If you have a parent who is or about to enter retirement, you may want to consider giving them money management tips for retired individuals. You want to make sure that they have retirement security – especially when it comes to their finances. With a limited retirement fund and a higher cost of living, our parents are bound to have a challenging road ahead of them. Add to that the medical costs that have significantly risen in the past couple of years.
Considering all of these, we have to help our parents prepare for a not-so-ideal retirement. It is not only to help them stretch their retirement fund, but also to assist them in protecting their assets. According to the National Council on Aging, financial scams that are specifically against seniors is now considered as the crime of the century – at least, the 21st century. The data from NCOA.org revealed that 90% of the abuse that elders get are from people that they know – even family members.
This is a sad statistic that you should try to avoid. Help your parents achieve retirement security by protecting them from people who want to scam them out of their money.
Statistics show that retirement for boomers is not so secure
Even without the scamming statistic, things are not as great as it should be for the baby boomers. In a compilation of statistics found on Financial-Planning.com, the following data is revealed.
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46% of workers have less than $10,000 for retirement while 29% will have less than $1,000. (Employee Benefit Research Institute)
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Americans are short by $6.6 trillion on what they require to have a comfortable retirement. (Center for Retirement Research in Boston College)
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1 out of 6 senior Americans are living in poverty. (US Census Bureau)
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40% of baby boomers expect that they will work all throughout retirement. (American Association of Retired Persons)
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56% of retirees have an outstanding balance when they retire. (CESI Debt Solutions)
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In the next 5 years, the revenues in the health and medical industry will have an increase of 5% annually that will amount to $865.8 billion. This will mean a huge deficit in the budgets of a lot of retirees who need medical help because of old age.
To date, the total beneficiaries of the Social Security is almost at 42 million. This is according to the data provided by SSA.gov. It also revealed that the average amount that they receive every month is at $1,184.76. If this is the only money that they receive, this will not be enough to help them build retirement security.
Since their money will not be enough, you can expect that retired individuals will be working while in retirement. In fact, data from Census.gov revealed that in 2014, the expected workers from the retired communities will be as follows:
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26.9% of 66-74 year old retirees
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9.6% of 75 years and older
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19.7% of 65 years and above (average)
6 ways you can help set up your parents to a secure retirement
If you want to keep your parents from having to work just so they can have retirement security, you need to sit down and talk to them about some strategies for a good retirement.
Here are 6 ways that you can help your parents with their finances.
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Tell them about financial scams. As mentioned earlier, there are malicious individuals who target seniors specifically for their retirement money. You can imagine how tempting they are. They have all of this money in their hands and it is like ripe for the picking – at least, that is what scammers think. Make sure you teach them about these scams. How they should be careful about any offer that will involve them paying or giving off their financial information to others. This is especially true if your parents are showing signs of dementia, or their mental illness. Teach them how to recognize a scam from the not.
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Help them sell the things they do not need. This is to help them de-clutter their lives and get rid of the material possessions that are no longer necessary. If you want them to have retirement security, you need to help them increase their money. That can be done by selling off the stuff that they just have lying around.
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Look over their service contracts. These include phone, Internet, cable and other contract that your parents subscribe to. Check if you can arrange to have these contracts changed so your parents do not have to pay so much every month. Some service providers offer a discount for any qualified retirees and seniors.
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Educate them of any discount that they are entitled to. This includes any product or service that they usually avail. That way, they can still enjoy the things that they used to without spending too much. You can also encourage them to join memberships that will help them get access to discounts that is appropriate for their age.
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Teach them about the ins and outs of technology. Some of our elderly are hesitant to use gadgets because they find it confusing. Have the patience to teach them so that they can benefit from the convenience that technology brings. Introduce them to apps and other programs that will help make things easier for them to monitor their funds, investments, etc.
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Ensure that they are getting the benefits that they deserve. There are so many financial aid provided for seniors – Social Security, Retirement plans, Medicare, etc. Make sure that they are availing of these benefits because it will help relieve them of the retirement stress that comes with limited finances.
It is also important that you always check on your parents every now and then. Even with everything that you have set up for them, their loneliness can lead them to trust the wrong person. But if you always talk to them, they will trust only you.
Tips to help reduce their expenses to stretch their retirement fund
Another thing that you can help your parent with is in downsizing their lifestyle so their retirement fund can last. The most effective way that they can achieve retirement security is when they have enough funds that is sure to outlast them. You may have to help them change into a frugal lifestyle so their money can be spent only on what is important.
Here are some tips that you can help them reduce their expenses.
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Help them move to a smaller home. This will lower their monthly household expenses. Not only that, if they can even earn profit from the sale of their bigger home.
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Discuss the possibility of moving in a state or country that has a lower cost of living. This is an option for the more adventurous retirees. See if they are open to this idea and help them in making the move.
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Setup means of communication that will not cost as much. Remember that communicating with your parents is important. This will keep them from feeling isolated. Make sure it will be cost friendly for them too.
All of these are meant to help your retired or retiring parent achieve retirement security. All it takes is some time, effort and patience. It is your turn to do them favors so you can help set them up for a comfortable retirement.