Caregivers are often so focused on managing their parent’s health and financial needs that they don’t even think about their own future needs. Although your focus is on providing care for your loved one, it’s important to think about and prepare for your own future financial and caregiving needs. If you haven’t done it already, now is the time to start planning for own your retirement.

“It’s hard to find the time, but planning for your financial future is a necessity,” says Erika Mielke, a Wells Fargo Private Bank senior wealth planning strategist. “Thinking about the dollars and cents of your own retirement is the best way to ensure you have the funds you need as you age.”

Mielke suggests these tips to help caregivers plan for their own financial future.

Take full advantage of employer programs

If you or your spouse is employed, make sure you are taking full advantage of the financial programs your employer offers. Some examples:

• 401(k) – The 401(k) is set up by your employer and is designed to help you save (and build) money for retirement. The money you contribute to your 401(k) is pooled and invested in stocks, bonds, mutual funds or other types of investments. You choose the type of investment from your company’s list of options. Usually your contribution is deducted from your paycheck before taxes and goes directly into your 401(k) account.
• Company matched contributions – Many companies will make a matching contribution to your 401(k). Your employer might match 10 percent, or even 100 percent of your contribution to your retirement account. This is like getting a bonus, so it pays to put in as much as you can afford. Understand how your employer is matching contributions. Some will match your contributions with company stock. As a result, a large portion of your investment will be in company stock. “Diversification is important. As a general rule, you don’t want more than 10 percent of your net worth in any one asset,” Mielke says. Check with your HR department on rules and restrictions for re-balancing your funds, which would enable you to sell some company stock and re-invest it.
• Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) – Depending on the type of health plan you have, you may be eligible for a flexible spending account. An FSA lets you set aside money, and the funds are taken out of your paycheck before taxes. You can use the account throughout the year to get reimbursed for eligible health care and dependent care expenses (including elderly parent care expenses) However, FSAs are set up and owned by the employer, so how much you can contribute is determined by your employer. If you change jobs, you can’t take your FSA with you. Also, you must use all the money in the FSA by year-end, or you lose it.
• Health Spending Accounts (HSA) – If you have a high deductible health plan, you are eligible to create an HSA. An HSA has different rules than an FSA. The maximum a family can contribute annually is capped by the IRS at $6,250. It is a bank account that you own and you can invest it as you choose. You can only access the amount of money that’s in your account. When you start contributing – in January for example – you will have less money than you’ll have later in the year. An HSA is not “use it or lose it” meaning if you don’t spend all the money in the account by year-end, it rolls over to next year, and you can take it with you if you change jobs.

Explore alternatives

The IRS caps the amount you can contribute to your retirement plans at $16,500. That includes 401(k), 403(b), IRAs, etc. Once you have contributed the matching amount to your 401(k) and if you are able to contribute more, then you will want to explore whether to add more to your 401(k) or whether an IRA might be good for you. Depending on your income, a Roth IRA might be a good choice because the money goes in after you’ve paid taxes. The money grows over time, and when you take it out, you don’t pay taxes on it again.

Don’t “set it and forget it”

Whether you have your money in 401(k), IRA, company stock or any other investment option, keep tabs on where your money is being invested. Too many people make a choice when they sign up for the plan, then let it ride, and never make changes to it. “Don’t set it and forget it,” Mielke advices. “Be involved in how your money is allocated. In most cases, as you get closer to retirement, your portfolio should be shifted to include less risk.” She recommends having a conversation with a financial advisor. If your plan is administered by a financial firm, find out if they have advisors you can speak to. If not, hire one yourself. It’s a critical step in financial planning.

Think about long-term care now

“Caregivers are on the front lines of seeing first-hand how much long-term care facilities cost,” Mielke says. However, too many don’t think about their own long-term care needs. Long-term care is an insurance policy that covers costs that arise when a person needs on-going care including home care, hospice care, nursing home care or care in an assisted-living facility.

Mielke says the best time to buy long-term care insurance is usually in your 50s. That’s when the prices are the best, but it can still be affordable after that. Before you buy, know the terms, and fully understand the policy you choose. Some questions to ask about any long-term care policy you are considering: What are the maximum daily benefits? How long will coverage last? Is coverage transferable between spouses? If you don’t use it, does it turn into life insurance? Does the policy take inflation into account?

Insurance

Another aspect of financial planning is insurance. Do you have the right type of life insurance? There are many different options, such term or whole life available, and finding the right type depends on your personal situation.

Property and casualty is another insurance caregivers should consider. If other caregivers are caring for your parent inside the home, how are they insured? What if they are injured? What is the liability to the homeowner? “Getting umbrella coverage with your property and casualty that is equal to your net worth is relatively cheap, and it prevents against your net worth being wiped out due to an accident,” Mielke suggests.

Legal documents: Key to financial planning

In addition to building a solid financial base, caregivers must have legal documents in place, such as financial power of attorney, healthcare power of attorney, and a will. Each document serves a specific purpose. For example, POA indicates what will happen if you are incapacitated and unable to make decisions for yourself while you are alive. A will covers how your estate is handled when you die. The various financial documents work together to ensure your wishes are carried out.

Legal documents coordinate with financials – which is why they are a key part of good financial planning. Make sure you work with an expert to ensure everything is titled appropriately and that the POA, will, and life insurance documents are examined in conjunction with financial planning documentation.

Not all financial planners are created equal

When it comes to financial planning, don’t go it alone. Every state has different rules; IRS regulations are constantly changing; and legalese can make even the savviest consumer’s head spin. It’s best to work with a professional who will take the time to understand your goals and individual situation and advise you accordingly.

