We do love it when someone refers a family member or friend to us. Sometimes the question is, “How can we introduce them to you?” Well, there are multiple ways but a very easy way is to simply forward them a link to this webpage.
Here are this week’s items:
Portfolio Update: Murs and I have recorded our portfolio update for January 2, 2024
What Are You Getting for the Fee You Are Paying in Retirement?
Listen in to learn about the three major types of financial advisors and what each offers you. You will also learn about categories of our Wealth Integrated Management System: specialized investment strategy, a retirement-focused financial plan, tax strategy, estate planning, and other ever-evolving elements to cater to our clients’ needs.
What Are You Getting for the Fee You Are Paying in Retirement?
You may already have a financial advisor or are shopping for one, but you may not know what you’re getting for the fee that you’re paying. We’re going to try our best to outline multiple categories of fees to help you get your head around what different advisors may charge and why.
Listen in to learn the different episodes with information about what you need in retirement, including a power of attorney, estate planning, retirement income strategies, and more. You will also learn about the episodes on long-term care planning options, plus the basics of continuing care retirement community (CCRC).
Every week, we have podcasts come out, and as new listeners find us, it can get very tedious to find all the resources we provide. This week we have prepared an End of 2023 wrap up to highlight some of the episodes from this year.
You may already have a financial advisor or are shopping for one, but you may not know what you’re getting for the fee that you’re paying. We’re going to try our best to outline multiple categories of fees to help you get your head around what different advisors may charge and why.
What are You Getting for the Fee You Pay an Advisor?
Fees vary greatly from one type of advisor to another. We’re not going into this saying one fee is good or one is bad. For example, if I said I bought a $3,000 car, what would you think? You would assume it’s not the latest model on the market and doesn’t have a backup camera, lane assist, or any of the fancy features a higher-end vehicle might have.
A $50,000 car will have all the bells and whistles, but you may not need all those features.
Financial advisor fees are very similar. Lower fees often mean that you’re doing more, and the advisor is doing less for you. But if you don’t need some services or don’t mind having a hands-on approach to retirement planning, then the lower fees are perfect.
With this in mind, let’s dive into the meat of the fee world.
Fees in the World of Financial Advisors
You may come across the following fees when working with a financial advisor:
Transactional Fee
An hourly fee is exactly what it sounds like. You pay an hourly rate in a pay-as-you-go type of scenario. The planner may also have a set fee for certain services. In many cases, you’ll meet with this person once or twice per year, and then you are responsible for executing the plan.
If you’re the type of person who does the following, transactional fees may be good for you:
Does their own taxes
Paints their own house
Does their own yard work
Many people don’t want to build their own portfolio and would rather spend time with their family, but for others, it makes more sense to have a transactional fee.
Assets Under Management Fee
In an assets under management fee structure, you’re charged a percentage of the assets that you entrust under the advisor’s management. Fees can range anywhere from .3 or .4% to 2 or 2.5%.
So, if you have $1 million in assets that the person controls, your fee at a 2.5% rate would be $25,000 per year.
Fees vary by region, investment strategy, types of assets and advisor.
Commission-based
In some scenarios, the advisor may be paid a commission for insurance products that they sign their clients up for or for stock purchases.
Assets Under Management Fees are the Most Common
As a financial advisor, we see that assets under management is the most common fee structure. While the range can be great, we see most advisors charging 0.75% – 2% fees, and the more assets under management, the lower the fee percentage will be.
What do you get for these fees?
Full-service or Concierge Service
You’ll pay the highest fee for this type of service, but you enjoy the most hands-off experience possible. You’re working with a specialist who handles your retirement planning and strategy for you.
In our business, we call this the integrated wealth management system and cover things like:
Investment-How do we invest for a return with good risk management in place?
Retirement-focused financial plan-We cover where you are today, Social Security, and whether you will have the money you need to reach your retirement goals.
Tax strategy-As you accumulate wealth, you have money in multiple buckets, and we want to pay attention to withdrawals and how that will impact you today and in the future. Minimizing your tax burden is really the goal for us in this regard. We can save some clients thousands of dollars by finding tax mistakes or employing other tax-saving strategies.
Estate planning– In this category, we’re talking about wills, trusts, power of attorney, life insurance and more.
We also cover things like continuous care scenarios or long-term care, and it just keeps evolving. Our in-house Medicare Specialist works with our clients to help them onboard for Medicare, find the best solutions for them and really ease our clients’ minds in the long term.
If you’re not sure which fee structure is best for you, consider the following:
Lower fees mean that you take a hands-on approach
Higher fees mean that you take more of a hands-off approach
For our fee, we try to cover everything for our clients, from tax planning to Medicare and estate planning. You may not need this high of a level of service, but it’s often the difference between 0.75% and 2%.
So, when searching for a financial advisor, be sure to know exactly what you’re getting for your fee because it can be substantial.
Every week, we have podcasts come out, and as new listeners find us, it can get very tedious to find all the resources we provide. This week we have prepared an End of 2023 wrap up to highlight some of the episodes from this year.
Reviewing 2023’s Episode List
Finding an episode on your respective listening platform will vary, so we’re going to provide:
Title
Episode number
Date
We’ll also link to the location on our website where you can listen to each podcast to make it a bit easier to find.
Ep. 193 – Navigating The Decision to Retire Now or Work Longer – January 16, 2023
If you’re wondering if you can retire or if you’re ready to retire, you’ll love this episode. It can be an overwhelming process, so we take some time to outline important considerations such as:
Budgeting
Health and Age
Goal and Interests
This episode helps you think through your financial readiness to secure your retirement.
Ep. 197 – 10 Reasons Everyone Needs a Power of Attorney in Retirement – February 13, 2023
Anything can happen at any time. A Power of Attorney, particularly a Durable Power of Attorney, is one that we’ve seen come up a lot this year with clients. Disability or incapacitation can happen at any time.
We outline 10 very important reasons to have your Power of Attorney documents in order, including:
Protecting Privacy
Dealing with Tax Matters
Having Someone to Manage Your Finances
A Power of Attorney is up there in importance with your will and HIPAA authorization.
You’ll learn the ins and outs of Power of Attorney documents in this episode.
Ep. 201 – Do You Need a Trust in Retirement? – March 13, 2023
We did quite a few episodes on trusts this year because they’re such an important part of retirement planning. We’ve partnered with professionals in this area so that our clients can easily have a trust put in place for them.
In this episode, we interview Andres Mazabel at Trust & Will. He addresses the common question, “Do I Need a Trust?”, to really help you understand if a trust is right for you or not.
