Post-Pandemic Senior Strategies

It is estimated that at least 10,000 people turn 65 every day in America. During the COVID-19 shutdown (March, 2020 through April, 2021) that means over 4 million people became “seniors”. What should they expect of their senior years in a post-pandemic world? What strategies will work for them in planning for life after COVID-19?

Get vaccinated

First and foremost, doctors and the CDC recommend that seniors be vaccinated. Once you are vaccinated, you can return to the activities you enjoyed before the pandemic. Not only are you safe, but your grandchildren are safer because you are vaccinated. The CDC provides the following list of indoor and outdoor activities that can be resumed when fully vaccinated.

Attend a small, outdoor gathering with fully vaccinated and unvaccinated people, particularly in areas of substantial to high transmission
Dine at an outdoor restaurant with friends from multiple households
Attend a crowded, outdoor event, like a live performance, parade, or sports event
Visit a barber or hair salon
Go to an uncrowded, indoor shopping center or museum
Attend a small, indoor gathering of fully vaccinated and unvaccinated people from multiple households
Go to an indoor movie theater
Attend a full-capacity worship service
Sing in an indoor chorus
Participate in an indoor, high intensity exercise class

Unvaccinated people attending these events will be expected to wear a mask and remain socially distanced.

Check on your retirement funds

According to information published by Generations: American Society on Aging, a January 2021 poll found that as of last November, nearly 60 percent of Americans withdrew or borrowed money from an IRA or 401(k) during the pandemic, and 63 percent used those retirement savings to cover basic living expenses. If this includes you, now is the time to review your retirement financial plans.

While it might be tempting to start collecting on Social Security now, benefits can be reduced by as much as 30 percent when collecting even five years earlier than planned. Calling the local office of Social Security is your best move to get the information you need when considering this option. Just make sure you’re prepared to wait on hold for a while. There are many others who are exploring their options. But be patient, it is worth the wait to get assistance from an expert.

And if waiting another year or two is the best option, then consider a part-time or seasonal job. Returning to the workforce might not have been in your plan, but there are some exciting options to consider.

Starting a new business

According to AARP, success at starting a new business increases with age, even into one’s 60s and 70s. Your experience and skills can help you succeed as an entrepreneur. After all, Benjamin Franklin invented bifocals at the age of 76.

Considering that the Boomer generation now includes about 73 million people in the US, there’s a very large audience for products that help them (you) improve their everyday lives.

Starting a business, or introducing a new product to this demographic takes fortitude but the rewards are well worth it.

An article in Inventor’s Digest from 2018 states that Charles Greeley Abbot became secretary of the Smithsonian Institution at age 56. At 99, he invented a solar cooker that used the energy of direct sunlight to cook food and heat beverages. At that time, he became the oldest person to receive a patent and may still hold the record as the oldest inventor.

Invest in improving your digital skills

Many older adults have increased comfort with and willingness to use new technology to survive in an increasingly digital world. Whether working from home, staying in touch with family and friends, ordering groceries, conducting telemedicine visits or attending church services virtually, many older adults had no choice but to master new skills. Even volunteering during the pandemic required mastering new digital skills.

Use those new skills to secure a job working from home. From bookkeeping to consulting, editing online or teaching English, this article offers many ideas for you to make use of those skills and experience.

CLICK HERE to read more

If you feel like you need to brush up or expand your digital skills, check out local classes and workshops or access the free resources and workshops available at www.fintech.aarpfoundation.org.

And, if you want proof that starting your own business, becoming an entrepreneur, and totally changing your direction as a senior works… Golden Bridges’ owners were all over 50 when we found senior move management. Combining our collective experience in healthcare management, insurance and retail operations we have now provided services to more than one hundred clients. Whether moving, downsizing, organizing, and resettling seniors – or staging homes for sale or as a bed and breakfast – we have used those skills to help people live life better.

Susan Scholz, Partner

Golden Bridges

A main source of information for this article:

https://generations.asaging.org/aging-while-post-pandemic-world

COVID Homecoming

Self quarantine and isolation for COVID is recommended as a healthcare strategy to stop the spread of the virus. For some, especially the elderly, this can lead to an unhealthy level of loneliness. According to an article from Barron’s, “Physical distancing is the key that keeps us safe, but we saw residents physically and cognitively declining from two to three weeks of social distancing,”

What is COVID doing to impact your relationship with your family… your aging parents? Even when they live nearby, we are encouraged to stay socially distant. Does that mean that you have not seen your parents in weeks or months? Have you had a COVID homecoming? If so, what did you find? Are they getting what they need for proper nutrition and safety?

Aging parents are not the only ones affected when we have to stay socially distant. “COVID-19 has robbed grandparents of many experiences… that special moment of meeting a grandbaby for the first time has, for many, been yanked away by the pandemic and been replaced by an agonizing wait.”

But how long do we have to wait when there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight? According to an AARP article, “Experts recommend that if you are preparing to meet a newborn grandchild soon, all parties should quarantine for two weeks before gathering, even if people appear to be asymptomatic.” If you can’t quarantine completely at home, follow health department guidelines of wearing a mask when in groups where social distancing is not possible; staying six feet apart from others; and frequent hand-washing. All these are proven strategies to help stop the spread of the virus.

