First, Congress made health insurance available to millions more low-income individuals by expanding eligibility for Medicaid. Beginning in 2014, Medicaid eligibility will extend to anyone under age 65 with income up to 133% of the federal poverty level. Currently, Medicaid beneficiaries are primarily children in low-income families, their parents, low-income pregnant women, and low-income elderly or disabled individuals. The newly eligible persons will consist primarily of low-income non-elderly adults without dependent children.

Second, Congress enacted taxing measures that encourage expansion of employer-sponsored insurance. The Act establishes new tax incentives for eligible small businesses to purchase health insurance for their employees. In addition, the Act’s employer responsibility provision imposes a tax liability under specified circumstances on large employers that do not offer adequate coverage to full-time employees.

Third, Congress provided for creation of health insurance exchanges to enable individuals and small businesses to leverage their collective buying power
and maintain health insurance at rates competitive with those charged for typical large employer plans.

Fourth, Congress enacted market reforms that will make affordable insurance available to millions who cannot now obtain it. Certain reforms have already taken
effect, including provisions that bar insurers from canceling insurance absent fraud or intentional misrepresentation and from placing lifetime caps on benefits, 42 In addition, the Act establishes medical loss ratios for insurers, i.e., minimum percentages of premium revenues that insurers must spend on clinical services and activities that improve health care quality, as opposed to administrative costs or profits. The Act also requires insurers providing family coverage to continue covering adult children until age 26, which has led to an additional 2.5 million young adults gaining coverage. Beginning in 2014, the Act will bar insurers from denying coverage to any person because of medical condition or history,
(guaranteed-issue provision), and from charging higher premiums because of a person’s medical condition or history, (community-rating provision).

Fifth, Congress enacted new tax credits, cost-sharing reduction payments, and tax penalties as incentives for individuals to maintain a minimum level of health insurance. The Act establishes federal premium tax credits to assist eligible individuals with household income up to 400% of the federal poverty level purchase insurance through the new exchanges. These premium tax credits, which are advanceable and fully refundable such that individuals with little or no income tax liability can still benefit, are designed to make health insurance affordable by reducing a taxpayer’s net cost of insurance. The credits will be available even to families with incomes at (and above) the median level, which, in 2010, was $75,148 for a family of four and $42,863 for an individual. For eligible individuals with income up to 250% of the federal poverty level, the Act also authorizes federal payments to insurers to help cover those individuals’ cost-sharing expenses (such as co-payments or deductibles) for insurance obtained through an exchange. CBO projected that 83% of people who buy non-group insurance policies through exchanges will receive premium tax credits, (20 million of 24 million), and that those credits, on average, will cover nearly two-thirds of the premium,

In addition to those incentives through tax and other subsidies to purchase health insurance, Congress assigned adverse tax consequences to the alternative of attempted self-insuring. Congress provided that, beginning in 2014, non-exempted federal income taxpayers who fail to maintain a minimum level of health insurance coverage for themselves or their dependents will owe a tax penalty for each month in the tax year during which minimum coverage is not maintained.

And, just for supporters of the law (I am one), here’s a short, brutal description of the opposing brief that you might find amusing:

The challengers to the health care mandate have filed their Supreme Court brief – the definitive statement of the case against the mandate, drawing on the strongest arguments that have been made against it by advocates and federal judges, and authored by conservative superlawyer Paul Clement. It is astoundingly thin and weak. A standard admonishment to young lawyers is that they should address the very strongest arguments on the other side, instead of substituting weak caricatures of their opponents’ views. Yet the brief does this repeatedly.

Now, it has been clear for some time that the most articulate opponents of the mandate (who include such formidable intellects as Richard Epstein, Randy Barnett, and Gary Lawson) have just this in mind. They despise the modern state and want to blow it up. But the Supreme Court has no such revolutionary ambitions. The challenge for the challengers of the law, then, is to come up with a theory that lets them win this case without committing the Court to the end of American civilization as we know it. Clement evidently could not figure out how to do that (other than – here he shows excellent sense – being coy about the implications of his argument). If you accept his brief’s logic, then it is not clear how, say, the Environmental Protection Agency could survive, since there is no enumerated power to keep the country’s air breathable or its water drinkable.

As I’ve noted in a different context, when a lawyer as good as Clement makes arguments this bad, it tells you a lot about how desperate his case is.

