Expensive Savvy Senior,
My 75-year-old mom is at present taking 16 completely different prescription and OTC medicines and I’m fearful she’s taking method too many medicine. Are you able to counsel any sources that may assist us?
— Anxious Daughter
Expensive Anxious,
Sadly, tens of millions of older People are taking method too many medicines as we speak, which raises their threat of harmful unwanted effects and drug interactions.
In line with the American Society of Marketing consultant Pharmacists, individuals aged 65 to 69 take a mean of 15 prescriptions a yr, and people aged 80 to 84 take 18 prescriptions a yr. And that’s along with the myriad of over-the-counter medicine, natural cures, nutritional vitamins and minerals they might take, any of which — alone or together — might trigger extra issues than they remedy.
Even when older sufferers are taking solely essential and efficient medicine, the dosages want a re-evaluation. As sufferers age, they have an inclination to metabolize medicine extra slowly, which means the dose that was excellent 5 years in the past might now be too excessive, maybe inflicting dizziness and falls. Doses must be regularly adjusted with age, and more often than not that doesn’t occur.
Get a drug evaluation
When you’ve got issues or questions concerning the medicines your mom is taking, collect up all her capsule bottles, together with her prescription and over-the-counter medicine in addition to nutritional vitamins and dietary supplements, put them in a bag, and take them to her major doctor or pharmacist for a complete drug evaluation.
Medicare gives free drug critiques with a health care provider throughout annual wellness visits, and lots of Medicare Half D prescription-drug beneficiaries can get free critiques from pharmacists, too.
On the drug evaluation, undergo every treatment and discover out if there are any duplicate meds or harmful mixtures your mother is taking, and if there are any medicine she might cease taking or scale back the dosage. Then, make a medicine grasp record and maintain it up to date so it may be simply be shared each time your mother sees a health care provider.
To assist with this, AARP affords a free “my private treatment document” kind you can obtain and print at AARP-medical-record-form.pdffiller.com. Or, in case your mother makes use of a smartphone, she will be able to use a capsule monitoring app like Medisafe — Tablet & Med Reminder (MyMedisafe.com).
Different suggestions
If doable, your mother also needs to use a single pharmacy to fill all her prescriptions. The software program that pharmacies use to handle affected person prescriptions is designed to cross-reference all medicines a affected person is taking to make sure that there aren’t any drug interactions that would trigger hurt.
Additionally, the subsequent time your mother’s physician prescribes a brand new treatment, she ought to ask about non-drug remedy choices that could be safer. If the drug is certainly essential, she must learn how lengthy she’s speculated to take it and the unwanted effects it might probably trigger.
One other good useful resource that may assist maintain your mother protected is the American Geriatrics Society, which has recognized 10 various kinds of medicines that folks 65 and older ought to nearly at all times keep away from due to the danger of significant unwanted effects. They embody the anti-anxiety medicine diazepam (Valium) and alprazolam (Xanax), and sleep medicine similar to zolpidem (Ambien) and eszopiclone (Lunesta). To see the whole record, go to HealthInAging.org and search “10 medicines older adults ought to keep away from.”
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Expensive Savvy Senior,
My husband and I are in search of the best and least costly option to get rid of our our bodies after we die. We hate the thought of losing some huge cash on high-priced funerals and would love some recommendation on some easy and low-cost send-offs.
— Easy Seniors
Expensive Easy,
With the common value of a full-service funeral working round $11,000 as we speak, many individuals are in search of easy methods to make their last farewell extra reasonably priced. Relying on the way you need to go, listed below are a number of low-cost choices to think about.
Direct cremation
For those who and your husband are fascinated by cremation, direct cremation is the best and least costly option to go. It contains selecting up the physique, finishing and submitting the mandatory paperwork, the cremation itself and returning the cremated stays to the household. There’s no embalming, formal viewing or casket. A easy cardboard field referred to as an “various container” is used to carry the physique.
Relying on the place you reside and the funeral dwelling you select, the common value for a direct cremation runs between $1,000 and $3,000. If you need further providers past what a direct cremation affords, ask the funeral dwelling for an itemized value record that covers the opposite providers value, so you realize precisely what you’re getting. All suppliers are required by legislation to offer this.
To find close by funeral properties, look in your native phone book, or Google “cremation” or “funeral” adopted by your metropolis and state. You may also get good data on-line at Parting.com, which helps you to examine costs from funeral suppliers in your space based mostly on what you need.
