My mother, who is on a limited income as a retiree and widow, has accumulated a large amount of credit card debt. At this point, the monthly minimums are over half of her incoming pension and Social Security widow benefits.
We were able to discharge my deceased father's medical bills that she has been paying for almost 10 years. She has asked her creditors to consolidate the credit card debt, but because it is so high compared to her income, she was told no.
She did have income coming from my father's pension but it is my understanding that due to changes in the administration of those accounts, she no longer receives it.
When she retired, she also took the most modest amount of monthly income she could for her own pension. Apparently she was offered a range, and whatever remained after she passed would be provided to her beneficiary when she is gone. To be honest, I'd rather her have all the money now. She did talk to an attorney last year to see if she could have her pension income adjusted higher, but they said there was not a case, as she could only make that decision once. She said she had an advisor at the time of her retirement that helped her make her decisions, but I was not included in the conversations then, as I would have told her to take it all. He apparetly also told her to charge everything (who knows why).
At this point, we can make some minor adjustments to her budget (reduce cable, move to one bedroom apartment), but other than starting to work again, what other options are there? It is my understanding from her that if she decides to go back to work and earns more than $15k, the SS widow benefits will be affected. Is bankruptcy an option? Should we talk to a financial advisor to sort through the specific details? Should she just let the credit ride due to her older age? She is a renter currently so I imagine that would have an affect on her ability to retain her lease perhaps. I would also foresee medical concerns in the her future, and I'm not sure how her credit or any of the above options may affect the need for medical care.
To be honest, I don't think she believed she would have outlived my father for so long.
Submitted January 13, 2018 at 09:02AM by throwawaypensioner90 http://ift.tt/2Da5oNH
