Many people look forward to the future anxious to enjoy their retirement, and with the proper planning your golden years can indeed be among the best periods of your life.
This being stated, the preparations for the future don’t end with your active retirement years. The reality is that Americans are living longer than ever, with people routinely living into their mid to late eighties and beyond. We understand more about healthy lifestyle choices these days, and medical science is advancing every day. But with this increased longevity comes certain potential challenges, and if you are wise you will prepare for these contingencies in advance so that you are not taken by surprise.
Many people are not aware of the fact that it is likely that you will spend some time in a long-term care facility at some point in time. 70% of those who reach the age of 65 will need some form of long-term care, and one out of every four people who are at least 85 years old are living in nursing homes. These are some poignant statistics that paint a clear picture.
Do you want to have your family pick the place where you will reside should you need long-term care? Most people would rather make their own decisions when they are fully capable of doing so, but you have to have the foresight to do some research in advance. There is a great resource online at the Medicare website called Nursing Home Compare that is useful, and you can also ask family and friends for recommendations. Once you have compiled a short list you can visit the facilities to see them first hand and decide which one would be best for you.
You may never need long-term care, but it is comforting to know that you have the ideal community already picked out should you someday find that you need assistance managing your day to day needs.
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