There are different stages that you pass through along life’s path. At first, you are going to be concerned about your own place in the world as an adult. Many people will become parents at some point, and a new set of concerns will present themselves.
Time goes by quickly, and though it can be hard to wrap your head around it when you are younger, there are eventualities that you inevitably start to recognize as you reach the middle portion of your life. This is when you should consider some guidance from an elder law attorney.
To be properly prepared for your senior years, you should create a plan that leads to comfort and security. Let’s look at the first phase.
Maximize Your Social Security Benefit
Social Security is going to be important for most seniors, so you should understand how you can maximize your benefit.
Before we get into the details, we should point out the fact that it is important to understand the limitations of the Social Security program. The average benefit in 2024 is just $1,907 a month, and the maximum benefit is a relatively modest $3,822 a month.
When you consider these figures, you can see why you should develop a retirement nest egg, and additional income sources can also be quite useful.
Early Benefit
There are three different approaches that you can take to Social Security eligibility. First, it is possible to accept an early benefit when you are as young as 62 years of age.
This can sound enticing, but your early benefit would be between 25 and 30 percent less than your full benefit. The exact amount of the reduction would depend upon the year of your birth.
Full Eligibility
The age of full benefit eligibility also depends upon your birth year. For people born between 1943 and 1954, the age of full eligibility is 66. The full eligibility age then rises by two months for each year.
This two months per year arrangement goes up until 1960 when it maxes out at 67. Anyone who was born in 1960 or after becomes eligible for a full benefit at the age of 67 under currently existing laws.
Once you become eligible for a full benefit, you can work and earn any amount of money without experiencing a reduction in your benefit. However, there is a limit on penalty-free earnings if you take a reduced benefit before you reach your full retirement age.
During the current calendar year, that limit stands at $22,320.
Delayed Retirement
To truly maximize your benefit, you could choose to delay the submission of your application beyond your age of full eligibility. If you do this, you earn delayed retirement credits.
Each year that you delay the submission of your application, your benefit will increase by eight percent. However, you cannot earn delayed retirement credits after you reach the age of 70.
As a result, there is no reason to delay the submission of your application once you reach this age.
Delaying your application submission can increase your benefit in another way. Your benefit is calculated based on your highest 35 earning years. So, if you are earning more during these final working years than you did when you were younger, your benefit would increase on that level as well.
Prepare for Long-Term Care Costs
Long-term care is something that most elders will require at some point in time, and there are different levels of care that may be required. For a while, family members and friends may be able to provide you with minimal assistance when you can still do most things on your own.
However, at some point in time, you may need care that the people around you simply cannot provide. Many elders eventually reside in nursing homes or assisted living communities, and these facilities are very expensive.
Medicare does not pay for the type of care that you would receive in a nursing home or assisted living community. This care is looked upon as custodial care rather than medical or convalescent care. This fact of life is the single most important issue that elder law attorneys address.
When you are creating a budget for your elder years, you should take this reality into account, because 70 percent of seniors will someday need help with their day-to-day needs.
Medicaid Planning
The solution for many people is Medicaid. This program does pay for long-term care, but you do not automatically qualify for Medicaid coverage if you are a senior citizen who requires living assistance.
Medicaid is only available to people who can prove that they have a significant level of financial need. As a result, it takes careful planning to qualify at the right time. This is where we can enter the picture to help you devise a nursing home asset protection plan.
Get Your Free Estate Planning Worksheet
In addition to this blog, there are other resources on our site that you can access free of charge. We urge you to look around and take full advantage of these learning opportunities.
Among all of our resources, our estate planning worksheet is one of the most well-received tools. When you go through this sheet, you will definitely come away with a more thorough understanding of the process and where you stand at the present time.
This is another complimentary resource, so you have everything to gain and nothing to lose. To obtain your copy, visit this page: Warren, NJ estate planning worksheet.
We Are Here to Help!
If you would like to develop a plan for aging that culminates in the appropriate passing of your legacy, we can help. As you can see from this post, there are several facets to take into consideration, and we can help you integrate them seamlessly.
You can schedule a consultation at our Warren, NJ elder law office if you call us at 908-222-8803.
We also have a contact form on this site you can fill out if you would rather send us a message. If you go in this direction, we will get back in touch with you as soon as we can.
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