An interesting article, Why Aging Middle-class People Can’t Afford Assisted Living, recently appeared at Philly.com, the online site of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Writer Stacey Burling describes research published by the University of Chicago’s National Opinion Research Center (NORC), a project that examined the future challenges of paying for the costs of assisted living, especially for … Continue reading
Filed under aging parent finances …
College Loan & IRS Scams — I Received Both Phone Calls Today
As if there are not enough scams, here’s another one — a college loan scam. I haven’t had college loans for years and years, but I am wondering if there will soon be a parent or grandparent component to the scam. Anyway, one more caller with malicious intent to be aware of when you answer … Continue reading
Watch Out for Unexpected Recurring Charges on a Parent’s Credit Card
Over dinner at my parents’ house recently my mother commented that a recurring charge appeared on her Mastercard statement every month for at least a year. “I have no idea what it is,” she said. She had been checking her bills and was unsure about what to do. I looked at the bill and sure … Continue reading
When to Start Social Security?
When we offer any kind of support to aging parents, we learn quite a bit about Social Security along the way. One thing we discover is information about the various retirement ages that qualify for benefit payments. If other adult children are anything like me, they begin to think about their retirement years ahead and … Continue reading
Money, Money, Money
Money is a big, big issue in retirement. While I am several years from my retirement, I think about my plans carefully, wondering almost daily what else I can to ensure my security. Managing finances for some of our aging parents is a challenge. And the older people get the bigger an issue it becomes, … Continue reading
Many Seniors Don’t Know About Medicare Extra Help Subsidy
According to a January 4, 2011 Kaiser Health News (KHN) article, many American seniors who qualify for a Medicare Part D subsidy that reduces prescription costs have not signed up. The article, 2 Million Medicare Beneficiaries Missing Out On Discounted Drug Coverage, explains that the program, called Extra Help, lowers medication costs and reduces money spent … Continue reading
Alzheimer’s: Helping a Parent Manage Financial Issues
Interesting article in the November 5, 2010 New York Times describing how adult children can get started helping with finances when a parent has Alzheimer’s. In Stepping in for a Parent With Alzheimer’s reporter Tara Siegel Bernard consults with financial planners, shares their ideas, makes specific suggestions about getting started, and offers tips about how to be … Continue reading
Seniors’ Bank Cards: Stop Switching Them!
Three times in the last 12 months my mother has received a phone call from her bank credit card company telling her she has a wonderful opportunity to receive a new card. Three times she’s been made to feel like she has to do it. So suddenly Mom has a new card, a new number, … Continue reading
Continuing Care Retirement Communities
Lately continuing care retirement communities (CCRC’s) are in the news. Confusing information abounds, and it can be worrisome for anyone who is in the process of choosing a CCRC, as well as for aging parents who already live in a community. In the last two months (August – September 2010) The New York Times and Wall … Continue reading
Scams and Seniors
My amazing 83-year-old mother has not found a technology that she does not want to learn. Computers, scanners, Facebook, mobile phones, printers, e-mail, you name it. Most recently she learned to text — though her texting circle only includes three people — me, and my daughter (her granddaughter), and my cousin, Sandy. So it was … Continue reading
Caregiving: How One Couple Avoided Burnout
… by trying to work together During three years of caring for a senior parent, my husband and I took many steps to ensure that neither of us would shoulder too many burdens, lose too much sleep, or just reach a point where one of us ran out of steam. We knew that any one … Continue reading
Aging Parents: Washington Post Caregiving-Financing Series
This past Sunday personal finance columnist, Michelle Singletary, wrote about her introduction to aging parent/adult child caregiving, explaining how her father-in-law, in his 80’s, requires daily assistance and has moved in with his children (her family). Writing in the May 16, 2010 Washington Post, Singletary explores the challenges that exist for her and members of … Continue reading
As Our Parents Age 