Long-Term Care Costs Are Surging, and New Yorkers Must Prepare for Them

by David Goldfarb

Financial planning for retirement is a complicated task. It requires anticipating living expenses for an indefinite amount of time. This daunting task is often met by a combination of resources. For adequate financial preparation, a retiree must often have health insurance coverage through Medicare, private insurer and possibly Medicaid. Retirement accounts such as 401(k) plans or IRAs must supplement ongoing Social Security benefits. And many retirees supplement these assets with interest from assets such as real estate or invested funds. An experienced New York estate planning attorney can help you plan for retirement by structuring a plan that addresses a wide variety of contingencies.

The Contingency Many Retirees Are Not Prepared For

Retirees often undervalue one particular retirement cost in the course of financial preparations—healthcare costs continue to rise. Now, for the first time ever, the average cost of private nursing home care is expected to top $100,000 per year. USA Today reports that long-term care often imposes a “crushing financial burden” on elderly individuals and their families. Medicare provides only limited coverage. As a result, many elderly nursing home residents must deplete their retirement assets until they qualify for need-based medical coverage through state Medicaid programs.

  • Yet with effective financial planning and strategic combinations of private and public healthcare coverage, retirees in need of living assistance and medical treatments do not have to let the rising costs of the care they need overburden them.
  • An elder law attorney can help you prepare for long-term care costs in many ways. An effective estate plan can help seniors allot the necessary funds to pay for healthcare costs over time. Such a plan can take advantage of available estate and gift tax exemptions to maximize the assets available to pay for healthcare.
  • And when healthcare costs do rise, an elder care attorney can help families maximize medical deductions. This can lower a person’s overall tax liability, which will, in turn, help the taxpayer pay medical expenses.
  • An elder care attorney can also help seniors navigate the complicated process of applying for Medicare or Medicaid, submitting claims and appealing denials as necessary.

All of these steps help seniors access the insurance coverage to which they are entitled. They are important steps in an effective plan for covering long-term care costs.

Take Control of Your Future By Consulting With a New York Elder Law Attorney Now

The experienced estate planning and elder law attorneys at Goldfarb Abrandt Salzman & Kutzin have decades of experience helping seniors prepare for long-term care costs. With effective estate planning and tax strategies, as well as Medicare and Medicaid coverage, seniors can appropriately plan for the significant costs of aging.

Call (212) 387-8400 today to schedule your consultation. The sooner you have an effective strategy for covering long-term care costs, the better you will meet these costs when they arise.