Elderly individuals sometimes face financial challenges in their retirement years. Such challenges can sometimes endanger a retiree’s ability to have the type of retirement they desire. They could also have the potential to reduce what assets a retiree has available to give to their family and loved ones, both during their life and after their death. For elderly individuals who have a great desire to provide financial support to their family and loved ones, such a potential reduction can be a very concerning thing.
Unfortunately, Massachusetts may be a particularly financially challenging place for retirees. A recent article on BenefitsPro’s website named Massachusetts the 8th worst state to retire in when you have a fair amount of assets.
Among the reasons the article gave for Massachusetts being a bad place for richer retirees were:
- High health care insurance premiums.
- High costs of living.
- High housing costs.
- High estate taxes.
What do you think of the article’s assessment of Massachusetts? Do you think the state is a challenging place for richer retirees? How good of a place do you think Massachusetts is for retirees generally? What do you see as the biggest financial challenge retirees in the state face?
There are things retirees can do to plan for the possibility of future financial challenges to try to reduce the impact such challenges, if they were to arise, could have on one’s future plans. One such thing is get a well-constructed estate plan in place. Among the goals that estate planning may be able to help an elderly individual with are estate tax liability minimization, asset protection and planning for future health care needs. Elder law attorneys can provide elderly individuals in Massachusetts with guidance on how their estate plan can be used to help further and protect their goals for the future.