medicaid and my IRA
I live in new yorkand i am concerned about my IRA. If I go in a nursing home will New York State take my IRA to cover the cost? Most of what I have is in my IRA.It has a balance of 90,000. I am 86 and have gifted or spent most of my net worth. Should I take it out and spend it while i’m still healthy.
Permalink Submitted by Alan Spross on Tue, 2010-09-14 22:17
You could withdraw it and spend it if you wanted, but be very careful about gifting any money. Medicaid has a 5 year look back period for any gifts made in order to qualify for Medicaid. You would also have to spend down your IRA to a couple thousand dollars in order to qualify for Medicaid because it is not a protected asset like a car or house. The problem is you cannot predict when your health would require you to go to a nursing home or get equivalent services in NY. You would not want to go broke while your health was still OK. Perhaps you should talk to an elder care attorney in NYS to get advice on your options.