Welcome Home, Grandma!

Many seniors woke up in March to a world that challenged a lot of their retirement planning assumptions: their retirement jobs, whether paid or volunteer, are now a potential threat to their health. Some economic experts noted that many of those unemployed as a part of the COVID-19 stay at home orders are older workers who may not return to the workforce reference. Some feel uneasy about the short-term prognoses on their retirement funds, as volatility may be a common feature in the stock market. And on top of many families minds: nursing homes continue to be hard hit by COVID-19, making long term care in such facilities a more complex choice.
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What is the result of this new world? Many families may want to move their older relatives into their homes. This decision may be causing employees a lot of thought in an already chaotic time. Plan sponsors and employers can those employees by providing resources for them to use. The best resources will help those employees tackle the complex decision they face. Here are four resources Plan Sponsors may want to offer their employees. Experts suggest providing this kind of information in a neutral, easy to access spot – so that employees can access it with confidentiality intact – may be the most helpful.
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Your Employee Assistance Program (EAP) should be the first place those employees can turn. As we wrote in previous articles, [1] “Most employers provide an EAP to help employees who may have emotional or mental health concerns.” Those concerns can include both traditional behavioral health, as well as topics family law (divorce, child support), real estate and estate planning. All of those topics can be crucial for families looking to bring an elder parent (or two) into their homes.
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Another important resource for employees who may be looking for guidance on moving an elderly parent into their home involves the architecture and design of their home. AARP provides helpful guidance on how to make your home safe for your aging parents through their website. [2] They recommend starting with a home safety evaluation or assessment and provide links for where employees can find local professionals.
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Of course, some employees may need to move into their parents’ homes as one spouse loses their employment, or if they have significant medical bills as a result of the pandemic. As we wrote about in previous articles,[3] adult children living with a retiree has the potential to be either a drain or a boon to that parent. Children help with household chores that the retiree no longer can do, but also increase utility and other bills. Talking to adults (whether children or elderly parents) about money isn’t easy. Websites like Wealth Management and Bank of America [4] offer tips for how to have those conversations.
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Finally, many families may find that the reason behind moving an elderly parent into the home is a loss of a spouse. Grief, and grieving, may also accompany a loss of independence as well. Families may benefit from access to resources about grief. The Family National Caregiver Alliance,[5] a nonprofit that provides resources to multi-generational families with elderly parents at home, suggests ensuring those grieving parents have time to process their feelings. At the same time, they suggest ensuring the grieving parent also has social engagement and support.
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Plan Sponsors may also want to invite the financial advisors connected with their retirement plans to provide free training sessions. Those sessions could be live, with time for questions and answers, or recorded sessions employees can watch with their own families at home.

[1] https://www.bcgbenefits.com/blog/divorce-and-retirement

[2] https://www.aarp.org/caregiving/home-care/info-2019/safety-tips.html

[3] https://www.bcgbenefits.com/blog/failure-to-launch

[4] https://bettermoneyhabits.bankofamerica.com/en/saving-budgeting/how-to-handle-adult-children-living-at-home

[5] https://www.caregiver.org/tips-supporting-senior-widowed-parent

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These articles are prepared for general purposes and are not intended to provide advice or encourage specific behavior. Before taking any action, Advisors and Plan Sponsors should consult with their compliance, finance and legal teams.