Retirement Funds b Any Retirement funds including Employer

Retirement Funds b Any Retirement funds including: • Employer Sponsored Retirement Plans • Employment-Related Retirement Plans • Individual Retirement Accounts b Often have special tax status, i. e. . , deferred taxation

Types of Employer Sponsored Retirement Plans b Defined Benefit or Contribution Plan b Profit Sharing b Roth 401(k) b 401 (k) b Keogh b SEP b SIMPLE

Employment Related Retirement Plans b Available to employee through employment situation (type of business) • Often supplements other retirement plans b Types: • 403 (b) • 457 b Funds held in individual’s name and fully available

Individual Retirement Accounts b Available to anyone regardless of employment status b Types: • IRA • Roth IRA b Funds held in individual’s name and fully available

If A/R has retirement plans, ask: b Is the owner receiving regular payments, i. e. , a pension benefit? b If not, can they? b If they are not eligible for payments, is any portion of the principal available

Availability of Retirement Benefits b If A/R is receiving periodic payments, these payments are unearned income • A/R must maximize payments or document that payment less than the maximum cannot be changed

Availability of Retirement Benefits, cont b If A/R is eligible for periodic payments, but isn’t receiving them: • A/R must apply for benefits • A/R must choose periodic payments rather than lump sum • A/R must choose maximum amount of payment available • Payments are counted as unearned income

RETIREMENT ACCOUNT MAXIMIZING PAYMENTS b A single individual has an IRA of $25, 000. b Using the life expectancy chart we have determined that their life expectancy is 15 years. $25, 000 ÷ 15 = $1, 666. 67 yearly ÷ 12 = $138. 89 monthly This is their maximized payment

Availability of Principal b If A/R is receiving retirement benefit, the principal is considered unavailable • Can not be counted as a resource • Payments are counted as unearned income

Availability of Principal b If A/R can not receive periodic payments, resource value of principal depends on availability

Availability of Funds in Employer Sponsored Retirement Plans b In Defined Benefit or Contribution Plans: • Employer contributions are generally unavailable until employee retires • Employee contribution may be available b In other pension plans, e. g. , 401 (k), funds held in individual’s name and fully available

Availability of Principal, cont’d b If A/R cannot withdraw any funds from the principal, the retirement plan is unavailable • Cannot be counted as resource

Availability of Principal, cont’d b If A/R may withdraw funds • Maximum amount available (less early withdrawal penalties, not including income taxes) is a countable resource

RETIREMENT ACCOUNT AVAILABILITY OF PRINCIPAL b A single individual has an IRA of $50, 000 IRA - $5, 000 penalty $45, 000 countable resource -$3, 000 taxes $42, 000 is what they actually get, but we don’t allow the amount they paid for taxes.

Availability cont’d b A retirement fund is exempt as a resource for SSI-R A/R if: • Owned by the non-applying or ineligible spouse, and • A/R is NOT subject to spousal impoverishment

SSI-Related and Spousal Rules b In Spousal Impoverishment cases: • The pension funds owned by ineligible or non applying CS are used first to determine MCSRA • Any excess is AVAILABLE to Institutionalized Spouse

Documentation of Retirement Funds b SSI-R Applicants who are applying for nursing facility services or CC w/LTC must document: • If asset is a retirement fund • If the A/R is eligible for periodic payments and if so how much and when would they begin • If principal is available and if so, how much; (e. g. is there a penalty or not)

Documentation of Retirement Funds b SSI-R A/R’s who attest to the value of their resources and own a retirement account: • Must pursue regular periodic payments • Must also prove whether or not payments are available to them • If payments are not available and A/R is excess resources they must provide proof of availability of the principal and how much