A Wish List
A Senior Village volunteer shows how to set your thermostat from your smartphone.
Are your friends and relatives asking you for gift ideas? Would they be surprised if your wish list included smart home automation?
Senior Village is offering a seminar on Dec. 1 in the SaddleBrooke One Activity Center to help you understand useful home automation devices so you can add them to your holiday wish list.
There are serious reasons to learn about the field of home automation. First might be the issue of personal safety. Do you want to Ring or Blink or be SimpliSafe? Information is the key to answering that question.
Perhaps you seek the security of being able to turn on lights with a voice command or the comfort of adjusting the thermostat while remaining in your bed or recliner.
Maybe you’ve decided that communication with friends and relatives will be improved if you could just learn to Zoom or Google or Facetime.
This seminar is designed for people slightly baffled by the array of available devices who are eager to learn what will work best for them.
Senior Village invites you to mark the date, Thursday, Dec. 1, from 9 to 11 a.m. at the SaddleBrooke One Activity Center. This event is open to everyone in SaddleBrooke. You do not need to be a member of Senior Village to attend.
Learn about home automation in an easy-to-understand presentation. And you might have the additional fun of surprising friends and family when you add home automation to your holiday gift list.
Members of Senior Village can contact the Home Automation team for personal assistance setting up devices in their homes.
Activating Your Long-Term Care Policy—How Senior Village Can Help
Stephanie Thomas
Does this sound familiar? Many years ago, you and your spouse decided to take out long-term care insurance. Decades later, you have no idea where that policy is gathering dust. No doubt, you’ve invested a tidy sum in premiums, and it’s getting closer to the time when you’re thinking about needing that policy. Now, all you must do is find it.
Let’s fast forward to the supposition that you do find your policy. What’s the next step to understanding this wordy, legal document? That’s where Senior Village comes to the rescue. One of the member services of the Forms and Documents Team is helping you understand your policy. We will work with you to get answers to these questions:
How do I qualify to activate my policy?
* Does my policy have a waiting period during which I must pay out-of-pocket expenses for care before my policy takes over?
* Do I qualify for at least two Activities of Daily Living as certified by a doctor, such as assistance with mobility, eating, showering, dressing, etc.?
* Will I need care for at least 90 days?
What kind of benefits can I expect from my policy?
* How much are my daily/monthly maximum benefits?
* Does my policy have an inflation/benefit adjuster?
* Is there a term limit to receive benefits after activating the policy: two, six, or longer years?
* How does the policy cover home care, adult day care, assisted living, nursing care?
* Are there any riders attached to the policy?
Activating a long-term care policy is not easy or quick, and you certainly don’t want to wait until you need it before you learn the requirements. Trained volunteer advocates on the Senior Village Forms and Documents Team will help you find answers to these questions and fill in necessary forms. We even have a retired long-term care insurance specialist on hand to communicate directly with your insurance company.
Other member services performed by this team are assistance with understanding legal and financial documents and guiding members through early months of widowhood. We provide information and pose questions for you to ask your professional advisors. To learn more about the Forms and Documents Team, call Senior Village at 520-314-1042.
Direct Your IRA Contributions Tax Free to Senior Village
Ed Kula
Everyone perks up at the words “tax free”! Owners of traditional IRAs can take advantage of tax-exempt contributions to Senior Village directly from their retirement accounts. This is known as a qualified charitable distribution (QCD). The federal tax code allows distributions with sizable limits to be donated to 501(c)(3)s like Senior Village and be exempt from otherwise taxable income.
In order to qualify, distributions must be made directly to Senior Village from the owner’s IRA. Owners initiate the process by issuing a directive to their IRA provider/administrator. Payment is processed directly to Senior Village and does not pass through the owner.
To qualify, owners must be at least age 70 1/2. QCD distributions are generally limited to $100,000 per year and can satisfy required minimum distribution (RMD). Roth IRAs have other requirements. The Village’s tax ID is 47-5552021. Further information regarding QCDs can be found at irs.gov.
IRA owners should contact their tax advisors for further information and guidance. QCDs can be sent to Senior Village at SaddleBrooke, P.O. Box 8584, Tucson, AZ 85738. To become a Village member or volunteer, call us at 520-314-1042 for further information.