Author: Kacie Cotter-Harrigan

All we have to do is turn on the news and look at social media to be bombarded with images and words that induce panic, fear and anxiety.  How can we keep ourselves emotionally safe during an uncertain time?  What can we do to not fall into the rabbit hole of paralyzing anxiety?

STICK TO THE FACTS:
Wisdom is wisdom.  Be wise in your choices and follow the basics to stay healthy.  Use wisdom to help you make good decisions that will keep you safe and healthy.

AVOID THE HYPE:
I understand we can’t put our head in the sand and avoid all news coverage. However, we can limit our exposure to the hype. Know the facts of the situation, take the necessary precautions and move on. 

Do not spend hours analyzing the latest coverage and panicking about the safety of your community.  Turn off the TV and shift your focus to an activity that will promote relaxation and peace.

CONNECT SPIRITUALLY:
Research shows that patients who meditate before medical procedures and engage in setting intentions for favorable outcomes and quick recoveries do much better in the recovery process than patients who do not prepare in any way emotionally or spiritually. 

Now would be a great time to learn how to connect with your body and engage in some meditation exercises that promote feelings of peace and well being which will strengthen your immune system!

Take less than five minutes a day to connect to your body and meditate on its perfect ability to heal from the inside out.  You can find quick meditations focused on bolstering your immunity on YouTube. 

Resist the urge to fall into fear-based thinking and the doom and gloom mentality.  Keep yourself healthy emotionally, physically and spiritually and stay away from any person, place or thing that steals your joy, peace and energy.

YOU ARE WORTH IT!

Meghan Fritz is a psychotherapist practicing in State College, PA. For more information visit changeyourstoryllc.com and enter Saratoga Today for free downloads of the latest audio courses. 

Some 83 percent of American adults own cell phones and three-quarters of them (73 percent) send and receive text messages. Text messaging users send or receive an average of 41.5 messages per day, with the median user sending or receiving 10 texts daily. 

As technology advances, allowing us to do more tasks on smaller equipment, our bodies often pay the price. With a growing potential for injuries from tools we rely on, it’s a good time to learn how to minimize the risks. One problem that is becoming more and more prevalent is neck strain from the overuse of these mobile devices, or “text neck.” 

What Causes Text Neck? 
Text neck is caused by poor posture when using a mobile device. It’s all too common to become hunched over with your head drooping forward and your shoulders rounded as you become engrossed in your messaging or games. This poor posture puts excessive strain on the muscles at the back of your head and neck and weakens the other postural muscles responsible for maintaining correct posture. This can lead to muscle strains and create the potential for more serious or chronic problems down the road.

How to Avoid Text Neck 
• Sit up straight with your chest out and your shoulders back. 
• Bring your arms up in front of your eyes so that you don’t need to look down to see the screen. 
• Tuck your chin into your chest to look down rather than dropping your head forward. 
• If you must use your mobile device for lengthy typing, invest in an external keyboard. 
• Rest your forearms on a pillow while typing to help minimize neck tension. 
• Avoid using mobile devices while in bright sunlight. Straining to see the screen leads to jutting the chin forward, shifting work from the spine to the muscles that hold up the head. 
• Avoid texting for long periods of time while traveling in the car.
• Take breaks to stretch and mobilize your neck. 

The best way to avoid text neck is to limit the use of your mobile device. If you need to send an e-mail, wait until you have access to a computer. If you need to share some information, call the person rather than texting them. 

See Your Chiropractic Physician 
If you find yourself aching despite your best efforts, your doctor of chiropractic can treat any injuries and teach you ways to improve your posture. 

2019 MAY BE OVER BUT, FOR MANY OF US, THE BOOKS ARE NOT COMPLETELY CLOSED.

As we open the tax filing season, options may exist to sock extra funds away and keep a little more of your hard-earned money away from Uncle Sam.

You may not realize it but you may be able to make contributions to your Roth IRA for 2019 up until the earlier of your tax filing date, or April 15.  If eligible, the contribution limit is $6,000 ($7,000 for those age 50+), but don’t be discouraged if you are not able to fully fund your account for the year. Every bit you can save will help provide for your lifestyle in retirement, so a partial contribution is better than no contribution at all. 

Just because one spouse may be a homemaker or already retired, doesn’t mean that they can’t take advantage of a Roth IRA.  IRS rules also allow for contributions to an account for a homemaker or retired spouse, as long as the working spouse has sufficient earned income, even if the spouse is older than 70 ½.

Since Roth IRAs provide tax-free distributions and are not subject to Required Minimum Distributions at age 70 ½, they can be an extremely beneficial retirement funding option!

For those who are self-employed, and don’t have access to a retirement plan through an employer, you may think you’re being disadvantaged when it comes to saving for retirement. The opposite, however, may be true. As a self-employed person, you could have the options of contributing up to $56,000 to a retirement plan for 2019, and deducting the full contribution!

Anyone whose earned income is reported to them on a form 1099, K1, or other similar non-employee form, may be eligible to establish and fund a retirement plan for 2019. The IRS rules allow this to be done up until the filing deadline (including extensions) for the previous year. Popular plan options include a SEP IRA and Individual 401k. 

