Articles Posted in Elder Law

If you are approaching retirement age, or are still in the middle of your career, understanding the Social Security program, and what income you can rely on when you retire will help you properly plan for your retirement.

 Social Security Credits + Full Retirement Age

Eligibility for Social Security benefits based on your own work record depends on the total number of Social Security credits earned plus your full retirement age. For most Americans, after earning 40 Social Security “credits” or 40 quarters of coverage, they are eligible for Social Security benefits. In 2019, one Social Security credit was earned for every $1,360 in Social Security taxable income earned for a maximum of four credits and $5,440 in a calendar year.

More than 30 million Americans are living with diabetes. Many types of insulin can be used to treat diabetes and are usually described by how they affect your body. According to WebMd, insulin is a hormone that your pancreas makes to allow cells to use glucose. When your body isn’t making or using insulin correctly, you can control your blood sugar by taking man-made insulin.

 The American Diabetes Association, published its Conclusions and Recommendations, made by the Insulin Access and Affordability Working Group to tackle the rising cost of insulin. In the seminal report, they found that “Achieving glycemic control and controlling cardiovascular risk factors have been conclusively shown to reduce diabetes complications, comorbidities, and mortality. To achieve these desired outcomes, the medical community now has available many classes of medications and many formulations of insulin to effectively manage the metabolic abnormalities for people with diabetes. However, the affordability of medications in general, and for insulin specifically, is currently of great concern to people with diabetes, their families, health care providers, insurers, and employers. For millions of people living with diabetes, including all individuals with type 1 diabetes, access to insulin is literally a matter of life and death. The average list price of insulin has skyrocketed in recent years, nearly tripling between 2002 and 2013. The reasons for this increase are not entirely clear but are due in part to the complexity of drug pricing in general and of insulin pricing in particular. As the price of insulin continues to rise, individuals with diabetes are often forced to choose between purchasing their medications or paying for other necessities, exposing them to serious short- and long-term health consequences.”

 Is it legal to enter U.S. with insulin from Canada?

In the early 2000s it was common for groups of seniors in Michigan to travel to Canada by bus to buy cheaper prescription drugs. Church groups, community groups, and senior citizen groups routinely organized these trips to help people buy their prescription drugs. Prescription drug prices are the highest in the world. Across the board, all prescription drugs in the U.S. are higher than in any other country. There is no dispute from any American that prescription drug prices are high, even if an individual has a health insurance plan that covers all or part of their prescription process.

 Plans to combat rising prescription drug prices

 Combating rising prescription drug prices are an issue that has wide support among the American public. This past summer, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, running for U.S. President in 2020, traveled with a group of seniors to Canada to buy insulin, to build support for various proposals for lowering prescription drug prices in the U.S. The Trump Administration is working on a plan to import certain prescription drugs from Canada directly. A bill making its way through the U.S. House of Representatives is seeking to allow Medicare to negotiate down drug prices.

There are many reasons, all quite valid, that people enter retirement with little to no savings. Prolonged medical illness, catastrophic life events, poor job prospects, or modest means, are just some of the many reasons that contribute to little to no retirement savings for many seniors. As children of such parents, there are steps you can take now that can lessen the economic impact of little retirement savings on your parent’s lives.

For starters, many seniors live with a child. The Harvard Health Letter analyzed data from the U.S. Census and concluded that close to 3.4 million people over the age of 65 were living with an adult child. Housing, for many people, regardless of age, is a big chunk of a person’s household budget. Living with an adult child can help seniors reduce and even eliminate such an expenditure. Solving housing issues is just one consideration.

Approach the issue of little to no retirement savings holistically. Begin the process with the goal of getting all of your parents’ financial affairs in order. Here are some tips you and your siblings can implement.

By now, many homes across the nation are decked out with holiday decorations. String lights are strung around trees, houses, and even apartment windows. Almost all retail shops contain some form of holiday decorations, from simple Christmas trees to menorahs, to elaborate Christmas towns.

