No one likes to ask 'what happens to Mum when the money runs out?'
metro.co.ukNot from the UK, but this person's experiences is similar to mine in the US.
The cost of care, especially nursing/assisted living, is so high that even millions of dollars in savings can be used up relatively quickly.
The worst is for situations where their income (ssi/pensions) exceed qualification for medicaid, but are less than what could cover a nursing home. this can be solved with a miller trust but it takes time to setup so you better have another way to take care of them while sorting out.
> Navigating the cost of care for my 79-year-old mum has been complex, and there is something deeply uncomfortable about reducing a lifetime of achievements into savings accounts, assets and financial assessments to be handed over to near strangers.
Just as the health and happiness of a child is in large part determined by such unimportant and irrelevant factors as material wealth so is for the elderly or the infirm.
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In a perfect world children would take care of their aging parents, but (of course) this isn't always possible.
I guess classical societies, especially in asia with their complex families, was perhaps the best answer to this, where these burdens were shared, and grandparents, in-turn, helped with the grandkids.
Financial capital replaced social capital under the guise of being superior, which has been great for a select few, but suboptimal for everyone else not aggregating capital.
There is too much fantasy economics in this. There is no magic money tree which would otherwise pay for this care. If savings were not used, the alternative would be crippling taxes. People's dreams rarely reflect reality.
And I am involved with a similar situation before I am accused of being an outsider.
I agree. Care is highly expensive out of neccesity. You need someome to basically do everything for these individuals, and this includes many undesirable tasks such as helping them use the commode, shower, dress, etc.
Additionally, the typical pay and hours worked for the nurses and care workers is, in my opinion, much lower than it ought to be. The cost will only increase as the nursing shortage increases.
Even ignoring economics, the quality of life for someone living in a nursing home isn't very high.