcenter.com/

Hook Law Center
295 Bendix Road, Suite 170
Virginia Beach, Virginia 23452-1294
Phone: 757-399-7506
Fax: 757-397-1267

SUFFOLK
5806 Harbour View Blvd.
Suite 203
Suffolk VA 23435
Phone: 757-399-7506
Fax: 757-397-1267
http://www.hooklawcenter.com/

• How to deal with an early retirement that was not planned
  Although most people plan to work until they reach their full retirement age of 66, or 67 if you were born after 1942, some workers find themselves without work at an age when it is challenging to find another job, and at a time when they anticipated earning their maximum salary. Others are compelled to […]
• Understanding the stages of Alzheimer’s
  Reportedly, over five million Americans are afflicted with Alzheimer’s. The Alzheimer’s Association has created a checklist of the usual symptoms to help you identify the warning signs. Among these are changes in memory that interfere with daily life, difficulty planning and resolving problems, becoming disoriented regarding time and place and having issues with words when […]
• Transportation is an often overlooked but crucial aspect of retirement planning
  When people engage in retirement planning, they often fail to think about transportation. They do not consider that a time may come when they will no longer be able to drive themselves, and will have to rely on others to go to doctors’ appointments and run errands. Including transportation in your retirement plan is essential. […]
• How caregivers can deal with behavioral changes of loved ones with dementia
  There is ample research to suggest that family caregivers are more distressed by behavioral problems and changes in the personality of their loved ones than by their physical disabilities. For instance, while it may prove challenging for family members to physically pick up the body of a loved one who has suffered a stroke and […]
• Financial elder abuse may be fastest growing type of crime in U.S.
  Financial elder abuse has been described as the fastest growing type of crime in the U.S. To avoid having this happen with your senior loved one, it is important to be aware of the dangers. A study conducted by the Journal of General Internal Medicine revealed that 60 percent of the Adult Protective Services (APS) […]