As parents reach an advanced age, adult children are faced with the challenge of how to help their parents live independently in their home as long as possible. This comes with many challenges including cooking, cleaning, and shopping, as well as managing bills. Learn how professional bill management services can help parents age in place and enjoy living at home longer.

What does “age in place” mean?

Aging in place is a term used to describe a person or people living in the dwelling of their choice, for as long as they are able, as they age. This includes being able to have any support they need over time as their needs change. The goal is to make sure an elderly person can live safely and comfortably at home while maintaining their quality of life. Most adults would prefer to age in place, remaining in their home of choice as long as possible. In fact, 90% of adults over the age of sixty-five report that they would prefer to stay in their current residence as they age.

What challenges do elderly adults face as they try to age in place?

Physical changes brought on by aging such as vision and hearing changes, cognitive decline, mobility limitations, and self-care difficulties, can impact older adults’ ability to age in place. Vision can impair the ability to drive, therefore limiting shopping options. Poor vision can also impact the ability to cook meals or easily read bills and other mail. Hearing issues can also impact driving and make it uncomfortable for one or both parents to venture far from home. Cognitive decline is also a challenge to aging in place; confusion and inability to grasp concepts or execute simple household tasks can make staying at home independently more of a challenge. Oftentimes one parent may decline faster than the other, yet that person may be the one who is responsible for cooking, running errands, or paying bills. Whether it’s an irreversible decline or a temporary setback, it’s important to have options available to the spouse as well as adult children or other caregivers to help get household functions handled so that the couple can remain at home as long as possible.

Professional bill management can help address bill paying issues

There have long been senior services available that come in and can help an elderly adult or couple handle typical household functions such as cooking and cleaning. Professional bill management is the latest service that can help elderly adults age in place by making sure their bills are paid correctly and in a timely fashion. There are several examples where a managed bill paying service may make sense. One situation that is common is that historically a husband pays all the bills for the household and the wife doesn’t really know account numbers, names of vendors, etc. If something happens to the husband and puts him in a position unable to pay bills for a little while, the wife can be at a loss as to how to take over this task, whether it’s temporary or more permanent impairment. Another situation could be the spouse responsible for paying some or all the bills passes away, leaving the surviving spouse at a loss for how to handle bills, even though they may be otherwise perfectly capable of taking care of themselves. A bill management such as Bill Simplicity can allow the spouse to make sure they don’t get behind or miss payments and take care of these important obligations without having to do much other than call us or log in to an existing account to take over the bill paying tasks. Even if neither parent is now able to handle bills, a trusted adult child or other authorized caregiver can seamlessly access the account and start handling bill paying, ensuring parents can stay at home independently longer.

Aging in place happens at a different rate for each individual or couple but having the option of a professional bill paying service in place can ease the burden of the bill paying task and help facilitate staying at home and living independently longer. Learn more about setting up a professional bill management service for yourself or your aging parents by contacting Bill Simplicity. Let us help you take the burden of bill payment off your plate!