A SEP IRA can allow you to contribute up to 25% of your income with a maximum contribution of $56,000, and can be appropriate for workers with high income and no employees. Because of the 25% limitation, your income would need to exceed $224,000 in order to fully contribute.

An Individual 401k has the same funding limit of $56,000 for 2019, however there is not a 25% limitation. In other words, a self-employed worker (with no employees) earning $56,000 may be eligible to contribute all of their income to an Individual 401k without being limited by the 25% cap. So, if you have a working spouse, or other means of making ends meet, an individual 401k may be a great option for supercharging your family’s retirement savings!

Individual 401ks require more in the way of record keeping and compliance, so they can be more expensive and cumbersome than a SEP IRA. Remember, you don’t have to be able to fully fund a plan for it to still make sense. Don’t rule out an Individual 401k because you can “only” afford to contribute $30,000 to it.

As a point of disclosure: Your circumstances are unique and tax regulations can be very complex. Before implementing any tax strategy, we recommend working closely with your independent financial advisor and tax preparer to determine eligibility and funding limits, and to ensure your retirement funding and tax strategies comply with all appropriate regulations. 

Stephen Kyne, CFP® is a Partner at Sterling Manor Financial in Saratoga Springs and Rhinebeck.

Securities offered through Cadaret, Grant & Co., Inc. Member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Sterling Manor Financial, LLC, an SEC registered investment advisor or Cadaret Grant & Co., Inc. Sterling Manor Financial and Cadaret, Grant are separate entities.

Many people are interested in Medicaid Planning and have heard of the term “look back period.”  They often are unsure what it means and how long the period lasts.  Below is a series of questions and answers to help demystify the operation of the Medicaid look back period.

What is the Medicaid look back period?
The Medicaid look back period is the period of time for which you have to provide financial records if you apply for Medicaid to pay for nursing home care.

How long is the look back period?
The look back period is five years from the date of a Medicaid application.  If you apply for Medicaid to pay for nursing home care on April 1, 2020, you would need to provide the Department of Social Services (DSS) with financial records going back to April 1, 2015.

What type of records would I need to provide?
It depends, but generally all your financial statements, i.e. bank statements, annuity statements, retirement account statements, and any other statements you receive that show the details of your financial history for the prior five years.  Additional required records may include items like copies of checks, statements of sale for real property, or cash value statements for insurance policies.

Why do I need to provide all this information?
DSS is looking to see if you gifted away any of your assets during the five year look back period.  For example, if they see a check for $10,000 from you to your child one year ago, they will want to know if that represents a gift from you to your child.

What happens if I did make a gift to my child in the last five years?
Generally speaking, gifts to your child during the look back period will result in a penalty period.

What is a penalty period?
A penalty period is an amount of time which will delay the onset of your Medicaid coverage.

How are penalty periods calculated?
The amount of the gift you made is divided by the transfer rate for our region, which is set by the state.  In our region, the transfer rate is $11,295.  In order to calculate a penalty period, you take the amount of the gift and divide it by the transfer rate.  The resulting figure is the penalty period, in months.  For example, if you made a gift of $22,590 to your child in the last five years, then your Medicaid coverage will be delayed for two months ($22,590/$11,295 = 2 months).

Are all gifts considered when calculating a penalty period?
No.In our area, gifts less than $2,000 are generally not considered when DSS calculates the penalty period.  The $2,000 level is not a legal limit, but rather a general guideline customarily used.  As a result, smaller gifts – the type of which most people might make in the course of their life, are not counted.  An example would be regular gifts to friends and family of $50 or $100 for birthdays, holidays, and other special events.

Do all gifts in excess of $2,000 result in a penalty period?
No.Gifts made to a spouse are exempt transfers and are not subject to a penalty period.  However, you cannot simply make gifts to a spouse in order to reduce your assets and become eligible for Medicaid.  If you are applying for Medicaid, your spouse will only be able to have a certain amount of assets in his or her name.  If you gift your spouse an amount over that limit, those funds will generally need to be spent down on your nursing home care before Medicaid coverage will start.

Are there any other people that can receive exempt transfers?
Yes.Any transfers you make to your disabled child are exempt.  You must take care, however, not to transfer an amount of assets to a disabled child that would make them ineligible for benefits they are receiving in their own name.

Are there any other types of exempt transfers?
Yes.It is an exempt transfer if you transfer your interest in your home to your spouse, your minor child, your disabled or blind child, your caregiver child, or your adult sibling who has an equity interest in your home. 

What is a caregiver child?
A caregiver child is a child who has lived in your home with you for at least two years and has provided care to you that has allowed you to stay at home and not move to a facility, such as a nursing home.

When does an adult sibling have an equity interest in my home?
When he or she has lived there for a year and is on the deed or has made other certain significant contributions to the property.

Understanding and navigating the Medicaid rules on gifting can be very challenging.  If you or a loved one is considering applying for Medicaid for nursing home care or engaging in Medicaid planning, it is advisable to contact an experienced professional to discuss how the Medicaid rules apply in your situation.

Matthew J. Dorsey, Esq. is a Partner with O’Connell and Aronowitz, 1 Court St., Saratoga Springs.  Over his twenty-three years of practice, he has focused in the areas of elder law, estate planning, and estate administration. Mr. Dorsey can be reached at 518-584-5205, mdorsey@oalaw.com and www.oalaw.com.