Beware of the Financial Risks of Solo Aging
America’s loneliness epidemic is nothing new. The book Bowling Alone came out decades ago, and why television sets in every room, with different family members watching different shows, worlds apart in the same house, have not given way to virtual reality helmets, as the author Robert Putnam had predicted, the ubiquity of smartphones each of us carries a universe of misanthropy and paranoia in our pocket. Declining birth rates are also nothing new, but an aging population and the continuation of the trend toward social isolation are a perfect storm for what a recent article on Moneywise calls “solo aging.” The author’s conclusion is that, while the risks of social isolation to a person’s physical and mental health are well documented, the financial costs of aging alone have not attracted as much public discussion, but in today’s economic climate, we can no longer ignore them. If solitude is your reality, but you want to avoid financial catastrophe in your retirement, contact a Bronx estate planning lawyer.
What Is Solo Aging, and Why Is It So Expensive?
According to Moneywise, solo aging is when a person over 60 lives alone and does not have children. By this logic, 22 million Americans are solo aging at this moment. 28 percent of retirees in the United States are not married or living with a domestic partner and do not have children. This includes widows and widowers, as well as people who have never been married or whose previous marriages ended in divorce.
The financial costs of solo aging have attracted attention recently, because the high prices of groceries, gasoline, rent, and other necessities are burdensome for everyone except the wealthiest people in society, and the prices show no signs of falling any time soon. Solo seniors face a unique plight in these economic doldrums, though. When you are young, you can look forward to future employment income, and when you live with other people, you can share the costs, but when there is only one fixed income to pay for everything, it is hard to make ends meet, no matter how modestly you live. Furthermore, solo seniors have no other family members in their household to rely on for caregiving; they must pay home health aides for all their caregiving needs.
How to Offset the Costs of Solo Aging
One possible solution is not to live alone. Even if you rent a small apartment alone, move to the city where you siblings or nieces and nephews live. Sharing a house with friends is another way to save on costs; you can be part of the “Millennial Golden Girls” trend of seniors living as housemates by choice, even if you are a Generation X dude. If you know that you prefer solitude, and you are still years away from retirement, meet with a lawyer now to start planning for an affordable retirement of living alone on your retirement income only.
Schedule a Confidential Consultation With a Bronx Estate Planning Attorney
A probate lawyer can help you prepare for solo aging without financial stress. Contact Cavallo & Cavallo in the Bronx, New York to set up a consultation.
Source:
moneywise.com/retirement/more-than-22-million-older-americans-live-alone-are-unmarried-and-dont-have-kids-but-theyre-struggling-with-rising-costs