If you, like many seniors, worry about rising medical expenses and having enough money to last throughout your retirement years, you are not alone. An important question to consider is whether or not a HECM reverse mortgage will affect other benefits, like Medicare or Social Security, and if so, how?
You can rest assured that you can continue to collect both Social Security and Medicare benefits as you did prior to obtaining a reverse mortgage.
However, if you are on Medicaid or Supplemental Security Income (SSI), you must use the proceeds of the reverse mortgage immediately after you receive them. If you retain funds within your bank account, they could be counted as an asset and that could impact your eligibility.
For example, if you receive $10,000 in a lump sum for home repairs and spend it all the same calendar month, everything is fine. Any money leftover in your bank account the following month would count as an asset. If the total liquid resources (including other bank funds and savings bonds) exceed the Medicaid limits, you would be ineligible. To be safe, you should discuss this with your HUD appointed counselor as well as contact your local agency. We can help make sure you only receive funds as you need them, so that you do not lose your Medicaid eligibility.
By putting in place a reverse mortgage line of credit, you can prepare yourself for unexpected circumstances, while preserving your existing benefits.
Be sure to discuss all of your concerns about a HECM reverse mortgage with your Freedomstar Financial loan officer. We will help you choose a dispersement method that makes sense for your financial situation.
If you would like to find out how much you would be eligible to receive and your dispersement options, call (888) 659-0033, or request a quote.
Comments