Instant or direct burial
For those who’re fascinated by being buried, a right away/direct burial is essentially the most primary and low-cost possibility. With a right away burial, your physique can be buried in a easy container shortly after dying, skipping the embalming, viewing and use of the funeral amenities.
If your loved ones desires a memorial service, they’ll have it on the graveside at your house of worship or at dwelling with out the physique.
These providers normally value between $1,800 and $3,500, not counting cemetery fees, which might run you a further $1,000 to $3,000. All funeral properties provide direct burial.
Inexperienced burial
An eco-friendly inexperienced burial is one other reasonably priced option to go that prices anyplace from $1,000 to $4,000 relying on the supplier. With a inexperienced cemetery burial, the physique is buried in a biodegradable coffin or simply wrapped in a shroud, with out embalming chemical substances or a burial vault.
The Inexperienced Burial Council (GreenBurialCouncil.org, 888-966-3330) has a state itemizing of cemetery operators who accommodate inexperienced burials, in addition to funeral professionals who present the providers.
Anatomical donation
For those who’d wish to eradicate your cremation/burial prices altogether, in addition to assist advance medical analysis, you and your husband ought to contemplate donating your our bodies to science. This feature received’t value you a cent, nonetheless, some packages might cost a small payment to move your physique to their facility.
After utilizing your physique for medical analysis tasks, anatomy classes and surgical follow, your stays can be cremated and your ashes can be buried or scattered in an area cemetery or returned to your loved ones, normally inside a yr.
To find accredited college medical college physique donation packages in your state, see the College of Florida’s U.S. program listing at Anatbd.acb.med.ufl.edu/usprograms, or name the whole-body donation referral service throughout enterprise hours at 800-727-0700.
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Expensive Savvy Senior,
Are you able to suggest any sources that provide assist to household caregivers? I’ve been taking good care of my 86-year-old mom and will use some assist.
— Burned-Out Brenda
Expensive Brenda,
Caring for an ageing father or mother or different cherished one over a time period may be very difficult each bodily and mentally. Fortuitously, there are a variety of suggestions and providers you’ll be able to flip to that may assist lighten the load. Listed here are a number of to think about.
Assemble a care workforce: first step is to place collectively a community of individuals together with household, associates and even neighbors you can name on to assist out when you’ll be able to’t be there or want a break.
Faucet native providers: Many communities provide a variety of free or backed providers that assist seniors and caregivers by offering issues like home-delivered meals, transportation, senior companion providers and extra. Name 211 to seek out out what’s obtainable in your neighborhood, or name AARP’s caregiving useful resource middle (877-333-5885), which gives referrals to native sources.
Use respite: Respite providers can present short-term care to your mother so you’ll be able to take a while off. To find providers in your space, attempt the ARCH Nationwide Respite Community and Useful resource Heart at ARCHrespite.org.
Rent in-home assist: You might need to contemplate hiring a part-time home-care aide that may assist with issues like getting ready meals, housekeeping or private care. Prices can run anyplace from $12 to $30 an hour relying on the place you reside and the qualification of the aide. To seek out assist by means of an company, use Medicare’s search software Medicare.gov/care-compare. Or to seek out somebody by yourself, which is a extra reasonably priced option to go, attempt web sites like Care.com or CareLinx.com.
Use monetary instruments: For those who’re dealing with your mother’s funds, you can also make issues simpler by arranging direct deposit for her revenue sources and arrange automated funds for her utilities and different routine payments. Additionally, contemplate establishing your mother’s on-line banking service at her financial institution so you’ll be able to pay her different payments and monitor her account anytime. If you need or need assistance, there are skilled each day cash managers (see AADMM.com to find somebody) that may do it for you. They cost between $60 and $150 per hour.
Additionally, in case your mother is lower-income, use BenefitsCheckup.org, a free, confidential web site that can provide help to find monetary help packages that may assist pay for her medicines, utilities, well being care and different wants.
Get insurance coverage assist: When you’ve got questions on what Medicare or Medicaid covers, or about long-term care, your State Well being Insurance coverage Help Program (SHIP) gives free counseling on all these points. Name 877-839-2675 or go to ShiptaCenter.org to find a close-by counselor.
You may also get assist at Medicare.gov or by calling 800-633-4227, and thru the Medicare Rights Heart, which staffs a helpline at 800-333-4114.
