The Financial Reality of Developmental Disabilities, with Keith Wargo

About this episode

Keith Wargo discusses the financial challenges families face when raising a child with a developmental disability and offers insights on planning and resources.

#709: Keith Wargo has spent decades navigating one of the most daunting financial planning challenges a family can face: raising a child with a developmental disability. He joins us to share what families need to know. The financial stakes are significant. Keith, who is the CEO of Autism Speaks, estimates lifetime care costs for a person with a developmental disability can run between $1.4 and $2.4 million - and that figure may be conservative. Yet many families put off financial planning because the day-to-day demands of caregiving leave little room for anything else. One of the first things Keith walks us through is the federal benefits system. Medicaid and SSI are the primary lifelines for many families, but qualifying takes time - for Keith's family, it took three years of meetings and paperwork. There's also a critical detail: SSI requires the individual to have no more than $2,000 in assets in their name. A well-intentioned inheritance from a grandparent can wipe out eligibility overnight. That's why Keith recommends a special needs trust for most families. Assets held in the trust don't count against federal benefit limits. He also recommends pairing the trust with a…

People in this episode

Host: Paula Pant

Guest: Keith Wargo

Topics covered

• financial planning
• developmental disabilities
• federal benefits
• special needs trust
• life insurance
• ABLE accounts

Keywords

• financial planning
• developmental disability
• Medicaid
• SSI
• special needs trust
• life insurance
• ABLE accounts

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Autism Speaks

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