Ron SmithPublished on Some Aging in Place Considerations When Planning for Retirement
In my January 2020 article in InMaricopa Magazine I provided an introduction to the topic of aging-in-place. Beginning this month, we are starting a series of articles to help provide insight into many of the facets of aging-in-place. Whether you’re just approaching retirement, already in retirement or are trying to help a relative who is currently facing aging issues, there should be many topics of interest to you.
This month we will discuss retirement planning issues that can impact your future desire to age-in-place. Planning is not the typical strength of most people approaching retirement. For example, in a 2018 study conducted by Harris Poll on behalf of Northwestern Mutual, one third of Baby Boomers have only $0 to $25,000 in retirement savings!In addition, many approaching retirement have their eyes focused on an active adult lifestyle.
The notion of aging and all of the things that potentially accompany it are often not high on the new retiree’s planning sheet (unless they have had prior experiences with aging in their own families).
Aging-in-place considerations should be factored into retirement decisions as early as possible to avoid issues like unexpected future housing expenses and life changes not anticipated at this time. We often don’t think about access problems caused by entry steps, stair cases, narrow doors and hallways until that first knee or hip operation. Having to move to another house because your initial “forever” home can’t accommodate your needs can be both costly and disruptive. But that doesn’t have to happen if you think carefully about both the current and future comfort of your home. What you want is an “adaptable” home, i.e., one that can change to meet changing needs caused by growing old. The more adaptable the home is, the less costly it will be to make those necessary accommodations in the future. Better yet, it might help to avoid a costly move due to the high cost of a retrofit needed to remain in your own home longer. Keep in mind, accessibility alone is not the only consideration because other issues like the need for skilled nursing care or dementia safety may demand another solution.
As part of your planning, considerations for the availability of other senior support services in the area are helpful to facilitate maintenance of support networks, social connections and in-home medical assistance when needed. It is probably unwise to assume that aging won’t happen. Planning for aging-in-place is a personally responsible way of coping with unexpected changes that can be life altering events and potentially lead to institutionalized long-term care. Aging-in-place planning can help allow a person to live in their own home as long as possible. There are many excellent resources available through AARP and the National Institute on Aging (at NIH) to aid in your planning.
