THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, AUGUST 19, 2022 Page 17 FOOTBALL | FROM Page 16 Ways to Pay for Long-Term Care Without Insurance or Savings Dear Savvy Senior, What types of fi nancial resources are available to help seniors pay for long-term care? My 86-year-old mother will need either an assisted living facility or nursing home care in the near future, but she doesn’t have long-term care insurance and her savings are minimal. Searching Daughter Dear Searching, The cost of assisted living and nursing home care in the U.S is very expensive. According to the Genworth cost of care survey tool, the national median cost for an assisted living facility today is over $4,600 per month, while nursing home care runs more than $8,100 per month for a semi-private room. (See Genworth.com/aging-and-you/finances/cost-of-care.html to look up costs in your area.) Most people pay for longterm care (LTC) – which encompasses assisted living, nursing home and in-home care – with either personal funds, government programs or insurance. But if your mom is lacking in savings and has no LTC insurance to cover her costs, here are your best options to look for funding. Medicaid (not Medicare): The first thing you need to know is that Medicare (the government health insurance program for seniors 65 and older and those with disabilities) does not cover long-term care. It only provides limited shortterm coverage, up to 100 days for skilled nursing or rehabilitation services after a three-day hospital stay. Medicaid, however, (the joint federal and state program that covers health care for the poor) does cover nursing home and inhome care. But to be eligible for coverage, your mother must be very low-income. Her countable assets can’t be more than around $2,000, including investments. (Note that most people who enter a nursing home don’t qualify for Medicaid at fi rst but pay for care out-of-pocket until they deplete their savings enough to qualify.) There are also many states that now have Medicaid waver programs that can help pay for assisted living. To get more information on Medicaid coverage and eligibility, call your state Medicaid office (see Medicaid. gov). You can also check your mom’s Medicaid eligibility at MedicaidPlanningAssistance.org. Veterans benefits: If your mom is a wartime veteran, or a spouse or surviving spouse of a wartime veteran, there is a benefi t called Aid and Attendance that can help pay toward her long-term care. To be eligible, your mom must need assistance with daily living activities like bathing, dressing or going to the bathroom. And her yearly income must be under $15,816 as a surviving spouse, or $24,610 for a single veteran – after her medical and long-term care expenses. Her assets must also be less than $138,489 excluding her home and car. To learn more, see VA.gov/geriatrics, or contact your regional VA offi ce, or your local veterans service organization. Call 800-8271000 for contact information. Life insurance: If your mom has a life insurance policy, fi nd out if it offers an accelerated death benefi t that would allow her to get a tax-free advance to help pay for her care. Or consider selling her policy to a life settlement company. These are companies that buy life insurance policies for cash, continue to pay the premiums and collect the death benefi t when she dies. Most sellers generally get four to eight times more than the policy cash surrender value. If she owns a policy with a face value of $100,000 or more and is interested in this option, get quotes from several brokers or life settlement providers. To locate some, use the Life Insurance Settlement Association member directory at LISA.org. To look for these and other programs in your area that can help pay your mom’s long-term care, go to PayingForSeniorCare. com and click on “Find Financial Assistance for Care.” 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. CREDITORS AND RETIREMENT ACCOUNTS M any debtors are worried about a creditor’s ability to satisfy a judgment by attaching his or her retirement account. A qualifi ed retirement account established pursuant to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) promulgated in 1974 are generally protected in full. These employer-sponsored retirement plans would include a 401K) plan, a 403(b) plan, a 457 plan, profi t-sharing plan, cash balance plan and other pension plans. It does not matter how much money you have in a qualifi ed plan under ERISA. These accounts are even protected if you were to fi le for bankruptcy. There are situations where the assets might not be protected. For example, if you committed a crime, some of the assets might be vulnerable in order to reimburse the state that may have prosecuted you. A spouse in the context of a divorce would also have marital rights that would allow that spouse to gain access to a portion of the retirement