Tony's Blog

Many of the nation’s 20 million baby boomer caregivers are helping their parents place retirement savings in safe investments. And while they’re doing that, boomers are learning a thing or two about how to plan their own investment future.

46-year-old Fred Barbret cared for his 92-year-old father Alger until last year, when Alger died of complications brought on by diabetes. Barbret offers this financial advice.

“Put in place a revocable living trust," said Barbret. "That would be number one. Number two would be that there needs to be a social safety net, and for me personally, it came in the form of the family medical leave act, which allowed me the emotional security to let me know that I could spend time with my father and not risk my employment. And, then, the third and final and most important thing is to give as much as you can to those parents, as much as you’re able to devote to them, because I don’t think you’re ever going to have regrets for giving more. You’re only going to have regrets for not giving enough.”

Barbret said his father was an extremely private man. He said establishing the trust made sure his family avoided a public probate system, when dealing with his father’s estate. His father, who was in his early 20’s at the beginning of the Great Depression, also wanted a guarantee that his savings would be free from the risks of the stock market.

“For my father, he was looking for security," said Barbret. "He wanted to save a few dollars on taxes and the fixed annuities really fit in with his value system. Similar to a bank CD, where a CD is going to be taxed, a fixed annuity, and one of the important parts is that there were no surrender charges upon his death.  So, the money was basically secure, we found the best companies we could invest with. He got a small return on that investment, and deferred the taxes on it. So, it fit in in a very responsible way in the way my dad wanted to handle his money. “

49-year-old Greg O’Connell is another boomer with another example of the financial decisions caregivers are making. Since his mother’s diagnosis with Alzheimer’s disease, his father has incurred substantial out of pocket health care costs. O’Connell is committed to helping pay those bills. To protect his children from similar costs in the future, he and his wife took out a long term care insurance policy.

“It’s not going to be a burden on my extended family," said O'Connell.  "I will have it covered for my wife and myself so my sons don’t have to endure anxiety that I do, that if my father that does not have long care it could incur costs on us three children down the road because we’re not going to let our family members go down.”