However, not all financial planners are created equal. Some financial planners are tied to specific companies, products and services. These organizations tout “free financial planning assistance.” However the financial planner you work with is incented to sell you that company’s products and services. They are being compensated for the products they sell. A better option might be to find an independent financial planner that is not tied to a particular financial firm. They charge a fee for their services, but you will get unbiased advice, and find the right products for your needs.

Article courtesy of AgingCare.com, a leading website that connects people caring for elderly parents to other caregivers, personalized information and local resources. AgingCare.com has become the trusted resource for exchanging ideas, sharing conversations and finding credible information for those seeking elder care solutions.

Ashley King and Council Member Gale Brewer harvest lettuce from the Greenhouse Project Science Laboratory at P.S. 333 Manhattan School for Children.

By Amanda Woods

For some senior citizens on the Upper West Side, it may be difficult to take a trip to the Greenmarket and buy a few days’ supply of fruits and vegetables. With this in mind, Council Member Gale Brewer launched “Grow Green, Age Well” to help connect the elderly to locally produced healthy food.

“When they go grocery shopping, they often need some help,” Brewer said

The idea came about in 2010, when Brewer was developing a plan to make the neighborhood more friendly to seniors. In discussions with the New York Academy of Medicine, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Brewer outlined issues of concern to seniors in the neighborhood, and access to fresh fruits and vegetables was one of them. Brewer hoped to find a way to integrate healthy local food into menus at senior centers.

“[We thought] maybe we could substitute some of the vegetables that were frozen with fresh fruits and vegetables,” Brewer said. “We met with senior centers, and much to my surprise and pleasure, the [GrowNYC] Greenmarket said, ‘Oh, we can do that.’”

The program consists of four elements. The first, “Wholesale for Whole Meals,” involves delivering food from GrowNYC’s wholesale program to senior centers such as Project FIND’s Hargrave Center and Goddard Riverside, food banks and Citymeals-on-Wheels.

Cheryl Huber, assistant director of greenmarkets for GrowNYC, said that the organization is in the process of connecting its markets to senior center kitchens.

“We know seniors are some of our most vulnerable New Yorkers, and they, more than anyone, need access to fresh food,” Huber said.

Local senior centers welcomed the new program.

“We started, a while ago, thinking about the health and wellness of the seniors,” said Barbara Blackman, section head of program services for Project FIND, which operates five senior centers in Manhattan. “It’s a very good step in the right direction for our team. We’re very happy with the wholesale market.”

Through another program within the initiative, “Greenhouse to Goddard,” which begins July 19, high school students will harvest about 100 heads of lettuce at the Greenhouse Project Science Lab at P.S. 333 Manhattan School for Children and deliver it to the Goddard Riverside Senior Center, a short walk from the school.

Stephan Russo, executive director of the Goddard Center, is looking forward to seeing the program kick off.
“It’s local, it’s healthy, it’s cost effective,” Russo said. “We appreciate that Gale made the connection with the school’s greenhouse to grow and harvest lettuce this summer that can be delivered to our senior center just five blocks away.”

Because many elderly live on a fixed income, “Grow Green, Age Well” will also introduce a West Side Senior Supported Agriculture Program, which will help those who cannot shell out enough money at once for an entire season of produce, as with a traditional community supported agriculture program.

The program also includes the second annual Age-Friendly West Side Grocery Guide, which advises seniors on delivery options and senior discounts and where to look for fresh prepared foods in single portions.

Brewer notes that “Grow Green” will not only aid local seniors but upstate farmers who grow the produce.
“I’m very excited about it because it’s local planning,” Brewer said. “If it all works, it’s a wonderful, amazing story.”

The May 17 New York Times City Room blog post “A Target Older Than the Jokes at Her Roast” dismissed anyone “easily offended” by Friar’s Club roast jokes. The “older” target was Betty White, “still going strong” at age 90.

But you don’t have to be easily offended to object to jibes about the many vicissitudes of old age that cause so much—often untold—hardship, above all the brain failures that cripple both body and mind and strokes where the mind is painfully aware of a helpless body. My dear cousins, Virginia and Paul, recently departed this life after prolonged suffering from respectively, a stroke and brain failure.

And jokes about countless debilitating developments make elders ashamed, even of using a cane or wrinkles, hair loss and other superficials—forget walkers, hearing aids, dentures and incontinence. “But White is known to get as down and dirty as anyone…and chided the attacks as being too tame.” The “attacks” derided all the above.

These awful ailments need to be cried about—and cried OUT about, for infinitely more empathic understanding and all-out passion to find effective treatment and cures. If only White would include human elders in her animal activist work.

And let’s lament the’s benefit concert’s small audience in the Heavenly Rest Church chapel last Saturday afternoon while multitudes cycled, jogged, scootered and strolled right by on their way to Central Park. Blame physical obsession and spiritual indifference, perhaps?

The latter also endangers the Christian Science Church on East 63rd Street I only learned of because the CEO of Our Town and The West Side Spirit, Tom Allon, has spent most of his adult life providing community news “we need to live by.” So on your 50th birthday, Tom, we wholeheartedly wish for whatever you and your family need most! And, of course, scowl, not laugh at any ageist joke and card in response to your half-century of living.

Join the protest against toxic environments such as those created by Duane Reade’s new zigzagging aisles and lowered claustrophobic ceilings exuding blinding fluorescent lights, which had civic activist Ellie Sankey so stressed she chose a graduation instead of a birthday card and “couldn’t wait to get out of there!” To quote Russell Baker, “Progress strikes again!”

dewingbetter@aol.com