account. The IRS would also have the ability to reach assets in a qualifi ed plan in order to seek recovery for back income taxes. Traditional IRA’s and Roth IRA’s are not protected by the federal government under ERISA. However, the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevennon-league slate and will take on the Eagles on the road Friday, September 30 at 7:00 p.m. After just a one-year series, Everett will not be playing St. John's Shrewsbury again this season on Thanksgiving Day. It was anticipated that the series would be lasting, but St. John's offi cials announced in June it would now play a different opponent on Thanksgiving and Everett, at this time, once again, is sitting out Turkey Day. Malden High Head Coach tion and Consumer Protection Act (BAPCPA) of 2005 provides federal protection to IRA accounts up to $1,362,800. Monies rolled over from an ERISA qualifi ed retirement plan into a “rollover” IRA account may not be subject to these limits. There are restrictions with respect to IRA contributions within the fi ve-year period prior to fi ling for bankruptcy that are in excess of 7% of your income. Also, it is important to note that “inherited” IRA’s are not protection assets. If you are not filing for bankruptcy, each state has its own limits as to how much in an IRA account would be protected from creditors. Be sure to consult with an attorney fully versed in creditor protection rights and bankruptcy law if you are unsure as to whether or not your qualifi ed retirement account, IRA or SEP/ IRA account is protected. This area of the law can be very confusing. Joseph D. Cataldo is an Estate Planning/Elder Law Attorney, Certifi ed Public Accountant, Certifi ed Financial Planner, AICPA Personal Financial Specialist and holds a Master’s Degree in Taxation. SCHOOL | FROM Page 1 according to Kelly. “There is one piece of the job they are going to be doing – replacing air handlers in the gym at the Beachmont – and because of supply chain issues, that’s not going to happen until November,” Kelly said. “But they will still be able to commission the boilers and have everything up and running and tested in time for the winter season.” The School Department is also moving forward with the new door and window project at the Lincoln Elementary School. “That is good timing, since our air conditioning project fi nished last spring,” said Kelly. “With the air-conditioning project completed, the windows and doors are set to go out to bid at the end of September with the anticipation that we will start that project as soon as school gets out in June of 2023.” On the new Revere High School front, Kelly said there is another Revere High School Building Committee meeting scheduled for Tuesday, and she encouraged the public to take part in the meetings if possible. “We are still plugging away at our design plans and working with the city on the eminent domain process [at the former Wonderland Park site] and hope to have some progress there soon,” said Kelly. In other business, the School Witche Exilhomme will be guiding his second full season for the Golden Tornado football squad. Malden will open the season with a pair non-league home games. On Thursday, September 8, Malden hosts Whittier Tech at 6:00 p.m. On Friday, September 16, Malden will host Melrose at 6:00 p.m. Both games will be at Macdonald Stadium in Malden. The Tornado squad and secondyear head coach Exilhomme will then take on Chelsea High in a regular season game for the fi rst time since the 1980s, as Malden opens its Greater Boston League slate against the Red Devils at 6:00 p.m. at Chelsea Stadium on Friday, September 23. Malden plays Medford for the 138th time for its Thanksgiving matchup. The longest-standing head coach in the GBL, entering his 21st season, is Revere High's Lou Cicatelli. He and the Revere Patriots will embark on the 2022 campaign with two consecutive non-league games: Opening the season will be two straight road games, at Peabody on Friday, September 9 at 7:00 p.m. and then hosting Plymouth North on September 16 at 6:00 p.m. Revere opens its GBL schedule on Thursday, September 22 versus Medford at 6:00 p.m. Read the Advocate each week for game results, schedules and updates of ALL the GBL teams! Committee approved the school handbook for 2022-23. Kelly also provided the committee with information on exit interviews for school staff who left the school district before the start of the new year. Of the 77 staff members not returning, she said 52 resigned, 15 requested a leave of absence and 10 were nonrenewals. Overall, 20 percent of those leaving said they were dissatisfied with leadership or management, 18 percent said they were relocating, 16 percent stated it was because of the commute, 15 percent left for career advancement and 11 percent stated they wanted better salary and benefi ts.
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