While for many people the end of year holiday festivities is the most wonderful time of the year, for others it brings back unpleasant memories of holidays past. Instead of sparking joy feelings of sadness, isolation, and anxiety follow. Holiday lights in particular have been shown to conjure up unhappy memories.

Multiple studies demonstrate that holiday lights and decorations help people recall memories of earlier holidays, especially during early childhood years. If your memories are pleasant, feelings of joy, excitement, and fun to follow. If your memories are unpleasant, and even traumatic, feelings of sadness, isolation, and hurt follow. You may not be over your particular unpleasant memory. Especially if around the holidays you experienced a death in the family, went through a particularly bad breakup, or had a difficult childhood, holiday lights and decorations can be a harbinger of holiday blues.

It is very tempting to turn 62 and claim Social Security benefits. Generating instant guaranteed income for the rest of your life is a seductive proposition. However, if you have very little saved or worse, no retirement savings, claiming Social Security benefits early can be devastating.

There are instances where it can be beneficial for seniors to accept a permanent reduction to their monthly payout in order to begin receiving their benefits early. The permanent reduction is a penalty of sorts, for early claims. For example, someone in poor health, who’s unlikely to live into their 80s, would probably collect more in lifetime income by taking their benefits earlier than by waiting an extra four to eight years to begin taking their Social Security benefits. The reverse is also true. Someone in excellent health with longevity on their side will do better by claiming benefits after Social Security’s retirement age, increasing the lifetime take home benefit from the Social Security program exponentially.  

The worst position to be in, however, is to enter retirement, claim Social Security benefits at 62, with little to no savings. For most seniors, their Social Security benefit is the major or sole source of income heading into retirement. When you claim Social Security early, your monthly payout will be reduced, as high as 30%, depending on your birth year.

“There is a time for many words, and there is also a time for sleep.” — Homer

 Sleep, like food and water, is essential for humans to survive. Sleep affects almost every type of tissue and system in the human body. The brain, heart and lungs perform functions while you sleep. Similarly, your metabolism and immune system perform functions while you are sleeping. Sleep also affects your mood and ability to resist and fight diseases. Research shows that a chronic lack of sleep, or getting poor quality sleep, increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, depression, and obesity. The next day you feel exhausted, tired, or fatigued after a poor night’s rest.

 What is sleep?

As we get older, changes to our sleep patterns occur. In fact, a normal part of the aging process is different sleep. People often report that they have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep as they age. Every night, people achieve sleep, by experiencing periods of light and deep sleep. For the most part, during sleep, our bodies remain still as our minds and body functions race to repair and reset themselves. Some of us even dream, vividly experiencing feelings and sensations all while laying perfectly still.

 The trouble with achieving deep sleep

As we age, older people spend more time in the lighter stages of sleep rather than in deep sleep. People often report that they were able to fall asleep but then woke up and could not return to sleep. Our bodies need deep sleep to perform functions on just about every organ, tissue, and system. Individuals suffering from chronic illnesses, like high blood pressure and cancer, need sleep to heal and get batter. Instead, older people report that the next day after poor sleep quality their mood and ability to perform active tasks is affected by fatigue.

Very few people look forward to living in a nursing home the last years of their lives. There is a growing segment of the population that wishes to remain in their homes as long as possible. To do so however, assistance is needed from medical professionals and home health aides.

 Continuing care retirement communities

Continuing Care Retirement Communities, also known as CCRCs, are well known to retirees. The premise is that residents live on a campus-like setting in facilities that change as their care needs increase. For example, a CCRC resident may begin at independent living facility, shift to assisted living, and enter a memory-care unit or nursing home. Where a resident starts depends on their overall health, mental faculties, and mobility level.

A recent story out of Virginia recently received a great deal of national attention. An 83-year-old grandmother of five and great grandmother of five received a “Notice of Lease Violation” from the management office of her assisted living facility.  

 What was the infraction?

It appears that Ms. Elsie Cruey had taken too many cookies from a community event. Ms. Cruery had previously run afoul of the community house rules when she took a partial gallon of milk after breakfast. She had hoped to combine the milk with the cookies she took as a late night snack.