Pete Buttigieg has a big new plan to shake up the retirement system

[femmedem]

Last edited Mon Nov 25, 2019, 10:23 AM - Edit history (1)

"...Perhaps the most ambitious part of the plan would create a “a historic and free long-term care program to protect people over age 65” called Long-Term Care America that amounts to an addition to the social safety net.

Here’s how it works: every retiree who needs help “with two or more activities of daily living” would get $90 a day to defray the costs of long term care after some waiting periods based on income. The benefit could be used for things like hiring a home health aide or paying for a nursing home.

The current average Social Security benefit is $1,471 per month. This program, at $90 a day, would be a benefit worth almost double that for the much smaller number of eligible seniors."

snip

"...The plan has a range of inducements to encourage seniors to stay at home for their care. That is a feature that Nancy Altman, president of a group called Social Security Works, thinks will help defray some of the cost. "There really are incentives for people to stay at home, as opposed to, the immediate default is spend down, go on Medicaid, and go into an institution," she says adding that currently there is an "unintended bias in the current law towards institutional care.”

More at link: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/pete-buttigieg-retirement-plan-110045918.html

And a link to his plan: https://peteforamerica.com/policies/dignity/

Edited to add: Time has an article on the plan now which I think explains it more clearly. https://time.com/5738121/pete-buttigieg-long-term-care-retirement/

[Sherman A1]

1. I will stick with the Freedom Dividend as proposed by Andrew Yang

The $1k per month for everyone over 18 will lift all boats and create a trickle up economy.

[customerserviceguy]

2. I went to the link for the plan

and I must have missed the mechanism that would be used to pay for this.

[redqueen]

3. "... for the much smaller number of eligible seniors."

Anyone done the math on that?

From the Google
"Now men in the United States aged 65 can expect to live 18 more years on average. Women aged 65 years can expect to live around 20.6 more years on average. Life expectancy in the U.S. As of 2016, the average life expectancy at birth in the United States was 78.69 years."

The cost would of course be increased by the means testing requires as well.

Seems like giving everyone 65 and up an extra $2700 per month would sure get some votes. Wonder if anyone will start attacking Pete for buying votes.

[dsc]

4. did you miss the part about needing help with life's activities

[redqueen]

5. No, I saw it.

I also know how easy it is to claim that.

And for $2700/mo - who wouldn't at least try?

[bucolic_frolic]

7. Too much like vouchers: here's some cash, take care of your own problem

[The Mouth]

8. Long term care is *WAY* beyond what either Yang or Pete think it is

$7K a month for anyplace that isn't a foul hellhole, $3-4K a month for mostly around the clock care.