The Summer/Fall 2024 Chicago Caregiving Magazine's feature article is a roundtable discussion with me and four other financial experts and senior care specialists to share their best advice with readers concerned with the financial aspects of caregiving and retirement security. Here are a couple of the highlights of the article:
What do you wish more people understood about saving for aging and retirement:
Some scientists believe the first person to live to 150 likely has already been born. Even if the average retirement age increases to 75 years old, that still means that half their life will be spent in retirement. Increases in expected longevity mean an increased importance in proactive planning for funding post-working years.
What are some of the biggest challenges in care affordability that your clients face?
Everybody has a plan for care, whether they believe it or not. Traditional health insurance doesn't cover long-term care and neither does Medicare. If the risk of paying for care is not transferred to an insurance company through one of the products that can pay for the cost of care, then the default plan is to sell things you may not want to sell (house, retirement account, investments).
What are the biggest factors for a secure retirement--owning a home outright, not having debt, long-term care planning? Something else?
Beginning investing for retirement as early as possible is key. Compound growth is like building a snowman; even starting small early will mean more opportunities for the snowball to make rotations. The second biggest factor is assuming that care will be needed and a plan for funding care has been built. If it's not needed, you'll be better off in the end. If it is, you'll be prepared.
To read the entire article, please visit
https://chicagocaregiving.com/print-magazine/summer-fall-2024/