WASHINGTON – A majority of baby boomers told pollsters that they haven’t made plans for the future: They’ve avoided talking about how they should be cared for as they age. They don’t have financial stability or wills.
They also don’t have much time. The first baby boomers will hit age 65 next year; by 2030, estimates predict there’ll be more than 71.5 million Americans 65 and older.
A survey released last week by the Volunteers of America showed that more than half of the 1,200 Americans aged 45 to 65 who were polled haven’t prepared for the care that they’ll require when they get older – including talking to their family about their care as they age, discussing aging with their doctor or drafting a power of attorney or will.
The majority of baby boomers – 66 percent – answered “No,” to the question: “Have you prepared adequately for the future?”
At a panel Wednesday organized by the Volunteers of America, Washington Post financial columnist Michelle Singletary emphasized the importance of long-term planning, but said most people don’t have a long-term plan.
“We’re planning short term. We plan to go shopping this weekend. We plan our next car… We plan to send our kids to college with so much debt it’s ridiculous,” Singletary said. “But we don’t plan for beyond that. And I think that’s the key.”
In addition to a lack of planning, the survey found that baby boomers believe the elderly should be able to age at home. But a majority of those surveyed said they won’t be able to make the sacrifices needed to care for an older family member.
Three out of four of those surveyed said they want to stay in their own homes when they’re elderly – regardless of cost or needs.
Women will especially be affected by the coming demographic shift, said Bob Arnot, physician and author, during the panel discussion, because they live longer than men and in many cases run out of retirement savings.
“I think a lot of women are going to be facing aging alone,” added panelist Rosemarie Rose, vice president of strategy for Volunteers of America. “We’re going to be doing our own planning. We’re going to be making our own decisions” with fewer financial resources.
Creating effective public policy is a key component in dealing with an aging population, according to the panelists.
“The thing about life is – life is life,” Singletary said. “And you cannot prepare for every catastrophe. That’s why it’s important to have public policies in place.”
Norah O’Donnell, chief Washington correspondent for MSNBC, emphasized the importance of health, wellness and prevention.
“We know now that obesity starts in infancy,” O’Donnell said. “These are all issues that are then going to face us as we get older.”
Advice from the panelists
Personal finances: Planning and saving
Michelle Singletary, Washington Post columnist:
Look at your personal finances and get rid of your debt. Manage your money better, focusing on your needs instead of your wants. Look into retirement planning and long-term care insurance – those mechanisms plus your funds will help you get into retirement. Sit down with a financial planner or employee-assisted program at your workplace to help you figure that out. Think long-term. Most of us plan short-term. Planning beyond that is the key.
Rosemarie Rae, Volunteers of America vice president of strategy:
Are you saving and planning the way you should be? The average cost of a nursing home stay for a year is $70,000 – that’s with a roommate.
Health and wellness
Norah O’Donnell, NBC chief Washington correspondent:
Focus on health, wellness and prevention: Keep healthy longer. Build bone strength. Eat right. Being mobile is key. One of the reasons that a hip fracture can be so debilitating and accelerate the end of life is, in part, because you become immobile.
Long-term care
Michelle Singletary, Washington Post columnist:
Focus on long-term care. There’s the stark reality of the nursing home, and then there’s everything that comes before that – and some people may never enter nursing homes. It can be hard to find resources for the types of long-term care needed when the elderly live at home because they need help with meals, laundry or other daily activities.
Family
Michelle Singletary, Washington Post columnist:
We have to parent better and have better relationships in our families so that family issues and dynamics are resolved since everyone needs to pitch in to take care of parents. The care needs to come from not just children, but also cousins, nieces, aunts. As the parent, have the conversation with your children now. Each decade, you have a different conversation. But it has to start, and it has to start now.
Norah O’Donnell, NBC chief Washington correspondent:
Have earlier discussions within the family before you reach a point of crisis. As the adult child, have those difficult discussions with your parents before you get to that critical point when emotions are running high and everyone is in a lot of pain. As the parent, planning is a huge element – planning for when you get to that point in your life and there’s a medical crisis or you need long-term care in your home.
The home
Rosemarie Rae, Volunteers of America:
Look at your home with a critical eye and think about whether you can live there with limited mobility. If you have a washer and dryer in your basement and have arthritis, proactively plan to get those moved upstairs.
If you’re living with chronic diseases, ask yourself if your bathroom, bedroom and home will work for you. How will you get your meals? What if you can’t drive?
The workplace
Heather Boushey, senior economist at the Center for American Progress:
Workplaces should provide predictable and flexible schedules to help keep workers healthy by providing for ways to have job-protected leave for illnesses or other needed time off. They also should help employees be able to take enough time off to deal with ill relatives and parents, which prevents stress and exhaustion. Workplaces should provide wraparound services – resources for families or financial mechanisms to support their employees in times of need. Workplaces should also ensure that those who have caregiving responsibilities aren’t being discriminated against because economic research has shown that they are.
End of life counseling
Norah O’Donnell, NBC chief Washington correspondent:
The phrase “death panels” used to criticize health care reform legislation frightened many people. It forced an end of the discussion about a debate that needs to be had, which is that people need to be clear about what they want to do at the end of life. Could there be a discussion, a healthy discussion, a pragmatic discussion?
Bob Arnot, physician and author:
Have that conversation beforehand. Last year, at age 95, my mother was diagnosed with acute leukemia. At one point, she was admitted to a hospital emergency room. Right at that point, the ticker started on $85,000 on things she didn’t want to spend. If someone had said, ‘Why don’t you go home and have a last four to five weeks… ‘She always said, ‘I’ve had 95 great years. I don’t need any of this.’