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Friday, March 29, 2024

Old age: Do I need to prepare for it?

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By Arpee Lazaro

Many people in their 20s and 30s have no thought of preparing for their senior years. At the height of their careers, many people plan to buy cars and houses, go on vacations, but very few ever think of preparing for life in their senior years. Some decide that their children will take care of them, which others believe is the obligation of their children. Sadly, not all children will take it upon themselves to prepare for their parents’ old age. 

Before we dismiss the importance of preparing for old age, we need to know which issues will we be encountering and which ones will become our stumbling blocks to a fulfilling and comfortable retirement. To better appreciate the importance of such planning, here is a list of concerns you may want to think about as you are at the cusp of becoming a senior citizen.

1. Mind your health.

Your body may still be strong now, but there will come a time when you are too sick to even take care of your own medical bills. While you are young and able-bodied, you will need to make sure that you delegate the management of your finances, even paying your bills, to someone you trust so that when the time comes that you will need someone to release payments for your hospital bills and maintenance medication, someone will be able to do it promptly without fail, while you are recuperating. It is advantageous to prepare a living will, a statement that details your preferences regarding medical treatment in cases where you are no longer able to express your consent, for example if the person is in an ICU situation and will consent to a do-not-resuscitate directive. 

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2. Write your will.

While you are still of sound mind, it is important that you prepare who gets what after your demise. A will may preempt possible legal squabbling among your children regarding their inheritance. A great many families have fallen into this trap and because their parents have left no will, some of the children will deem it unfair that all siblings get the same percentage of the estate especially those who have helped grow the family business. Your estate might be drained by lawyer’s and litigation fees after a protracted legal battle among the children. 

3. Prepare for the possible costs of long-term care.

As you reach your golden years, your physique will not be as golden as it used to be. You will start suffering from basic disabilities, such as inability to see very well, inability to move around independently and to make informed decisions. Lucky are those who have children who will take care of them in their twilight years. However, those who do not have children, or those who have children who are not willing to take care of them, should be preparing for the cost of hiring someone to take care of them or for the cost of managed senior care. 

4. Prepare your home.

Disability may be coming to you, like it or not. Eventually, stairs will be a hindrance to your mobility. If you are able to do so, renovate your home if home is the place where you intend to retire. Build ramps, in case you ever see the need to permanently or occasionaly use a wheelchair. Have your room moved to the ground floor and have the restroom doors adjusted so that a wheelchair can fit in. Luckily for us Filipinos, we almost always have someone in the family ready to help assist us in our daily life. However, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to try to prepare for independent living. Being dependent on a caregiver may not always bring the best results. There are seniors who pass away before their time because of accidents or that their caregivers might have been temporarily unavailable, such as running an errand or buying something from the pharmacy, etc. In time, you must be able to do basic chores on your own and that you should be able to maintain your mobility as much as possible. 

5. Plan your own funeral.

This sounds rather macabre, but the reality is that at the time of your passing, your children and dependents might be overwhelmed with grief in that they might not give you the funeral you want. Best to decide now and, at the very least, issue general directives regarding your preferences on how you want your last rites to be handled. The last thing you want to see before traveling to the pearly gates is your family members squabbling over how the funeral should go, to bury or cremate you, etc. Give them instructions now, even better if you make your own preparations.  

6. Maintain a healthy and balanced lifestyle.

While you are still strong and able, it is always best to stay fit and to see your doctor for regular checkups. While it may be inevitable for disability to set it, it will most certainly stay away if you eat healthily and have yourself checked every three to six months. Seeing the doctor is never a regular thing for most senior citizens, but having a blood chemistry done every three to six months is a good way to ensure that whatever illness or medical condition you might have is managed early on.

Part of a balanced lifestyle is your sprucing up your social life. Many seniors whose partners pass away ahead of them, stop living and just wait for their time.  There are a good many years to go and these years can still be happy and productive. Keep your social circles growing by continuing to make new friends and learning new things. The end goal is always to live a good, fulfilled life, to love and be loved. And to leave the legacy of your good name to your heirs. 

Mr. Lazaro does reputation management, brand development, social advocacy and political campaigns.

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