It recently struck me as “not funny” how our latest financial planning software euphemistically refers to my clients dying as “end of plan”.
Although I shouldn’t be so harsh, I too like to make light of the morbid topic. Joking with clients in planning sessions that if they would just tell me how long they are going to live, it could make the financial plan so much more accurate!
But it reminded me of another taboo life event, the cognitive decline that so often comes with aging.
So I pulled some alarming stats:
- Every minute someone in the US develops Alzheimer’s.
- More than 5 million Americans are living with the disease, by 2050 this could be as high as 16 million.
- Recent studies suggest mild cognitive impairment ranges from just about 1 in 17 people starting at age 60, growing quickly to more than 1 in 4 at age 85.
- Since the year 2000, deaths from heart disease have dropped 14%, but deaths from Alzheimer’s have increased 89%.
- 1 in 3 seniors dies with a form of dementia and Alzheimer’s is the 6th leading cause of death in the US.
-Source: Alzheimer’s Association
Given your experience with loved ones aging and your own outlook, you too might believe planning for this possibility makes sense for you and your loved ones.
If you would like, we have a new process for you to add a trusted family member or friend to your file. This will assist us in helping you if we are ever worried about you, or suspect you are being exploited.
We call this initiative “Anticipating the Potential for Incapacity”.
Please let us know if you would like to take a look, and we will get it to you right away.
Thanks for taking a look,
Tom Gartner, MSAPM, CFP®