Growing numbers of aging parents are compensating their caregiving family members. However, it is important to disclose such caregiving agreements to the entire family, to avoid potential disgruntled and unhappy siblings, and the threat of a lawsuit. According to a report by the National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP, 43.5 million Americans looked after a friend or relative age 50 or older in 2009, 28% more than in 2004. "Obviously with the economy, we have seen many seniors retain their adult children rather than pay a home care agency or another person for their care,” states David Wingate of Senior…
The first stage of the retirment planning is the period when you first enter the workforce and begin setting aside funds for later in your life and ends when you actually retire. A consideration in choosing an employer should be the amount they will contribute to your retirement savings and if they have a pension plan. Sign up for the 401(k), 403(b), or 457(b) plan if offered and contribute the maximum allowed as soon as you start working. In 2007, less than 32 percent of workers under age 35 participated in plans when they were offered at work, according to…
When a veteran files an application for NSC pension, the veteran must be eligible as of the date of entitlement i.e. informal or primary application. Income is then projected outwards from the effective date (first day of the next month). For instance, if the VA received an application on February 20th, the date of entitlement is the 20th, but the effective date (retro-active payment date) would be March 1st, so all income from March 1st would be countable, but none before. However, a potential issues arises problem. Because, every claim is audited every two to four years. Therefore, the VA cross…
If you are a self-employed senior paying Medicare Part B premiums, the IRS just handed you a surprise tax break. Reversing a long-standing rule, the Service now says that self-employed people can deduct their Medicare Part B health insurance premiums – premiums which previously did not qualify for the self-employed health insurance deduction. Interestingly, there was no “official announcement, revenue ruling, notice or news release from the IRS announcing a change in position,” according to a recent article in The San Francisco Chronicle. Note that any self-employed person, regardless of age, can deduct the premiums they pay for health insurance,…
The IRS has issued a statement clarifying an otherwise confusing situation for retirees hoping to make charitable donations directly from an Individual Retirement Account (IRA). The confusion began when Congress extended the timeframe to make a 2010 charitable donation from your IRA. The deadline should have been December 31, 2010 –but recognizing that their own delays had caused problems, Congress extended the deadline to January 31 of this year. The IRA charitable donation is a popular rule, which had expired at the beginning of 2010, allowing taxpayers age 70-1/2 or older to donate up to $100,000 a year of IRA…
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