The financial side is only the tip of the iceberg if a single person wants to live comfortably and enjoy retirement.
If you do not have your retirement planning written in stone yet, you are not alone. Many people are too busy with their day-to-day lives to set aside much time to think about the issues they will face as they get older. Then one day, you find retirement around the corner, and the decisions you need to make can be overwhelming. Aging adults who live alone have even more issues to confront. Here are some things you need to know about aging-alone plans for baby boomers.
Before Congress created Social Security, 401Ks, Roth IRAs, and other financial options, the typical retirement plan used to be that your kids would take care of you when you got older. That scenario does not work well now because baby boomers had fewer children than their parents, and many people facing their next chapter do not have any children. Those who do not currently have a spouse and do not have children nearby are often called “elder orphans.”
Although there are more options now for building financial security for your golden years rather than being dependent on someone else and hoping for the best, the financial side is only the tip of the iceberg if you want to live comfortably and enjoy retirement without a spouse or children. Here are some of the issues you might want to think about:
- Does it make sense for you to try to stay in your home as you get older? There are many in-home services that are now available. You do not need to move into a retirement home just because you might not feel up to cooking all your meals or pushing the vacuum around the house. Making some common-sense renovations to your house can save you a fortune on long-term care costs. Some changes cost nothing, such as decluttering and removing rugs and other tripping hazards.
- Consider your house as an asset. Having someone live-in and exchange room and board for housekeeping chores can give you better care and more attention than you are likely to receive in a nursing home.
- You do not want to outlive your money. Meet with a financial planner or elder law attorney to decide how to maximize your income and cash flow in retirement. You will want to discuss the right age for you to retire, when you should start collecting Social Security retirement benefits, your monthly and annual budget, your investments and savings and how to keep your health care costs down.
- Consider when and how to apply for Medicare and which Medicare plan is best for you. The wrong plan could spell financial ruin.
- Minimize your need for medical treatments and prescription drugs, by staying physically fit and mentally sharp. After decades of answering to alarm clocks, many people relish the idea of sleeping in and doing as little as possible once they stop working. Getting plenty of sleep is important for your health, but you need to stay physically and socially active if you do not want to spend your hard-earned next chapter suffering from poor health and cognitive decline. In retirement, you can stay active doing things you enjoy.
Create your best life for your retirement years with an aging-alone plan. Be sure to consult with an elder law attorney near you when developing your plan.
References:
HuffPost. “Elder Orphans: A Baby Boomer’s Aging-Alone Plan.” (accessed July 19, 2018) https://www.huffingtonpost.com/carol-marak/aging-alone-plan_b_8886418.html
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