Reverse Mortgage Guide

Reverse mortgages and healthcare go together like peas in a pod for a very simple reason: To pay off medical bills homeowners often take out reverse mortgages.

Now the New York Times reports the following:

“WASHINGTON — The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Wednesday that employers could reduce or eliminate health benefits for retirees when they turn 65 and become eligible for Medicare

“The policy, set forth in a new regulation, allows employers to establish two classes of retirees, with more comprehensive benefits for those under 65 and more limited benefits — or none at all — for those older.” (See: U.S. Ruling Backs Benefit Cut at 65 in Retiree Plans, December 27, 2007)

If you want to stimulate the reverse mortgage marketplace just raise medical costs for seniors. And boy, have medical costs been rising:

“Premiums for employer-sponsored health insurance rose an average of 6.1 percent this year and have increased 78 percent since 2001, according to surveys by the Kaiser Family Foundation,” says the Times.

If Medicare worked well the EEOC ruling would be fine, but that’s not the case — otherwise why would the world be filled with supplemental insurance plans?

This entry was posted on Friday, January 4th, 2008 at 2:17 pm and is filed under Reverse Mortgage . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.