Financial Education for Older Adults
Summary
For seniors and older adults, a little financial education can go a long way. Here’s a primer on Social Security and investing to long-term care insurance.
In this article:
The landscape of retirement has changed. Gone are the days of one-size-fits-all financial planning. Today’s older adults are active and energetic. Some may even be launching a new career.
Whatever your background or interests, if you’re one of the millions of Americans approaching retirement age, or you’ve already retired, financial planning is likely top of mind.
Even if you’re just starting to prepare for the future, the good news is that for seniors and older adults, a little financial education can go a long way. Here’s a primer on what older adults should know, from Social Security and investing to long-term care insurance.
Social Security
Social Security provides a financial safety net for seniors and older adults, providing a monthly benefit based on your lifetime earnings. This benefit can start as early as 62 years old and as late as 70 years old.1
If you’re a senior citizen and you’d like to learn more about Social Security and how it can impact your finances, the following educational resources will help guide you through what you should know about this important federal program.
- What is Social Security?
- Understanding the Benefits of Social Security
- When Should You Take Social Security?
- 12 Reasons Retirees Draw Social Security Early
- 20 Things You Should Know About Social Security
Investing 101
The legal age to make personal finance decisions is 18, but, if you’re like most of us, you probably didn’t start investing back then. And if you’re just cracking open the books for Financial Education for Adults 101, you’re not alone.
Wherever you are with your investments — even if you haven’t started yet (and there’s still hope if you haven’t!) — it’s important to know where you stand with your savings and what you’ll need for the future.
We’ve compiled some information to help decode investment strategy and help senior citizens with financial planning.
- Ultimate Guide to Retirement: How Should I Invest the Money?
- Make Sound Investing Decisions at Any Age
- Late to the Game? How to Ramp Up Retirement Investing in Your 40s and 50s
- How to Make a Million After Age 70
- Investing in Retirement
(This tool helps calculate how much money older adults should have on hand to retire, how much they can safely withdraw and where to withdraw the funds.)
Retirement paycheck? It’s possible with good financial planning.
If you plan your finances well, you can expect to receive a retirement “paycheck” at regular intervals from a variety of sources, including employer-sponsored 401(k) plans, IRAs, pensions, and more.
Even if you have a retirement paycheck on the horizon, or you’re already receiving one, it’s still important to review your accounts to make sure your funds will last throughout your lifetime. (And if unexpected expenses pop up along the way, personal loans for senior citizens can help bridge the gap so you can stay on track.)
We’ve rounded up what older adults should know about retirement paychecks below.
- How Should I Use My Employer Retirement Plan?
- How to Estimate Your Lifetime Retirement Paycheck
- Three Ways to Get a Steady Paycheck Long After You Have Retired
Don’t let senior health care expenses disrupt your financial planning.
Health care expenses — including long-term care insurance — is often omitted when senior citizens plan their financial future. Older adults should be aware that not only do insurance rates increase as we age, the possibility of long-term care needs rise as well (as does the cost of long-term care insurance).
Feeling like you need to brush up on how to calculate health care costs into your financial plan? From long-term care expenses to senior citizen health care options, the following resources can help prevent health care expenses from damaging your financial plans.
- Understanding Long-Term Care Insurance
- Health Insurance and Elder Care: Getting the Most From Your Benefits
- Planning for Long-Term Care
- What's Medicare Supplement Insurance (Medigap)?
Educate, prepare and prosper
Financial planning for seniors comes down to education and preparation. It can take some legwork, but knowing where you are now, and where you need to be in the future, can be the difference between surviving or thriving during retirement.
1. https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/
*This article has been updated from its original posting on November 19, 2016. Stephanie Lo contributed to this article.
This article is for general education and informational purposes, without any express or implied warranty of any kind, including warranties of accuracy, completeness, or fitness for any purpose and is not intended to be and does not constitute financial, legal, tax, or any other advice. Parties (other than sponsored partners of OneMain Financial (OMF)) referenced in the article are not sponsors of, do not endorse, and are not otherwise affiliated with OMF.
