Are you caring for elderly parents or planning to take on the role? We have you covered by preparing a checklist on how you can properly take care of your elderly parents without jeopardizing your retirement needs and your family’s needs in the process.
It is difficult to see your parents struggle, lose their independence, experience loneliness, and face financial woes in the latter part of their lives. Naturally, you will extend help in any way you by spending time with them, providing financial support and offering different forms of guardianship.
Since there are a lot of factors to consider, it is best to tread this path with a plan.
These are the six important things you should consider to successfully take care of your elderly parents:
Start the Conversation Early
A recent survey by the National Endowment for Financial Education revealed that 7 out of 10 adults struggle in talking to their families about who will make financial decisions once the time comes he or she loses the ability to handle money. Starting “the talk,” is unavoidable and probably the most difficult part but there are many ways to make this task easy.
Tips for talking with your elderly parents regarding finances and health
- Discuss the issues with sensitivity
- Explain the purpose of the conversation
- Involve other family members
- Understand the need of aging parents to control their own lives
- Agree to disagree
- Make use of good communication skill
- Gather important information like records and documentation
- Create a strategy to make financial tasks simple
Importance of Creating a Plan
Having a list of things to do ingrained in your mind is different from creating a plan and writing everything down. The first thing you can do is allot a budget enough to cover daily living expenses of your aging parents like food, utilities, transportation, medicine, caregivers and unexpected expenses.
Long term care planning is also worth considering since around 7 out of 10 of Americans will most likely any form of long term care like home care, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, CCRCs, and other retirement communities.
Download the Types of Long Term Care and Where to Get them to learn about the different care settings available in the industry today.
Having all legal and financial documents in order is also important. Estate planning is important to avoid inconveniences when aging parents can no longer make decisions on their own. With proper documents in place like living wills, medical power of attorney, living trust and durable power of attorney your aging parents can still carry out their wishes.
Seeking the advice of a long term care specialist or financial expert is recommended regarding these matters.
Make the Best Decision When Caring for Elderly Parents
Making a decision is very hard particularly regarding choosing whether to let your aging parents age in place or move to a nursing home or assisted living facility.
Home care is the popular choice because it is the most affordable compared to other long term care options. However, just because it is cheaper always means that it is the best for your aging parents. Considering the quality of life of your aging parents and your budget is the key to making the best long term care decision.
How to Choose the Right Long Term Care
- Choose a facility recommended by accreditors and state agencies.
- Provides all the services your aging parents’ needs.
- Staff meets the needs of your aging parents.
- Meets your budget.
Don’t Neglect your Retirement Needs
It is tempting to put your retirement plan on hold to help your aging parents. But don’t do it. It’s important to stay on the course and at the same time helping your parents prepare for their future needs particularly healthcare and long term care, which are known to deplete anyone’s savings.
This is not a selfish act but rather a smart one because chances are you’ll go through what you’re parents have experienced. You need to build a retirement income big enough to sustain your chosen lifestyle and to cover your future health care and long term care expenses.
Get our free infographic How to Plan for Long Term Care to learn how you can get started on planning now.
Explore Government Programs and Options Provided by Your Community
The government provides financial help to those who can’t afford health care and long term care through Medicare and Medicaid. But make sure to learn the ins and outs of these federal programs first to avoid inconveniences later on. The former is a health insurance for people 65 and older, and it doesn’t cover custodial care. The latter provides long term care benefits but only if you meet their eligibility requirements.
Check your local communities too for services they provided to help aging parents maintain their independence, provide care for them and guide them in carrying out their ADLs or activities of daily living.
Buying Long Term Care Insurance
Long term care insurance is beneficial for your aging parents and for you as well.
How?
These are the top ten reasons to get long term care insurance:
- To protect assets
- To relieve burden on family
- To get high quality care
- To have more liberty of choosing the care and the provider
- To stay at home
- To enjoy peace of mind
- To have a plan for the future
- To maintain independence
- To leave a legacy
- To preserve quality of life
You can learn more about these in details by viewing the infographic here.
Another reason to consider getting insurance for long term care is that it is the most cost-effective way to pay for long term care. It’s not that expensive like what everyone thinks. You can get an affordable long term care insurance by buying early, making an adjustment to your policy features like inflation protection, elimination period and daily benefit, and by requesting for long term care insurance quotes online.
Following all the tips mentioned here can make the task of caring for elderly parents easier and without putting your retirement plans on the line. It really plays to address the issues right away and plan ahead to have a more comfortable and financially stable retirement.