One of the consequences of increased life spans is that when people reach retirement age they might still have elderly parents that need to be cared for.
Taking care of an elderly parent can be difficult. As people age they need more and more attention and care in most cases.
With human life spans getting longer and longer the people trying to take care of their elderly parents are now reaching retirement age themselves and are finding that they are no longer physically capable of doing everything that they used to do.
One possible way to handle this situation was recently written about in the New York Times article "A Twist on Caring for a Parent: Move Into the Home."
The article tells the story of a 71-year-old man who moved into the same continuing care retirement community as his 96-year-old mother. It allows the man to help his mother while still having the facility staff to do what he is not able to do. All chores, such as cooking, cleaning and laundry, are done by the staff.
Obviously, this is an expensive solution to the problem and many families will not be able to afford to have two generations living in the same retirement community. How to take care of an ever aging population is something that elder law experts and legislatures will have to eventually address.
Having elderly children care for their elderly parents is unlikely to work in the long term.
For now, it is best to plan ahead. Through proper retirement and estate planning it is possible to ensure that elderly family members, including yourself, will have proper care.
Reference: New York Times (Jan. 4, 2016) "A Twist on Caring for a Parent: Move Into the Home."
Comments