planning to age in place

When Planning to Age in Place

Trying to plan may be hard since you never know exactly what your needs will be. But thinking of what may happen and those what ifs are great places to start. Consider your family medical history and your personal medical history. Think of your living situation, too. Have you lived alone or close by to family your entire life? Do you and your spouse both have long life expectancies?

Begin by talking with your doctor about your family and personal medical history and see how specific diseases and disorders may affect your mobility, mentality, and daily living. Read up on and discuss with other retirees their experiences, too.

Another great aspect in planning to age at home is the accessibility to help and care. Though it will sometimes come at a cost for services, there usually are many local and states offices that offer help to elders. Care options you may want to consider and plan for:

Personal care – Such as bathing, hairstyling, and even dressing, a family member or a trained aide could come in for your morning routine if you need.

Household care – Grocery shopping, lawncare, and even cleaning. Many groceries stores will do over the phone or online orders and deliver them to your home post-pandemic. Hiring help for housework and lawncare will be easier since these services are always available through various companies, large and small. If you already know someone who has a lawncare specialist or housekeeper, you may be able to hire them, too.

Cooking and meals – Meals are a good time to stay social. Perhaps each week host some friends or family and have a little potluck. Not only will there be leftovers for yourself and the others, but you can spend time catching up with family or friends. Eating out may even be an option. There are meal delivery programs that are low-cost or even free.

Financial care – The biggest worry for retirees is money management. Ranging from paying bills on time to medical bills and health insurance, depending on where you live, there are resources you have access to. Having a conversation with a trusted family member like a child or niece or nephew about your finances is an excellent first step. If you are able, hire a financial advisor to make sure everything looks good. Paying bills online and setting up autopay will ensure that utility bills and monthly premiums are paid on time. Some banks even offer financial services for seniors for free if you have been banking with them for a while.

The trick with financial care in retirement, especially as you age, is to make sure you do not fall victim to scams. Never give sensitive information like your Social Security number or banking information to someone unless you placed the call. Regularly check (or have someone do so) bills to make sure there are not unusual charges.

Health care – Often a tricky category, making sure you are covered here ranges from taking your medicine on time to hospital stays and aftercare. For medicines, there are special pill boxes that allow you to set out an entire week’s worth of medicine at once. If you have recently had a hospital stay and need to arrange aftercare such as temporary assisted living or rehabilitation, if your family is unable to, discharge planners at most hospitals can plan with you. Some insurance, even Medicare plans, may cover all or a portion of a home health aide. And lastly, if you need the doctor’s recommendations and directions written, your doctor or nurse can make sure those are in the summary for you. Or a family member or friend can help with those during your stay.

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Elder Abuse and Financial Exploitation: What Are They?

Unfortunately, financial abuse and exploitation is a reality many seniors face in their retirement. Strikingly, financial institutions have reported the number of these incidents tripling since 2017. And no matter how big or small the deception may be, it leaves elders financially and even emotionally devastated.

The question remains: how can you protect yourself and your loved ones from it? Having a solid understanding of what elder financial abuse and exploitation is, how to spot red flags, and what preventative measures can be put in place is a great place to start.

What is elder financial abuse and exploitation?

Elder financial abuse and exploitation are when someone within the elder’s life misuses or takes advantage of their assets for their own benefit. Oftentimes, it is done without the consent or knowledge of the victim and can leaves them without significant financial resources they worked hard to save. The worst part is family, friends, or even caregivers can commit elder abuse or financial exploitation. It is not uncommon for force, harassment, or threats to be involved either.

Why does elder financial abuse go unreported?

It is estimated billions of dollars per year is lost to elder abuse and financial exploitation. And sadly, financial exploitation can be even harder than physical elder abuse to detect. Circumstances vary and warning signs are not always prevalent.

There are four major reasons why the financial abuse goes unreported:

  1. A trusted family member or caregiver is the abuser
  2. Vulnerable older adult doesn’t know it happened until too late
  3. Victim experiences overwhelming shame
  4. Elder doesn’t know who to tell or where to report

The abuser may be someone the senior relies on for basic needs and care and fearing further abuse and retaliation is often part of the situation to why the abuse goes unreported. A victim’s lack of mentality or physical ability also factors into why the abuse may go unreported.

Reporting the exploitation and abuse can be a very overwhelming experience. And the process varies immensely state to state. Fortunately, your local adult protective services can help guide you through the process for you or a loved one and point you to resources you didn’t even know of.

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