Читать книгу Financial Care for Your Aging Parent - Lise Andreana - Страница 6

In my more than 20 years of experience as a Certified Financial Planner, working with more than 1,000 Boomers, they are, by and large, working toward their retirement savings goals. However, the majority are behind in their required saving schedule, which presents a serious problem. At best, most are on target to retire at 75 percent of their retirement goal. This may require accepting a reduced retirement lifestyle, or working longer (delaying retirement) in order to achieve the savings needed for their desired retirement lifestyle.

As Boomers prepare to retire, they are increasingly being faced with the onset of chronic illness and infirmity of their aging parents. In my experience, Boomers feel obligated to help out, often at a cost to their current lifestyle, and ultimately their retirement lifestyle as well. These costs will be both financial and social.

Taking on the responsibility for the financial care of your aging parents at the same time you are planning your own retirement presents a unique set of challenges. For many of you this may mean a loss of time and money from work, forced early retirement, or a loss of freedom within your own retirement to pursue those long-held and cherished retirement dreams.

In my experience with my own family and my clients, most elderly parents are being less than forthright about their diminishing capabilities. This is a scary time for them, and there are many reasons why they may be withholding information from their adult children:^[4]

• Fear of losing independence and treasured privacy.

• Fear of acknowledging mortality.

• Fearing the change of new surroundings, new routines, and new people.

• Not wanting to burden loved ones with their care.

• Fear of the cost of any treatments or care they may require.

• Embarrassment in admitting they can no longer perform certain tasks.

• They may already be experiencing dementia or mental health issues that prevent them from knowing what is happening to them or recognizing their limitations.

As their child, you may be scared as well, causing you to miss the signs of diminished capacity. Common reasons adult children do not see the signs include:

• Not wanting to admit a parent is getting older and may be approaching death.

• Fear of having an emotional and/or confrontational conversation with the parent.

• Fear of having to take on the financial, emotional, and social costs of caregiving.

• Fear of not knowing what steps to take next.

• Fear of the impact caregiving will have on their marriage, job, and life.

These fears and concerns are common and valid. Caring for your aging parents takes time. If you are still working and raising a family, this is likely to be time you don’t have. Caring for your aging parents may also impact your own financial resources.

If you are reading this book and asking yourself if it is time to step in and help your aging parents, I can assure you that if you are asking that question, the answer is “yes”! It is never too early for a parent or adult child to begin a conversation of “what if,” and to plan for the day when complete independence is no longer a viable option.