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When someone you love dies, there is a lot of confusion about what happens next for you. Below you will find financial planning considerations that you can prepare for in advance that may help you make important financial decisions when the time comes of a loved one’s death, such as concerns over honoring your spouse’s wishes and caring for yourself and your family.

Settle your spouse’s estate
Dealing with an estate transfer and settlement can be a very complicated process and potentially can drag on for an extended period of time such as a year or more. The estate settlement process includes decisions about the distribution of your spouse’s assets and how to handle liabilities such as those that come about from estate taxes. If you are named the executor of your spouse’s estate in your spouse’s will, you will be responsible for making all the financial and legal decisions related to the estate.

Before you make any decisions, the first step is to obtain a copy of your spouse’s will and death certificate. Generally, you will be able to get a copy of the will from your estate attorney that created the document since they usually retain copies. Also, you can get copies of your spouse’s death certificate through your state’s vital statistics office.

Your spouse’s death certificate is important to gain access to bank account information, transfer ownership of securities such as stocks, bonds, and the like, apply for Social Security benefits, and to collect life insurance proceeds and other benefits.

Expenses related to your estate such as outstanding loans, leases, or taxes lower the total value of your estate. Consider having a separate bank account to handle and monitor all of the incurred estate expenses. Make sure to monitor where the money is going and keep accurate records.

Paying off debt
As the executor for the estate, you are required to settle any outstanding debts that are solely in your spouse’s name such as credit card balances and other debt. You can contact any of the credit bureaus to get copies of your spouse’s outstanding debts. You should also provide the credit bureaus a copy of your spouse’s death certificate so that they remove his name from their files. Also, notify all the creditors of your spouse’s death to close all credit cards listed solely under your spouse’s name and transfer any jointly help cards to your name only.

Distributing property
Every state has a probate process and as the executor you play a critical role in the distribution and sale of estate valuables and properties according to the will and your spouse’s wishes. If the will is lacking certain information, the executor would take the responsibility in distributing the decedent’s property at his/her discretion.

Paying taxes
Depending on the laws related to estate taxes at the year of death and the value of the spouse’s total estate, the executor would need to handle issues related to settling estate taxes, which would be due nine months after the death.

The federal estate tax or in other words the “death tax” is a tax on the transfer of property. The estate tax works in conjunction with the gift tax, which applies to estates also that haven’t made proper considerations for the distribution of properties.

However, federal estate tax laws change often. For 2009, if the estate tax on the decedent’s taxable estate, plus taxable lifetime gifts, is less than exclusion amount of $3,500,000, the federal estate tax can be avoided. For 2008, that exclusion was $2,000,000 and it is set to revert to $1,000,000 going forward.

Also, depending on the state you live in, the executor of the estate would need to complete any state estate and/or inheritance tax returns. Since this is beyond the scope of this paper, speak with your tax attorney on how to properly file these documents.

Obtaining benefits
Make sure to notify the Social Security Administration of your spouse’s death to determine any benefits you are eligible to receive. Survivor benefits can vary depending on factors such as your spouse’s earnings, your age, and your children’s ages.

Many companies provide the surviving spouse with benefits that transfer to the surviving spouse and other heirs after death such as pension benefits, retirement benefits, and the like. You may be entitles to your spouse’s stock options, insurance benefits, and other compensation such as unpaid bonuses. Contact the human resources department of your spouse’s employer(s) for information on any transferable benefits.

Retirement benefits
There are two common types of retirement plans that offer retirement benefits: traditional defined benefit plans or employer-sponsored plans (defined-contribution plans).

‘¢Traditional defined-benefit retirement plan or traditional pension plan. The employer guarantees a pre-determined regular benefit to the widowed spouse.
‘¢Employer-sponsored retirement plans include 401(k), 457 and 403(b) plans. If your decedent spouse participated in an employer-sponsored plan such as the ones above, you will need to contact the employer to determine what options are available to you for receiving benefits. You might be able to roll over your spouse’s assets into your own IRA.
At this point, it may be a good idea to update your beneficiaries of your retirement plans.

Settling life insurance
Life insurance proceeds are typically the biggest source of income that is left to a surviving spouse. You should file to get your life insurance benefits as soon as possible. You should also update your life insurance beneficiaries at this time. Life insurance can have a variety of options for receiving benefits. You should speak with your financial advisor about best ways to receive the life insurance distributions and more importantly on how to invest your life insurance proceeds.

