Happy New Year!

The holidays provided an opportunity to catch up on various articles on a wide range of topics, including smart ageing. One of the most informative was a new report from the CSA Public Policy Centre on demographic changes in Canada’s aging population and policy implications for 2024.[1] The report takes a holistic view of complex interwoven factors, such as social, economic, and healthcare resources, which must be addressed to support a rapidly aging population.

According to the report, over 22% of Canada’s population will be 65 years or older by 2040. Even more striking is that while these demographic factors have been predicted for some time, Canada lags other nations in providing realistic and pragmatic solutions to prepare for this. Therefore, it emphasizes the importance of each of us and our advisors taking accountability to plan for the later chapters of life. In a recent article in The Atlantic, Jonathan Rauch puts it this way – the biggest problem we have as we live longer is that our life span will often exceed our health span. In other words, that last decade or so of life may not be in good health and could trigger consequences costing much more than expected.

How do we take ownership of our planning as this new year begins? Where do you start? I read an interesting question in a business article on planning that can easily be transferred into any planning exercise. In this past year, what had the most profound impact on you in either your personal or professional life?

I have pondered this question over many days and asked several people for their thoughts. What had the most profound impact or deep and lasting influence on you over the past year when it came to planning for your future or an elderly parent’s future?

In our family, we lost two elderly parents last year – my mother, who reached 100 years old and my father-in-law, who almost reached 97 years old. They were part of the ‘silent generation’ who saw extraordinary things over their lifetime, from the Depression, World Wars, space travel, computers, the Internet and now AI. I asked family members who had been attorneys and then executors, what the most profound impact of their conversations was with these two elders over the years? In both cases and without a doubt, the answers were the same. It was having a conversation with the elder in their 80s when they were still very active and taking care of their own affairs. It was that quiet conversation in the back garden – what do you want us to do if you become so ill that you cannot remain home? