Living longer with a clean bill of health is a good thing, yet there are a few things to consider now that our population has a longer life expectancy. By 2030, research and experts project that there will be 74 million Americans who are 65 and older. There could many reasons why this is happening globally, but the main problem older adults are dealing with is a lack of money for investments, insurance and overall health and it is time for more talk about Senior Financial Planning.
Why is Money an Issue?
Money has always been an issue for some people, especially the elderly who may be retiring without some type of residual income that can sustain them throughout their old age. This is one reason why assets like savings accounts, retirement options and personal investments are quite important to people of a certain age.
With a stable developed economy and a reduction in deadly diseases, life expectancy numbers have been rising for some time. Currently, the average life expectancy is 78.8 years of age for those born in 2012. Most Americans retire at 65, meaning they may have to deal with financial issues for more than 15 years without a working income.
It is no secret that old age can bring on health issues, which means an increase in health care costs. At the moment, the American health care system is one of the most expensive in the world, and the country has not been able to provide citizens with universal health care like most of the developed world. Sadly, this means that it is up to the elderly Americans to fend for themselves.
Some Americans are counting on social security, but this program is falling apart and has seen better days. There was a time when nine workers payed for a retired individual back in 1960. This number has been cut in half in the 2000s. The problem has gotten so bad that a study shows that nearly one half of American seniors will be paying out-of-pocket expenses for long-term care, such as nursing homes.
In short, senior financial planning has never been more crucial, which means now is the time to expand that investment portfolio with things like rental properties or online businesses that produce extra streams of income. To learn more about aging Americans and their financial burdens, check out the following infographic below created by the University of Southern California’s Master of Arts in Gerontology.