Options for receiving life insurance benefits:

‘¢Lump sum. Receive the entire death benefit in one payment.
‘¢Income provision. Life insurance pays you principal and interest on a specific schedule.
‘¢Life income option. Life insurance company pays guaranteed income for life depending on the policy’s death benefit and the surviving spouse’s age.
‘¢Interest income option. Life insurance company pays you interest earned from the policy, but keeps the proceeds. This option allows you to name another beneficiary to receive the death benefit upon your death.

Obtain help from your financial advisor
Upon the death of your spouse, it may seem emotionally and mentally overwhelming to tackle any issue that you face. However, you can prepare in advance and lessen the financial stress of distributing your spouse’s estate.

A Financial advisor can help you address the issues that you will need to tackle both upon your spouse’s death and years afterwards, such as budgeting, managing your debts, securing your retirement, investing your assets, protecting your family, and helping ensure that your estate is in order.

Isakov Planning Group financial advisors bring industry leading resources and expertise to help clients pursue and achieve their goals. Along with expert market analysis from the firm’s top investment managers, your Isakov Planning Group financial advisor will work with you to develop and deliver tailored solutions that can help you get on track and ultimately achieve your most important objectives, whether you’re looking to plan for retirement, build tax-free wealth, get your kid’s through college, or build a lasting legacy for your family.

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Natural bodybuilding is definitely the way to go, as who wants to cheat in order to achieve their goals? In this case, someone who has put four or five years into their bodybuilding regimen could be considered advanced, but other bodybuilders strongly disagree. Anabolic (building) effects are increased strength, increased muscle size, improved virility and vitality and enhanced recovery or rejuvenation of the muscles, especially after a rigorous workout session. How Steroids WorkSteroids work by increasing levels of testosterone in the body almost right away and directing them to the bloodstream.

Increment of the testosterone hormone in the body actually magnifies the existing reactions and does not initiate the chemical reactions. Speaking of significant results, now let’s look at some of the training routines of these advanced bodybuilders. What are the best research chemicals tamoxifen citrate with cool designs? Once someone has achieved a physique of significant size and shape, their routines will likely roof all around the shaping and defining of these muscles versus simply the building of them. Some of them have to be on steroids for life because their natural testosterone levels are equivalent to that of a 100 year old grandmother!

How to find great hgh fragment 176-191 with cool designs?

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Now that the muscle has been developed, it will be important to define it and give it the best overall shape and quality possible. Since bodybuilding exercise is crucial and essential when it comes to the maintenance of a healthy weight, the ones who are involved in it do not have or develop serious weight problems. First of all, you ought to boost your body’s calcium intake. You cannot start taking in a lot of calories or fats and expect to lose weight or body fats.

Other people do not take breakfast as a means of eliminating calories though they tend to be fatter unlike the ones who take breakfast on a daily basis. 3Wgu51h This is so because they will add protein to your which keeps you full all the time.

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Make sure to drink enough water and stay hydrated though- no one like headaches. Others have also learned to overeat as a means to comfort them when they are feeling lonely or isolated.

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The pension plans that many people once relied upon are no longer being offered by many companies but are being replaced by individual retirement accounts and 401 K plans. However, all is not lost. Though the retirement age is beginning to climb, currently, the retirement age for my generation is set at 67 years old, and many people are continuing to work through their retirement years, there are many things that you can do to prepare for and plan for your retirement.

When it comes to planning for retirement two words are key: Savings and Diversification. First, let’s take a look at savings. Many financial advisors recommend that people begin with the basics. When it comes to retirement, a savings account is still a great place to start. It is also recommended that as soon as you enter the work place, you should begin saving. If you just set aside $25.00 from each paycheck and put it into a savings account where it will earn interest (compounding) you will accumulate a nice sized account over thirty-forty years. Many people often overlook the importance of a simple savings account and lose the best benefit that one is given in retirement planning- time. By beginning your savings account while you are young, you will have the advantage of saving over a longer amount of time, compounding and earning interest, and you will be rewarded with a great sum of money to contribute to your nest egg.

Diversification is the next key to enjoying a successful retirement. Since retirement involves a lot of forethought and careful planning for future events, it requires a lot of preparation for things that may or may not happen. Illnesses and medical expenses that may arise could devastate your financial plan so it is important to carefully prepare for any unforeseen illnesses that could affect your financial strategy.

