Month: December 2015

According to data from the Pew Internet and American Life Project, 43 percent of Internet surfers age 65 and up report using social media. This number has more than tripled since 2009, with seniors increasingly turning to websites like Facebook to stay in touch with family and friends, view pictures of their grandchildren, and connect with others who have similar hobbies and interests.

 

While baby photos, funny cat videos, and the details of your cousin Velma’s hip surgery are all excellent sources of entertainment, social media has another use many seniors overlook: saving money. It’s not a secret that you’re among the fastest growing social media demographic, and retailers have taken note. Many are feverishly promoting their brands and products on Facebook, Twitter and within other social media sites and cell phone apps. Consider the following suggestions to help you reap the rewards.

 

Give Them a Thumbs-Up

You’ve seen the little symbol of a hand giving a thumbs-up on Facebook. The number next to it indicates how many people have clicked the “Like” button on a specific post or page—and you should consider joining them. When you “Like” a store or brand, you’ll soon notice special offers, coupons and sales notices popping up within your news feed. Many of these promotions are for Facebook fans only—and often for a very limited time—so paying attention is an easy way to save at your favorite retailers or on products you use regularly.

 

Get to Tweeting

Unlike many celebrities, you have better things to do than broadcast 140-character messages about what you ate for lunch or dreamt about during a nap. You’re retired not insane, after all. However, Twitter can pay off if you think of this social media site as a constantly updating news ticker where you control the content. Follow money experts for tips and advice. Follow the AARP for news and exclusive discount opportunities. Follow your favorite retailers and brands for money saving deals.

 

Don’t Hesitate to Check In

The popular social review site, Foursquare, can be used to “check in” at restaurants, stores and other vendors and retailers you visit. Doing so requires a GPS equipped cell phone (most are these days) and the Foursquare app (it’s free), but the installation is well worth it. Many establishments use Foursquare as a digital loyalty card, presenting frequent visitors with money saving in-app coupons. The more times you check in, the greater the reward.

Preparing for retirement requires more than just socking money away in savings and investment accounts. You must also deal with the various factors that will inevitably take a bite out of your carefully tended nest egg. These include common considerations like annual taxes and increasing inflation as well as (potentially) decreasing social security income. Unfortunately, many seniors stop there and fail to address the biggest risk to their post-retirement financial heath: a long-term care event.

 

Long-Term Care is Costly

According to DailyFinance.com, long-term care in an assisted living facility costs an average of $3,300 per month. An expense like that will devour $120,000 in savings in a little more than three years. A private room in a nursing home is even more expensive, averaging $222 a day. And these costs are likely to go up—they’ve already increased 6 percent annually over the last five years.

 

Fortunately, Seniors Have Options

If the idea of spending all your assets in the event that you develop a medical condition—like Alzheimer’s—is horrifying to you, take heart. Other options include relying on a family member to provide in-home care and buying long-term care insurance. Many seniors prefer the latter, and surveys have shown that “I don’t want to be a burden to my family” is often the main reason they choose to make a long-term care insurance purchase.

 

Long-Term Care Insurance Offers Nest Egg Protection

Health insurance and Medicare are of little use in a long-term care situation. They cover immediate medical expenses, while long-term care insurance helps with the costs of continuing care. Most plans cover out-of-pocket expenses—from dressing and bathing assistance to skilled nursing—associated with home care, assisted living facilities and nursing homes.

You can purchase long-term care insurance as an individual policy or as part of a group plan. Many employers offer a group long-term care insurance option as a supplementary benefit. If you’re not yet retired and your employer offers such a benefit, purchasing coverage through it will likely result in a premium that is lower than that of an individual plan. You can also forgo medical underwriting.

Of course, purchasing long-term care insurance as an individual is better than forgoing coverage at all. Premiums will be higher and increase steadily after the age of 60, as much as 6 percent to 8 percent per year under some plans. The underwriting process can also be quite thorough, including medical record review and memory recall tests to screen for age-related cognitive decline. And unlike health insurance, you can be denied coverage. For this reason the best time to apply, according to the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance, is in your mid-50s.

Don’t let a degenerative health condition, advancing age or unexpected accident ruin your golden years. Experts say the probability of needing long-term care is one in two for women and one in three for men. If you’ve yet to consider the benefit of this nest egg-protecting tool, talk to your insurance professional about your coverage options.