Des Moines Nursing Home Abuse Blog

For those who lack sufficient resources to pay for any medical need or emergency during decades of retirement, Medicaid planning can provide a necessary form of protection. Even for Iowa residents in a comfortable financial situation, elder care planning that includes Medicaid eligibility may be able to help preserve the estate's assets. A few helpful tips can prevent some common mistakes and protect family members from unexpected medical needs.

One of the most common mistakes made in care planning is the transfer or sale of assets. Eligibility for Medicaid is partially determined using assets, but wealth reduction must be done with awareness of the look-back period. According to one elder law attorney in Dallas, nearly all transfers made within 60 months of filing an application will effectively prevent a person from being eligible for Medicaid. It's important to note that once the five-year period has passed, those transfers no longer affect eligibility.

For many Iowa residents, it is possible to execute a successful plan for retirement with as little as a year of advance planning, but an adviser with Hyde Park Wealth Management suggests that most people allow five years to reach their goals. It's easy to understand why when one considers the many decisions that must be accounted for. Legal documents, for instance, are a primary need. A review of current insurance policies and later coverage needs is certainly important, but living wills and advance health directives are also critical. A proper plan may be able to reduce the risk of financial abuse or exploitation during one's elder years.

Another leading concern, according to the chief investment officer with Sica Wealth Management, is crafting a diversified yet conservative portfolio for asset protection and continued income. Otherwise, a market downturn may cause serious setbacks for retirement planning. The goal of maximizing income is also important, and paying down debt prior to retirement helps retirees have more funds available to support their desired lifestyle.

Iowa residents may have heard that political leaders are looking at a recent proposal designed to reduce the Social Security deficit over the next 75 years by one-fourth. The proposed chained CPI, or consumer price index, according to speakers at an AARP event, differs from the current system by reducing annual adjustments in that it would reduce Social Security payments by about three-tenths of a percent. The idea is to replace the consumer price index, which is currently used to calculate adjustments, with a theoretically more accurate system. Speakers at the event pointed out that the supposedly more accurate system, however, would result in a real-world drop in income for recipients.

The chained CPI is based on the idea that consumers will switch to less expensive products following a reduction in income. They would trade in an SUV for a smaller car with better gas mileage, for instance, or they would forgo the more expensive blueberries in favor of bananas at the grocery. The problem, according to speakers, is that many people already rely on Social Security as their primary income, due to inadequate retirement planning, financial exploitation and other reasons.

The United States Census Bureau estimates that there will be more than 660,000 Iowa residents over the age of 65 by the year 2030. Persons over the age of 60 make up nearly 21 percent of the state's population, with a 2.1 percent increase in 2012.

Iowa has a good ratio of elder care facilities to residents over the age of 65; in fact, at 58 beds for every 1,000 senior citizens, it is the highest ratio in the United States. Yet, Iowa also has the second highest ratio of senior citizens residing in these facilities, despite the fact that 26 percent of those residing in long-term facilities need only minimal assistance with day-to-day activities.