As people get older it can become increasing difficult for them to pay their living expenses since they are often living on a pension or Social Security with little or no savings.
The sad fact is that many of our senior citizens need help and it is a good idea for family members to make plans for helping seniors with their rent before they get in trouble financially. Sadly, most people wait until the last minute before doing any planning and by then they are in trouble.
You should sit down with them early on in their retirement and help them draw up a plan that will allow them to live a dignified life in their golden years.
The first thing in the plan is to document all of their income. This could be from savings, bonds, stocks, pensions and social security. Many of our newest seniors will also have IRAs and 401Ks to draw from.
Next come the expenses, list all of them and compare to the income. With any luck their will be a surplus and they should be in good financial shape. Know that the government lets seniors deduct any approved medical expenses from their income before applying their eligibility rules so you want to check what the approved expenses are before doing the math.
Many times though they will be running a deficit and it is relatively easy to see how long their money will last and unfortunately it usually isn’t very long.
Plans For Helping Seniors With Their Rent – The Government Steps In
The federal and state government has many programs that subsidize senior housing costs so the elderly can pay their rent without fear of becoming homeless.
These programs are income based and only available to the truly needy. They work by looking at a person’s living expenses and then using a simple formula they calculate how much they will contribute to the rent with the senior responsible for the remaining portion.
Because of these programs many seniors have been able to find clean, safe and affordable housing to live out their golden years in peace and comfort around others their same age. In fact, many communities have activities and programs designed to help seniors keep fit both physically and mentally.
Not all programs are the same so you will need to do some investigating to find the best program for helping seniors with their rent and don’t be afraid to ask for help because the government has people specially trained to assist the elderly and they are only a phone call or office visit away.
Like everything else in life early planning will often give you the best options and reduce the stress of having to make last-minute decisions that could be costly. Also, if you are thinking about possibly getting housing for seniors on social security you will find many helpful articles on this site specifically written for those on Social Security.
If this simple exercise is done early in their retirement sound plans for helping seniors with their rent can be drawn up in plenty of time so they do not end up trying to make spur of the moment life decisions.