HEALTHCARE COSTS CAN account for a big chunk of retirement expenses, and people often fail to factor in those expenses, especially when it comes to needing help around the house. That situation is something that Rich Pinnell, CRMP, a reverse mortgage specialist with Primary Residential Mortgage Inc. (PRMI), has noticed, and he uses that knowledge to help potential clients. “There is no such thing as a typical client on the reverse side of the business,” says Pinnell, whose office is in Redding, CA. “One question I ask my clients early on is why they want the money. About 50 percent are paying off a forward mortgage to release that money back into their monthly cash flow. The others are filling all kinds of needs, and I hear a lot about healthcare.” While the federally funded Medicare and private longterm care insurance can help when a spouse becomes incapacitated, a lot of couples don’t think about what that might mean financially for the healthy spouse, Pinnell says. While healthy, that person might not have the stamina or strength to do chores, yardwork or other tasks that wouldn’t be covered by insurances, especially if he or she must assist the sick husband or wife, he explains. Pinnell points to recent clients where the wife was experiencing dementia and needed assisted living. Funding Healthcare Costs Reverse Mortgages Can Cover Health-Related Costs By Thomas A. Barstow Rich Pinnell 28 REVERSE MORTGAGE / MAY- JUNE 2022
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