Medicaid and Retirement pension

Thanks Pam I am looking up the information on the Aid and Assistance - is the Widows Pension a SS or Military/VA thing? I was not clear if they are the same ... I did not earn enough credits for my own SS and will have a small sum based on my husband's work from SS.

For SS- your payment will increase when he dies go to SSA.gov
For VA- there is a widow's pension & Aid and Attendance, see VA.gov

So ... there is the SS and a separate widows pension - that's good to know. Because of constant moves, a child with chronic illness, and my own health I only worked a small part of our marriage, thus I did not earn enough SS points. I only knew of the small bit of SS I would get from his SS earnings. I really appreciate the information you passed on - the Aid and Assistance was new to me as was the Widows Pension. I shared the information with my husband, he had not heard of either before. It's nice to know if I died first he will be well taken care of! Thanks again!

Good afternoon, My question is trying to figured a head of time my final expenses at my death. So it is reasonably not something my spouse or children need to be concern about. No I don't have an expiration date. I am disable and have some money aside for a future funeral cost yet, nothing has been finalized at this moment in time. Then I had set up a small funeral arrangement just in case what ai do have is not enough for such service. Could please advice me rather to continue with such planned arranged service or do something different. My spouse and myself are both on Medicare and my husband work part time at this time, with a n annual gross income of approx. 13,000.

What is required for final expense at time of death for my Husband and myself TY,

We are both on Medicare and I received disability from Social security. My Husband works part time for additional income.

I recently contacted the local funeral home for myself for and I would recommend you do the same. That's probably the best source for info on costs and how to pay. Is there some reason your husband doesn't get SS too? Your family could possibly benefit from Food Stamps and other assistance programs based on your income. Using those may help you find some money for final expenses.

I think it is because my Husband does work part time and we receive some fuel assistance and own our home.He does get social security and I do too. We tried for food stamps and we are just over what is allowed I believe. Our bills are paid and our wants or few. We have medical insurance and now I am working on what is required for last expense and death arrangements.Thank you,

I have been taking care of a friend of mine for 9 years. He has had a traumatic head injury a stroke and now has dementia. He is also severely physically disabled. He makes $1171 a month from a pension and is on Medicaid. What should I do to start the process of finding him a place to go.He is also only 57 years old but I can no longer provide adequate care for him. He has become very abusive since being diagnosed with dementia

Talk to his doctor about the need for a change in his caregiving.

My mother who is 86, suffers with Dementia and is a a care facility in NJ. I am her legal guardian, along with a care giving sister. My mother was a christian pastor for over 50 years, who accepted no salary (since Jesus did not get paid). Her income consisted of congregation monetary gifts, paid speaking/preaching engagements, and fees for wedding, funerals, counseling etc. She filed her taxes and paid SS taxes. Due to the cost of her care, over a period of 2 1/2 years I liquidated all of her assets to cover her care. Last year in April 2014, I engaged a geriatrics manager we started the process of preparing a Medicaid application.
The plan was to start in April, file the paperwork in June with an effective date of September 2014. After the application was filed there were a few questions, but not much activity on the part of the medicaid worker. As of September I spent down the remaining funds, to $2,000, and paid the care facility her SS less $100.
Starting late September through December 2014, I started receiving 7-10 pages of questions (many were repeat questions that were previously answered. the biggest issue was the checks Mom would get from individual members of her congregation. I had to provide individual copies of each deposit over $700 for five years. The local bank manager was an Angel, as he research each deposit and copied each check in some cases there were 30-40 check ranging in amount between $10-$100. By November 2014 all of the questions were answered, and it took another month to get final Medicaid approval.
It is now April 2015 and the dementia facility has not been paid. Upon checking on when payment would start I was informed that the payment would not be retro active to the September date. My concern is since all funds were spend down there are no funds to pay the facility and they need their money. Has any one experienced this situation, what advice do you have.

Dedicated Son...
If your mother was financially and otherwise eligible in September there is no reason why benefits should not be retroactive to September.
File an appeal. In most states you have 60 days from the date of the decision letter.
Search for the procedure in your state.

Want to address this question to whoever is knowledgeable about nursing homes
if you have someone in your family wife cousin or spouse. And you have an ins policy for them as an asset ..can the n.h. take it away from the beneficiary upon the spouse passing?

I have a question about retirement benefits from the state. My husband retired after 30 years of teaching. If he were to have to go to a nursing home, would all of his retirement benefits go toward paying his expenses there? I only make $1400. in social security and could not live on that amount. His monthly benefit is over $6,000. a mo. What if I had to go in a nursing home, would they just take my $1400. or would they require that he also pay toward my expenses? Maybe it would be best financially if we got a divorce!

Stefani...what type of insurance policy is it? If life insurance, who is the owner of the policy, who is the insured, who is the beneficiary? If life insurance is it a policy that has cash value and what is the death benefit? Lastly, what state do you live in?

Sharonlee, check with an Elder Care Attorney who you have carefully vetted to know in advance, they have financial planning & Medicaid planning Expertise. They can advise you about your specific situation. The cost will be well.worth it. There are Community Spouse allowances which vary by state and your individual circumstances. No, it is not to your benefit to get a divorce--Medicaid looks at all transactions within 5 yrs of application. Don't worry they are not going to leave you out in the cold. With 6,000 /month pension he has enough assets that he won't qualify for Medicaid. The bigger question is if his pension was structured to include a spousal benefit or not.

