Many will grow old without family to look after them. With advances in medical science allowing us to live longer and longer issues for these boomers like POA’s and Long Term Care must be addressed. Many times these couples feel they don't need any planning. This is just not the case. While they may not be concerned about leaving an inheritance or being a burden on children that don't exist there are questions about quality care, case management and the protection of lifestyle of the other spouse. Plus, the financial issues that may come about if one person needs care and exhausts a large portion of assets leaving little for the other.
Here is part of the article and click the link to see the full article. Then contact me to discover how affordable Long Term Care Insurance can be and make it part of your retirement plan!
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By Denise Foley
The last piece of real estate Pam and Bruce Boyer purchased together was more than 20 years ago: adjoining plots in the cemetery across the street from their home in historic Bethlehem, Pa.
“We chose a place we really like. We walk there – it’s like a park in London,” says Pam Boyer, 68, a retired magazine researcher whose husband is a freelance writer. “We got it taken care of early before it seemed morbid – or too homey,” she adds with a laugh.
‘Elder Orphans’
It wasn’t the only accommodation the Boyers made to the fact that they are childless, a circumstance an estimated one in five boomers find themselves in as they age.
One study predicts that about a quarter of boomers may become “elder orphans.” That’s a newly coined term for people who reach old age with no family or friends left, like the 81-year-old North Carolina man who made the news in May when he called 911 for food because he had no one else to turn to.
Fewer Caregivers
Family members provide about 70% of long-term care services, according to a survey by the American College of Financial Services. Not only are more boomers childless, those who do have children have fewer than the previous generation. Trendsetters from the start, the boomers have spawned a new phenomenon: caregiver shortage.
As of 2010, there were more than seven family caregivers for every person 80 and over. By 2030, estimates say, there will only be four and by 2050 there will be fewer than three.
That raises the question: Who will take care of the childless boomers when they’re old?
Avoiding the Serious Questions
What alarms many experts is that it’s not the boomers who are asking that question.
“I’d say of every four people I meet, three have not made any decisions at all about their health care when they age,” says Bert Rahl, a licensed social worker and director of mental health services at the Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging in Cleveland, Ohio.
Understanding the Truth
The Boyers chose to be proactive. What made it easier: In light of their circumstances, they’d given it a lot of thought.
They knew when they married more than 30 years ago that they were never going to have children. Pam Boyer is an only child who cared for her grandmother and both her parents — her father had Parkinson’s disease, her mother, Alzheimer’s — in their later years.
“We’re not a healthy family,” she says ruefully.
And neither of them was squeamish about talking about death — even their own.
Take Charge of Your Life
So not only did the Boyers pre-plan their burial, they downloaded documents from the Internet that allowed them to create an advanced directive (a living will that spells out your wishes for end-of-life care) as well as durable power of attorney (POA) so a trusted friend could handle both health care and financial decisions for them when they couldn’t.
(Unlike an ordinary POA, a durable POA stays in effect if you’re incapacitated. The medical version of the POA is called a durable POA for health care.)
They also bought long-term care insurance to help cover expenses if they develop chronic illnesses that require treatment over a long period of time. They offer the couple peace of mind that a catastrophic illness won’t bankrupt them.
See the full article by clicking here: http://longtermcareplanningnews.com/article?article=121
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