Financial Planning for Caregivers

Last Updated: September 9, 2019

How can you ensure that both you and the parents or senior loved ones that you are caring for will all continue to live a comfortable life as you age? Often, too many caregivers manage complicated finances alone, but help is out there.

We spoke with Greg Smith at Transamerica, who recommends that caregivers use the following four tips to begin financial planning for their family.

4 Steps for Caregivers to Take Towards Better Financial Planning

Transamerica shares the following steps for caregivers to take towards future financial planning:

1. If you haven’t already, start now.

“The core tenet of the advice that we give is… start early,“ says Smith. In fact, a lot of his advice boiled down to this idea – the earlier you start saving and making a plan for your financial future, the better. But if you haven’t started yet don’t feel disheartened. Just by thinking about it, you’re ahead of much of the population.

Says Smith, “there’s a lot of industry research where a lot of people are either apathetic or in denial about their financial situation. Having that level of awareness is a good first step.”

2. Meet with a financial planner with your family.

When you think about all the different categories and factors that go into financial planning – estate planning, social security benefits, taxes, etc. – it’s a lot of information to grapple with. “You can do it yourself,” explains Smith, “but we often give the analogy of working on your car. It’s difficult to do it alone.”

Get your whole family together and go talk to a financial advisor about your goals and needs. Your situation is distinct and no article or resource online will speak to it directly as well as a knowledgeable individual who has the chance to analyze your particular situation.

3. Understand your options.

“As we’ve ventured into the caregiving market… one of the biggest things that we’ve seen is there’s a lack of understanding of everything from government entitlement programs to long-term care insurance to how you qualify for certain benefits,” Smith explains. Of course, there is. Financial options and resources are complicated. You don’t want to miss out on benefits you’re entitled to, and you don’t want to assume you’ll be getting more after you retire than you do.

Says Smith, “a lot of people [going into retirement] have plans for health care expenses, their home and traveling, but that reality of not just the first day of your retirement, but once you get into it and unexpected things come up – it’s a very big reality check for a lot of folks.” Don’t let reality take you by surprise.

4. Why consider Transamerica?

You can find lots of businesses in the financial services field, but SeniorAdvisor.com is working with Transamerica because, not only have they been around for long enough to know their stuff, but they’re making an effort to focus on the needs of caregivers and people who are retired.

They get that good financial planning always means taking the full family into account. Financial planning’s not just about you – it’s about parents who are facing the difficult decision of what type of senior living community to choose, and it’s about you, who will deserve the same comfort you seek to provide your family members and loved ones with now.

Proactive planning is one of the core tenets of Transamerica’s message and they’re values we can all benefit from.

Kristen Hicks

Kristen Hicks is an Austin-based copywriter and lifelong student with an ongoing curiousity to learn and explore new things. She turns that interest to researching and exploring subjects helpful to seniors and their families for SeniorAdvisor.com.