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It depends on the person's expenses. I currently live in a condo that has monthly HOA fees of $1,000 a month, so I can easily see needing that amount (or even more) if I don't move after retirement.
That's quite high. Do I correctly assume that your association has a number a amenities to support, such as a swimming pool, a tennis court, a club house, and perhaps other things? How about snow plowing in the winter?
We have an HOA for a 26-unit townhouse complex where a lot of the owners consider our monthly fees of $325 to be high. We have a pool, but no other similar amenities. Our complex is 35 years old, so the exterior maintenance tends to be high (painting, wood rot replacement of the trim, etc). We struggle a lot to keep the fees "down" to that level.
A lot of what we pay goes to items people would have to pay on their own anyway if they owned a single family house: water/sewer, gardening, trash pick-up, exterior maintenance. Doubtless the same is true in your case, but I still have trouble wrapping my mnd around $1,000 a month. I would be interested to hear your explanation.
This may be slightly off topic here- but does anyone else notice when looking at real estate ads that when mother in law- or in-laws apartments are mentioned that they are usually in some basement or converted garage? That's incentive enough for me to get my act together to NEVER have to rely on someone else and spend my "golden" years in some creepy basement or garage.
Well, they do say "be nice to your kids as they are the ones who pick your rest home"...
At 63, your mother needs to get a job FIRST before you help her.
There are many seniors who can do something though they have medical issues
You have no idea what this woman's medical issues are. OP said they prevent her from working. As her child, I'm sure she's a better judge than a stranger on a forum of whether or not her mother can work .
My parents (late 80s) are managing pretty well, but for the occasional unexpected large expense the 7 of us will kick in a hundred or so each to help them out. They are still in their home on 5 acres. My wife's parents have both passed, her mother cost us some money when she first went into assisted living but then we got her on Medicaid. She was there for 13 years until age 95, and her only income was SS for about $800/month.
I didn't realize if you owned your home you could go into debt at all, if you were getting SS. Medical issues sure but otherwise cannot think of anything of necessity that would come up for a home owner.
Your MIL who got $800 a month which would qualify for full coverage medicaid which is nice. Covers everything, including assisted living.
The cutoff now is $1000 per mo for a single and $1374 per mo for a marriedcouple
Last edited by NancyDrew1; 05-01-2017 at 10:00 AM..
You have no idea what this woman's medical issues are. OP said they prevent her from working. As her child, I'm sure she's a better judge than a stranger on a forum of whether or not her mother can work .
Hence why I said "THERE ARE MANY SENIORS WHO....."
Actually read what you are replying to.
Also if you actually read the op, it was stated she had a middle class lifestlyle prior to this
So she didn't live below her means NOR SAVE any money. And now is a burden. So she had more than enough but chose NOT to save it.
So if I am skeptical of her health issues preventing her from working, just as her middle class lifestyle prevented her from saving, so be it. You'll have to live with it
I had no idea. Thank you for the clarification.
Would Medicaid have covered it had her assets not been drawn down while in the AL?
Here are the income limits for the QMB Medicare Savings program
Couple-$1374
Single-$1000
monthly income allowed ^^ to have all of your medical needs covered (as a Senior) including assisted living. There are other savings programs if income is a bit higher https://www.medicare.gov/your-medica...#collapse-2614
That's quite high. Do I correctly assume that your association has a number a amenities to support, such as a swimming pool, a tennis court, a club house, and perhaps other things? How about snow plowing in the winter?
You assume correctly. My condo has a swimming pool, a tennis court (that rarely gets used), and about 4 acres of grounds that have to be maintained in the summer. And we have a 24-hour security/concierge staff, and a handyman (who also takes care of the snow plowing in the winter). All utilities are included in the monthly fee except for the electricity for the individual units (I pay about $100/month for that) and internet access (although we may be renegotiating with the local cable company to get that). Plus, the building was built in 1964, so there are all the maintenance issues that come with older construction. It's in a great location, and affording it is not an issue for now while I'm still working. And it would be a great place to live after retirement IF I can afford the costs. But I'll worry about that when the time comes.
$2000 is not a "small" amount of SS. The average benefit is around $1300. But if she's able to con $750 a piece from the kids, more power to her. I would be surprised if her take home pay when working was more than the total she's getting now. Did they subsidize her then too?
Given taxes and other deductions, one would have to earn around $60k a year, to clear $3500 a month. I would say your aunt is less of a charity case, and more of a maintain a certain standard of living situation.
This post is rude and assumes a whole lot. How do you know she doesn't live in a HCOL area? 3500.00 is not a lot of money in many areas of our country and in some areas it's pure poverty level. How do you know she doesn't have health issues that eats up her money? Even if she lived in a LCOL area, maybe, just maybe her children WANT her to live comfortably with a couple of bucks to just blow.
My dad does pretty decent in his retirement and does not NEED nor ask me for my help but I STILL do things for him that allows him to have an even better lifestyle and enjoy his retirement more than he could have without my help. He worked his ass off and sacrificed to raise me and my 5 siblings up the best way he could. The very least we can do as his children is to show our appreciation for all that he gave so that we had a better life. It do not feel obligated to help my dad, it is an honor and privilege to help him.
I didn't realize if you owned your home you could go into debt at all, if you were getting SS. Medical issues sure but otherwise cannot think of anything of necessity that would come up for a home owner.
Your MIL who got $800 a month which would qualify for full coverage medicaid which is nice. Covers everything, including assisted living.
The cutoff now is $1000 per mo for a single and $1374 per mo for a marriedcouple
There are lots of ways to go into debt even when you own the home outright. If your income is not enough to cover taxes on that home, you could go into foreclosure if you can't pay them. Homeowner's and flood insurance (as applicable) can be too expensive for some homeowners to pay, so they aren't insured, and could be in a world of doo-doo in the event of a natural disaster, a fire, or other incident.
Then there is the ever-ending saga of home maintenance, which may go by the wayside if the homeowner's funds are limited. One can put those off for only so long before deterioration of the home becomes a major issue.
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