Aging adults face many financial problems that can dampen the happiness and comfort that they look forward to in their retirement. While some adults do retire comfortably, their retirement funds perhaps can no longer keep up with the high costs of living. On the other hand, some retirees might not have had sufficient time to financially prepare for retirement due to various circumstances such as poor health conditions. But we can always play our part to help; let’s learn some of the financial problems aging adults typically face and the various ways we can help them.
Facing Higher Healthcare Costs
While medical advances have allowed more aging adults to live longer, managing chronic health conditions can get really expensive. The elderly may also incur healthcare expenses if they get injured or ill. Discuss strategies with your loved one to take care of his or her health, ensuring that some of these medical costs can be prevented. For example, perhaps there is no need to stay in the hospital due to an injury from a fall when there is already a caretaker at home to look after your loved one.
Running Out Of Money
When a job pays you your salary on a regular basis, you are more confident that you would be financially prepared if there’s a need to cover unexpected costs or bills. For the elderly, having a sense of security such as this is no longer within reach as he or she would be living on a fixed income.
Perpetually worrying about finances could cause one to experience chronic anxiety that affects his or her mental health. Your loved ones may also spend less on necessities in a bid to put these fears to rest. Neglecting meals or medication puts your loved one at risk to certain illnesses. What you can do here is to sit down with your loved one to discuss financial planning and the various solutions to tackle their biggest concerns.
Trying To Pay Back Debt
Aging adults may have to pay off credit card debt or old student loans from the past. Incurring high interest rates will put a hole in your loved one’s retirement fund. Consider various debt repayment approaches such as refinancing a loan to incur a lower interest rate. Aging adults should also refrain from taking on new forms of debt. For example, it may be ideal to retire in a place with the help of a home caregiver, instead of moving to a new place independently and taking on a new mortgage.
Losing Money To Fraud
The elderly are commonly targeted by criminals; we’ve come across plenty of scam cases involving aging adults. Your loved one may be a victim of a telephone scam that persuades him or her to reveal personal financial information to strangers. He or she may also fall for sellers or ‘entrepreneurs’ who make inaccurate claims about the products they sell. Remember to always be aware of any new large purchases made by your loved ones, and share with them some of the most common scams so he or she doesn’t fall for them easily.