Ep. 204 – Social Security Spousal Benefit in Retirement – April 3, 2023
Social Security has a lot of complications, which is why we brought Heather Schreiber on to explain how spousal benefits work. In our example scenario, one client has worked their entire life, and his spouse did not.
His spouse assumed that without working, she wouldn’t have Social Security, but we explained how she would receive $1,700 a month in benefits.
For many couples, an additional $1,700 in benefits is completely finance-altering. If you’re close to Social Security age, this is certainly a good episode to listen to.
Ep. 208 – Maximizing Tax Benefits by “Bunching” – May 1, 2023
If you’re charitably inclined, you can leverage “bunching” and donor-advised funds to save money on your taxes. In the episode, we discuss how you can bunch multiple years of contributions into one so that you can take a larger deduction.
Utilizing this strategy has saved some of our clients hundreds or thousands of dollars.
Ep. 217 – You Have Enough to Retire, but How Do You Create an Income – July 3, 2023
Creating income is challenging when you’re in the accumulation phase of life transitioning into the retirement phase. In this episode, we discuss how to put assets into buckets and methods that you can follow to have a consistent income.
We talk about sequence of return risks and how to really have fun in retirement.
Ep. 219 – Annuities or CDs – What You Should Consider – July 17, 2023
Last year, interest rates rose. For annuities and CDs, interest rates were favorable and therefore quite attractive to many people. In this episode, we cover what you need to think about when deciding between an annuity and a CD.
Ep. 223 – Protecting Against Cybersecurity Threats – August 14, 2023
Cybersecurity is something that you may not expect to see on this list, but it’s a crucial topic that demands attention. Around this time of year (the holiday season), threats increase dramatically.
You may receive spam and phishing threats from many directions, including texts and emails.
We outline 14 items for you to consider to help protect yourself from these threats going into 2024.
Ep. 224 – Long-Term Care Planning Options – August 21, 2023
Long-term care planning is something no one wants to think about, but it’s something that you really must dive into before you need it. Our guest Jessica Iverson talks with us about how this form of planning has evolved, the breakdown of increasing costs, and alternative options that are available.
You do have options where you’re not stuck in a “use it or lose it” scenario, which is what we cover in great detail in this episode.
Ep. 226 – Integrated Wealth Management Experience in Retirement – September 4, 2023
In this episode, we look at what integrated wealth management means and how it works in our practice. You will be interested in this episode if you want to know how we address:
Ep. 234 – Roth IRA – 5-Year Rule – Your Retirement – Part 2 with Denise Appleby – October 30, 2023
Denise Appleby was our special guest during this episode, and she discusses Roth IRAs in such great detail that it’s a must-listen. We go over the rules for Roth accounts and conversions from start to finish in a nice and easy manner.
Ep. 235 – The Art of a Risk-Adjusted Portfolio in Retirement – November 6, 2023
Risk in retirement exists, but you can use a risk-adjusted portfolio to hedge those risks. We explore determining risk tolerance and some of the strategy behind investment styles. We also take some time to define terms like:
Ep. 236 – Rae Dawson – The Basics of a CCRC – November 13, 2023
Note: Rae was also on for Episode 236 on November 27 (listen here) for Part 2.
Rae teaches a class on Continuous Care Retirement Community (CCRCs) at Duke University, and joined us on the podcast to dive in on the basics, such as:
We do love it when someone refers a family member or friend to us. Sometimes the question is, “How can we introduce them to you?” Well, there are multiple ways but a very easy way is to simply forward them a link to this webpage.
Here are this week’s items:
Portfolio Update: Murs and I have recorded our portfolio update for December 18, 2023
Tax rate numbers for 2024 are out, and it’s important to understand them to make the necessary adjustments and know how your income will be affected.
Listen in to learn how the progressive tax system works and the importance of understanding your marginal and average tax rates. You will also learn about the 2026 tax rates sunset, long-term capital gains tax rates, standard deductions, and much more.
Tax rates are something everyone “loves.” Wrapping up at the end of 2023, new tax rates for 2024 have been released. If you’re funding your 401(k) or other retirement accounts, you may need to adjust for new contribution maximums.
We have a lot of important numbers that we’ll be going through in this article…
Tax rates are something everyone “loves.” Wrapping up at the end of 2023, new tax rates for 2024 have been released. If you’re funding your 401(k) or other retirement accounts, you may need to adjust for new contribution maximums.
We have a lot of important numbers that we’ll be going through in this article, but if you want a checklist, please send an email to info@pomwealth.net.
It’s common to assume that if you’re in the 32% tax bracket, all income will be taxed at the 32% rate. Thankfully, in the United States, we have a progressive tax code which means that different portions of income are taxed at different rates that build upon each other.
For example, a couple with $250,000 of taxable income in 2024 that are under the status married filing jointly will calculate their federal tax liability in the following manner:
10% on the first $23,200 of taxable income (which is $2,320 in tax)
12% on the next $71,100 of income between $23,200 – $94,300 (which is $8,532)
22% on the next $106,750 of income between $94,300 – $201,050 (which is $23,485)
24% on the remaining $48,950 of income exceeding $201,050 (which is $11,748)
In total, this couple would owe $46,085 in federal tax; this is much different in comparison to the entire $250,000 of income being taxed at 24% since that would result in a tax liability of $60,000. Because different portions of income are taxed at different rates, blending those rates together to calculate an average rate of tax can put into perspective what amount of income is actually paid towards federal tax. In this example, the couple’s average federal tax rate is 18.4%. What that means is for every $100 of taxable income this couple has in 2024, they are paying $18.40 in federal tax. NOT $24.
For your reference, the current ordinary income tax brackets are:
Tax Rate
Single Filer
Married, Filing Jointly
Head of Household
10%
$0 to $11,600
$0 to $23,200
$0 to $16,550
12%
$11,600 to $47,150
$23,200 to $94,300
$16,550 to $63,100
22%
$47,150 to $100,525
$94,300 to $201,050
$63,100 to $100,500
24%
$100,525 to $191,950
$201,050 to $383,900
$100,500 to $191,950
32%
$191,950 to $243,725
$383,900 to $487,450
$191,950 to $243,700
35%
$243,725 to $609,350
$487,450 to $731,200
$243,700 to $609,350
37%
$609,350+
$731,200+
$609,350+
In 2026, the tax laws are going to “sunset,” meaning that unless a major political change takes place, the 12% tax bracket will increase to 15%. The 22% bracket will move to 25%, 24% is going to 28%, etc. This will impact everyone who files a tax return.
What is the standard deduction?
