The Crisis of Aging Affordably
The costs of growing old are making aging comfortably a privilege only the wealthy can afford.
We’re watching three trends unfold:
The number of people aged 65 or older is increasing rapidly (stat: by 2040, there will be 80.8 million Americans 65 years old and older. In 2018, there were 52.4 million (source)).
Most of these people have limited financial resources (stat: almost half of U.S. households led by someone 55 or older have no retirement savings (source)).
The supply of home-care services cannot match demand (stat: there’s an average wait time of nearly three years for Medicaid covered home-based care (source)).
When you think about the costs of long-term care — a semi-private room can cost $93,000 per year (source) — these trends are framed with added concern.
What Can You Do?
Understand that Medicare is not enough to support your healthcare needs as you age. Medicare is typically used for care after a hospital stay (post-acute care). If living assistance is required, that is typically left for Medicaid.
That said, Medicaid is a poverty-based program, often requiring seniors to spend down their countable assets to around $2,000. So, unless a senior plans to impoverish themselves to receive coverage, additional services will be out-of-pocket expenses.
Knowing this, if you aren’t prepared for the expenses of older age the best time to start saving is now. While you’re younger and mobile, start preparing your house to reduce fall risk, for example. The CDC offers a few suggestions here.
And, if you have a loved one who is entering old age and you’d like to help them stay safe at home — we’re happy to talk about tools to do just that.