Burlington elder law attorneys help with the issues that arise as you age. As you get older, you may experience many different life situations that you need to plan ahead for. Not only is planning for financial security during retirement important, but you also must make sure you are taking steps to protect your assets as you age and to prepare for what will happen if you get sick or hurt. Seniors also need to think about how they will cover long-term care costs if they must move into a nursing home and must consider what they want their legacies to be and take steps to create a plan to achieve those goals. 
Unsworth LaPlante, PLLC has extensive experience offering assistance to clients in the Vermont area. It will become even more important in upcoming years for seniors to have their plans in place, as the population of Vermont is aging. In fact, the Burlington Free Press recently reported on the number of Vermont residents who are now old enough to receive Social Security retirement checks.
The Percent of Vermont’s Seniors Receiving Social Security Benefits is Growing Rapidly
According to the Burlington Free Press, almost a quarter of all residents of the state of Vermont now receive Social Security retirement checks from the Social Security Administration. A total of 145,000 people in Vermont are currently receiving these checks.
By comparison, in the year 2000, just over 100,000 people in Vermont received Social Security checks. The population in the year 2000 was very similar in size to the population in the state of Vermont today, so this dramatic jump in the number of people in Vermont who are on Social Security is a strong indicator of how rapidly the population of Vermont is aging. While there were 15,000 fewer people in Vermont in 2000 than there are today, there are now 40,000 more people receiving Social Security checks in Vermont than there were in the year 2000.
Vermont has one of the highest percentages of its population receiving Social Security retirement checks of any state in the United States. A total of just two states have a larger percentage of their populations who have reached retirement age and begun to receive Social Security retirement income.
The aging population is not spread evenly across the state of Vermont. In Essex County, more than 1/3 of the entire population are past retirement age and are receiving Social Security benefits. In the more Southern Vermont counties, including Rutland, Windsor, Bennington, and Windham- more than 25 percent of the entire population of the counties are receiving Social Security. But, by contrast, in both Chittenden County and Franklin County, fewer than one out of every five people are receiving Social Security income.
Because so many residents of Vermont are relying on Social Security benefits, Social Security funds are a substantial source of all of the funds spent statewide during the course of the year. Social Security checks total $2.2 billion for residents in the state of Vermont, while residents of Vermont only earn a total of $1.7 billion across Vermont’s entire manufacturing industry.
Seniors need to make sure they are managing their Social Security carefully and taking steps to protect their other assets so they can fund their retirement. Unsworth LaPlante, PLLC can help with financial planning and more for aging seniors.
Getting Help from Burlington Elder Law Attorneys
Burlington elder law attorneys at Unsworth LaPlante, PLLC are ready to help the aging members of Vermont’s population. Many seniors have already placed their trust in our compassionate and knowledgeable legal team and we have helped many Vermont residents to create their plans to retire with security, pay for long-term care, cope with incapacity and otherwise take steps to protect their loved ones, their assets, their future, and their legacy.
If you want to find out about what Unsworth LaPlante, PLLC can do for you, join us for a free seminar. You can also give us a call at (802) 879-7133 or contact us online to find out about the personalized assistance that our legal team can offer.
Stephen Unsworth
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