How to Live Your Best Life as You Age

Advances in technology are making health care more accessible without in-person visits. For example, telemedicine enables virtual consultations while remote patient monitoring uses wearables to track vital signs. Augmented realty supports remote therapy and AI-driven chatbots assist with mental health and medication reminders.

Finding balance can be hard, especially when you’re trying to balance competing priorities. You may have children who are going to school with constant needs and aging parents who are on the other side of the barbell, but need the same level of tending, caring and management. And that may be on top of a highly demanding career. So, it’s not just about balance—it’s also about grace with the knowledge that sometimes you can’t do everything. When you have competing priorities, there may be days where things don’t get done or you order take-out for the third day in a row. The best way to get through it is to take the superhero cape off and know that at times, things may fall to the cutting room floor and that is OK.  

There are many ways, but one important aspect is about helping them find a sense of purpose, fulfillment and belonging. That can be particularly hard with our aging parents because the anchors of their life that were once so meaningful may be going away. An example I like to give is my mother, who was extremely proud about having a meticulously clean house and home-cooked food on the table. But over the years, she retired and moved out of her home. Her friends have either moved or passed away, and her sense of purpose shifted. In these cases, we can help support our elderly relatives by reminding them that there are other things that they can get involved in. They may not be entertaining guests the way they did in the past, but they can give back in other ways, like volunteering their time.

Just like our parents protected us in our early years, the tide has turned and it’s our turn to protect them. There are real bad actors out there that look to scam this generation. I remember after my dad died, my mom was at risk of the telephone going off because she didn’t have anything in her name—not the car, home or credit cards. People were coming out of the woodwork trying to trick her into giving them information about my dad's past and saying she owed all kinds of back money or taxes. The one thing I told my mom was to never give any personal information over the phone because no one needs to know your bank account or Social Security number over the phone, no matter what they say. I told her that if someone is persistent, then they should call me instead.

One way to protect your elderly loved ones from scams is to add a trusted contact to their financial accounts. 

Having a sense of purpose and community is part of longevity, and I can see how a passion job or project plays into that. There are studies that have shown isolation can be as harmful to people’s health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day,³ so we know that staying active and being social is key. Just as an example, I know of a restaurant in New York City whose chef is in her 90s. She makes pasta for the restaurant every day, and people come from all around to eat it. I believe that sense of purpose is part of her tremendous longevity.

So, what does it mean for you or me? Maybe when I’m done being a doctor, I’ll think about my passions and find ways to pursue them so that I stay engaged. By doing that, I’ll prove to myself that I still matter and can contribute and continue to help people. 

I think there are parallels between what doctors do and what Financial Advisors do. I would hope that no one goes to a doctor just one time in their life, gets a clean bill of health, and thinks they’re good to go. Health is not like that; it changes as we age, and unexpected events come up.

In my mind, just as there’s primary health care, there’s also primary wealth care. You need to have regular touch points with your wealth advisors so you can be prepared a for longer than expected retirement. Consider these questions: What happens if I live longer than I think? What would that mean in terms of my investments? How do I prepare not only for myself but for my family? Do you want to pass on funds after you die or while you’re still alive?

Those are the questions that are important to explore with a Financial Advisor because when you really think about it, your Financial Advisor is there to be your overall care provider for your financial health and wellness.

If you’re interested in hearing more from Dr. Kim Henderson, connect with your Morgan Stanley Financial Advisor or Private Wealth Advisor to access content and events focused on health topics that may support your needs.