Preserving Your Independence

As we get older, it often seems that time accelerates. It feels as if the children were in diapers just yesterday. Now they've left home and have kids of their own. Where does the time go?

Aging is a normal part of life. The infant becomes a toddler. Later the teenager becomes an adult (thankfully). Unfortunately, as we age later in life we are no longer as able-bodied as when we were teenagers. Gradually, we all get more aches and pains. While this is a normal, expected part of the aging process, what would happen if something serious were to occur? Let's take a look at Betty's situation.

Betty is 66 and has worked hard all her life. Betty and her husband, George, retired a few years ago. George died after only a year in retirement. Betty and George had a wonderful life together and raised two children, Peggy and Mark. Not a day goes by that Betty does not miss George terribly. However, she stays busy and has an active life. She travels and she spends a lot of time with friends and family - especially her adorable grandchildren. She was visiting Peggy and the grandchildren in Durham when she had difficulty walking and talking. She was having a stroke. She was rushed to the hospital. After a week in the hospital, her condition stabilized and the doctors sent her to a nursing home for rehabilitation.

Not only does Betty have a lot of hard work ahead of her, much of her life savings will be wiped out by the nursing home bills. Betty thought she had it covered with Medicare. But Medicare only covers the first 100 days of a nursing home stay. And there is a big daily co-payment after the first twenty days. After 100 days, or even earlier if her physician decides that further rehabilitation is not necessary, she has to pay it all. Betty wants to be close to Peggy and the grandkids during her recuperation. Unfortunately, the average nursing home in this area costs well over $6,000 per month. The total stay will cost Betty over $210,000, even after Medicare pays its portion. This will wipe out most of Betty's lifetime savings and cause her to become financially dependent on her children. Instead of being able to help with her grandchildren's future, she'll be a financial burden on her children.

[Read full article on our website at www.walkerlambe.com/preserving_independence.html]