The standard deduction is available to everyone and varies according to your tax filing status. This deduction decreases the amount of income you will pay tax on. In 2024, the standard deduction is:
Married, filing jointly (MFJ): $29,200
Single: $14,600
What this means is that if you’re filing under the status MFJ, you will not pay tax on the first $29,200 of income you have in 2024. For example, with gross income of $40,000, subtracting the standard deduction of $29,200 leaves $10,800 of income that will be subject to tax. If in any year, your income is below the standard deduction, you will not owe any federal tax and may not even be required to file a tax return that year. If you are over age 65 or blind, you will receive additional deductions on top of these figures. The standard deduction is adjusted for inflation.
Long-term Capital Gains
A long-term capital gain is income from the sale of an asset that has been held longer than one year. Capital gains assets include:
Real Estate
Investment securities such as stocks and bonds
Other tangible assets
Let’s say that you purchased stock at $10,000 five years ago, and today it’s worth $15,000. If that stock is then sold today, the $5,000 growth is taxed as a long-term capital gain.
Long-term capital gain tax rates are favorable because they are different from and typically lower than ordinary income rates:
With taxable income less than $94,050, you will pay a 0% tax on capital gains
With taxable income between $94,050 and $583,750, you will pay a 15% on capital gains
With taxable income exceeding $583,750, you will pay a 20% tax on capital gains
Note: These figures are for the tax filing status married, filing jointly. Rates for the other tax filing statuses vary.
Based on these examples, you may want to consider selling 50% of a stock now and the rest after the New Year to avoid a large capital gains tax all in one year. You may even consider tax loss harvesting to mitigate gains.
Social Security Taxation While Working
When you’re working and earning an income, you pay what is called FICA tax on your earnings. FICA is money that you contribute to Social Security and Medicare. After a certain amount of earnings, you no longer pay into the Social Security portion of FICA tax; in 2024, that limit is reached at $168,600 of earned income. So if you make $200,000, you don’t pay the social security portion of FICA on the amount over $168,600.
Social Security Benefits at Retirement
In 2024, social security benefits will receive a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) of 3.2%, which is an adjusted rate based on inflation that puts more money into your pocket.
Anyone who takes Social Security before full retirement age will be limited on the amount of money they can earn, which is $22,320. If you earn more than this amount, you will have some sort of penalty on this overage.
It’s common to assume that social security benefits are tax-free, but if you have a certain amount of income, you may have to pay tax on your benefits. Your social security benefits can be:
0% taxable
50% taxable
Up to 85% taxable
The portion of social security that is taxable to you depends on the amount of other income you have. We do have a full episode on Social Security and taxes, which we recommend that you either listen to here or read here.
Medicare Premiums
If you receive Medicare Part B and Part D, you will pay a monthly premium. In 2024, the standard monthly premium is $174.70 for Part B. If your income exceeds certain thresholds, you may also pay a surcharge in addition to your standard Medicare premiums. This is called the income-related monthly adjustment amount, or IRMAA. IRMAA is another complex topic that we’ve covered in great detail on our podcast and in a blog.
If you’re married, filing jointly with income below $206,000, you won’t pay a surcharge. If you earn between $206,000 and $258,000, you’ll pay an additional surcharge of $69.90/month/person. Medicare Part B surcharges can be as high as $419.30/month/person for income $750,000 or higher. The surcharges are adjusted per year based on your income.
This is why taking IRMAA into consideration is important when planning for a Roth conversion or year with high income for other reasons.
Plan for Savings Going into 2024
Retirement planning is all about saving now so that you can retire in the future. If you automated your 401(k) contributions to max out last year and want to do the same in 2024, you will need to increase your contributions to meet the new maximum contribution. If your contributions are traditional/pre-tax, 401(k) contributions will reduce your tax liability for the year.
Maximum 401(k) contribution as an employee in 2024:
$23,000 which is up from $22,500 in 2023
Age 50 or older can contribute an additional $7,500 for total 401(k) contributions of $30,500
Age 50 or older can contribute an additional $1,000 for total IRA contributions of $8,000
Eligibility for Traditional and Roth IRA contributions is dependent on two things: having earned income and having income below certain limits. If you’re retired and want to contribute to an IRA, you must have earned income of some form; you cannot fund these accounts with your general savings.
If your income is greater than $161,000 as a single person or greater than $240,000 married, you cannot contribute to a Roth account. The deductibility of a traditional IRA varies. If your income is greater than $87,000 as a single person or $143,000 married, you cannot deduct your contributions.
Health Savings Account
An HSA is an account that you can put money into and later distribute to pay for medical expenses. HSAs are powerful retirement savings tools because they offer triple-tax benefits: you don’t pay tax on the dollars contributed, you don’t pay tax on growth if you choose to invest the funds within the HSA, and distributions are tax and penalty-free as long as they’re used for medical expenses. After the age of 65, you’re no longer penalized and can take distributions for whatever reason, medical or not, but you will pay tax.
HSA maximum contributions:
$4,150 for a single person
$8,300 on a family plan
Age 55 or older can contribute an additional $1,000 for total HAS contributions of $5,150 single or $9,300 family
We do love it when someone refers a family member or friend to us. Sometimes the question is, “How can we introduce them to you?” Well, there are multiple ways but a very easy way is to simply forward them a link to this webpage.
Here are this week’s items:
Portfolio Update: Murs and I have recorded our portfolio update for December 11, 2023
In this Episode of the Secure Your Retirement Podcast, Radon and Murs discuss the retirement issues to consider as we approach the end of the year. As the year ends and another begins, it’s important to have a checklist to ensure you have things closed out for 2023 and things set up for 2024.
Learn about tax planning strategies to look at, such as threshold tax brackets, qualified charitable distributions, donor-advised funds, and more. You will also learn the benefits of having a Health Savings Account (HSA) and contributing to 529 accounts at the end of the year.
Can you believe that we’re close to the end of 2023 already? Before the year wraps up, it’s a good idea to address end-of-year items and work your way through a checklist of sorts. You can also reference this list in 2024, so if you’re seeing this post after the end of the year, it’s still going to be relevant to you.
Can you believe that we’re close to the end of 2023 already?Before the year wraps up, it’s a good idea to address end-of-year items and work your way through a checklist of sorts. You can also reference this list in 2024, so if you’re seeing this post after the end of the year, it’s still going to be relevant to you.
We’re going to walk you through:
Things to do before the end of 2023
Things to do for a good start of 2024
Note: We do have an actual checklist that you can work through. If you want to get that checklist, feel free to schedule a call with us or send us an email.
