Posted: Jul 14, 2014 6:55 am
A neighbour of mine died over the weekend. This made me think about the implications of living longer than you thought you would when you planned for your retirement, and the implications of living "past your sell-by date."
I know that most people think they are fit to take care of themselves until they can't and that they will then take themselves off to a care facility.
The reality is that when you retire, you have an income, whether it's from private investments or from a government pension. You have a place where you live and you are a late middle age adult able to go on with dealing with your life.
Then ten years later, when you are in old age, you notice small things that you aren't prepared for: your health is deteriorating, your memory is failing, your possessions that perhaps you replaced when you retired are showing signs of needing replacement, and especially your car, that is now way too expensive to replace is needing replacement.
What do you do. I know that all the people I've spoken to say they are more than capable of living on their own and taking care of themselves and their affairs, until they are really old, and people as old as 90 are still living alone.
But how are they living? The technology of 30 years after they retired is beyond them, they can't figure it out, so they rely on younger people to help them when it doesn't work, or they bother their children with phone calls asking for advice. They might still be driving but are a hazard on the road, and when they shop they become bewildered by the choices, and distressed when the foods they've eaten all their lives aren't available anymore.
Do you get your kids to check on you, empty your fridge of stale food, fix your car, take you to doctors, or do you go to live in a facility where strangers do it for you, at a cost that you possibly can't afford, so you go into a cheaper facility where you don't get the care you deserve.
Are your kids responsible? Should you allow them to take over your finances? Should you ask them to take care of you rather than put you in a facility? I'm interested to hear what other people think.
What happens in your country? Is there a mandated retirement age? Is your government pension enough to live on? Do you get help with accommodation, care, health care, shopping, financial issues and so on?
I know that most people think they are fit to take care of themselves until they can't and that they will then take themselves off to a care facility.
The reality is that when you retire, you have an income, whether it's from private investments or from a government pension. You have a place where you live and you are a late middle age adult able to go on with dealing with your life.
Then ten years later, when you are in old age, you notice small things that you aren't prepared for: your health is deteriorating, your memory is failing, your possessions that perhaps you replaced when you retired are showing signs of needing replacement, and especially your car, that is now way too expensive to replace is needing replacement.
What do you do. I know that all the people I've spoken to say they are more than capable of living on their own and taking care of themselves and their affairs, until they are really old, and people as old as 90 are still living alone.
But how are they living? The technology of 30 years after they retired is beyond them, they can't figure it out, so they rely on younger people to help them when it doesn't work, or they bother their children with phone calls asking for advice. They might still be driving but are a hazard on the road, and when they shop they become bewildered by the choices, and distressed when the foods they've eaten all their lives aren't available anymore.
Do you get your kids to check on you, empty your fridge of stale food, fix your car, take you to doctors, or do you go to live in a facility where strangers do it for you, at a cost that you possibly can't afford, so you go into a cheaper facility where you don't get the care you deserve.
Are your kids responsible? Should you allow them to take over your finances? Should you ask them to take care of you rather than put you in a facility? I'm interested to hear what other people think.
What happens in your country? Is there a mandated retirement age? Is your government pension enough to live on? Do you get help with accommodation, care, health care, shopping, financial issues and so on?