At Mercer Advisors, we understand that having a dependent with special needs can be overwhelming. In fact, many parents, children, or siblings of a dependent with special needs have challenges navigating family financial planning because they are so focused on taking care of their loved one.
We have deep personal experience working with people who are experiencing the same situation. Financial planning for special needs dependents is more complex – that’s where our experienced advisors can step in. Our advisors can help you with topics such as replacing supports after a child leaves the public school system and making the most of Social Security benefits for the entire family.
Our compassionate team can help you understand where you are in the process, what you need to focus on today, and what can wait. Let’s do this together.
It’s been my honor to work with many families like ours to help ensure that all the legal and financial supports are in place to allow their children to have what we’d want for any child: a chance to live a good life, with their share of joys and sorrows, as well as opportunities to be themselves and make their unique contributions to a community that includes and values them.
Even if they never have a high income or net worth, sound planning can help you create a secure and meaningful life for your loved one with a disability.
Disabilities Don’t Discriminate Against 65 Million Americans
Source: Census and Center for Disease Control
Financial Planning for Special Needs Individuals – a 3-Phase Strategy
If you are one of the 65 million families who are impacted by a dependent with special needs, you’re dealing with a complexity that others aren’t. However, you shouldn’t have to deal with it alone. We’ll work together and help get you focused on what’s most important in the short, medium, and long-term.
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Preventing the worst-case scenario
Public programs are valuable, but not sufficient. Most people with disabilities can’t afford to lose public benefits, and many parts of a traditional financial plan do not work with public benefits. The worst-case scenario is trying to help someone with a disability in a way that disqualifies them from benefits that they need. During this phase of creating your overall strategy, we’ll create an individualized financial plan, appropriate estate plan and a risk management program, as well as an operations manual so that you can ensure the continuity of care for your dependent.
Enhancing the financial plan
At Mercer Advisors, we believe that all families benefit from a financial plan. It’s the foundation of what we do. However, families that include a dependent with special needs require a different type of financial plan. For example, savings rates need to be adjusted, wealth accumulation vehicles are likely different, and insurance needs are higher for the household breadwinner. There are also savings vehicles, like the ABLE account, that were created specifically for people with disabilities. Putting all the pieces of the puzzle together can help increase your chances of success.
Creating better scenarios
The blunt reality is that if you have a dependent with a disability then dying broke is simply not an option. You are no longer planning a retirement for one or two people, but rather a plan that encompasses three people. This is why it is critical to ramp up your savings rate and put those dollars into the most efficient accumulation vehicles possible. When we optimize your savings program and increase your rate of savings, we are creating better opportunities for you and your family.
The Mercer Advisors team can help you make the best use of your resources as you plan major transitions in your family’s journey, whether it’s deciding how to replace supports that disappear after a child leaves the public school system, determining an ideal residential setting, coordinating earned income with means-tested benefits or making the most of Social Security benefits for the entire family, even engaging the services of a corporate trustee when needed.
Special needs planning, by definition, spans more than one generation. Every parent of a child with a disability needs partners with the strength and stability to be there to see your plans are fulfilled beyond your lifetime.
People With a Disability Have a Different Financial Life Cycle
Mercer Advisors can help your family devise a comprehensive plan to account for the financial complexities that come with dependents with special needs.