You’ll want to work on your assets and debt issues. First, look at your unrealized investment losses. For example, perhaps you’re holding onto Apple stock and it’s a loss right now. You can sell the stock as a loss and leverage what is known as tax loss harvesting.
You can use these losses to:
Offset gains
Reduce your ordinary income by up to $3,000 a year
Losses beyond $3,000 will carry forward to offset income in future years
If you have capital gains, you can erase some of these gains by using tax loss harvesting. You can sell the stock and buy it back after a period of time.
Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs)
RMDs are something we talk a lot about on our podcast, and we have quite a few articles on the topic that you can review:
That being said, you’ll want to do a few things in terms of retirement planning with your RMDs. Based on your age, typically, if you’re in your early 70s, you’ll want to take your distribution before the end of the year.
Not sure if you need to take an RMD?
Discuss it with your financial advisor because distribution ages will vary based on when you were born.
If you inherited an IRA or 401(k), you automatically have RMDs that you need to consider. Anyone who recently inherited one of these accounts will need to be sure that the account is empty within 10 years. You will need to consider whether (or not) you want to take an RMD on these accounts before the end of the year.
Tax Planning
The end of the year signals a lot of tax planning items that you’ll need to check off your list. A few of the most important things to consider are:
Do you plan on your income increasing significantly in the next year?
You can consider maximizing your Roth contributions going into the end of the year. If you’re over the age of 50, Roth IRA contributions max out at $7,500, and the Roth 401(k) maxes out at $30,000 in 2023 and will go up in 2024.
If you’re 59 1/2 or older, you can consider accelerating your IRA withdrawals since you’re in a lower tax bracket this year. You may also want to consider converting some of this money into a Roth account to leverage tax-free growth.
The annual deadline for Roth conversions is December 31st, however, you should get started on these before the beginning of December to give plenty of time for the process to be completed in your intended year.
Threshold Tax Brackets
Your adjusted gross income can push you into a higher tax bracket or impact your Medicare surcharges. Going back to tax loss harvesting, you may be able to leverage these losses to keep charges lower or avoid going into a higher tax bracket.
You need to be aware of your potential adjusted gross income.
If you’re reading this, reach out to your financial advisor and:
Ask what your adjusted gross income may be
Plan ahead, because your income amount now impacts your surcharges in the future
Medicare IRMAA surcharges will certainly impact your budget because you’re required to pay more for Medicare if surcharges are higher.
Are you charitably inclined?
If you like to donate to charity, it’s also an opportunity to help offset your tax burden. A lot of unique strategies can be employed in this realm. People who give money to charity can leverage:
Qualified charitable distribution, for anyone who is over 70 1/2. You can use one of these distributions to lower your tax burden. For example, if you take money from your IRA and have the check written straight to an approved 501(c)(3) charity so that it is never deposited to your bank account, the donated amount will not be reported as taxable income to you.
Anyone who reaches the age of RMDs (70 ½ or older) can also use this strategy. For example, if your RMD is $20,000, you can funnel $10,000 to charity using the same method above and only have $10,000 of your RMD be taxable.
Bunching contributions or setting up a donor-advised fund is also an option. For example, if you donate $10,000 a year to charity, it’s possible that you may not exceed the standard deduction and therefore, will not receive any tax benefit for your $10,000 donation. So instead, you can combine multiple years of donations together. If you were to combine 3 years of donating $10,000 a year into a one-time donation of $30,000, you can deduct the entire $30,000 in the year the donation occurs. This would give you a greater chance of exceeding the standard deduction andreceiving a greater tax benefit by doing so.
Did you in 2023 or will you in 2024 receive a windfall?
If you receive a windfall, such as inheritance, lump sum payment, stocks, Roth conversion or some other major influx of money, you may need to make an estimated tax payment. If you don’t make one of these payments, the IRS can assess a penalty against you.
An estimated tax payment alleviates the penalty because if you’re within a certain percentage of what you owe, the IRS will be satisfied, and you can make any remaining payments at the time your taxes are filed.
A tax or financial advisor can help you with these estimated taxes.
Have there been any changes to your marital status?
If you got married or divorced, or your spouse passed on, it can have an impact on your taxes. Married filing single and married filing jointly are two very different things. Consulting with a tax professional about your situation can help you decide on how to handle your filing status this year.
You Have a Little Extra Money in the Bank
If you’ve had a good year and have made more money than expected, you may want to save some money. One thing that’s common is to put money into a Health Savings Account (HSA) if you are on a high-deductible health insurance plan.
For 2023, you’ll be able to put money into an HSA up to:
$3,850 if you’re single
$7,750 if you have a family health insurance plan
$1,000 extra if you’re over 55
These numbers will change in 2024.
The beauty of an HSA is that you can let the money in the account grow tax-deferred and then use the money for your medical needs. If you leave the money in the account until you’re 65, it can also act as a retirement fund.
401(k)
If you didn’t max out your 401(k), you can put up to $22,500 in the account in 2023 and an extra $7,500 if you’re over 50.
Roth IRA
If you’re eligible, you can put money into a Roth account. You can pull the money out of this account if you need it in the future.
529 Account
If you have kids or grandchildren and want to fund their college education, you can put money into a 529 account for them. You can fund this account with a gift exclusion of $17,000. There’s also a strategy to get up to $85,000 out of your estate and into one of these accounts, but you should work with a tax professional on this strategy.
Insurance
If you met your deductible for your insurance this year, try to get any of your medical needs met now because you won’t be paying for it. Working to get these procedures done now before you must pay your deductible again is an efficient means of using your insurance.
Depending on when you read this, don’t forget that open enrollment takes place in November and December.
Evaluate your Medicare and Supplement programs because there may be advantages to switching.
Estate Planning
Whether it’s the beginning or end of the year, you’ll want to focus on your estate plan. Review all your beneficiaries, including on your:
401(k)
IRA
Brokerage account
Savings account
Of course, this list isn’t exhaustive, but we’ve covered some main points that are really important going into the final weeks of the year.
We do love it when someone refers a family member or friend to us. Sometimes the question is, “How can we introduce them to you?” Well, there are multiple ways but a very easy way is to simply forward them a link to this webpage.
Here are this week’s items:
Portfolio Update: Murs and I have recorded our portfolio update for December 4, 2023
Anne Rhodes – Estate Planning in Retirement – Simplified
Listen in to learn about the importance of documents like the HIPAA form, certification of trust, and why you should consider a trust versus a will. You will also learn how wealth.com is set up to reduce estate planning friction and simplify estate planning for financial advisors and their clients.
