You might be surprised to learn that it isn’t just the lower and middle classes who stress over financial issues. Even the wealthy have concerns that keep them up at night.
While you might expect them to fret about uniquely elite worries like how to distribute an estate worth millions of dollars among their heirs. But the real concerns of America’s wealthiest citizens might surprise you.
A recent UBS Investor Watch study revealed that 42{d044ab8acbff62f209a116f8142e303cb886f535b0fcf58cb82cde7cb327d3c9} of wealthy investors report that their “greatest fear” is becoming a burden on their children as they become to old and frail to take care of themselves. This fear concerned them more than the thought of being on life support or living in a nursing home, which was the top fear of 34{d044ab8acbff62f209a116f8142e303cb886f535b0fcf58cb82cde7cb327d3c9} and 15{d044ab8acbff62f209a116f8142e303cb886f535b0fcf58cb82cde7cb327d3c9} respectively.
However, despite the fear of being a burden on their children, both emotionally and financially, only 39{d044ab8acbff62f209a116f8142e303cb886f535b0fcf58cb82cde7cb327d3c9} of these individuals have a plan in place for their long term care or have discussed their wishes with their families. Only 50{d044ab8acbff62f209a116f8142e303cb886f535b0fcf58cb82cde7cb327d3c9} have considered healthcare costs in their retirement planning, and less than 1/4 are saving specifically for their future care.
With life expectancy rates increasing, this represents a widening gap between the number of seniors requiring long-term care (which is estimated to double from the current 12 million to 27 million by 2050) and the funds available to care for them. And, while 57{d044ab8acbff62f209a116f8142e303cb886f535b0fcf58cb82cde7cb327d3c9} of wealthy respondents say being covered for health issues and long-term care needs is important to them, less than half think they will be prepared for both.
Here are a few more findings from the study. You can also find out more by reading the full article here on LifeHealthPro.
- 89{d044ab8acbff62f209a116f8142e303cb886f535b0fcf58cb82cde7cb327d3c9} of wealthy Americans want to stay in their homes in their old age. 54{d044ab8acbff62f209a116f8142e303cb886f535b0fcf58cb82cde7cb327d3c9} would choose assisted living, and only 15{d044ab8acbff62f209a116f8142e303cb886f535b0fcf58cb82cde7cb327d3c9} would prefer to live with one of their children.
- 80{d044ab8acbff62f209a116f8142e303cb886f535b0fcf58cb82cde7cb327d3c9} want to be cared for by a spouse, while 2/3 would want a home health nurse. Just over 1/4 would want their children to care for them.
- 59{d044ab8acbff62f209a116f8142e303cb886f535b0fcf58cb82cde7cb327d3c9} of those surveyed think caring for elderly relatives is harder than in the past.
- 47{d044ab8acbff62f209a116f8142e303cb886f535b0fcf58cb82cde7cb327d3c9} of those who have cared for a loved one describe it as a heavy burden. 41{d044ab8acbff62f209a116f8142e303cb886f535b0fcf58cb82cde7cb327d3c9} say it’s a moderate burden, and 12{d044ab8acbff62f209a116f8142e303cb886f535b0fcf58cb82cde7cb327d3c9} deem it minimal.