Senior Services Savings by WorkingCaregiver.com is what we need to help care for our aging relatives. Many Americans according to John Waggoner and Dennis Cauchon, USA TODAY, we have not done a very good job preparing for our old age.
We face massive costs for Social Security and medical care in the next 70 years: almost $43 trillion, according to a USA TODAY analysis. Believe it or not the population in many developed countries is aging faster than the U.S. population, which means fewer young people to support a rapidly growing number of senior citizens. But in America the financial challenge for taxpayers is supporting older citizens.
Japan the number of people age 65 and above today is about one-fourth of those ages 15 to 64. By 2050, Japan’s senior population will equal almost two-thirds of the working-age population, compared with slightly more than one-third in the USA.
Our lesson here is paying for a graying society isn’t easy. It’s not cheap. But it’s better to start now. My motto that I preach! Families… prepare now!
While our birth rate in America is declining, “We’re replacing ourselves,” says Vincent Truglia of Moody’s Investors Service. Many countries have birth rates that aren’t keeping up with deaths, which means their populations will start to decline. “Japan’s fertility rate is so dead low that the population is just starting to drop — and then it will fall precipitously,” Truglia says.
For countries facing such a predicament, the most obvious solution is to raise the birth rate. Australia offers a $2,000 bonus to each couple that has a third child. “Go home and do your patriotic duty tonight,” finance minister Peter Costello urged Australians in May.
A few countries have other weapons to combat the costs of an aging population. Spain, for example, has relatively few women in the workplace. Adding them to the labor force could increase the number of workers supporting the elderly. Norway has oil revenue from the North Sea to offset the cost of national health care and pensions. Read the full story USA Today.
Senior Services Savings and Discounts is a start and good way for us to prepare and save on home care services for our aging relatives. If you know of additional discounts and savings for older Americans, please email Carol@WorkingCaregiver.com or simply place a comment below. WorkingCaregiver.com would love to hear from you!