By taking advantage of the “time factor” you can ensure that your retirement savings will have a great chance of providing for all of your needs. One thing is certain however; you should not rely upon Social Security to meet your needs. Your Social Security income should make up about 1/4th of your retirement income; it should not be the sole source of it. By working with a financial planner and an investment counselor, you can use time to invest wisely, save efficiently and take advantage of compounding, to build up a suitable retirement income.

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To make matters worse, we’re inundated with conflicting advice about how we should invest our savings to best accomplish our retirement goals. Should we hire an investment advisor? Should we use index funds or actively managed funds? What funds should we buy? How do we build the very best portfolio to get the highest returns?

While these questions are valid, they become inconsequential if the apprehension they produce causes us to do nothing. What matters most is whether we save enough money for a long enough period of time and whether we make reasonably good investment choices. Notice I said reasonably good investment choices. Too many people feel that successful financial planning is about scoring frequent Jim Cramer style “booya” home-runs on brilliant stock picks. The facts just don’t support this oft repeated lore. What really matters is that you have a good plan and stick to it. As a result, the focus of this guide is not on investing, but rather, it’s about how to get started in building a solid retirement plan.

When can I get off the treadmill?

To determine how much you need to retire, you must first decide how much you want to spend in retirement. What standard of living do you desire in retirement and how much will it cost to fund that lifestyle? This is by far the most important question in retirement planning.

Fundamentally, this is a question about tradeoffs. How much should we sacrifice during our working years, and for how long, so we can be happy during those golden retirement years. The tradeoffs get even more complicated when you consider other competing factors such as children’s education, the care of elderly parents, and concerns about one’s own health. Once again, it’s easy to get bogged down in the complexity of it all, but like any decision involving trade-offs, it becomes much simpler if we can understand what the costs and benefits of our various options are.

This is where a retirement planning tool can help. A retirement calculator can help you experiment with different levels of savings, different retirement ages, and different levels of retirement spending. By using a retirement calculator to run retirement “experiments”, you’ll be able to see the costs and benefits of choosing among the various paths. Retirement planning is deeply personal, and only you can decide what tradeoffs make sense for you and your family.

I’m ready to calculate. Now what?

Retirement calculators can provide you with information to help you make choices about various retirement options. But remember, these tools are not “smart” and they can’t weigh the options for you. Their role is to assist you by arming you with the information you need to make good choices.

Most retirement planning tools ask you to provide information about expected savings, desired retirement age, and the annual expenses you plan to incur during retirement. The tools use this information, along with assumptions about inflation, taxes, and portfolio performance, to estimate the likelihood that you’ll be able to fund your expenses for the duration of your retirement.

This likelihood of success is the tool’s way of indicating how solid of a plan you’ve constructed. If the likelihood (or probability) of success is low, say below 50%, then you have a less than 50/50 chance of having enough money in retirement. On the other hand, if the probability of success is above 90%, then your plan has a very high likelihood of being able to provide income you’re seeking during retirement.

Wait a minute you say, I simply want to know if my plan works. Why can’t the tool just tell me that?

Most advanced retirement planning tools use the concept of probability to report their results. This is because most tools work by running thousands “simulations” of your retirement. In each of these simulation runs, the software plugs through all of the calculations of your retirement year-by-year to see what happens. In the runs where the simulation reaches the end of the plan and still has money to spare, the run is called a success. Runs where the money is gone before the end of the plan are called failures. The ratio of successes over failures is your plan’s overall probability of success.

Still you say, why does the planner need to make thousands of simulation runs? Why doesn’t it just do it right the first time and give me the right answer? Well, it turns out that long-range planning, such as retirement planning is not an exact science. No one knows for sure how investments are likely to perform in the future, so the best anyone can do is try to make estimates of the future. The problem with making an estimate is that it could be wrong. So instead of making just one estimate, several thousand estimates are made. Most planners do this by considering how investments have performed in the past and then using this information to make guesses at what might happen in the future as your retirement plan unfolds. They do this over and over again and record the results of each “run”. Then they summarize the results by showing the overall probability of success for the plan.

Ok, I got it, let’s start simulating my retirement

Once you have a basic understanding of what a retirement planning tool does and how to interpret its output, you’re well on the way to being able to make use of this powerful helper. Although there are several good tools in this space, for the rest of this article, we’re going to focus on one particular tool that’s freely available on the Internet and runs inside your web browser.

