Go to pparx.org. It's the Partnership for Prescription Assistance. PPA itself doesn't help you pay for prescriptions, but it's an organization that gathered info on programs that pharmaceutical companies have for helping patients who are unable to afford their medication. You can go to the PPA website, enter a list of the medications you take, and it will tell you if there are programs that can help you get your meds for free or at a discount. If there are such programs, they have links to the forms you have to fill out.

If that doesn't work, talk to your doctor. Many brand-name medications are given to doctors as samples, and while they wouldn't be able to just supply you with samples indefinitely, they might be able to help out on occasion.

When she decides when she wants to start withdrawing money from it, the variable annuity will pay her monthly for the rest of her life. However, she will lose the death benefit. The amount she will get each month will depend on how the market is performing. So she has to consider the fact that variable annuity can only provide supplemental income just like social security.

IRAs are a great retirement tool because they too grow tax-deferred. There are 2 main types of IRAs for individual persons, which are Traditional IRA and Roth IRA. There are several other IRAs, but those are for small businesses.

Some rules you should know about for all IRAs:
Rule #1) Withdrawals before age 59 1/2 are usually subjected to 10% early withdrawal penalty. Withdrawals that are not subjected to 10% penalty before age 59 1/2 are:
1) You may make withdrawals before age 59 1/2 if you become permanently disabled.
2) If you die before age 59 1/2, your estate or your beneficiary will not be affected by the rule.
3) You may make withdrawals to pay for non-reimbursed medical expenses IF AND ONLY IF the expenses exceeds 7.5% of you adjusted gross income (AGI, which means your gross income after all qualifying deductions are made)
4) You may make withdrawals up to $10,000 for purchase, building, or rebuilding of your first home. This can include children, grandchildren, and your spouse if you already bought your first home.
5) You may make withdrawals to pay for higher education expenses. This can include you, your children, and your grandchildren.
6) If you are out of a job and have medical insurance, you may make withdrawals to pay the premium.
Rule #2) Individual must be earning income legally.
Rule #3) In year 2008, individual can only contribute up to $5000 (if you are below the age of 50) or $6000 (if you are 50 years old or older) or 100% of their income, whichever is lesser. So, if your income is $2000, you can only put in $2000.

Here's the difference between Traditional IRAs and Roth IRAs
1) Withdrawals on the gains in the investment are taxable in Traditional IRAs, but not in Roth IRAs.
2) In Traditional IRA, there is mandatory minimum withdrawal after age 70 1/2. So anyone above this age can't open a Traditional IRA. In Roth IRAs, you can keep the money in there as long as you want.
3) Contributions to a Traditional IRA are tax-deductible, but will later be taxed when you start withdrawing. In Roth IRAs, none of your contributions are tax-deductible.
4) Any contributions in either IRA that are NOT tax-deductible can be withdrawn tax-free and penalty free at anytime, even before age 59 1/2.

What should your mom get? I can't really say since I really don't know her situation, besides the fact she don't have good health. I can recommend a company you should look at. There's only one company that fully serves middle income families in America and that's Primerica Financial Services. You should check them out because I'm a client there and they don't charge any fees for their services. They are a member of Citigroup and they specialize in helping middle income families get out of debt, build wealth for long term goals, finding the right amount of coverage for life insurance, and making a financial plan to help clients reach their financial goals.

The prices charged to veterans for healthcare by the VA are based on that person's ability to pay.

~ Bye the way, you should seriously see a doctor fast. I've had it for a week now. I'm finally getting that lump checked… The lump is on the side of your right hand, i suppose, right?
~Might be the best thing if you don't ignore it.