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Thank you for watching our webinar, Anna. Monthly fees are based on the deposit amount as noted in the presentation and vary for each person from month-to-month. Understanding the minimum monthly fee of $30 can help a person determine if a pooled trust is a good fit based on their spend-down amount. We pride ourselves on being transparent and fair with our fees. NYSARC fees are generally lower than most other trust programs who charge 10%-12.5% of a person's spend-down. Our current fee schedule is publicly available on our website, and we also built a Fee Calculator to make it easy to get a breakdown of the approximate monthly costs. For more information, please visit our website: www.nysarctrustservices.org/nysarc-trusts/pooled-trusts/community-trust-ii/.

If I have to fix my roof and let say it costs $10,000 and I don’t have enough fund in the pooled trust to pay for it. Should I transfer funds from my 401K to the pooled trust and pay the contractor? Since ivy pooled trust only have funds to pay my regular expenses. If I can’t transfer fund from my 401k plan then I would no able to do this project? Please advise.

​@@hellkitchen888Thank you for your question. Please consult with a financial advisor or tax professional before making any withdrawal from your 401K. You do not necessarily need to deposit funds into a pooled trust to pay for the roof repair. You are only required to deposit a monthly spend-down into the trust. For specific questions like this one, please contact customer service to discuss further at (518) 439-8323.

Thank you for taking the time to watch our webinar and for providing this feedback. We will happily update the description of the video to include timestamps for key sections.

Thank you again for this feedback. We now have timestamps added to our video!

​@@nysarcincthe

A pooled trust is already created and governed under one Master Trust document, so there is no need to write a trust. NYSARC Trust Services administers the pooled trust and manages the funds on behalf of the trust beneficiary. We also serve as a trustee for some standalone special needs trusts. However, we do not draft trust agreements. A person would need to hire an attorney to create the trust. For more information, please contact us at 518-439-8323.

Thanks for your comments, Faith. It is helpful to have some assistance with the paperwork. The benefits of receiving the Medicaid services are substantial. To help reduce paperwork, people can utilize automatic payment options.

That is one of the benefits of using a pooled trust instead of sending receipts for medical expenses to your local DSS. If a person is eligible to deposit the funds into a pooled trust, the funds can be spent on non-medical expenses like the Medicaid recipient's bills. Certain requests like rent and other bills that are the same amount each month can be paid automatically as scheduled payments. This helps reduce the paperwork involved in meeting the requirements of reducing your income to qualify for Community Medicaid. For assistance, please feel free to contact our customer service team at (518) 439-8323.

There is currently no lookback for Community Medicaid in New York State. You may need to provide 30 days of financials when you apply, but you are not penalized for making transfers at this time. In the future, there may be a 30-month lookback for home care in NYS, but it has not been implemented yet.

There are discussions of raising the resource limit for SSI recipients. The Savings Penalty Elimination Act is a bill that seeks to increase the SSI resource caps to $10,000 for individuals and $20,000 for married couples. www.disabilityscoop.com/2022/11/11/congress-faces-pressure-to-raise-ssi-asset-limits/30132/

Great question! If you are eligible for SSI and receive any amount of those benefits, you are subject to the $2,000 resource limit. If your assets exceed that amount, you can deposit those funds into a qualified SNT or pooled trust as a way to set that money aside and plan for expenses you may have in the future.

Our trust programs are for New York State residents or people who are receiving government benefits in New York. There are other programs in Florida, and in many other states around the country, that are similar to ours. You might find this list of trust providers helpful: specialneedsanswers.com/pooled-trust

At this time, our trust programs will only accept cash-based assets. However, there may be other trusts that are willing to accept this type of currency.

We agree, Chad. It is not much money at all when you need it to last a lifetime. That is why using both a special needs trust or pooled trust, which has no limit on how much money you can put into it, and an ABLE account, can help maximize the amount of money a person can have available to them while still being able to receive the benefits that support their basic living needs. Yes, a person on SSDI can typically have a private retirement account, like a private IRA or 401K, and it will not affect their SSDI payments, since those benefits are not means-tested. However, some retirement accounts, like a government pension, can reduce a person’s SSDI payment. See this resource from SSA for more information: www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10007.pdf. Income received from a retirement plan, can however affect a person’s financial eligibility for Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits, as eligibility for those programs are based on the individual’s income and resources. For Medicaid eligibility, a person can typically deposit that income into a special needs trust or pooled trust to qualify and maintain their eligibility for services. Parents, who want to leave retirement funds to a loved one with a disability, can also name a SNT or pooled trust as the recipient of those funds in order to protect a person’s financial eligibility for benefits. We strongly advise that you speak with a legal and tax professional before making any decisions with regard to a person’s retirement assets. Please contact our office at (518) 439-8323 if you would like to discuss further.

@@nysarcinc Thanks, that's helpful. Past the Able accounts I wasn't sure what is/was available for SSDI. As participates lose Medicaid if they have too much money. Which will likely be back on Medicaid with in a few months or years because they spent there money down on medically bills. Instead of enjoying there days. Which doesn't seem fair for someone who can't earn a good income and has a disability.

​@@chadwiley6917 a person on SSDI who has too much money for Medicaid, may have a monthly income spend-down. For qualifying adults, that excess income can go into a pooled trust on a monthly basis. That allows the money to be used to pay for living expenses and other personal needs rather than having to use it towards the cost of medical services. This allows people to maintain their financial eligibility for Medicaid and use the funds in a trust to supplement the services they receive by paying for items and services they are not covered by their benefits. For more information, check out our Pooled Income Trust program: www.nysarctrustservices.org/nysarc-trusts/pooled-trusts/community-trust-ii

Hi Anna, thank you for reaching out. If you are looking for information about our webinar training discussing the new Third Party Pooled Trust program, that will be on Tuesday, February 22nd @ 4 PM. Here is a link to register: us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/3016439007644/WN_o0FP9MVYQo2blxcC2BGLRQ

Hi Gina, thank you for watching our video. Medicaid benefits provide many services that may differ based on the benefits each person receives and what other insurance coverage they have. To get more information, please contact Medicaid directly or visit the NY Medicaid website.

Hi Chryl, thank you for reaching out and for watching our video. If you have questions about a change to the amount of your SSDI check, you can contact the Social Security Administration or your local field office for more information.

Thank you for your question. Medicaid takes many factors into consideration when they determine financial eligibility for Medicaid. Each person has a different situation and may be eligible to receive certain deductions. If you have questions, please contact your local Medicaid office or the department of social services/HRA in your area. If a person's income is too high, they may be able to use a pooled trust to become financially eligible for Medicaid home care services and other health benefits. Contact us at (518) 439-8323 to learn more.

@@nysarcinc interesting "may be eligible to receive certain deductions" where can I read about these deductions? Is it publicly available info? thanks

@@BEASTNYC the best resource to get this information would be Medicaid. You can contact your local department of social services or local office of the Human Resources Association (HRA) if you are in NYC.