Important
Information for Seniors
1. Social
Security, pensions, VA benefits and disability income are protected from
collectors under federal law.
2. Persons
on protected income can immediately stop paying credit card and medical debt
they can’t afford to pay.
3. They can
use this income to pay for their needs.
4. A person
can continue paying one or two credit cards if they want and let the others
default. It is expected that even if they default on other credit cards the
ones they are current on will remain good as long as they are continued to be
paid. This preserves some credit.
5. If you
have a car you can’t afford you can simply let it go back. You may owe money
but they can’t collect from you if you still owe money after it repossessed and
sold.
6. If you
have a house you can’t afford, with little or no equity, you can stop payments
and live in the house without making payments.
Often you can be in the home for 1-2 years or perhaps even longer while
it is going back in foreclosure.
7. Bankruptcy is almost always unnecessary for seniors on protected income
with minimal assets. Their income and property is protected under federal and
state laws.
8. Collectors cannot communicate in writing or by phone with persons
represented by an attorney.
9. HELPS represents seniors and disabled
persons on protected income for the purpose of having an attorney to prevent
collector harassment.
10. HELPS send letters to collectors to
stop harassment and is always available for questions.
11. The federal government has a program called Section 8 that assists
persons, including seniors, on limited incomes with the cost of housing. There
is normally a waiting period. HELPS has volunteers that can
assist its members with the application process.
12. There are supplemental benefits available for veterans and surviving
spouses receiving limited income. Six out of seven widows are estimated to be
entitled to benefits they are not receiving simply because they don’t know
about the benefit.
13. Probably
the same percentage of veterans themselves are not receiving
these available extra benefits.
- simply because
they don’t know about them.
14. Seniors on limited income can easily be placed on un-collectable status
with the IRS for past taxes owed. HELPS assists persons in this
regard.
15. State governments cannot garnish federally protected income like Social
Security and pensions. Taxes or debts owed to state do not need to be paid.
16. Seniors who have student loan debt who are receiving protected income can
often be placed on an income contingent repayment plan for the student loans
with the amount being paid as zero per month.
17. HELPS assists seniors in all fifty
states. Our number one source of clients is referrals from other HELPS members
telling their friends, neighbors and relatives about HELPS .
18. The cost to enroll in HELPS is absolutely minimal. There is
a suggested maintenance fee which at the most is less than a McDonald’s cup of
coffee a day.
19. HELPS has never turned a senior away
that qualified for our assistance.
20. A senior can enroll in HELPS over the phone. Money does not
need to paid to enroll immediately. With HELPS you always have an
attorney to talk with about these issues. There is never a cost. We are here to
remove the stress of dealing with collectors.
21. We help seniors maintain
financial independence on limited incomes.
