Home Care Services in New Jersey: Are you or an aging loved one at the time in your life where you are starting to have a look at the available choices for elder care or some form of home care services? Are you exploring the possible choices of how these kinds of home care services will be funded? Whether you are looking to hire home care today or in the near future, knowing all of your alternatives will help you or an aging loved one be more confident knowing how these home care services will be handled.
Home Care services may include daily help with feeding, dressing and undressing, bathing, light housekeeping and medication reminders.
Social Security and Medicare
Social Security is a golden age fund and disability pension for disabled workers. The total amounteach man or women will receive is influenced
by the amount of money paid into the fund during his or her working years. If a spouse passes away , the surviving husband/wife is entitled to widows or widowers pension. For nearly all of Americans, Social Security benefits will be their key means of net income when they retire.
Medicare
Medicare is accessible to most people age 65 and older. Medicare pays for home care services that belong to the category of "home healthcare" or "skilled care". This means that the therapy must be provided by a professional, must be authorized by a physician and the care recipient must be home-bound in order to receive it. Medicare does not cover companion or private duty home care services.
Private Income
For many individuals, they may have a secure margin in their checking and savings account by which to finance home care services that they may need now or eventually. Any CDs attached to these accounts are also an added gain.
Retirement funds such as a 401(k), IRA, Keogh or other such types are options to consider also when deciding how much and which level of care is needed for the senior loved one.
Pension plans provided to employees of some companies have provided good cash flow for the retirees to live on and supplement other income they may have.
Stocks And Stock Mutual Funds
Some retirees are living off stocks or funds from the stock market. It is true that with the instability in the stock market of recent years, this is changing the way some individuals are looking at retirement income. There are still about 14 percent of retirees that have an income from this source.
Because of tax advantages for withholding stocks outside of retirement accounts and the income tax they must pay on withdrawals from the traditional 401(k)'s and IRA accounts, it is a good idea for seniors to have a good investment firm or certified financial planner helping them.
Home Equity
The equity earned on a home is another way of financing a retirement and any home care services needed in their advancing years. Sometimes the adult children are unable to provide all the care for their parents and must rely on some in-home care of their loved ones. This is just one more avenue that can be explored for possible means of financing home care services for the family. There are more advertisements than ever about reverse mortgage as a way of having a retirement fund. Most financial planners will advise this as a last resort only.
Veterans Aid & Attendance Pension
This pension allows for veterans and the surviving spouses financial support that are in need of home care services this includes individuals who are in nursing homes and assisted living facilities.
Medicaid or Medi-Cal
Medicaid or Medi-Cal (in California) is a state funded program for individuals that require home care services (IHSS), are in a skilled nursing or intermediate care home and do not have any other income other than Social Security benefits.
With just a little homework and financial planning, home care services for the elderly need not be a concern to the adult child. Whether the time is now or in the future, a seemingly difficult task is actually quite easy to navigate with proper planning.
