Our blog post features David Parker from Your Reverse Mortgage Resource

I talk with a lot of retirees in my capacity as a loan officer specializing in reverse mortgages. While you would think you could make a simple calculation and figure out a “magic” number it is not that easy.

Lets say your cash flow (income minus expenses) would be positive if you were to retire today. What is the most likely scenario as you age? In almost all cases, your income over time will decrease while your expenses increase.

If you have a pension, will it end for your spouse if you die? 70% of retiring workers pick the higher option that ends when they die. If you die, your spouse also loses the lower of your two social security incomes.

While health care insurance can be obtained cheaply for most retirees this doesn’t cover long-term care done in your home or in an assisted living facility. 20-hour per week non-nursing in-home care can cost at least $1000 per month while assisted living can cost from $3000 to $6000 a month. What is the likelihood you will need that? Can you get family or friends to support you instead? How do you plan for such a large expense? Do you buy long-term care insurance? Can you even get it now?

If you have a new medical condition, it can add up to $800 per month in prescription drug costs. Generic versions of most drugs can be obtained very cheaply but some drugs have no generic versions. How do you plan for that? What about hospital stays? What are the limits to your coverage? When does your family have to start paying?

A reverse mortgage cannot fix all financial woes. It is just a tool to access your equity and help pay for these and other things without messing up your cash flow.

Dave Parker
602-750-8166
ParkerInReverse.com
At The Lending Company

Image from www.thejoyofnotworking.com

Many seniors are concerned about their access to finances once they have retired, especially with the current state of the economy. With this in mind, it should come us no surprise that older adults would like to continue working past retirement age.

There can be a negative stigma regarding employing seniors; with declining cognitive skills the process of training and learning new skills may take longer, and they may not have the same physical strength as a younger person when it is required for a job. According to the AARP, over the past 35 years, jobs have not required the same level of cognitive and physical skills; however, they predict that in the next 35 the job requirements will increase, making it more difficult for a senior to successfully perform in a job if they have physical and cognitive limitations.

There are also many proven benefits of choosing to hire a senior; naturally they have many years of experience under their belt, they also demonstrate a strong work ethic and exercise more perseverance and dependability. According to the AARP, this not only makes them an asset to an organization, their drive also sets a good example for younger employees. It’s also been proven that they have stronger motivation to exceed job expectations, have more loyalty and are less likely to leave a satisfying job, and have great customer service skills since communication and abilities to relate to others often increase with age.

So, with two opposing views on older adult employment to consider; seniors who would like to remain in the job market should follow their career aspirations and make a good impression.

Sources: http://assets.aarp.org/rgcenter/econ/inb151_work.pdf
               http://www.businessknowhow.com/manage/hire-seniors.htm