Of course, grandparents – especially new ones – tend to want to make sure that their grandchild is being parented properly. Here are some tips from AARP:

WAYS TO HELP NEW PARENTS FROM AFAR

Use video chat technology, such as Zoom and Facetime, to observe milestones like smiling and rolling.
Don’t give advice unless asked for it (which can be the tendency when the only option is chatting over the phone).
Send meals, but don’t forget the impact that snail mail can have. A gift package, a letter, a poem, a book or something sentimental that has shared family meaning is appreciated.
Try to distract older children with games and stories, via video chat, to give parents a break and allow them to focus on the newborn.
Use technology to frequently talk to, sing to and interact with, a grandchild.
Provide empathy and support to new parents, and acknowledge the sadness they’re likely feeling over the limitations of social distancing and the pandemic.

Now that we’ve covered the grandchildren… what about the parents and/or grandparents?

If your elderly loved ones are in a senior care residential setting, be sure to follow the protocols set by the staff. It may be hard to only be able to see them through the window – or a visiting booth set up in the lobby – but it gives you the opportunity to see their physical state, and that’s important. If they aren’t close enough for this type of visit, see if the facility has a virtual visit method that allows them to see and hear you, and vice versa.

And, if they are in self-quarantine in their own home, you have probably already invested in virtual visiting options. From Duke University, here are some options suggested.

HELPING SENIORS CONNECT SAFELY DURING THE PANDEMIC

Bobbi Matchar, director of the Duke Dementia Family Support Program, has these suggestions for decreasing social isolation among seniors while maintaining physical distance:

Snail mail
Phone calls, texts, email, FaceTime, Skype, Facebook
GrandPad (tablet designed for seniors; a good option if people can afford it)
Volunteering from home by making phone calls (to others in quarantine)
Watching live-streaming worship services and submitting prayer requests online
Short neighborhood walks, waving to neighbors
Gardening
Online book groups
Virtual tours, museums, concerts and plays

Normally programs for elders aim to increase human contact. Now that contact is potentially deadly. The National Institute on Aging has an online program called “Go 4 Life” with great at-home exercise videos, a downloadable book, online chat groups, and the option to make and track exercise goals.

NO RETURN TO OLD NORMAL

In all of the articles that I read for this blog (see citations), one thing was clear. This COVID pandemic has been a game-changer. The senior living industry is supporting a transition to more active healthcare available within the facility. From tele-medicine, to technology, to on sight healthcare professionals, they are embracing a new way to dispense care.

The way we participate in commerce has seen a huge shift to online order and delivery. If you have not already researched and set up these options for your parents, now is the time to put things in order. Not only will it meet their needs during the pandemic, but will be more important as they start to lose their mobility. If their goal is to age in place – engage an expert in making sure their home is safe for a change in lifestyle. At Golden Bridges, we have received special training in senior home design, coordination of services, and in down-sizing the things that might be in their way as their needs change.

We hope that you have a Happy COVID Homecoming – whether it’s with grandchildren, parents, or grandparents, and that you will take advantage of the opportunities within this “new normal”. It’s your move… Golden Bridges can help!

Susan Scholz, Partner

Golden Bridges

Put your house on a diet

How many of us have tried dieting during COVID-19? Maybe you have made some intentional changes to your eating habits, using only fresh ingredients and natural foods. Or perhaps, you have added an exercise routine.

Now it’s time to put your house on a diet. During the past few months at home you may have sampled some trendy or crash diets in your house. Is it possible that you went all Marie Kondo on your sock drawer? Or, have you minimalized your kitchen utensils? Did you do the 50-hangers closet purge?

If you are like me – on Facebook more than once a day – you’ve seen pictures of your friends’ piles of clothes or decorative items they are either selling or donating to a local charity. But is there a better way? According to the ‘Nesting Place’, there are five things people with tidy homes don’t do:

Tidy people don’t act like a slob all day, and then get their house tidy in one fell swoop.
Tidy people don’t run out of cleaning supplies.
Tidy people don’t let the sun go down on their filth.
Tidy people don’t store things on the floor.
Tidy people don’t over decorate.

CLICK HERE to read more.

So, if you accept the comparison that a “tidy” house is like a “fit” body, these tips are similar to maintaining a healthy diet and exercise routine. But what if it’s too late for that? Finding motivation to get your house tidy is a very personal journey, but here is an article with ten “tricks” that I thought just might work for me:

Play music – I enjoy classical music, so using a streaming service on TV or Alexa or Spotify I would ask it to play either by composer or genre. For you, it might be rock and roll or even heavy metal to get you going!
Set a timer – it doesn’t have to be a long time – twenty minutes can get you through picking up one room!
Put just one thing back in its rightful place.
Reward yourself – wine perhaps?
Do one small task a day.
Have a friend come over to help. (and bring wine?)
Acknowledge your weakness.
Try a new cleaning product.
Use a trigger. The article will help with some suggestions on this. CLICK HERE
Invite visitors. This one definitely motivates me. Plan a party, or even coffee with a friend, and you will automatically get into a cleaning mood to show your house at its best!

And… if you get stuck, or need some EXTRA help, you can call us at Golden Bridges!

Susan Scholz, Partner

Golden Bridges