4/2024 The Social Security Administration (SSA) has announced a major change regarding how it calculates In-Kind Support and Maintenance (ISM) for recipients of Supplemental Security Income, or SSI. Beginning later this year, the SSA will no longer count “free food” as income. The final rule, which appeared in the Federal Register on March 27, 2024, also clarifies the SSA’s definition of “income.” The new rule will go into effect on September 30, 2024. What Is Supplemental Security Income (SSI)? This federal public assistance program offers financial support to people who are living on limited ..read more

4/2024 Among your key estate planning documents are your will, living wills, powers of attorney, and medical directives. Securing these somewhere your survivors can easily access them is crucial. Consider storing other information, like birth certificates, marriage licenses, and medical records, in a secure spot as well. Different Document Storage Solutions Many people today are striving to become as paperless as possible. They may choose to store their data on memory sticks or an external hard drive. Others use online data storage services that keep this information in the cloud so that they ..read more

4/2024 If you need a medical procedure, you may have to hold off on treatment until you have received approval from your health insurance plan. In many cases, Medicare Advantage and other plans have been denying their patients certain services despite doctors’ orders. (In one survey, medical practices reported that 97 percent of their patients faced such unnecessary delays or denials.) Starting in January 2026, this may no longer be the case once a new federal rule becomes effective. Negative Impacts on Patient Health Patients, not to mention many physicians, find this so-called prior authoriz ..read more

4/2024 You may not foresee ever needing assistance with your day-to-day life. However, research shows that seven in 10 adults aged 65 and older will require long-term care at some point in their later years. Meanwhile, the U.S. population continues to age rapidly. Americans aged 65 or older are on track to total 82 million in the next 30 years, up from 58 million in 2022. More older adults will therefore be likely to rely on long-term care services. These services include in-home care, adult day health care, assisted living, and residential nursing. Unfortunately, the workforce of professional ..read more

4/2024 Social Security Commissioner Martin O’Malley today announced he is taking four vital steps to immediately address overpayment issues customers and the agency have experienced. Commissioner O’Malley testified before the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging and the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance (excerpt): “For 88 years, the hard-working employees of the Social Security Administration have strived to pay the right amount, to the right person, at the right time. And the agency has done this with a high degree of accuracy over a massive scale of beneficiaries. But despite our best effor ..read more

3/2024 Four in 10 people believe they do not have enough assets to make a will, according to Caring.com’s 2024 Wills and Estate Planning Study, which surveyed more than 2,400 individuals. This statistic reflects a common misconception about estate planning: that it is only for the wealthy. In reality, estate planning can benefit people across the economic spectrum. Involving more than passing on wealth, estate planning also encompasses planning for aging, illnesses, or injuries, which can be unpredictable. Estate planning allows individuals to make crucial decisions, such as who will care for ..read more

3/2024 In estate planning, the executor, or personal representative, is responsible for managing the administration of the estate after an individual passes away. An executor may be a person or an institution. Their duties include applying for probate and ensuring that the heirs receive assets according to the deceased person’s wishes. When an estate needs to go through the probate process, the executor is also the one who hires a probate lawyer. What Is Probate? Probate is a standard legal procedure formalizing how some assets pass from decedents to their chosen heirs. Whether or not probate ..read more

3/2024 People with disabilities often require housing that accommodates their unique needs. In many cases, group living facilities may be appropriate, with the group environment providing stability and support. In other cases, the person with special needs requires a specific type of housing, designed particularly for them. Or it may simply make sense for the individual to have a place of their own. The rental market is often ill-equipped to provide the specific adaptations many individuals with disabilities require. Fortunately, there are many ways to provide private housing for a person livi ..read more

3/2024 Home health care aide serves a hot meal to an older adult in his home. As they grow older, your parents may prefer to continue living in their home rather than moving to a long-term care facility. They are not alone in this; more than three-quarters of adults over the age of 50 say they would prefer to age in place. If your parent can safely live at home on their own with your support, you may wish to seek some form of outside help. Fortunately, you have a number of options to explore. Home Care Services for Seniors Public as well as private agencies offer a variety of home care service ..read more

3/2024 Since the 1960s, Medicaid has provided health care coverage for low-income people across the United States. For millions of seniors, Medicaid offers financial assistance, helping them to cover the cost of long-term care services. Today, this joint federal-state program also benefits other qualifying populations with limited income, including children and people with disabilities. Qualifying for Medicaid You may not foresee yourself applying for Medicaid in the future. Yet in reality, research shows that roughly one in seven seniors are likely to require long-term care at some point late ..read more