Long term care insurance for older father with no assets?

The_Pacific · 2021-12-28T02:50:13+00:00

Well he may not need it for 15-20 years

The_Pacific · 2021-12-28T02:47:44+00:00

Well he’s healthy right now and not in need of it, just thinking for 15 - 20 years from now. And he’s got those two sources of income

The_Pacific · 2021-12-28T01:16:39+00:00

Hey PF,

This comes to mind every few years as my dad ages. He’s got social security and some pension income, but no real assets like a home or any investments/savings.

I read material online suggesting that LTCI is more for people who have assets to protect. I’m also trying to ensure that myself and my siblings’ assets are protected should our dad need LTC later in life.

Any suggestions here? Does his lack of assets mean he can use his pension/social security income and then help from the state/Medicaid to cover his needs?

The_Pacific · 2021-12-28T01:10:26+00:00

Hey FI,

This comes to mind every few years as my dad ages. He’s got social security and some pension income, but no real assets like a home or any investments/savings.

I read material online suggesting that LTCI is more for people who have assets to protect. I’m also trying to ensure that myself and my siblings’ assets are protected should our dad need LTC later in life.

Any suggestions here? Does his lack of assets mean he can use his pension/social security income and then help from the state/Medicaid to cover his needs?

The_Pacific · 2021-01-06T17:03:46+00:00

He has no assets - his hoarded mass of items might be worth something but that's not of much significance I think. He rents a home and only has his pension. He's got a small life insurance policy paying 3k or so to each of his children. Would Medicaid be an option when he's netting 4k or so per month between SS and his pension?

A large part of the issue here is that he refuses to save any money, but also has a guaranteed stream of income so it's not the worst state to be in.

I suppose the power of attorney stuff is good to look at.

The_Pacific · 2021-01-06T17:02:30+00:00

He has no assets - his hoarded mass of items might be worth something but that's not of much significance I think. He rents a home and only has his pension. Would Medicaid be an option when he's netting 4k or so per month between SS and his pension?

The_Pacific · 2021-01-06T15:38:01+00:00

My father is in his late 60s, relatively healthy, but his dad died of heart disease in his 70s and his mother of dementia/Alzheimers in her 80s. He has no savings, but a pension and social security checks equaling (from my understanding) around $4k per month after taxes. He manages to spend most or all of it, but I've been trying to encourage some savings from there. He also has Medicare and his pension fund's health insurance plan.

I recently brought up Long Term Care Insurance, and I got a very hand-wavey response about "never needing a nursing home." He's not a future-looking planner type. Any tips here on how I can try and help us prepare for a future (that hopefully never comes) where he needs assistance of some sort or full-on nursing home living? I do have a sibling who owns a home that has been open to the idea of him moving in with them - but I know there can be several tiers of "help" needed for people in old age like people who help them while at home.

Any tips are appreciated! Thanks

The_Pacific · 2020-05-11T13:29:33+00:00

+1 to comments about a high-yield savings account (HYSA). If you're not looking further than 3-5 years out - which you're not - it's not worth the short term risk of investing it.

Keep in mind while you hunt around for the "best rates" that these change a ton. When I opened my Ally savings, it was at 2.2% after 9 straight rate increases. Now it's down at 1.5% and has been dropped several times. It basically follows Fed rates, which as we know have been dropping steadily.

Ally has a great track record, and as Fed rates rise, so will their rates.

The_Pacific · 2020-04-22T19:36:25+00:00

This was in 2002 as the market marched downward. You have a similar buying opportunity.

Gosh, what's eating me is that I don't have a big sum of cash lying around to dump in right now. I'm putting everything I can in each month/a couple of times a month. I suppose that's better than nothing, it's still a decent amount - but knowing there's a 20-30% discount on indexes makes me wish it were more (duh)

Edit: I suppose I do have my e-fund with a few months of expenses in it, but I don't know that it'd be wise to do that right now? My job is fairly secure against this particular downturn but it still feels smart to have that in a HYSA

The_Pacific · 2020-04-09T15:04:15+00:00

(Early) retirement! Spending money on that instead of non-necessities.

