Immediate annuities is a Medicaid planning tool for spouses of nursing home residents.

A single premium immediate annuity (SPIA) is a contract with an insurance company where the non-nursing home spouse pays a sum of money to an insurance company.  Consequently, the insurance company sends a monthly check to the non-nursing home spouse for a certain time period or for the rest of their life. In Maryland, and some states, the purchase of a SPIA is not considered to be a transfer (gift) for purposes of Medicaid eligibility, because it is an income stream. Therefore, it transfers countable assets into a non-countable assets. In order for the annuity purchase not to be considered…

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