The tool is called the flexibleRetirementPlanner. I created this tool for myself as I was evaluating my own retirement plan. I found that the other tools out there were either too simple, or didn’t shed enough light on how they worked for me to trust them. For this reason, I also published the source-code of this tool (see the website) so anyone can look at how the planner really computes its results. You’ll be glad to know that the tool is free to use and you don’t need to sign up for anything or give out any personal information to use it. Also, all the information that you enter into the planner stays on your own computer and nothing is transmitted back out onto the Internet, so you can be sure your information will stay private.

Follow the steps below to set up the retirement planner to evaluate your retirement plan’s chances for success.

1) Current Age - Enter your current age

2) Retirement Age - Enter your planned retirement age. This is the age when contributions will stop and you’ll begin withdrawing from your savings.

3) For now, leave the Life Expectancy, Inflation, and Tax rate info at their default values.

4) Current Taxable Investments - Enter the current total value of all invested assets that are NOT in a retirement account.

5) Current Tax Deferred Investments - Enter the current total value of all tax deferred investment accounts such as those in 401k or IRA accounts.

6) Current Tax Free Investments - Enter the total value of all tax free investment accounts such as Roth IRAs or Roth 401ks.

7) Leave the Min IRA Withdrawal age at its default value

The next three fields are where you enter your expected annual savings. If you’re not sure what to put here, start out by entering 15% of your annual household income in the “Tax Deferred Annual Savings” field. You can tweak this later. Also, please note that like most other values used in the calculator, the amounts you enter for annual retirement savings are automatically increased each year to keep up with inflation.

Taxable Annual Savings - Enter the amount that you plan to save each year in taxable accounts (not IRAs or 401ks).

9) Tax Deferred Annual Savings - Enter the amount that you plan to save each year in traditional IRAs and 401k accounts.

10) Tax Free Annual Savings - Enter the amount that you plan to save each year in Roth IRAs and Roth 401ks

11) Investing Style - Leave this input at its default value for now. Later you might want to experiment with other values for this field. After you’re done evaluating your plan, the next step will be to learn about investing to see how you can create an investment portfolio that will help you meet the goals of your plan.

12) Annual Retirement Income - Enter the amount of income you expect to receive each year while you’re retired. This should include social security and any pension income that you expect to receive. Please note that the value you enter in this field is assumed to increase each year to keep up with inflation. If you have a pension with fixed payments, use the “additional inputs” tab to enter it as a pension with “no cola” or no cost of living adjustment.

13) Retirement Income Start Age - Enter the age you expect to start receiving the income amount that you entered in item 12 above.

14) Annual Retirement Spending - Enter an estimate of how much you plan to spend in each year of your retirement. The amount you enter should be in today’s dollars. It will be automatically adjusted each year to keep up with inflation. If you don’t have any idea of what to put here, some suggest using 85% of your pre-retirement spending as a rough guide. This is one input that deserves a lot of thought in order to make as realistic of a guess as possible.

15) Spending Policy - Leave this value at its default setting for now. After you’ve experimented with the planner for a while, you may want to read the planner documentation about spending policies to learn more about what this means.

Alright already, now I’m really ready. Show me the money!

Once you’ve completed the steps above, you’re ready to run the planner. Click on the “Run Simulation” button and the software will run through your retirement 10,000 times to estimate the likelihood that you’ll have enough money to fund your retirement.

Once the computations are complete, the first thing to notice is the “Probability of Success”. If this value is above 90%, a green light is shown next to the value. If you’ve estimated all the inputs correctly and your plan has a probability of success greater than 90%, your plan is in great shape. If your probability of success is between 75% and 90%, the stoplight will show yellow. This is also a good probability of success, though this also means that your plan may have a 10-25% chance of failing. Finally, if your plan’s probability of success is less than 75%, that means you have at least a one in four chance of running out of money during your retirement.

Next, you may want to look at some of the other simulation outputs to further evaluate your plan. The ending portfolio balance shows how much money (in today’s dollars) you’ll have in savings at the end of your plan. Finally, you can select the “Detailed Output” tab to see the year-by-year information for your plan.

Once you get an idea of how to run the planner and how to interpret the results, you can try different scenarios to see what the results are. For example, try increasing your annual savings a bit to see how that affects your plan’s chances for success. Also, if you have a very high probability of success, try decreasing your retirement age little-by-little to see how that affects the results. The possibilities for experimentation are endless, but don’t get discouraged by this. You’re in command of the decision-making process, and now you’re armed with a tool that can help you make better choices.

