{"id":57067,"date":"2025-09-21T04:05:30","date_gmt":"2025-09-21T04:05:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/prosfunds.com\/?p=57067"},"modified":"2025-09-21T04:05:32","modified_gmt":"2025-09-21T04:05:32","slug":"why-limited-understanding-puts-older-adults-at-risk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prosfunds.com\/?p=57067","title":{"rendered":"Why Limited Understanding Puts Older Adults At Risk"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>As baby boomers age and continue to live longer than any previous generation, it seems as though the more we know about what\u2019s ahead, the better prepared we will be to face the uncertainties of being an elder. Unfortunately, there is evidence showing that most people aren\u2019t very knowledgeable about their own aging and therefore are making some uneducated assumptions and poor choices. As a society, that leaves us in a very vulnerable position, with a high probability of encountering some devastating minefields in the very near future.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"subhead-embed\">Minefield #1 \u2013 Lack of knowledge leads to bad assumptions<\/h2>\n<p>According to a University of Michigan national <u data-ga-track=\"ExternalLink:https:\/\/deepblue.lib.umich.edu\/bitstream\/handle\/2027.42\/196945\/0435_NPHA-LTC-report_FINAL_04-30-2025.pdf?sequence=4&amp;isAllowed=y\">poll<\/u>, only 43% of adults over 50 believe they will need long term care in the future. This finding demonstrates a lack of understanding of the aging process and the <u data-ga-track=\"ExternalLink:https:\/\/aspe.hhs.gov\/reports\/most-older-adults-are-likely-need-use-long-term-services-supports-issue-brief-0\">likelihood<\/u> (about 65%) that they will need some kind of assistance with the activities of daily living (ADLs) as they age into their 8<sup>th<\/sup> 9<sup>th<\/sup> and 10<sup>th<\/sup> decades of life.  This likelihood increases, of course, the older one gets.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, one may get lucky and be one of those people who expire one day at 90-something on the golf course (or pickleball court) without having spent a single day of life needing help with anything. But statistically, that is highly improbable. <\/p>\n<h2 class=\"subhead-embed\">Minefield #2 \u2013 Lack of education leads to inadequate planning<\/h2>\n<p>Almost <u data-ga-track=\"ExternalLink:https:\/\/deepblue.lib.umich.edu\/bitstream\/handle\/2027.42\/196945\/0435_NPHA-LTC-report_FINAL_04-30-2025.pdf?sequence=4&amp;isAllowed=y\">half<\/u> of older adults (48%) say they do not know how to plan for their long-term care needs. Furthermore, a very low percentage of older adults have made any plans for future long-term care:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Only 27% have designated a durable power of attorney or advance directive for medical care<\/li>\n<li>Only 24% have identified people in their lives who might serve as their caregivers<\/li>\n<li>Only 18% have made modifications to their homes to help them age safely <\/li>\n<li>Only 11% purchased long-term care insurance<\/li>\n<li>Only 7% have ever visited an assisted living facility or nursing home to get a better understanding  of what they provide and how much they cost<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 class=\"subhead-embed\">Minefield #3 \u2013 Lack of information may lead to personal financial crisis<\/h2>\n<p>The majority of older adults in the poll reported that they would not be able to pay for a nursing home, home care, or assisted living.  When they were asked who they assumed would pick up the tab if they need care, a very scary 62% of adults over fifty believe Medicare would cover their long-term care needs. The rest indicated that it would likely be some combination of friends, family, and paid caregivers. <\/p>\n<p>Medicare does NOT cover non-medical care, which means it does not cover any kind of assistance with the activities of daily living (bathing, dressing, eating, toileting, transferring (e.g moving from a bed to a chair), and grooming).  <\/p>\n<p>The poll also indicated that a strong majority of older adults prefer to remain in their homes if they need assistance, believing that paid support services in their homes would be far less costly than receiving them in a supportive environment. However, that doesn\u2019t appear to be the case. According to Genworth\u2019s 2024 <u data-ga-track=\"ExternalLink:https:\/\/investor.genworth.com\/news-events\/press-releases\/detail\/982\/genworth-and-carescout-release-cost-of-care-survey-results\">study<\/u>, the annual cost of at-home care in many areas of the country is similar or exceeds that of residing in an assisted living facility. Across the country, the cost of a home health aid topped $75,000 (based on 44 hrs. per week). The annual national median cost of an assisted living community was $70,800 per year. <\/p>\n<p>The implications of these findings are that Americans, as a society, are inadequately informed and ill-prepared for life as aging adults. They point to a critical need for better education and preparation.  <\/p>\n<h2 class=\"subhead-embed\">Who can we look to for education and awareness? <\/h2>\n<p><strong>Policy-makers <\/strong>can help raise awareness about the need for long-term planning and the resources that are available in our communities. <strong>Area Agencies on Aging<\/strong>, a nationwide network of county offices that are supported by funds through the Older Americans Act, can play a role as well.  They could set up seminars and resource centers for adults in their jurisdiction. Additionally, there is a role for <strong>financial planners<\/strong>, <strong>attorneys<\/strong>, and <strong>senior care advisors<\/strong>. They must first educate themselves on these issues so they will be able to help their clients do necessary planning and budgeting for this care.  <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Read the full article <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/sarazeffgeber\/2025\/09\/20\/lack-of-information-about-aging-creates-a-minefield\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" rel=\"nofollow\">here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As baby boomers age and continue to live longer than any previous generation, it seems as though the more we know about what\u2019s ahead, the better prepared we will be to face the uncertainties of being an elder. Unfortunately, there is evidence showing that most people aren\u2019t very knowledgeable about their own aging and therefore [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":57068,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-57067","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-finance"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Why Limited Understanding Puts Older Adults At Risk | Prosfunds<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As baby boomers age and continue to live longer than any previous generation, it seems as though the more we know about what\u2019s ahead, the better prepared\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, 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