Health & Fitness
Helping toCare for Aging Parents
Many baby boomers are finding that their aging parents are in need of health care assistance. Luckily, there are many options available today to help your parents grow old gracefully.
Many baby
boomers are finding that their aging parents are in need of health care
assistance. Luckily, there are many options available today to help your
parents grow old gracefully, either in their own home or in a facility, and
several ways that you can finance the costs of the care.
Research
Your Options
If your
parents are healthy seniors who can look after themselves, they generally are
eligible to enter a continuing-care retirement community that allows them to
buy or rent an apartment and ensures them lifetime nursing care when it is
necessary. Another option for healthy seniors is private long-term care
insurance, which can help cover nursing-home costs or the cost of an in-home
aide.
There are a wide range of services and options available if your parent needs
more substantial assistance and is not eligible for the above-mentioned
services. Many families opt for moving an aging parent into their own home. If
you are able to peacefully coexist with your parent, this may be a good idea
because the arrangement frees you from worry about the upkeep of a second home,
and you and your children can have valuable time to spend with your loved one.
Find out what's happening in New Lenoxwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Maintaining
Their Own Home
When
living together is not a workable plan, maintaining your parent in his or her
own home is also an option. There are, however, several fairly expensive things
that may be required to make a home environment safe and suitable for an aging
person. Various safety features may be necessary, including first-floor
bathrooms, grab bars in hallways and bathrooms, and a personal emergency
response system in case your parent needs assistance while alone. If your
parent is in need of daily assistance with meals or chores, he or she can apply
for several services such as Meals on Wheels, which may be free for anyone over
60. If your parent needs more personal assistance, you may want to look into
hiring an in-home aide at a skill level appropriate for the amount of help
needed.
Medicare will only pay the full cost of professional help if a physician
certifies that your parent requires nursing care and if these services are
provided by a Medicare-certified home health care agency. Adult day care is
also an option and a good way to get your parent to socialize with other
adults. Prices for day care can cost up to $100 a day or more, depending on the
amount of attention and activities provided, and reduced rates may be offered
for those who can't afford the full charge. Call your local senior services
groups and agencies to find one of the thousands of nationwide day centers that
may match your needs.
Find out what's happening in New Lenoxwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Online Support for Eldercare
Administration on
Aging
www.aoa.gov -- A variety of print and online materials for elders, their
families, and professionals regarding housing, medical, caregiving, and
services for seniors.
ElderWeb
www.elderweb.com -- A rich collection of resources for the elderly and their
caregivers on financial matters, health care, living arrangements, and
social, mental, and legal issues.
There are other online support
services, publications, and resources available that may meet your needs.
Check your local library or senior services agency for information.
Financing
Long-Term Care
One of
the biggest worries of those caring for an aging parent is how to pay for the
care needed. If you provide more than half of a parent's support and his or her
gross income is less than $3,650, you can claim your parent as your dependent,
giving you a tax exemption for each parent so cared for and allowing you to
write off much of the medical expenses. (Note: The dependent exemption phases
out at higher income levels. Check with your tax advisor.) You may also be able
to claim a federal tax credit that will enable you to take up to $3,000 off the
cost of in-home care or day care. Another option is the flexible spending
account (FSA), which lets you pay for a certain amount of care each year with
pre-tax dollars.
If sending your parent to a nursing home is inevitable, make sure you research
each home extensively. Reservations at the home selected should be made at
least a year ahead of the time that you expect your parent will need it, as
waiting lists are typically long at well-respected facilities. Keep in mind,
too, that the government offers limited financial help for those families
paying for nursing home care. Medicare will only pay for care on a short-term
basis, and Medicaid only offers benefits to low income individuals with limited
assets. And, with the average nursing home stay costing upwards of $6,900 per
month, financial planning has become even more crucial to the economic
well-being of adult children responsible for the care of their elderly parents.1
Don't wait until the last minute - start planning now to ensure the future care
of your parents.
Publications for Long-Term Care Issues
Parents: The Complete AARP Guide
Reports Complete Guide to Health Services for Seniors: What Your Family
Needs to Know About Finding and Financing Medicare, Assisted Living, Nursing
Homes, Home Care, and Adult Day Care, 592 pages, Three
Rivers Press, 2000.
There are other online support
services, publications, and resources available that may meet your needs.
Check you local library or senior services agency for information.
Helpful
Resources
There
are many resources that can help you by providing valuable information and
referrals. In addition to the resources listed below, your place of worship,
local hospital, and senior services groups and agencies may also be helpful.
THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF HOMES
AND SERVICES FOR THE AGING
(www.aahsa.org or 202-783-2242) offers information on how to choose a nursing
home or assisted-living facility, a directory of continuing-care retirement
communities, and information on long-term care insurance.
FAMILY CAREGIVER ALLIANCE
(www.caregiver.org;
415-434-3388) offers information for caregiver concerns, newsletters, fact
sheets (English, Spanish, and Chinese), and an online support group.
THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE FOR CAREGIVING
(www.caregiving.org)
is a national resource center that provides information on elder-care
conferences, books, and training for professionals.
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF AREA
AGENCIES ON AGING
(www.n4a.org; 202-872-0888), an advocacy group for local aging agencies,
offers The Eldercare Locator (800-677-1116) or www.eldercare.gov, a service
that puts you in touch with a local resource-and-referral organization,
which, in turn, will recommend home health care aides.
There
are other online support services, publications, and resources available that
may meet your needs. Check you local library or senior services agency for
information.
Points
to Remember
many baby boomers may be called upon to care for an aging parent.
options available to senior citizens, depending on their circumstances and
the degree of care they require, including continuing-care retirement
communities, moving a parent into the child's home, or modifying a
parent's home to make it safe.
be available if you can claim your parent as a dependent.
options, and consult the various resources available for the elderly.
For More Information
If you’d like to learn more, please contact:
1Source: MetLife
Mature Market Institute, October 2010.
The
author(s) and/or publication are neither employees of nor affiliated with
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC ("MSSB"). By providing this third
party publication, we are not implying an affiliation, sponsorship,
endorsement, approval, investigation, verification or monitoring by MSSB of any
information contained in the publication.
The
opinions expressed by the authors are solely their own and do not necessarily
reflect those of MSSB. The information and data in the article or
publication has been obtained from sources outside of MSSB and MSSB makes no
representations or guarantees as to the accuracy or completeness of information
or data from sources outside of MSSB. Neither the information provided nor any
opinion expressed constitutes a solicitation by MSSB with respect to the
purchase or sale of any security, investment, strategy or product that may be
mentioned.
Article
written by McGraw Hill and provided courtesy of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney
Financial Advisor Phil Zaczek
Morgan
Stanley Smith Barney LLC. Member SIPC.
