by Stanley Vasiliadis
John and Mary did everything right – or so it seemed. They worked hard, saved money, invested wisely, and spent prudently. Now in their golden years, John and Mary looked back contentedly upon a lifetime of achievements. They had put their children through college, paid for nice weddings, and helped the kids buy homes. Sitting on a nice nest egg, John and Mary now had both the time and money to travel as they always hoped to do. But then John had a stroke. This put him in a nursing home at a cost of $10,000 a month. At over $100,000 per year in out-of- pocket care costs, the couple’s nest egg eventually vanished. It had never occurred to John and Mary to integrate proper estate and long-term care planning with other measures to attain a secure retirement. Nor did the family realize after John’s stroke that opportunities still existed (yes, even after the fact!) to protect Mary from impoverishment and provide an eventual inheritance for the children.
Jane, a widow with no children, was living a comfortable, secure retirement. But as she aged, without realizing it, Jane gradually lost her ability to properly manage her finances and to see to her personal care needs. By the time it became apparent to those around her, Jane’s savings were gone, squandered, leaving her broke.
The above scenarios happen all too often. They are all the more tragic because it doesn’t have to turn out that way. If you set aside a nice nest egg for a secure retirement, you won’t be secure if, due to incapacity, catastrophic health care costs arise and proper legal tools are not in place; or if, due to illness or the frailties of advanced age, you lose your ability to manage your money, and there’s no one to step in to help, because there is no Power of Attorney or Revocable Living Trust in place.
Retirement planning, done right, includes more than just building income and having sufficient savings to meet lifestyle needs after no longer working. A successful retirement plan also includes prudent estate and long-term care planning.
So, do your planning to protect your next egg and secure your future. Vasiliadis & Associates can help. It’s what we do. And now is a great time to get it done. If not now, when?