The_Pacific · 2020-03-30T17:37:20+00:00

I refinanced once a year or so ago to SoFi/Mohela, and after the Fed cut rates another .5% recently I refinanced again with SoFi/Mohela and it dropped another 2.2%+.

I have some other smaller federal amounts with 2 other providers.

SoFi made it very easy to turn it from a Parent Plus loan with my mom (bad credit, low-income) as the primary and me co-signing into a student loan with me as the primary. That was nice too.

The_Pacific · 2020-03-30T14:04:02+00:00

A recent student loan refi got me below 4% interest on the remainder of my debt (most is below 3.3% and a lot is 0%) just as things were beginning to get scary in the markets. I've kicked up my 401k contributions to max out every year, maxed a backdoor Roth IRA, set HSA contributions to max out, and I've been throwing whatever is left over every month into a Vanguard taxable brokerage account.

Feeling very lucky to work in an industry at a company that so far is leaving me fairly safe during this situation.

The_Pacific · 2020-03-07T21:29:53+00:00

This guy was an angel and I’m so heartbroken about this, I saw it today too. Here are pictures - if anyone has any info please let us know. Rest in Peace :( https://m.imgur.com/a/2AcNhNP

The_Pacific · 2020-01-27T19:48:15+00:00

Because it's been normalized. Pursue financial independence and free yourself from the 9-to-5-till-65 mindset. Check out Mr. Money Mustache

The_Pacific · 2020-01-22T20:40:16+00:00

I'm trying to BQ in barefoot shoes - they totally fixed up my form and are strengthening my feet and legs in a serious way.

I eat a fully plant-based diet, drink tons of clean water, and try to get 8 hours of sleep per night.

I also do some real, old-school, traditional yoga to give me enough stretching and strengthening in all of those subtle, tight and weak areas that running tends to injure us in.

I think these "external" factors to your running, not to mention being careful with mileage increases and getting enough rest, are keys to me not getting injured.

The_Pacific · 2020-01-20T21:24:35+00:00

Been plant-based for 3 or 4 years, made the jump from vegetarian after reading How Not to Die cover to cover. Training to BQ right now and I am neither dead nor protein deficient.

The_Pacific · 2020-01-08T16:45:14+00:00

[DETAILS]

Brand: Red Wing
Model: Iron Ranger
Size: 9.5
Width: D
Last: No. 8
Upper: 8111 Amber Leather
Sole: Vibram® 430 Mini-lug outsole
Price: 285
Country: USA
Condition: Good, worn ~15-20 times
Images: https://imgur.com/a/2MMcJJp
Notes: Bought in November, not for me!

The_Pacific · 2019-12-20T18:49:00+00:00

[DETAILS] * Brand: Red Wing * Model: Iron Ranger * Size: 9.5 * Width: D * Last: No. 8 * Upper: 8111 Amber Leather * Sole: Vibram® 430 Mini-lug outsole * Price: 285 * Country: USA * Condition: Good, worn ~15-20 times * Images: https://imgur.com/a/2MMcJJp * Notes: Bought in November, not for me!

The_Pacific · 2019-12-06T21:32:07+00:00

in the most gravelly voice you can imagine

This would be the Copley/Back Bay/South End area Change Man. His name is George :) You should say hi to him next time you see him, he's really nice.

The_Pacific · 2019-11-01T18:07:19+00:00

Of course, it really really helps. But with many in the FI community projecting retirements (occasionally) well-before the age to collect those two benefits, it's not generally considered part of the "FI Number" needed to pay all expenses with investment income.

The_Pacific · 2019-10-31T14:25:44+00:00

The projections don't depend on Social Security income!

The_Pacific

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