Financial Costs of Aging

Living Longer…Is Expensive!

With acknowledgments to an article I recently read in SmartMoney…think about this quote: “A lot of time people actually end up spending more money in retirement than they may have spent when they were working.”  For all the years of work and raising a family, the biggest expense in a senior’s lifetime may be in his/her retirement years. That is a sobering statement, especially because those retirement years for many elders are defined by the fixed income of social security. 

According to an analysis of data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average American who lives to the ripe old age of 100 will spend $3.5 million over the source of his/her lifetime. Approximately half that amount ($1.5 million) will have been consumed by your 50th birthday. Over the next 30 odd years (assuming average life expectancy of 81 years), living expenses will run another $1.4 million. Experts say these high costs of living often come as a shock to retirees. No surprise there! Aging seniors generally expect to reduce their living expenses as they get older, while managing costs on a fixed retirement budget.　

Health care costs for our aging senior population increase exponentially for each decade of life beyond 50 years of age. By the time an elder has reached 80 plus years of age, the costs associated with health care insurance, prescriptions, long term care, adult day care, assisted living, and/or nursing home expenses have skyrocketed.

Consider the following: On the income side of the family ledger, current 25 year projections estimate that Social Security will only have enough funds to cover 75% of scheduled benefits. And on the expense side, approximately 25 percent of all Medicare expenses are incurred by the 5 percent of people who are in their last year of life. (source: Harvard Business Review). The net result? Income benefits go down while health care expenses escalate. There are no easy solutions to these macro-economic problems.

In-Home Care Services

Home Care Partners was founded to provide personalized care services to seniors at an affordable cost. Economically, in-home care services are significantly less than the expense of nursing homes or assisted living facilities. Elders have the ability to control their spending, buying services only for the hours needed most. Homecare allows elders or loved ones to remain in the comfort of their own home, while receiving the care they require.

JD Miller

About JD Miller

John D. Miller is the founder/owner of Home Care Partners, LLC, a Massachusetts business providing private duty, personalized in-home assistance and companion care services to those needing help in daily activities and household functions. Phone: (781) 378-2164 Email: [email protected] Website: https://homecarepartnersma.com
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