Baby boomers create wave of silver tsunami, economic influence
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The “silver tsunami” is a coined term that represents the movement of baby boomers.
Boomers, people who are born between 1946 to 1964, are a group of individuals that have a massive influence economically.
According to Brookings.edu, baby boomers make up roughly 20% of the U.S. population.
Stacy Carter, co-founder of Pathway’s Senior Care Advisors, said this shift of new retirees at such a large capacity has a weight on Bowling Green families.
“Locally it does affect us because people are missing work because they’re taking care of mom or dad and also, we just don’t have enough assisted living or memory care for the influx of seniors that are in this market,” Carter said.
She said older adults are selling their homes to prepare for retirement and other resources.
“A home sometimes becomes the primary resource for what they can do in the future,” she said.
Some older adults prefer to age in place and keep their home, but would sometimes require a caregiver and that making the right choice can help prepare and save families
“These decisions are emotional, but they are actually financially overwhelming as well. Most of the time, seniors have spent most of their lives building wealth in their home,” Carter said.
According to AllThrive365, health care systems are forecast to have an increased demand for cases such as dementia, long-term support and more.
SeniorLiving.org says it costs roughly $75,756 a year for senior care on average. Carter said taking the time to plan could prevent a financial burden on your family.
“They should first of all talk about their finances. Figure out what they can afford and what they can’t through the years and then make sure that they have power of attorney in place, living wills in places, advanced directives in place and that they tell their children what their wishes are so then when it does come down to it, the child don’t feel like they’re doing something that mom or dad didn’t want them to do,” she said.
