Author: Adele Pepin

There comes a time in many older adults’ lives when it becomes necessary to consider a senior living community. While there are many senior living options – including retirement communities and independent living – those are often chosen in early retirement.

What options are available for elderly parents who may need support or have a health crisis that occurs? Some consider skilled nursing, long-term care or home care, but for many, they find that an assisted living facility would best meet their loved one’s needs. So how do you bring this up successfully so you can talk with your parent about it? The team at Waterstone at Wellesley is here to help.

Preparing for the Conversation About Moving to Assisted Living

Assess Their Needs

Before looking into assisted living, consider what your loved one’s needs may be. Do they need support with activities of daily living, like eating, bathing and dressing? Are they fairly independent but still need some support? They could benefit from assisted living.

Do Your Research

Go online and look at local communities offering assisted living, and then make a list of your top options based on their:

• Service Offerings
• Programs and Lifestyle
• Amenities
• Ratings and Reviews

Plan a Meeting

During the initial planning meeting, you should involve all close family members. You’ll want to share your loved one’s care needs, show them your top picks for assisted living, and get their initial input and consideration, especially if they are involved with your parent’s care plan.

Once you’re on the same page about your parent’s senior care needs, choose who will take care of the primary meeting with your parent and where it will be held. That meeting should consist of those your loved one will be most receptive to, and involvement should be limited to prevent your parent from feeling overwhelmed or ambushed. Choose a place you are both comfortable, like where your parent lives currently. Schedule a date and time, and thoughtfully prepare for the discussion.

Having the Discussion About Assisted Living

Share Why You Are Concerned

If you feel it’s time for your loved one to move to an assisted living community, share your concerns with them. If you’re worried about their healthcare or safety, if you’d like peace of mind of knowing they are being cared for by experts, or if you simply want to make sure they’re enjoying the lifestyle they should be, tell them so.

Ask About Their Preferences

Once you’ve shared your concerns, it’s time for them to share theirs with you. Ask them:

• What their preferences for the future are
• If they have a plan in mind
• Why they haven’t considered a move yet
• If they’ve been overwhelmed by the thought of making a move

Highlight the Advantages

Your parent may not know what assisted living has to offer, so share the information you’ve found with them. If they have certain fears, hobbies or preferences, show them how assisted living can meet their needs. They may find there are more advantages than they previously thought.

Be Understanding and Reassuring

If your loved one is having a hard time with this discussion, try to understand where they are coming from, why they may want to stay at home, and why they are afraid or hesitant to move. Try to see things from their point of view while reassuring them that this is a great option for them to consider.

Don’t Overwhelm Them With Information

Too much information at once can make this concept a bit overwhelming for a loved one. Instead, give only the most relevant facts, ask their preferences, and answer their questions. Over time, if there’s more they need to know, you can do research together or share what they need to know as it comes up.

After the Discussion

Involve Your Loved One

For some families, more than one conversation about assisted living is needed. Each time it’s brought up, be patient, and consider how your loved one may be feeling. If they are receptive to a move, be sure to involve your loved one in the process, asking what their most important considerations are and what they’d like to experience each day.

Ask Family and Friends for Referrals

If your family and friends have experience with assisted living, ask about their thoughts. Are there communities they would consider referring you to? What have they found was the most important thing to ask when searching for assisted living? This can be very helpful information.

Schedule Some Tours

Choose communities to tour with your loved one. Seeing a community firsthand may make it easier for them to make the decision to move.

Ready to start the conversation?

For more information on talking to your parents about their senior living options, or to attend an upcoming event or open house tour, contact us today.

WATERSTONE AT WELLESLEY. NOW THIS IS HOME.

Waterstone at Wellesley offers independent living and assisted living options in Wellesley along the bank of the Charles River. Schedule a visit today to experience our lifestyle and learn how we help seniors thrive.

Yearly, millions of seniors become the victim of a financial scam or scheme, causing the loss of money, trust, privacy or safety. In fact, chances are you know someone who has been affected by scams, have seen a family member’s social media page that has been hacked, or have received a spam call or message yourself.