We live in Fla. My husband took a reduced benefit, so that upon his death, I would continue to receive the same amount as him.

Sharonlee, there is a state-specific Community Spouse amount, and what will happen is this: when he goes to NH, the Medicaid will reserve an amount from his pension which, when added together with your SS check, brings you up to the Community Spouse amount. For example if your state's CS amount is $2300/month, you would receive $900 of his pension. The rest would go to the NH. But also keep in mind you can only have the maximum CS assets in bank (it's something like 114,000), one home, and one car. You can pre-pay both your funerals (not lavishly ) and make reasonable repairs to your home, to get down to the CS asset maximum. Read Gabriel Heiser's book "Medicaid Secrets" because I am certainly not an expert. It's important to plan for Medicaid in advance, because you could wind up having a longer penalty period, unless you organize it to your benefit. However, with a huge pension ($72,000 per year) added with your Social Security check, you probably will never qualify for Medicaid, ever.

My mother in law is currently recovering from a fall in a rehab nursing facility. She has many health issues and it is really taking it's toll on my father in law trying to care for him at home. The family wants to see her go into a long term care facility following her rehab. She is on Medicare, state of MN. Medicare will only cover 100 days following her hospital stay. We understand that the county will need to take her SS check. Will they require my father in laws SS or pension check? They really don't have much in personal assets. A mobile home in a park, a pick up truck and a handicap van for transporting mother in law.

im a disabled man 57 years old....I live in a nursing facility..and my monthly disability benefits ssd go to the state of Washington.for Medicaid ...I recently got a letter from a previous employer and they are offering a lump sum payout of my pension...I think if I did that the state of Washington would take the money..is there anything I can do with the pension money to protect it from the state?

aww1015, you should talk with an elder-care attorney who has experience with Medicaid. There may be a way to convert the lump sum to a Miller Trust (I'm not sure if that is the correct name....someone else can correct me), which designates the funds will go for your care only. But keep in mind, in general, the whole idea behind Medicaid is that it is meant to provide for those who literally have nothing.....so, if you do have "something" then there is nothing to keep it from being taken by the government, now, or even after you die, they have a right to be repaid for whatever amounts they paid for your care. It's just like the sale of your home, that too can be used to pay for your care (even after you die). Best to have an attorney explain your options, but don't be surprised to learn, you have to use your assets to pay for your care, that is what everyone is supposed to be doing.

this is from stefani..he has passed from an overdose of metformin toxisity thst the nh was given to him i only have term 1000 policycan i sue the attending dr?

I have been my mothers caregiver for 6 years, she has dementia confusion etc.
I would like to know how to apply for Medicaid for her and the long term facility will take her Germany pension Maria P.

MariaP5pin, Certainly the NH will take her Germany pension, but will that cover the whole bill? To get Medicaid, check your state rules; she must be a US citizen if you are in the US.

My husband is in a nursing home and has been for the past four years. His Social Security Disability and Medicare and Medicaid have been going to the nursing home. I have been receiving his retirement check and spousal diversion from the nursing home. Medicaid stopped paying the nursing home and now have to reapply and therefore I am not getting my spousal diversion check. Will I still continue to get the retirement check which is automatically deposited into a trust account and then I am allowed to withdraw it each month to live on.

My uncle has had several strokes which have resulted in dementia. He moved in with me from another state recently. It was unexpected and it happened rather quickly. He has a green card but is not a citizen. I need help talking care of him during the day while I go to work. He only receives social security and has no assets. I need help and I have no idea where to begin. I have been told that I should hire an elder consultant who would assess all of the benefits that he is eligible for and help complete the necessary forms.Has anyone heard of this before? Can you recommend any companies to use (or stay away from)? He's 68 and we live in New York City. My mom helps take care of him during the day but she's older and I worry about the effects on her health. We left him alone for 10 minutes and in that time he fainted (though he says he tripped) and he ended up in the emergency room. This has been overwhelming, stressful and sad. Any advise would be greatly appreciated!

Because financial limitations are so important to Medicaid eligibility, applying can be complicated. The application process, which may take from weeks to months to complete, allows the state agency to scrutinize the potential recipient’s income and assets to see whether he or she is sufficiently needy to qualify for benefits. In long-term care cases, medical screening also is done at the application stage, and the individual is investigated for past transfers of assets.

The first step in any application is to be certain that the agency understands whether the applicant is for community Medicaid or long-term care benefits, as explained above. Some states use completely different forms for institutionalized and community-based applications. Others simply provide boxes to mark on a unified form. Check with your local Medicaid agency to find out the rule in your state.

source: http://longtermcare.gov/medicare-medicaid-more/medicaid/medicaid-eligibility/financial-requirements/

Husband is in nursing home. Can spouse have the pension & social security to maintain my house &a expenses?

Incha, you should see an eldercare attorney and ask about provisions for the
" community spouse".

A friend of mine is receiving NJ medicaid, is living in assisted living, and just found out she is entitled to a pension from her previous employer. Can she keep the pension of about $400./month? Must she report it to medicaid? Thanks.