Higher costs of old age

It’s often said growing old isn’t for the faint of heart. Attributed to 1930s film star Mae West (1893-1980), the saying suggests the golden years aren’t without trials and tribulations you don’t understand until you’re, well, old enough. Read this article for free: Already have an account? To continue reading, please subscribe: * It’s often said growing old isn’t for the faint of heart.

Attributed to 1930s film star Mae West (1893-1980), the saying suggests the golden years aren’t without trials and tribulations you don’t understand until you’re, well, old enough. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? Opinion It’s often said growing old isn’t for the faint of heart. Attributed to 1930s film star Mae West (1893-1980), the saying suggests the golden years aren’t without trials and tribulations you don’t understand until you’re, well, old enough.



That’s particularly true when it comes to finances. As much as there is an entire industry built on retirement planning, it has struggled to price in the cost of frailty, notably the complexities around housing — be it remaining in the home or a retirement facility. Added care costs — from medications to private nurses for some — can be hard to measure, too.

To one retirement care specialist, however, Canadians are collectively failing to plan properly because we tend to give considerations around old age and frailty short shrift. It’s not just seniors. “Families — who often provide care — can be in denial,” says Yvonne Dobronyi, chief executive officer of YCD Consulting in Toronto.

An expert in seniors housing and health care, she was recently a guest on two Canadian investment advisers’ podcasts: Darren Coleman’s Two Way Traffic, and John De Goey’s Make Better Wealth Decisions. One problem is a lack of communication. Aging individuals and their families often don’t talk about even the basics — like the location of the will and the power of attorney, for example — let alone what care they prefer and how to fund it, she says.

“It really boils down to preferences, but what’s important to understand is there will come a time where there will be a crisis situation for a lot of families.” When families aren’t prepared it can lead to rash decisions around selling a parent’s home, family cottage or both, she adds. That said, awareness is growing among the latest crop of silver-haired people, who have seen their own parents either stick the landing of late aging .

.. or not.

They’re increasingly considering costs and choices. Innovation is also cropping up, sometimes from surprising places. One soon-to-be-published study looking broadly at housing challenges for queer Canadians, particularly in Prairie cities like Winnipeg, found these individuals face even more challenges with age-friendly living.

Cost is often a large barrier, says Jennifer Rae, Ottawa-based research associate with SRDC (Social Research and Demonstration Corp.), a non-profit evaluating new programs, including affordable, age-friendly housing. Yet this segment of society frequently faces many more challenges.

“Having an inclusive, affirming and safe space becomes even more important when you’re in a vulnerable stage of life when you’re depending on others for your care.” Rae further notes aging members of this community — including trans individuals — typically have faced a lot of discrimination in their lifetime that “they tend to carry.” That can make decisions over age-appropriate housing feel even more precarious, she adds.

That said, the queer community has an activist spirit — based on interviews with members for the research — who have long created mutual support networks and developed innovative solutions to the challenges they face. Rae points to a recent 55-plus housing complex in Winnipeg designed with financial support for members of the queer community to access it. “It’s a rent- geared-to-income housing complex.

” Yet she adds some interviewees cite challenges with too-rigid government programs that even work against each other, whereby qualifying for this type of housing can mean giving up another government subsidy, making the units unaffordable. Catch-22s in the system are all too commonplace and prevent good programs for the few from being great ones for the many. That description applies to some degree to the province’s self- and family-managed care program, an extension of home care, an insured service in Manitoba.

“It (self- and family-managed care) is a release valve for a highly pressurized system,” says Christine Kelly, associate professor with the Centre on Aging at the University of Manitoba. Self- and family-managed care provides a self-administered home care option for individuals finding the home care model doesn’t work for them. It, too, developed out of innovation from a minority group: disabled individuals who wanted better tailored care to their needs.

“Many families and individuals only turn to self- and family-managed care after really struggling with standard home care options,” she says. “They’re really discouraged and frustrated, and then they get released from the system and they’re often much happier.” Research has found these programs are among the fastest-growing segments of health care in Canada, and for good reason: individuals and families get more flexible care.

“It’s a better experience, and yet, it’s a privilege only afforded to some,” Kelly says. “You have to know about it and need the aptitude to be able to manage it all.” Not all individuals and their families are equipped to manage hiring and payroll, especially amid a crisis.

All of this speaks to a better need for retirement planning that includes how to pay for in-home care or age-friendly housing. “What I recommend to clients, especially those who have gone through it (with their own parents), is to not put on their kids what their parents put on them,” says Grant White, an investment adviser and certified financial planner with Endeavour Wealth Management, iA Private Wealth in Winnipeg. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week.

Make decisions well ahead regarding what you want. “Have the conversation with your family — put it in writing.” White notes this type of planning has moved to the forefront following the COVID-19 pandemic.

People are more focused on what they want and don’t want to happen once they become vulnerable. “It’s become much more of a priority and that is actually a good thing,” White says. joelschles@gmail.

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