No matter where you look, scammers and con artists seem to be out there lurking, waiting for the next person to target. Fortunately, being aware of common identity theft and elder fraud techniques can help you avoid them.

What Makes Seniors Targets for Identity Theft and Scams?

People of all ages can be scammed; however, seniors are often targets for fraud because of their trusting and polite nature. They may also be targeted because they typically own their home, have good credit, and have financial savings.

Identity Theft

Identity theft occurs when someone uses your personal information to pretend they are you in order to drain your accounts, open credit cards, or even get medical treatments. In fact, did you know that, according to the Consumer Sentinel Network’s 2021 Data Book, 1.4 million complaints of fraud were reported? This made up 25% of all complaints.

What are the common types of identity theft, how can you protect yourself, and what can you do if you think you’ve been targeted? We’re sharing the information you need to know below.

Common Identity Theft Techniques

According to the Federal Trade Commission’s Consumer Sentinel Network report, the top form of identity theft was Government Documents or Benefits Fraud. This was followed by Credit Card Fraud. Some other notable forms you may find include:

• Loan or Lease Fraud
• Phone or Utilities Fraud
• Bank Fraud
• Employment or Tax-Related Fraud

These, however, aren’t the only types of identity theft. Others may include email or social media, evading the law, insurance, medical services, online shopping or payment accounts, securities accounts, and more.

How To Protect Yourself from Identity Thieves

If you are concerned about identity theft, follow these tips.

• Never give out personal information
• Don’t give out credit card information over the phone
• Never carry your Social Security number or card on you
• Lock banking information away
• Shred important documents
• Enable two-factor authentication for logging into websites or apps
• Change any passwords that are part of a security breach
• If needed, freeze your credit files with credit bureaus
• Check your credit yearly
• Create complex passwords

What To Do if You Think You’re the Victim of Identity Theft

According to U.S. News & World Report, you can report identity theft to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), proving to businesses that someone stole your identity. You can also place fraud alerts on your credit report, request fraudulent information be removed, and file a police report, especially if you know who committed the crime.

Senior Scams

Sentinel shares there were over 984,000 imposter scam reports and that about 1 in 5 people lost money. Imposter scams were also shown to be the number one cause of fraud in 2021.

Being aware of scams can help you spot them – and stop scammers in their tracks – before you’ve been taken advantage of. Learn more about scams, protecting yourself, and reporting them below.

Common and Current Senior Scams

According to the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, some of the most common types of scams include:

• Charity scams, often present during holidays and after natural disasters and emergencies
• Debt collection, debt relief or debt settlement scams
• Romance scams, which usually occur online in an attempt to access your money
• Sweepstakes or lottery scams
• Grandparent scams, where scammers pose as grandchildren in trouble to get money or gift cards from you
• And, of course, imposter scams, convincing you to send money by pretending to be someone you know and trust, like a government agency, police officer, employee of the state, etc.

Other types of scams, like tech support scams, Medicare scams, mortgage scams and more also exist, so be cautious anytime you feel even slightly unsure.

How To Protect Yourself

Protecting yourself from scams is a lot like protecting yourself from identity theft, but you can also take it one step further. Before acting on a potential scam:

• Raise a red flag about a sense of urgency
• Use the internet to research
• Get a second opinion
• Monitor your bank account or sign up for fraud alerts
• Evaluate websites you’re purchasing from
• Never send money to people you don’t know
• Do not complete wire transfer requests
• Remember that if it sounds too good to be true, it almost always is
• Put your phone number on the National Do Not Call Registry

Reporting Scams

What should you do if you find out you’re the target of a scam, or that you’ve been scammed? Just like with identity theft, there are a couple of things you should do right away, including submitting a complaint with the FTC, contacting the police, and reporting it to your state attorney general.

We’re here to help.

For more information on how to avoid identity theft and senior scams, or for ways you can keep yourself or a loved one safe, contact our team. For additional senior resources, visit our other blog posts today.

WATERSTONE AT WELLESLEY. NOW THIS IS HOME.

Waterstone at Wellesley offers independent living and assisted living options in Wellesley, on the Bank of the Charles River. Schedule a visit today to experience our lifestyle and learn how we help seniors thrive.