Estate planning is a topic we often discuss with our clients. If you’re in the middle of retirement planning and trying to secure your retirement, an estate plan is something you want on your “to-do” list. Anne Rhodes, the Chief Legal Officer of wealth.com, joined us on our latest podcast, where she provides a simplified rundown of estate planning for our audience.
Estate planning is a topic we often discuss with our clients. If you’re in the middle of retirement planning and trying to secure your retirement, an estate plan is something you want on your “to-do” list.
Anne Rhodes, the Chief Legal Officer of wealth.com, joined us on our latest podcast, where she provides a simplified rundown of estate planning for our audience.
What Core Documents Make Up an Estate Plan?
Everyone – no matter the size of the estate – can break their estate plan into two large buckets.
Bucket 1: Passing Away and Death: Who will step into your shoes? Who will help distribute these assets? Where are these assets going?
Bucket 2: Incapacity: Incapacitation remains a serious question because if you’re no longer able to make decisions on your own, you can assign someone you trust to assist you in this area.
Documents in a standard estate package should include a will, even if you have a living trust. Both a will and a living trust are key components of an estate plan. Even if you have a living trust, you’ll need a pour-over will.
A pour-over will is what initiates your asset transfer into a living trust at the time of your death if they’re not already in the trust.
You have a whole other set of documents that you need to think about with incapacitation:
Financial Power of Attorney: A financial document that allows someone to have signature authority over your matters for any financial documents that you must sign.
Advanced Healthcare Directive: This document may be called something else, such as a healthcare proxy or healthcare power of attorney.
HIPAA Form Purpose
A HIPAA document is a great example of a healthcare directive. When it comes to medical privacy, your agent acting on your behalf with an advanced healthcare directive does not have the power to access your private medical records unless the HIPAA is signed.
If your doctor does not have a HIPAA release on file, they cannot share pertinent information with the person that you want to make medical decisions on your behalf.
As you can imagine, if the person handling your healthcare decisions cannot access your medical information, they cannot make the best decisions for you.
Certificate of Trust
A certification of trust, also known as a certificate of trust, accompanies a living trust. This certification accompanies a living or revocable trust. What this certification of trust does is allow your bank to know that:
Your trust exists
You’re the trustee
The trust is 100% legitimate
A certificate of trust is very important for streamlining your trust and ensuring that there are no issues along the way.
Trust vs. a Will
A living trust and revocable trust are the two most common forms of a trust because they’re a substitute for a will.
If you die without a will, your estate will go through a process called “probate.” Even if you have a will, your estate may still go through probate. A judge will be assigned during probate and must sign off on asset transfers. As you can imagine, involving a judge in every decision can take a while – especially in some states.
Court systems are handling a lot of cases, and if you’re in one of these states, a trust can help you avoid probate.
Probate also goes through the public system, which allows anyone to dig in and find information on what transpired during the probate process. In terms of privacy, you can keep much of your estate planning private with the help of a trust.
You may also have a trust because:
You own multiple properties across many states
You want to avoid probate in each state where you own property
If you secure your retirement and want to keep your estate out of probate, a trust is one of the best ways to achieve this goal.
Attorney Estate Planning vs Wealth.com (or similar platforms)
Digital platforms allow us to offer a simplified process of estate planning to our clients. Some clients are unsure if using an online platform like wealth.com is the same as working with an estate planner.
Wealth.com provides access to financial planners and similar professionals, streamlining the way that people create an estate plan.
Most people in the US can use wealth.com and go through the entire estate plan on their own. You must fill in forms online, which can speed up the process to make it much faster than working with a lawyer one-on-one.
Anne’s company, wealth.com, has had 70+ platform reviews from legal professionals, ensuring everything is accurate.
You can create a trust in 36 minutes with a platform like wealth.com, breaking down barriers that exist with meeting with a lawyer.
Can all families be helped with an online platform like wealth.com?
No. There are special case examples where we cannot serve certain families well, such as special needs children. Wealth.com is undergoing a survey to better help these clients. If, during the onboarding process, you answer that you have one of these situations, you will be prompted to find someone who specializes in these areas.
Do online platforms offer any personal help?
You may have one-off questions that you need answered when forming a trust, creating a will, and so on. Many platforms will not provide direct assistance in this area, but they may have an attorney network who will be available to you.
Wealth.com vs other platforms
We’ve seen many legal platforms that attempt to help in numerous areas of law, and this is where things can kind of get messy. Wealth.com focuses on estate planning only and has built a team that can help in complex estate matters, whereas many do-it-all platforms cannot.
Since you must connect with financial advisors to use the platform, you also receive additional help you wouldn’t otherwise.
Note: You need to work with a professional advisor, like Peace of Mind Wealth, who grants you access to Wealth.com and can walk you through the process. If you just go to the website, you won’t be able to access the wealth of tools available.
Once you’ve filled out all the estate planning documents, printed them out and notarized them as needed, your estate plan is in place.
If you’re interested in financial planning and want to add an estate plan into the mix, feel free to reach out to us.
We do love it when someone refers a family member or friend to us. Sometimes the question is, “How can we introduce them to you?” Well, there are multiple ways but a very easy way is to simply forward them a link to this webpage.
Here are this week’s items:
Portfolio Update: Murs and I have recorded our portfolio update for November 27, 2023
Rae Dawson – The Basics About a CCRC in Retirement – Part 2
In this episode of the Secure Your Retirement Podcast, join Rae Dawson as she breaks down the fundamentals of CCRC, covering everything from costs and waitlists to choosing the right time to make the move.
Ever wondered about the factors influencing CCRC expenses? Rae delves into that, offering insights on what to consider when evaluating the cost of a CCRC. Now, imagine this: How might being flexible in your requirements help you sidestep a potentially lengthy waitlist, which can stretch anywhere from 4 to 15 years?
How does the choice of location impact the cost of Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRC)? The expenses associated with CCRC are influenced by the contract type and community location. Living in a sought-after real estate location may come with a higher price tag compared to a more rural setting. As you contemplate the costs of CCRC, it’s crucial to factor in…
Rae Dawson is back with us this week to continue our series on CCRC (continuing care retirement community) and how it fits into your retirement planning. While much of this information is going to relate to your area, it is focused on Raleigh, NC.
Note: If you missed Part 1 of this series, click here to read it. You can also listen to the podcast version here.
CCRC costs are driven by the type of contract and community location. If you’re in a popular real estate area, you can expect to pay more than if you’re in a rural area. When thinking about the cost of a CCRC, you need to consider:
Buy-in
Monthly fee
Rental CCRCs are different than traditional ones because they do not have a buy-in, and monthly fees are much higher. Today we will be doing a deeper dive into Traditional CCRC costs.
