How to plan for old age when you don’t have children

In fact, the proportion of Canadian women without biological children has been steadily rising, with the proportion of women over 50 years old in 2022. The family size is smaller than before, which reduces the chances of children Do Will be nearby, available and able to help. “Many people think their adult children will step in to help solve technical problems, reduce scale or health care,” said Kara Day, a financial planner in Vancouver. “If you don’t have children to rely on and retirement looks different, you need more intentional planning.”

So, what should children-free retirees do when preparing for their old age? We talked to experts for some advice. This is what they recommend.

Build a community

A large family with lots of kids and grandchildren, siblings and siblings is the best community where people look at each other. Say, if yours is small or not, that’s not a problem, Day says, you just need to DIY. “You need to build your own safety net without kids,” she said. “That means building your own support system, such as friends, neighbors or community groups.”

Another approach is: “Make friends with young people,” said Milica Ivaz, chief financial planner at Simible Financial Solutions, Victoria. Suggestions are a bit taunting, but not just the times when you need these new friends to lift heavy things for you. This also helps make you happier and healthier.

“Feeling isolation can affect your psychological abilities,” Ivaz said, adding that joining social groups and keeping relevant matters. “I saw clients retire without knowing what to do, they don’t have this social interaction, and they are not happy.” The World Health Organization supports Ivaz: “Study shows that social isolation and loneliness have serious effects on physical and mental health, quality of life, and longevity,” it said.

Housing and Transportation Suitable for seniors

What are the factors on your must-have list when you choose a place of residence and how does this change as you age? No one likes to imagine losing its mobility or driving ability, but this is a common situation when pre-planned. “We won’t drive forever,” Ivaz said. But if you choose to have good walking and get a living condition of public transportation, she added: “It will be easier.”

Larger homes in larger yards require more maintenance, which is one of the reasons why layoffs are so common among older people (the other is the opportunity to free up more funds). A little-known option between purchase and rent is a life lease, where the real estate buyer pays the purchase price and then monthly maintenance fees to take up the long-term residence (but not ownership) of the home.

If you think that as you get older, you can choose to stay home, you can choose to improve accessibility, such as upgrading the bathroom to include a walk-in shower with two rooms (that’s you and your care assistant) or expanding the doorway to accommodate a wheelchair. Ivaz also recommends establishing a home net worth credit line (HELOC) at the maximum amount (if you don’t need money now) to “prevent any fraudulent behavior on the property” and to provide a cash source if you do move out of the property before and during the sale.

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As for that time in the future, you may not be able to take care of yourself anymore, Day recommends thinking about it as soon as possible. “Study local services such as technical help, home care or senior centers before they really need them,” she says. And if you think long-term care (LTC) might be in your future (for many), look into your options early, “costs can vary a lot.” She says, for example, private LTC facilities in BC cost between $7,000 and $18,000 per month, while openly subsidized options (reserved for low-income seniors) are more affordable. Depending on what you save for retirement, you may want to consider long-term care insurance.

gET Your finances and services in order

We don’t know what the future will bring. Of course, today’s 70s and 80s never thought of the need for help connecting their new dishwasher to WiFi (why is this a thing?). However, from mowing and snowfall to dietary preparation and home care, there are a lot of expenses associated with the decline in ability (or motivation) that aging often brings. Daytime notes that these require planning. “While childless adults save more money during work, they may face higher expenses when they retire because they need to pay for the services they often provide,” she said. “Even small tasks, such as moving furniture or setting up new phones, may require paid help. So, the budget for these additional support is important.”

As far as Iwaz is concerned, Iwaz doesn’t think that childless retirement must be more than clients of this age in helping adult children buy a home, but she agrees it’s a good idea to consider all potential future costs when developing a retirement plan. She divides retirement into three stages: you may spend more of your “honeymoon” on travel and activities, the “settling” era, where you focus more on living in your own space, and “where you need help.” She said how much each type costs is “very personal”, so Ivaz suggests asking what situations and seeing how to pay for those fees.

Another way to make your future life easier is to simplify things when you retire. “If you can, you can merge your accounts so you don’t juggle too many logins and statements,” Day advises. “Keep the account and password list in a secure location.”

pFraud, identity theft and wrong decisions

There are no shortage of horror stories about the savings of older people losing their lives for scams or immoral acquaintances. It seems that fraudsters are becoming more and more complicated. Also worry about cognitive ability: If in the early stages of mental decline, do you pull all your funds out of a secure exchange-traded fund (ETF) or mutual funds and spend it on hot but risky stocks? Fortunately, there are some ways to solve this type of problem.

It is recommended to start with basic security for the day. Set up account alerts, use password manager to notify you of any abnormal activity, and enable two-factor authentication. “Another smart move is to automatically pay bills to avoid paying or sneakily overcharging,” she said. “When it comes to bills, there are business practices that are completely legal but morally questionable, such as having people pay for current market fees for internet download speeds over a decade or more. Consider marking your calendar as a regular check-in calendar so you get the best deal for the services you need, not anymore.

You can also take other safeguards, Ivaz said. For example, add a trusted contact to your financial account. This is not the case, they can use your money, but banks can call them in the case of suspicious activity. Now add the beneficiary (successor in your spouse) to your investment account so that it will not be changed later, even if you can do nothing, you can pass the specified authorization letter. Another trick is to delay receiving Canadian Pension Program (CPP) and Elderly Safety (OAS) benefits until age 70, Ivaz added. Instead, you’ll immerse yourself in other accounts, such as RRSP, and you can also withdraw higher amounts if needed, but for security.

“Your CPP amount will not be exposed to market fluctuations,” she said. Additionally, if you live to mature old age, your own savings may be exhausted, but the welfare of the government is life.