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Editor’s Note: Part 2 of a two-part series on Wisconsin’s caregiver crisis and the dilemma facing baby boomers. Read Part 1 here.
APPLETON, Wisconsin — Michelle Graf’s message is tough love.
“Families have to step up.
This message is addressed to all families, but especially to the Baby Boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964), an estimated 75 million people expected to retire by 2030. increase.
With the ongoing caregiver crisis, lack of space, rising costs, and people living longer but with more health problems requiring long-term care sooner, baby boomer families There are all challenges that must be faced.
“Baby boomers didn’t really care about themselves,” Graf said. “Baby boomers are not healthy. They are younger than the greatest generation and need care.”
Graff said that in her experience, the mid-to-early 80s was the entry point for older adults of the greatest generation (defined as those born between 1901 and 1927) in need of long-term care. I was.
“But now we’re entering the ’70s,” she said.
And one more.
“Baby boomers weren’t very frugal,” she said.
According to AARP, a 2019 survey by the Insured Retirement Institute, an organization that includes insurers, asset managers and 150,000 financial professionals, found that 75% of baby boomers did not factor health care into their retirement savings goals. 85% reported otherwise. Includes long-term medical expenses.
The same survey found that 45% of baby boomers have no retirement savings. Over 25% of people have less than $100,000.
“I would say to everyone in the world, if you want care, you should have at least two to three years of private money available,” than inflation. ”
“There are many ways to calculate it, but it takes a combination of income and some assets to get to $6,000 a month over a couple of years. Of course, not everyone can do it, and care is always available.It will be much harder to find.”
Long-term care finance company Genworth reports that the average cost of assisted living in Wisconsin will be $4,600 per month in 2021, up 4.55% from 2020.
As for nursing homes, Genworth reports that monthly costs are nearly 100% higher than nursing home costs in Wisconsin. The average cost for a semi-private room is $9,022/month and a private room is $9,733/month. These costs vary by state.
That’s where companies like CarePatrol take it into account. They provide guidance on how to find space and expand your money and assets.
Long-term care is not an easy story. Older people don’t want to admit their limitations and always want to stay home as long as possible. Baby boomers have fewer children, and perhaps those children are scattered across the country.
“And your wife is working,” said CarePatrol marketing director Kim Patterson. ”
In most cases, neither older parents nor children want to face the reality at hand, Graf said.
“It’s the kids too, because we’re all guilty,” Graff said. No. You see them as they are.
“And that’s where the family struggles. They don’t want to make plans for it.”
Both Graf and Patterson emphasized the idea of being proactive, educating ourselves, and making plans to keep our loved ones at home for as long as possible.
“Great advice for baby boomers or anyone. Make sure you have an advance directive (a legal document that tells your doctor your health care preferences if you can’t decide for yourself). “Like financial powers of attorney, medical powers of attorney, these are really simple things.”
This is a conundrum with no simple answer, and perhaps there is no end in sight as millennials and Gen X may face an even darker future. Costs will continue to rise and spaces will continue to shrink due to shortages of healthcare workers.
John Sauer, President and CEO of LeadingAge Wisconsin, said: It is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the areas of long-term care, assisted living and retirement living.
In 2022, LeadingAge worked with three other Wisconsin health agencies to produce the “Long-Term Care Worker Crisis” report.
“So we can meet the needs of the growing number of seniors with the current number of beds that the state is currently licensed for,” said Sauer.
“The real issue is how to retain and attract staff to work in long-term care facilities to meet this growing need for care. It is not about capacity. is really a workforce issue.”
Story ideas? You can contact Mike Woods at 920-246-6321 or michael.t.woods1@charter.com.
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