If you live in Spokane, Washington, long-term care planning needs to be a top priority. An aspect of your long-term care plan should also include strategies for maximizing Social Security benefits to help cover the costs of long-term care, which can be significant. However, before you begin this process, you should take the additional step of hiring an elder law attorney in Spokane, WA, who can help you make sure everything is legally sound and in line with your goals.
Innovative Strategies to Help Maximize Social Security Benefits
The most common way of maximizing Social Security benefits most people take advantage of in Spokane is waiting to claim your benefits. When you wait to claim your benefits, you will usually get access to a higher monthly amount that you can then put toward your long-term care needs. However, there are other ways to maximize Social Security benefits you can also use depending on your particular situation.
There are three basic forms of Social Security benefits that you should be aware of:
- The worker benefit: This is a benefit that is based on your personal earning history, which you can use after 40 quarters of work.
- The survivor benefit: A surviving spouse can receive the survivor benefit at a rate equal to or greater than their current benefit. Depending on the age of the survivor, they may even be able to receive up to 100% of their deceased spouse’s benefit.
- The spousal benefit: This is a benefit that is paid to the spouse and can be as much as half of the working spouse’s primary insurance amount.
One of the best strategies for maximizing your Social Security benefits is finding out if you qualify for more than one Social Security benefit. For instance, if your spouse passed away, you would most likely qualify for a worker benefit as well as a survivor benefit.
Here is a breakdown of some ways you can obtain more benefits as you are planning your long-term care strategy:
- Don’t collect benefits until you reach the full retirement age.
- Work for at least 35 years.
- Monitor your Social Security statements for errors.
- Take advantage of dependent benefits if applicable.
Something else to keep in mind is that you can continue to earn an income while receiving Social Security benefits. However, you need to be very careful to ensure that you do not exceed the income limit, which could make you ineligible for receiving your Social Security benefits.
Another thing to keep in mind is that although you can start collecting benefits at the age of retirement, 70 is considered to be the ideal age to start collecting benefits if you want the maximum amount.
Long-Term Care Planning Basics
Understanding how you can maximize Social Security benefits is just one part of long-term care planning. This helps with the financial planning aspect, as your benefits can help with long-term care since this can become quite costly.
Here is a breakdown of the key components to include in your long-term care plan:
- Needs: You need to assess your current health needs as well as any potential needs you may have in the future. For instance, if you have a health condition or disability, you may need to plan on that impacting your healthcare needs in the future.
- Options: Your long-term care plan should outline the types of care options you want, depending on how your needs may change. You may prefer in-home care, but it should also include additional options if your care needs become more significant. Keep in mind that your long-term care options will often be dictated by your medical needs, as many facilities and homes have certain criteria.
- Finances: Your plan also needs to outline the different financial resources that can be used to handle your long-term care. This can include long-term care insurance, personal savings, or Social Security benefits for long-term care. It is a good idea to create a budget that will include estimated monthly care costs, debts, and sources of income such as Social Security and insurance coverage.
- Legalities: A long-term care plan is a legal document that helps you have more control over your future. Because of this, you will need to include some legal considerations, such as healthcare proxies or powers of attorney if you become incapacitated in the future.
Like many legal documents, a long-term care plan is something that is subject to change. Because of this, it is essential that you periodically review and update your long-term care strategy if anything changes. You may want to update some of your health needs as they change, or you may want to add different legal considerations, such as a new power of attorney.
Regularly monitoring and updating your plan ensures your wishes are upheld and the weight of making important decisions isn’t on your loved ones.
The Importance of Seeking Legal Guidance For Long-Term Care Planning
It can be very tempting to create your long-term care plan on your own, but this is not recommended. A long-term care plan is a legal document that needs to follow the laws in Washington in order to be legally binding.
When you hire an elder law attorney to represent you and provide legal guidance, they can help you with every step of your long-term care plan. Not only can they help you ensure everything is legal, they can help you evaluate your options to better understand the different strategies you can take advantage of. This includes analyzing social security and long-term care and how this can help you as your care needs change.
An attorney can also help with updating your plan, especially if any laws change or are updated.
Get in Touch With an Elder Law Attorney Today
If you need help with long-term care planning as you navigate the Social Security benefits you may be entitled to, reach out to an experienced elder law attorney at Legacy Law Group in Spokane, Washington. Contact us today at 509-315-8087 to speak with one of our attorneys to get the process started.
