People are living longer, and with that comes attendant issues related to eldercare for the growing ranks of seniors. While it’s an increasingly important part of many financial planners’ job, it’s not a particularly happy aspect to deal with.
“Eldercare isn’t most people’s favorite topic,” acknowledged Mary Koffend, co-founder of Accountable Aging Care Management, as she began her presentation on the topic of deconstructing eldercare during a session at the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors’ Spring National Conference this week in Austin, Texas.
Part of that is because it forces us to address our own mortality. The other part is because it can become logistically, financially and emotionally overwhelming.
“It doesn’t matter how smart you are because eldercare is a whole different ballgame,” said Koffend, whose company is a Texas-based provider of professional care management services aimed at older adults and people with disabilities.
She added that financial advisors are in a unique position to help families get connected with the right people in this area. Koffend participated in a tag-team presentation with her husband, Mick Koffend, Accountable Aging’s other co-founder, that provided insights on issues such finding the right resources, dealing with Medicare and how to take the car keys away from aging parents who don’t want to give up the wheel.
They flashed some stats that provided context: 29 percent, or 65 million Americans, provide caregiving assistance (defined as an average of 20 hours a week) to persons age 50 and older. In addition, the average woman can expect to spend 17 years caring for a child and 18 years caring for an elderly parent. Meanwhile, 22 percent of family caregivers say they need help communicating with physicians.
And the situation will only grow more urgent because, as the Koffends noted, people age 100 and older are the fastest-growing population demographic in the U.S.
“If you live to be 75 and you can manage your chronic diseases, the chances of you living to 90 or 95 or 105 are fairly substantial,” Mick Koffend said. “For planners, that situation has some great import because when making financial plans you have to think about the overall health and medical history of your clients."
The following were some of the key points covered during their presentation that financial advisors can use to help their clients deal with eldercare issues:
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