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We are all growing older. It’ inevitable that most people ignore or put off the topic of getting older till it’s too late. What people don’t realize is that it’s more important than ever to start planning for your senior years now so as you get older you can choose how you live out the remainder life as opposed to having the decisions made for you.
For most people the ideal situation is to live out their life in the comfort of their own home. Recent statistics show that a large numb er of aging adults prefer to live out the remainder of their life in their own home as opposed in an assisted living or convalescent facility. In fact, the number of individuals that want to live out their life at home is over 80%.
It’s time to start talking about what you want to do when you get older and the conversation about what to do when the times comes doesn’t have to be an uncomfortable one. It’s important separate the facts from emotions and concentrate on the financials, the logistics, and how it will affect everyone involved when you have the conversation. Below is a list of some of the key questions to ask when talking and planning your senior years:
The key questions listed above are important and need to take as soon as possible to ensure that a plan is in place and agreed upon by all parties involved. Don’t put off till tomorrow what you should being doing today, initiate the conversation and come up with a plan before it’s too late and you are subjected to the decisions made by someone else.
Our physical abilities decline which in turn creates physical obstacles that need to be addressed for individuals intending on continuing to live the remainder of their years in their own home. Simple obstacles like a single step into the front door or a high floor to carpet transition become insurmountable as well as serious fall hazards for elderly people. Every year 1 in every 4 elderly people will experience a fall which is why it’s so important to eliminate every potential fall hazard from an elderly person’s living area.
Ever since the 1950s, the large majority of houses built are multi-level or split-level homes that have one or more staircases. Even in situations where the staircase is small and only consists of a couple of stairs it’s still a dangerous obstacle for an elderly person to safely transverse. Staircases of every size are dangerous and represent a real risk to seniors. When an elderly person experiences a fall, in most cases they inflict a risk serious injury. In situations where the senior is living at home, a simple bruise can escalate to something more serious due to a lack of assistance.
In some cases, staircases can be addressed by simply building ramps with a low gradient and a non-slip surface over the top of a staircase. In other cases where there is not enough room, or the staircase is too steep for a ramp to be built then other more extreme options should be considered. Some other options include limiting the elderly residents to a single floor, an elevator, or possibly a motorized chair lift if the home has more than one floor. These solutions are costly and could lead to additional challenges. A few other things that should be considered include for example creating a new entrance, adding a new handicap accessible bathroom and kitchen remodeling.
Not every home is able to be easily modified. Structural and design limitations as well as financial constraints can limit what is even possible when preparing for living out your life in your own home. It’s important to identify these limitations in advance so that alternative plans can be made such as selling the current home, purchasing a new home, or looking into options other than living at home.
When evaluating a home for future senior residency, there are other things that should be considered in addition to staircases and traversing multiple floors. A few of these considerations include:
Properly preparing a home for a senior resident requires both time and money which is why it’s important to start early to ensure a happy and comfortable end of life experience.
Seniors want to continue living their lives in their own home in part because they are stubborn and independent. No matter how capable a senior may be, at some point every person reaches a point where they will need help with the most common tasks associated with everyday life.
Early on it may not be necessary to employ the services of a home care provider like Health & Comfort Home Care Agency offers but instead institute some technology-based solutions commonly referred to as “Smart-Home Technology”.
Smart home technology includes things like the ability to turn lights on an off with their voice, have security doorbells with cameras, fall-detection sensors, and control the thermostat with voice commands. Smart home technology greatly reduces the risk of falling and accidents by allowing the person to remain comfortably seated while still being able to control their surroundings with voice commands. The less an elderly person needs to get up and walk around their home the safer it will be for them.
In recent years smart home technology has become very affordable and much easier to implement.
Smart home technology is not a replacement for an in-home care aide however it is a cost effective and useful tool to use in combination with a home care aide as a way to provide a safe and comfortable living environment for a person or persons living out their later years.
We touched on it earlier when we discussed having the conversation early on, however financial planning is one of the most important parts of planning for how and where to live out your later years.
Everything costs money and medical insurance only covers so much. Even if you have supplemental insurance, the out-of-pocket costs of living out your live at home are substantial. Some of the expenses that need to be considered when planning to live out the rest of your life at home include:
The challenge is how to pay for the expenses of living in your home while no longer actively working. Social Security and insurance are not enough to cover everything which is why most people that are not independently wealthy or setup for retirement need an alternate source of income.
The best way to prepare for living out the rest of your years at home is to start saving at an early age. For many people this is not an option. For individuals that own their home and have equity, another option is to consider a reverse mortgage. Selling your home and downsizing is another option. Unfortunately, outside of a substantial savings or equity to work with the financial burden usually falls upon family members which is why it’s important to start saving and planning early.
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