For a traditional CCRC, you’ll often have 2 contract options: a single occupant contract, or a double occupant contract. The second occupant is often a spouse, friend, or sibling. Typically, no more than two people can live in a residency.
In the Triangle area, a buy-in for one of these communities ranges from $60,000 for a studio, and up to $990,000 for an extensive contract cottage. A higher buy-in rate for the extensive contract cottage because you’re paying for your higher level of care upfront. The buy-in is a one-time cost.
For double occupancy, your buy-in could be anywhere from $140,000 for a studio to $1,065,000 for a cottage. Why does the studio buy-in jump up for double occupancy? Most communities will not allow double occupancy in a studio.
Often, if your buy-in is on the lower end of the range, the community’s policy is if you leave the community after 15 months, your buy-in return is $0. However, if your buy-in is on the higher end, some communities offer a 100% return of the buy-in to your estate. If you secure your retirement and want to leave money to your heirs, it’s often best to pay the higher buy-in so that they receive the buy-in amount back.
What is a Cottage?
A cottage, in this sense, is a single-family home. The buy-in price is driven by square footage. A larger cottage may be 3,000 square feet, so a 600 square foot studio will cost significantly less. When moving to a CCRC, you have a lot of activities that you can engage in at the common area of the community. You’ll likely spend less time in a cottage by yourself, so downsizing is often a great option.
Different communities may have different names for types of homes. You may hear “duplex”, “triplex”, “apartment”, etc., in addition to studio and cottage. Keep in mind that the buy-in prices are driven by square footage if the different names for types of homes becomes confusing.
Monthly CCRC Costs
On top of your buy-in costs, you also have monthly fees. For a Traditional CCRC, there are ranges for the monthly fees:
Single person studio is as little as $2,150 per month
Cottage can run as high as $8,000 per month
Double-occupancy, one-bedroom ranges from $4,580 to $9,840 per month
In most cases, some meals, cable television, most utilities, transportation to and from the doctor’s office, gym or pool access, and some other perks may be included in the monthly fee. It’s important to know what amenities are included in the monthly fee, as they vary between communities and are probably things you pay for on an individual basis before living in a CCRC.
Qualifying for a CCRC
A general rule of thumb when pursuing a Traditional CCRC is that your monthly income should be at least 2 times the amount of the monthly fee. Your assets should be greater than 3 times the amount of your buy-in fee. If you’re moving into a $2,150 studio, your monthly income should be $5,000 to support this.
Traditional CCRCs will feel comfortable with allowing you to move in if you meet these income and asset requirements.
I’m Ready to Go. What’s the Waitlist on a CCRC?
CCRCs often have a waitlist because they’re in high demand and communities aren’t opening up at an adequate rate to meet the demand. It is not uncommon for a waitlist period to be 4 – 15 years. However, if you’re flexible with your floor plan requirements, you may be able to circumvent these long wait times.
In some communities, you can remain on the waitlist for your ideal floor plan and switch to your ideal unit in the future, but it’s often discouraged. What a lot of communities will do is allow you to downsize. Let’s say that you’re in a 3,000-square-foot cottage and one spouse dies. You would rather move to a smaller footprint, and the community may allow you to do this.
However, do not put all your eggs in one basket. Instead, you’ll want to be on multiple waitlists at a time. If you receive a serious diagnosis, you may be prohibited from entering a CCRC. It’s always best to have multiple options.
Joining a CCRC Waitlist
If you want to join a waitlist, there are steps that you’ll need to take to make all this work. You’ll need to:
Pay an application fee. It’s typically about $300, and it’s not refundable
Provide general financial and health information
Moving from a waitlist to a ready list will involve providing your financial statements
Communities will run a financial assessment before accepting you onto a waitlist, knowing the waitlist period is 4-15 years. You will also need to pay a $1,000 – $5,000 waitlist fee, which is refundable if you choose not to move to that community. If you do move to that community, the fee will be applied to your buy-in.
What Age Should You Start Looking Into a CCRC?
Today, the average CCRC entry age is 75. People are moving into these communities earlier than in the past due to competition and the attractive convenient amenities. The average age of a community may be 80 – 85. People who live in CCRCs often live longer than the normal person, with some living until 90 – 100.
Most communities require 6 months to 3 years of being healthy to move into a CCRC, so you can live more independently for longer.
If you wait too long and fall into bad health, you may not be able to move into one of these communities. Entering a CCRC early allows you to build friends and relationships early on, which is a nice perk of living in any type of community.
How to Decide What to Do
If you decide that you want to move to a CCRC, now you’ll need to choose the right community for you. You’ll want to think about quite a few different points, such as:
Family health history. Have your relatives lived through age 90 with few health issues? If so, you may not want to pre-pay for an extensive stay with higher levels of care.
Location. If all your friends and family are in one location, you’ll likely want to stay in their area.
Cost. It can be challenging to compare contract types and communities without a lot of organization first.
However, you will find there is one thing that’s even more important than all these points: culture and community. Visit multiple communities and find one that fits you and makes you feel comfortable. If you’re not visiting multiple communities, you may miss out on finding the community culture that is best for you.
Want to reach out to Rae Dawson to learn more about CCRCs? Email rae01dawson@gmail.com.
We do love it when someone refers a family member or friend to us. Sometimes the question is, “How can we introduce them to you?” Well, there are multiple ways but a very easy way is to simply forward them a link to this webpage.
Here are this week’s items:
Portfolio Update: Murs and I have recorded our portfolio update for November 20, 2023
In this Episode of the Secure Your Retirement Podcast, Radon and Murs speak with Andrew Opdyke about a 2023 end-year economic update and the expected shift in the economy in 2024. Andrew is a Certified Financial Advisor and Economist at First Trust Advisor.
Listen in to learn about the impact of the concentration of investments in the top ten companies and when the market broadening will happen. You will also learn about things to consider when expanding your investment portfolio in 2024…
Andrew Opdyke is back with us to get his insight on the broad economy. He’s been on our show multiple times, and he’s returned with his 2023 end-of-year economic update that everyone should listen to at least once.
Whether you’re trying to secure your retirement or in the middle of retirement planning, it’s always important to keep a pulse on the market.
Andrew Opdyke is back with us to get his insight on the broad economy. He’s been on our show multiple times, and he’s returned with his 2023 end-of-year economic update that everyone should listen to at least once.
Whether you’re trying to secure your retirement or in the middle of retirement planning, it’s always important to keep a pulse on the market.
