Page 18 THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, July 2, 2021 a y avvy Seniorioreniioor a vy avvy vavvy Dear Retiring, If you’re interested in relocating when you retire, like millions of other baby boomers, there are a wide variety of books and online resources that can help you find and research a new location that meet your wants, needs and budget. Here are several to help you get started. Where to Retire? If you’re at the beginning of your search, a good starting point is to take the “Find Your Best Place” retirement quiz at Sperling’s Best Places (BestPlaces.net/fybp). This free quiz asks 10-questions on your preferences such as climate, recreation, community size and more, and suggests possible destinations that match your answers. MarketWatch also has a new matchmaking tool called, “Where’s the best place for me to retire?” at MarketWatch.com/graphics/best-place-to-retire/. Media resources like U.S. News & World Report, Kiplinger’s, Forbes and Money Magazine also publish “best places to retire” lists on their websites each year. And be sure you check out Milken’s “Best Cities for Successful Aging” (SuccessfulAging. MilkenInstitute.org), which ranks 381 U.S. metropolitan areas based on factors that are important to older adults. You should also consider getting a copy of “America’s 100 Best Places to Retire” (the sixth edition book; $25 at Amazon. com) that looks at a range of destinations, and groups some in categories like best college towns, mountain towns, undiscovered towns and main street towns. Once you find a few areas that interest you, your next step is research them. Here are some important areas you need to investigate. Cost of Living: Can you afford to live comfortably in the location where you want to retire? Numbeo.com and BestPlaces.net offers tools to compare the cost of living from your current location to where you would like to move. They compare housing costs, food, utilities, transportation and more. Taxes: Some states are more tax friendly than others. If you’re planning to move to another state, Kiplinger’s has a tax guide for retirees at Kiplinger.com/links/retireetaxmap that lets you find and compare taxes state-by-state. It covers income taxes, sales tax, taxes on retirement income; Social Security benefits taxes, property taxes, and inheritance and estate taxes. Crime Rate: To evaluate how safe a community or area is, websites like AreaVibes.com provide crime data for certain localities. Climate: To research the climate in the areas you’re interested in moving, Sperling’s Best Places is again a great resource that offers a climate/weather compare tool BestPlaces.net/climate. Healthcare: Does the area you want to relocate have easy access to good healthcare? To locate and research doctors and hospitals in a new area, use Medicare’s compare tool at Medicare.gov/care-compare. Also see Healthgrades.com, which provides detailed information on U.S. hospitals and doctors. Transportation: If you plan to travel much, or expect frequent visits from your kids or grandkids, convenient access to an airport or train station is a nice advantage. You should also investigate alternative transportation options, since most retirees give up driving in their eighties. To do this visit RidesInSight.org, a free website that provides information about senior transportation options in local communities throughout the U.S. Once you have narrowed your choices down to two or three, spend a couple weeks in each location at different times of the year so you can get a feel for the seasonal weather changes, and so you can carefully weigh the pros and cons of living there. You may find that you like the area more as a vacation spot than as a year-round residence. It’s also a good idea to rent for a year before buying a home or making a commitment to a retirement community. . Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book. ~ Home of the Week ~ SAUGUS...Perfectly located, one-owner Split Entry Ranch featuring 8 rooms, 3 bedrooms, 1 1/2 baths, fireplace living room open to formal dining room, spacious eat-in kitchen with French door leading to sunroom, hardwood flooring, finished lower level offers front-to-back fireplace family room, office, laundry room and half bath. Updated gas heat (2013), central air, one car garage under, large lot, desirable cul-de-sac location, within walking distance to the new Middle/High School, close to shopping and all major routes. Great opportunity to make this one your own! Offered at $589,900 335 Central Street, Saugus, MA 01906 (781) 233-7300 View all our listings at: CarpenitoRealEstate.com View the interior of this home right on your smartphone. I n a recent Superior Court case decided on June 1, 2021 (American National Insurance Company vs. Jennifer Breslouf, the Superior court ruled in favor of MassHealth allowing for MassHealth to be the primary beneficiary of a Medicaid annuity contract. Jennifer’s dad Julius Breslouf had purchased the Medicaid annuity in order for his wife to qualify for MassHealth benefits. Pursuant to the annuity application, MassHealth was in fact named the primary beneficiary and Jennifer was named the contingent beneficiary. The annuity provided for monthly payments to Julius based upon his life expectancy. Julius died prior to all of the monthly annuity payments having been made. MassHealth requested that American National Insurance Company make the remaining payments ennioorn rniiori by Jim Miller How to Pick the Best Place to Retire Dear Savvy Senior, My husband and I will both be retiring in a few years and are interested in relocating to a warmer climate but could use some help. What resources can you recommend for locating and researching good places to retire in the U.S.? Retiring at 65 RECENT MASSHEALTH SUPERIOR COURT ANNUITY CASE on the policy to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Therefore, American National filed an interpleader action in order to have a court decide to whom the remaining payments were to be made. Jennifer argued that she should receive the remaining payments from the insurance company as her father had never received MassHealth benefits and MassHealth had no right to require it be named as the primary beneficiary on the annuity contract. Julius was never on MassHealth. Only his wife was on MassHealth and she was not the owner of the annuity policy. The annuity beneficiary designation read as follows: “Commonwealth of Massachusetts as remainder beneficiary in the first position for the total amount of medical assistance paid on behalf of the institutionalized individual pursuant to 130CMR520.007(J)(2)”. Jennifer’s argument was that her father is considered to be the institutionalized spouse. Since he was never institutionalized, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts should be entitled to nothing, as no benefits were paid on behalf of him. MassHealth argued that it was implied that the institutionalized individual that the beneficiary designation was referring to was his wife Suzanne. It argued, once Julius died, there was no more need for the monthly income stream to be paid to him. Since the purpose of allowing the Medicaid annuity as a planning tool is not to leave the spouse at home in an impoverished state, the remaining payments on the annuity policy must now be paid to the Commonwealth. MassHealth has been requiring it be named as the primary beneficiary on Medicaid annuity policies. If that is not the case, then the MassHealth application is most often not approved. It was common practice several years ago for the community spouse to simply name his or her children as primary beneficiaries. This is not an acceptable practice any longer. There will be more annuity beneficiary court cases and hearings to follow. Elder law attorneys are advocating for consistency in this area of the law and wish to make sure that MassHealth is following federal law. Joseph D. Cataldo is an Estate Planning/Elder Law Attorney, Certified Public Accountant, Certified Financial Planner, AICPA Personal Financial Specialist and holds a Master’s Degree in Taxation.
19 Publizr Home