“Beer-money,” is the way Ray (a childhood friend visiting his elderly parents and me in Florida recently) describes the severance package he got. Caught off guard and let go from a middle-management position after 25 years at one of the world’s premier aircraft manufacturers (the name of which he asked not to have mentioned), at age 55 Ray finds himself unprepared for the challenges that lie ahead in the next leg of his life—which, according to the census, could be another 30 years.
With about three hundred thousand in savings—most Americans didn’t start saving feverishly until after the most recent economic meltdown occurred 5 years ago and most underestimated corporate America’s insatiable appetite to broadly slash jobs—and a $40,000 pension and six weeks of health insurance starting from his last day of work, Ray is at a crossroads.
Ray isn’t spendthrift; he still drives his 10 year-old Tacoma, lives in his paid-for house, no one but himself to be responsible for, and is in good health. What concerns him most, however, is uncertainty over his future health. He‘d never really addressed the need for long-term care. Even though new health insurance kicks in after his current policy expires, he knows it won’t cover long-term care.
At least 70 percent of people over 65 will require some long-term care services at some point in their lives. And, contrary to what many people believe, Medicare and private health insurance programs don’t pay for the majority of long-term care services. Many states’ departments of elder affairs estimate that a semi-private nursing home room is close to $126,000 a year. Fortunately for Ray, there are other options besides senior living facilities. Staying in your own home is one such option.
At age 55 and in good health, Ray is purchasing enough long-term care insurance that’s affordable even on what he calls his beer-money pension. (Most long-term care policies are sold to Boomers between the age of 46 and 58.) More than a long-term care insurance policy, it represents a turning point where peace of mind is critical to his well-being. Control over how and where and when he will use the benefits is important to him. It means being able to one day use funds to retrofit his “man-crib” with the latest high tech gadgetry that will allow him to work and mature in a home he has come to love. With the savings he realizes from the policy, he also will be able to receive wellness care at home. It represents a lifestyle change many of us will soon have to face, if we’re to enjoy a life-time of wellness and health.
What will be your defining moment? And how will you react to your ever-changing needs? For Ray, the unexpected early exit from corporate America, though a surprise to him, is manageable. Being able to talk through the matter with a professional certainly helps. Will you be able to turn lemons into lemonade for a lifetime of fulfillment if it happens to you?
Turns out a life-long passion of Ray’s has been to captain a yacht and travel the Pacific, when he wants and for as long as he wants.
Senior Wellness Specialists was there for Ray and is here to help you reinvent yourself, stay healthy and live longer, all on your terms.
Andy Berger
Andy Berger is the president of Senior Wellness Specialists, a lifestyle and healthcare services company offering Universal Design and Senior Concierge services for all stages of life.
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