October-November 2023 Economic Update
October was an interesting month due to the conflict between Israel and Palestine, and inflation remaining stubbornly high. Economic data came in stronger than anticipated, but there were still some concerns.
November 1st, the Fed’s meeting was a sigh of relief for many when they announced that maybe they’re “done” with trying to tame inflation. Perhaps rate hikes may remain on pause for now.
Rate easing may be ahead in 2024, which is what a lot of economists are hoping will occur.
However, as anyone who follows the market knows, just two weeks prior to these reports, there were just too many concerns that inflation may last a little longer. We just don’t have all the data yet to say if 2024 will see interest rates fall, stay the same, or even go a tad bit higher. Right now, as of mid-November, the New Year looks promising.
We’ll need to watch the data to better understand the ebbs and flows of the market right now.
Concerns of Investors Outside of the Magnificent 7 Stocks in the Market
When looking at the S&P 500, it has performed well this year when you include the stocks that are the “magnificent 7.” What are these stocks? They’re high performers that carry the market and include big names:
Alphabet
Amazon
Apple
Meta
Microsoft
Nvidia
Tesla
If you remove these seven stocks from the market, you’ll notice that the market is down in an equal weight market. The percentage of companies beating the index is at a 20- or 30-year low. Equal weight provides a better picture of what’s transpiring in the market, which would show most stocks are either flat or slightly down.
How much are people paying for the top 10 companies in the index? Many investors are paying a multiple of 25 to 30 for these ten stocks and a multiple of 17 for others.
What does this all mean? The top stocks need to continue performing well for the overall market to recover. Andrew would like to see a broader market rise, in which dozens of stocks are lifting the market, and believes that it will take some time to materialize.
Will the Economy Land or Take Off?
Soft landing. Hard landing. A lot of terms are thrown around for the economy and how it will end up after the pandemic and the high level of inflation that we’ve seen. Some economists are of the mindset that the economy won’t land but will take off.
However, Andrew believes that we’re likely to see a soft landing.
What we saw in the third quarter is that companies have excess inventory, which is due to a slowdown in production after COVID. Companies purchased a lot of inventory due to supply chain issues and are likely to:
Slow spending over the next 3 – 9 months
Avoid some growth initiatives due to high-interest rates
Will we hit a recession? Who knows? A recession has been six months away for 18 months now. Companies are buying less, building is slowing and if we do go into a recession, there’s a good chance that it will be very shallow.
We need to get back to sustainable interest rates without outside influence and stimulus.
Entering into 2024, we should start to learn more about the strength of the markets and economy without any outside influence building it up.
Building an Investment Portfolio to be Recession-proof
If we enter a recession, will interest rates still remain high? Look at companies that have sustainable cash flow, because even Apple must pay the high interest rates of today when they take out a loan and they add tens of billions in free cash flow quarterly.
Investors will want to dive into balance sheets and see which companies can fund their own projects without loans.
The United States has been sending money to Ukraine and is now funneling money to Israel. Ongoing events like these play into how the economy will look in the future.
The main risk of this new conflict is in the energy markets.
If Iran or others enter the conflict, it can lead to higher energy markets and a further rise in inflation. Economic repercussions of the Israel and Hamas war are likely to be a lot less than even Ukraine and Russia.
Trade conflicts and fracturing are occurring, and the US is doing a good job by determining who our strong trade partners are and reallocating our investments to these countries. We’re importing less from China and are trading more with:
Canada
Mexico
Japan
We have shuffled back and pulled away from China, pushing them from the first to the third trade partner that we have.
AI and the Hype Around It
Cryptocurrency was a major trend in past years, followed by blockchain. Now, we’re seeing a lot of people harp on the idea of AI. We’re at a point where we were with the Internet first coming about, where companies knew that the landscape of the way we work was changing.
What does AI mean for us?
The environment and world are changing. Some professions may become obsolete, and some new jobs may be created. If you look at the top 10 companies in 1999 and today, only two remain: Microsoft and Exxon.
AI may be won by the biggest companies, but if history repeats itself, we’ll see some companies born out of AI that may change the world. We may see the next Facebook or Meta created, and it may be a company everyone is overlooking.
What are you Most Worried About?
Geopolitical issues that are popping up, and more are likely to be added, are a major risk to the economy right now. China is likely to see a more difficult path in the next 10 – 20 years. We’re also entering an election year, and the negative side of the election can cause market fluctuations.
Escalation of Russia and Poland, Iran entering the Israel and Hamas war or China invading Taiwan can all effect the economy.
What are You Most Excited About?
AI excites Andrew, and he believes that while the technology is likely to change the world, in the next 24 – 36 months, we may see some major changes thanks to AI. Humanity is “fighting the fight,” with more people being literate and doing some amazing things.
We’re seeing how dementia has been in decline in the last decade, and as a whole, we have more people than ever trying to solve problems that have plagued the world around us.
Andrew is unbelievably excited to see how human potential is being unleashed.
We do love it when someone refers a family member or friend to us. Sometimes the question is, “How can we introduce them to you?” Well, there are multiple ways but a very easy way is to simply forward them a link to this webpage.
Here are this week’s items:
Portfolio Update: Murs and I have recorded our portfolio update for November 13, 2023
Rae Dawson – The Basics About a CCRC in Retirement
In this Episode of the Secure Your Retirement Podcast, Radon and Murs have Rae Dawson to discuss the basics of Continuous Care Retirement Communities (CCRC). Rae is a CCRC expert and spent her original career primarily managing people and projects in high-tech in Silicon Valley for many years before gaining an interest in CCRC.
She explains what it means for a facility/community to be a CCRC and why most assisted care facilities are not CCRCs.
Rae Dawson was a special guest on our podcast this past week, and she was happy to talk to us about a very important topic: CCRC. If you don’t know what a CCRC is, don’t worry. We’re going to cover that in just a few seconds.
But before we do, let’s learn more about Rae and why we’re so excited to have her on our show.
Rae Dawson was a special guest on our podcast this past week, and she was happy to talk to us about a very important topic: CCRC. If you don’t know what a CCRC is, don’t worry. We’re going to cover that in just a few seconds.
But before we do, let’s learn more about Rae and why we’re so excited to have her on our show.
A Little Bit About Rae Dawson
Rae was mentioned to us by one of our clients, and after a great conversation with her on the phone, we knew that we had to invite her onto the show. She had a career in high-tech and worked in Silicon Valley.
She moved to North Carolina when she retired, and she worked with her friend, who taught a class on CCRC until 2021. Her friend eventually moved into a CCRC herself and Rae has been teaching the class on her own ever since.