Faucet different sources: There are a selection of different organizations you’ll be able to draw on for extra data just like the Household Care Alliance (Caregiver.org/family-care-navigator), which gives a state-by-state itemizing of caregiving packages and providers; Caring.com, which affords caregiving recommendation, senior housing data and on-line assist teams; the Alzheimer’s Affiliation (ALZ.org/care), which gives data distinctive to the challenges of dementia caregivers; and the U.S. Division of Veterans Affairs (www.caregiver.va.gov), which affords caregiver assist providers to veterans and even spouses of veterans.
And, for those who occur to be sharing care obligations with others, websites like LotsaHelpingHands.com and CaringBridge.org can assist you coordinate collectively.
Deal with your self: Make your individual well being a precedence. Being a caregiver is a giant job that may trigger emotional and bodily stress and result in sickness and despair. The one method you’ll be able to present the care your mom wants is to ensure you keep wholesome.
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Expensive Savvy Senior,
Who qualifies for Social Safety survivor advantages? My ex-husband died final yr, so I wish to discover out if me or my 17-year-old daughter are eligible for something.
— Divorced Survivor
Expensive Divorced,
In case your ex-husband labored and paid Social Safety taxes and also you and/or your daughter meet the eligibility necessities, chances are you’ll very effectively be eligible for survivor advantages, however it’s best to act rapidly as a result of advantages are usually retroactive solely as much as six months. Right here’s what it’s best to know.
Beneath Social Safety legislation, when an individual who has labored and paid Social Safety taxes dies, sure members of that particular person’s household could also be eligible for survivor advantages together with spouses, former spouses and dependents. Right here’s a breakdown of who qualifies.
Widow(er)’s and divorced widow(er)’s: Surviving spouses that had been married at the least 9 months are eligible to gather a month-to-month survivor profit as early as age 60 (50 if disabled). Divorced surviving spouses are additionally eligible at this similar age, for those who had been married at the least 10 years and didn’t remarry earlier than age 60 (50 if disabled), except the wedding ends.
How a lot you’ll obtain will rely on how a lot cash (earnings that had been topic to Social Safety taxes) your partner or ex-spouse remodeled their lifetime, and the age by which you apply for survivor advantages.
For those who wait till your full retirement age (which is 66 for individuals born in 1945-1954 and can steadily enhance to age 67 for individuals born in 1960 or later), you’ll obtain one hundred pc of your deceased spouses or ex-spouses profit quantity. However for those who apply between age 60 and your full retirement age, your profit can be someplace between 71.5 — 99 p.c of their profit.
There may be, nonetheless, one exception. Surviving spouses and ex-spouses which are caring for a kid (or kids) of the deceased employee, and they’re underneath age 16 or disabled, are eligible to obtain 75 p.c of the employee’s profit quantity at any age.
Surviving single kids underneath age 18, or as much as age 19 in the event that they’re nonetheless attending highschool, are eligible for survivor advantages, too. Advantages will also be paid to kids at any age in the event that they had been disabled earlier than age 22 and stay disabled. Each organic and adoptive kids are eligible, in addition to children born out of wedlock. Dependent stepchildren and grandchildren can also qualify. Kids’s advantages are 75 p.c of the employee’s profit.
You also needs to know that along with survivor advantages, a surviving partner or little one can also be eligible to obtain a particular lump-sum dying cost of $255.
Advantages will also be paid to dependent dad and mom who’re age 62 and older. For folks to qualify as dependents, the deceased employee would have had to offer at the least one-half of the father or mother’s monetary assist.
However remember that Social Safety has limits on how a lot a household can obtain in month-to-month survivors’ advantages — normally 150 to 180 p.c of the employee’s profit.
Social Safety additionally gives surviving spouses and ex-spouses some good methods that may assist increase your advantages. For instance, for those who’ve labored you may take a diminished survivor profit at age 60 and change to your individual retirement profit based mostly in your earnings historical past – between 62 and 70 — if it affords the next cost.
Or, for those who’re already receiving retirement advantages in your work document, you may change to survivors advantages if it affords the next cost. You can not, nonetheless, obtain each advantages.
You additionally have to know that for those who accumulate a survivor profit whereas working, and are underneath full retirement age, your advantages could also be diminished relying in your earnings — see SSA.gov/pubs/EN-05-10069.pdf.
For extra data on survivor advantages, go to SSA.gov/advantages/survivors.
Ship your senior inquiries to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Field 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or go to SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Right now present and writer of “The Savvy Senior” ebook.