After experimenting with the planner for a while, you should start to feel more in control of your personal retirement destiny. You’ll have a better understanding of the trade-offs in front of you, and you should be in a better position to make good choices about how much to save and how long you’ll need to keep working. If you’re new to financial planning and investing, this is a great time to dive in and learn more. Just don’t delay. The one thing this adventure in retirement planning should have shown you is that time is your most precious resource.

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It's time to consider a budgeting and planning method change when you find the time and effort to produce your reports exceed the time you spend analyzing the numbers. Your financial planning solution should provide you with easy answers to any type of question that you may have regarding revenue planning, expense budgeting and reporting. You should never be left worrying if you have the right numbers since the vital information that you need should be at your fingertips. If it takes too much work to get the answers that you need or you are at all skeptical about the answer and don't trust it, it's time to upgrade to a new methodology.

It's also time to make a change if your financial planning solution doesn't allow for you to foresee and plan for any changes to sales, expenses or headcount. Your planning solution should never limit your business options. A good budgeting software solution should easily outline a company's growth trajectory and allow for its users to easily see what would happen if you added some new hires, whether they were full-time, part-time, seasonal, salaried, or hourly, launched a new program or wanted to acquire or divest a business unit. The process should be simple and easy.

Financial planning solutions should make the lives of the finance team easier, not harder. Consider the amount of time that you and your co-workers spend using your planning tool. If the time it takes to figure the system out and make it work for your needs exceeds the time spent looking at and analyzing the numbers, there is clearly a problem. It can be extremely cumbersome to write mathematical formulations and lay out report presentations. After all, there are technology solutions to do that for you. You are being paid to analyze the numbers, and there are much simpler solutions that allow for you to spend more time doing the work that should be done, instead of worrying about setting up a spreadsheet.

Today's budgeting and planning solutions are much simpler and easier to use, and it's time to take advantage of everything that they have to offer. It's easy to get stuck in the budgeting with spreadsheets dark ages, since that might be where you are most comfortable. However, it's imperative to incorporate modern technology into your budgeting strategy. It's the only way to remain relevant and competitive.

About the Author - John Orlando
Centage Corporation provides companies with powerful yet easy-to-use budgeting and forecasting software to enable the most confident, informed decision-making. John Orlando is the Executive Vice President & CFO, John has over 25 years experience in finance, accounting and administration. He has extensive experience working with both high growth Fortune 500 companies and start-up business. Prior to Centage, John served as Group Director of Planning & Analysis at WearGuard (subsidiary of ARAMARK) where he was instrumental in driving profitability via restructuring, cost containment and margin improvement initiatives. For more information about Centage Corporation, please visit: http://centage.com/.

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A reverse mortgage is exactly what the name implies. Rather than you paying a monthly sum of money to a mortgage company, a mortgage company pays you. There are three types of reverse mortgages and all have the same eligibility requirements.

You must be at least 62, live in, and own, your home and sign a contract. You must also have equity in your home and the inherent interest rate is based on what the lender is currently charging (more about this later) on non-reverse mortgages. The lender, by the way, will also have your property appraised for which you may or may not be charged.

There are no income restrictions such as those imposed by Social Security and most are tax free since they do not involve additional features such as an attached annuity. They also do not affect your social security benefits nor your Medicare entitlements.

This article discusses only those mortgages without additional features. Should you wish to know more about reverse mortgages with additional features, consult with a competent tax professional to reduce the chances of running afoul of tax laws.

The FTC’s website, http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/online/pubs/homes/rms.htm has an excellent article on reverse mortgages but it also does not discuss mortgages with additional features. Another reason to consult with a tax professional.

This tool called reverse mortgage is actually a loan, hence an interest rate, which allows senior citizens, or as some say, the elderly, to convert part of their equity into cash without having to sell their home. Because it is a loan “in reverse” you are receiving a monthly sum and not paying a monthly amount while you live in your home.

However, this loan must be repaid and repaid with interest should you sell, die, no longer live their as your principal residence or reach the end of the pre-selected loan period. You remain responsible to pay real estate taxes, insurance and all attendant maintenance expenses which, of course, you would have to pay with, or without, a reverse mortgage.

With this explanation, the picture becomes more focused, right? You enjoy a monthly sum, tax free and non-repayable until a date sometime in the future, while remaining in your home. As close to a win-win situation as one can get in this day and age.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize anyone who is cash poor but house rich should at least investigate this tool. However, like any other instrument involving your signature on the dotted line involving financial obligation, you must have some preliminary information.