What is a CCRC?
A continuous care retirement community (CCRC) is not well-defined and there are a lot of opinions on what a CCRC should include. A CCRC, by Rae’s definition, should offer:
Memory care may or may not be offered, but it’s a nice perk of these communities.
CCRCs offer a continuum of care while staying within the same community. Most residents live in these communities until they pass on. CCRCs are a topic that we cover when discussing retirement planning with clients, but many people are educating themselves on their community options.
What is the Mindset of People Attending Rae’s CCRC Class?
Educating yourself on CCRCs is important. Most people want to age in place and remain in their family home. However, planners take Rae’s class because they want to know:
If aging in place is for them and what that looks like
If CCRC is something they might prefer, and what criteria must be met before going into a CCRC
CCRCs are regulated and there are nuances that everyone considering these communities must know about beforehand.
Regulations on CCRCs
Note: We’re going to cover a lot here, and Rae has been kind enough to share some slides with us. We’ll be adding these slides to our YouTube channel for you.
A lot of money and resources go into CCRCs. You plan on living in one and ensuring that you receive the care you need in retirement. Regulations are a safeguard that offers you peace of mind and ensures that the community is “following the rules.”
In North Carolina, where Rae and our team are located, CCRCs are regulated by the NC Department of Insurance. Assisted living and skilled nursing facilities are also regulated by the Department of Health and Human Resources.
The NC Department of Insurance is your best resource for understanding the financial stability of a CCRC.
Luckily, in North Carolina, no CCRC has ever gone bankrupt. One almost went under, and the Department of Insurance stepped in to protect residents and help the community get back on the right financial footing.
Why?
Residents buy into these communities and make a significant investment to remain in one.
Familiarize Yourself with the Department of Insurance Website
Rae recommends that all her students familiarize themselves with the NC Department of Insurance website because it’s their go-to source for information. You can:
Search the site for CCRCs
Read through contract types
Read through community disclosure documents
Learn about the licensing requirements to be a CCRC
Access community search tools
Community search tools allow you to use an interactive search engine or download a PDF on all CCRCs.
If you cannot find a community on the Department of Insurance website, it is not a CCRC. Often, nursing facilities may promote themselves as a continuous care retirement community, but they are not if they’re not on the site.
Browsing through the PDFs on the NC Department of Insurance website, you’ll find great information on each CCRC, such as:
Buy-in options
Refund options
Low and high costs
Meals on wheels info
Waitlist time
A new interactive portal is also available that makes it simple to browse through all of the CCRCs in the state.
Note: If you’re not in North Carolina, you can often find similar information on your state’s website.
Wait List Notes
CCRCs have limited space, which means there’s a waitlist. We’ve had some clients wait six months, two years, or even longer to get into one of these communities. Some communities have a 12-year waitlist!
CCRC Rating Agencies
Rating agencies for CCRCs do exist, and three of the main ones are: Fitch, CARF, and CMS.
Fitch
Fitch provides primarily financial liability ratings. The main factor in the Fitch rating is the Debt Service viability. When a CCRC is expanding, the community takes on a lot of debt. However, once complete, the community will sell residency and its rating will rise because it’ll pay off the debt.
CARF
Rather than focusing on the financial aspects of a CCRC, these agencies will look at the services provided and the quality evaluations. Communities apply for a CARF (Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities) rating and pay for the assessment that is done.
CMS (Medicare)
Medicare will provide quality of care and staffing service ratings for skilled nursing facilities. Note that not all facilities are Medicare-certified, which may sway your decision to join one facility over another.
Note: Remember, the NC Department of Insurance also has a rating system for each community.
Understanding the 5 CCRC Contract Types
1. Extensive or Type A
An “extensive” contract is the most popular and requires a buy-in plus a monthly fee. No matter what level of care you’re living in, your monthly fee does not increase. You’re pre-paying with your buy-in with a higher upfront cost but a stable monthly cost.
Moving into a Type A CCRC does mean that your doctor will need to state that you’re likely to remain independent for a longer period of time than with other contract types.
2. Modified or Type B
A modified contract means that you’re buying in for a higher level of care at a subsidized rate or for a fee for a certain number of days. You’ll have a lower buy-in and monthly fee than an Extensive contract, but you’ll be paying more than our next contract type.
3. Fee for Service or Type C
Fee for Service contracts are exactly what they sound like. You pay for what you receive. While you live in an independent living facility, you’re paying for this level of care. When going into an assisted living area, you’ll pay the going rate for this type of care.
4. Rental
Rental communities are growing in popularity in North Carolina and do not have an entrance fee. You may need to provide a deposit of two months of rent. These communities do provide access to higher levels of care at the going rate.
What we do want to point out is that Rental communities are for-profit while the other communities that we’ve mentioned are non-profit.
Traditional CCRCs are beneficial because they will often offer a benevolent fund, which means that if you move into one of their communities and you run into money issues, they will not make you move communities. However, they may require you to move to a smaller footprint within the community that is less expensive.
Rental communities will make you move out of the community if you cannot continue paying.
5. Equity
An equity contract comes with a real estate transaction because you’re buying the residence that you move into. The real estate transaction allows you to buy the home and contract with the community for a higher level of care services.
The cost of the contract with the community is roughly 10% of the cost of the unit you purchase.
While there is not a structured classification, equity contracts are, more or less, a fee-for-service type of structure for higher levels of care.
Which CCRC Contract is Best?
Rae finds that no single community is best for everyone. If you have long-term care insurance, your choice for a community may be different than someone else’s. Why? Your insurance can help you cover the financial requirements of the facility.
Extensive contracts with long-term care are often a good choice because you may pay less once long-term care kicks in.
A few things to consider when choosing a CCRC contract are:
Current level of health
Family health history
Do you think you’ll need a higher level of care for a long period of time?
Rae’s former co-teacher chose a fee-for-service community because she didn’t want to pay for any services that she may not use.
In terms of quality of care, you’ll find that the quality of care across all contracts is about the same. You will receive the same great care in a Rental community as you will in an Extensive one.
Many residents who are tired of caring for their homes will often go to a Rental community. The community allows them to avoid the buy-in and gives them the freedom to move to another community or move into their kid’s home if they wish.
Rental communities do have a lease that is 12 months, but you will need to pay some costs upfront.
We’ve asked Rae to come back onto our show, because we’ve really just covered the basics of CCRC here. We plan on covering this topic more in-depth in the future, so be on the lookout for more episodes with Rae if you want to learn more about CCRC.
If you want to learn more about CCRCs with Rae, you can contact her directly at rae01dawson@gmail.com.
