Commentary
989
2007-07-17
2007-06-29
HIV and
retirement
By Joe Kapp and Nicholas Burkholder
Write Kapp and Burkholder with your personal financial
questions at yourmoney@planetouti
George Kresslein
just celebrated his 50th birthday, an especially
meaningful milestone for the Virginia accountant since he
never thought he’d live that long: Fourteen
years ago he was diagnosed with HIV infection, when
such news was considered a death sentence.
But having
survived the disease thus far, Kresslein has a new worry:
planning for retirement. “The reality is, I never
thought I would reach retirement, so I did not save
for it,” he says. “In fact, I cashed in my
life insurance and pulled money from my retirement
plans.”
Kresslein is like
many clients we see: HIV-positive men who are stressing
out over golden years they never thought they’d see.
But even if you never planned for retirement, getting
on track is not that difficult. The basic actions are
the same for anyone who hasn’t seriously thought
about his or her financial future:
•
Benchmark your current financial position.
• Maximize
contributions to retirement plans.
• Reduce
your future expenses (by, say, downsizing to a smaller
home).
•
Eliminate credit-card debt.
• And
consider a postretirement job.
The main thing to
do differently is to take advantage of any long-term
care insurance offered by your employer, since people with
HIV aren’t eligible for a private policy. Some
companies offer group policies that may not require
medical underwriting, though, so check with your benefits
department. Although you might have to wait until an
open-enrollment period to qualify, it’s worth
the wait to make sure you’re taken care
of—if and when you can no longer take care of
yourself.
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Write Kapp and Burkholder with your personal financial
questions at yourmoney@planetoutinc.com.
This article is for information only and is not
financial, legal, or tax advice. Readers should
obtain advice specific to their situation before
making any financial, legal, or tax decisions.