I mentioned there are three types of reverse mortgages. The first is the single purpose reverse mortgage. These are offered by some sate and local government agencies and nonprofit organizations.

They may not be available in your area. Call your county’s Department of Senior Services. Their phone number is in the white pages under the listing for your county.

Single purpose means exactly that. The proceeds may be used for only the purpose specified by the lender and generally are only made to people with low or moderate incomes. If you call your county, be sure to ask if their reverse mortgage is a single purpose and what are the limits.

The second type of reverse mortgage is called a Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM). The federal government insures these mortgages and they are backed by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The up front costs are generally high especially if you plan on staying in your home for a short period of time but they carry no income or medical restrictions and can be used for any purpose.

HECMs also require all applicants to meet with a counselor from an independent government approved housing counseling agency. The FTC says, “The counselor must explain the loan’s costs, financial implications, and alternatives. For example, counselors should tell you about government or nonprofit programs for which you may qualify, and any single-purpose or proprietary reverse mortgages available in your area.”

An additional benefit of an HECM mortgage is the nursing home clause. Should a borrower have to move out of her home and into a nursing home or other medical facility, she has up to 12 months before the loan becomes due. This enhances financial planning.

The third type is called a proprietary reverse mortgage. These are private loans backed by the companies offering them. In other words, they are NOT government insured. Like HECMs, the upfront cost could be high for a proprietary reverse mortgage.

A reverse mortgage, cost wise, is like a non-reverse mortgage. The lender usually charges loan origination fees, closing costs, insurance premiums (for insured loans) and service fees which are all set by the lender.

Fortunately, like non-reverse mortgages, the federal Truth In Lending Act (TILA) applies to reverse mortgages. This means the lender MUST disclose the costs and terms of the reverse mortgage you are considering.

The annual percentage rate (APR) and payment terms must be prominently displayed and not in the fine print. If you choose a credit line as your loan, lenders must tell you the charges related to not only opening but using this credit account.

Another word about the interest rate since it too mirrors the non-reverse mortgage. Just as with a non-reverse mortgage, an interest rate can be fixed or variable with variable rates tied to a financial index. This means the rate will change as the index changes.

TILA forces the lender to disclose this information. TILA does not force the lender to tell you the reverse mortgage may, or may not, use up all of your equity. If a “non-recourse” clause is included in the contract, and most have them, you must be told you will not owe more than the value of your home when the loan is repaid. This is a good thing.

Of the three, the HECM is the most flexible. It lets you select the way you receive your money. For example, you can receive fixed monthly cash advances for a specified period or for as long as you live in your home. Or, if you choose, you can receive a line of credit.

A line of credit allows you to draw on the loan proceeds when you want and how much you want. The HECM allows a combination of the two choices. You can receive a monthly payment plus a line of credit.

The key is to read and understand every clause in the contract before signing and do not be afraid to ask questions about what you don’t understand. Don’t let a huge monthly payment cloud your judgment and decision making ability.

Both HUD and the FTC have toll free numbers and websites to help you in making an informed decision. HUD can be called at 1-888-466-3487 with their web address at:
http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/hecm/rmtopen.cfm while the FTC can be called at 1-877-382-4357 with their web address at: http://www.ftc.gov/credit

After reading the above information you may have decided the goose with the golden eggs is really a vulture waiting to pounce on your carcass. Or, you may have decided the goose’s eggs are worth your time and attention. Either way, you are now a more informed consumer.

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But many do not realize that the first step to managed care will likely involve moving into an assisted living facility. Assisted living facilities provide a valuable service of managed care that allow the elderly person to reside in a pleasant environment surrounded with a social atmosphere of fellow residents. Will your nursing home insurance pay for care at such a facility, and how much will they pay?

Most policies do provide benefits for folks who need to enter an assisted living facility, but the payments will be much less than if residing in a skilled nursing home. The amounts can be as low as fifty to sixty percent of the amount normally paid compared to residing in a nursing home. Also, because the person does not reside in a skilled nursing facility, the policyholder may have to continue insurance payments at the same time to keep the policy active.

Note that most insurance companies will very reluctantly begin paying on your nursing home insurance policy once you move into the assisted living facility. They will require doctor’s statements that the elderly person needs the services provided by the assisted living facility. They may also require personal inspection by their own nurses to confirm the need to enter such a facility, and statements that the person has no intention of leaving for home care.

If the policyholder ever requires more intense or specialized care, and needs to move into a facility that provides such care, the policy may still only pay at the assisted living level. This means that the checks you receive will not increase even though your own costs do, and you may still need to continue making payments to keep your nursing home insurance policy active.

These intermediate care facilities are quite common in most states, and many residents may never transfer to a full-fledged skilled nursing home. Unfortunately for the layman, while the policyholder may believe from reading the policy definitions that intermediate care facilities will benefit from full activation, in practice they may not.

If the insurance company decides against your claim, you will have little choice but to continue to pay the policy, or move into a full-fledged skilled nursing facility. The state will likely not side with you, and while you can obtain legal representation, you may not come out ahead financially even if you win.

So study the policy well before purchase, and try to understand all the ramifications. Look at the different types of facilities in your particular state, and understand how each applies to the policy that you are considering purchasing. You might even ask to get in writing which facilities will be covered, using the specific descriptions as used in your state. Of course, if you retire in another state and take the policy with you, you will again be back to using general definitions of how the policy pays.

Planning ahead for your high care years represents a wise course of action, and if you decide to purchase nursing home insurance, be sure to fully understand the policy and how it will benefit you.

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Divorce, illness, job loss and other unforeseen life events can throw you off a good financial path. When you were in your twenties maybe you didn't give too much thought to how you were going to survive once you got “old”. Your thirties went by as you married and raised a family and now, with the passing of time you realize that you do not have a financial plan for the future.

Many people still ignorantly think that they will have Social Security benefits as an income to count on. Most baby boomers who are now in their 50's know that living off of Social Security is living in poverty. You are going to need more than that to survive.

Ignorantly some people might think that they will just plan to never retire. This is not realistic. As we age there is no guarantee that your health will allow you to work the way you can now. When a serious health crisis strikes and you are not financially prepared to deal with it, you can lose all your assets.

Having health insurance isn't enough for the coverage of serious illnesses such as cancer. If you were to lose your job, you may lose your health insurance also. Not planning for these life challenges could leave you at risk for financial ruin.

No one wants to be a burden to their children when they become unable to take care of themselves, whether it is physically or financially. Someone who has worked their entire lives shouldn't find themselves at the brink of homelessness once they become unable to support themselves financially. Here are some tips on what you need to do right now in order to set a plan for your future.

Sit down and determine your net worth.

If you own a home or other property, what is the true value of it? How much of a mortgage do you still have on it? If your children are grown and out of the house, do you really need to be making payments on a home that is too big for your needs?

Consider the idea of downsizing in order to be able to have cash to use for planning for your retirement. If your home is paid off, you still need to pay for the upkeep and taxes. How long will you have an income to support living in your home?

Health issues

Look at your health and the health of your partner (if you have one). If one or both of you have struggled with health issues, expect these issues to possibly worsen as you age. Do not take for granted that you will be able to work into your 70's or 80's.

Wills

Do you have a will? If you do not, both you and your spouse need to write one. Having a will is more than deciding who will inherit your fortune. Just because you have no significant amount of an estate doesn't mean that you shouldn't have a will. A will spells out your instructions for your burial plan and division of any property you may have.

Blended families

Especially if you and your spouse have been married previously and have children from a different spouse you need to have a will to spell out your individual wishes. Protecting your spouse and your children can only be done if you make your wishes known legally.

Professional help

Find a financial planner who charges a fee for his/her services but is not selling anything to you except for advice on investment planning. Be wary of anyone who is pushing you into making an investment that sounds too good to be true. If you cannot get references from a friend, go to your bank where you hold an account and get retirement investment advice from them. Do your own research. This is about your financial future so don't jump into opportunities without checking them out fully.

Life insurance

While you are thinking about how you will support yourself during your golden years, check out how much life insurance you have. If your spouse should die before you, will there be enough money to cover funeral expenses, bills and help to support you until you die?

People who depend on their spouse for financial support can be devastated when they are left on their own before they expected to be. Although couples should plan for their financial future together, they should also plan that when one of them dies that the other one is not destitute.

It is never too late

Taking care of making a plan when you are younger is easier. You will have more time to set aside money every month without it being a burden. When you have ignored the impending future, you will need to scramble in order to come up with a workable plan.

It is necessary to do. You have ignored it for long enough. Life offers no guarantees and the ones who plan for the future are the ones who can enjoy aging without worry about finances.

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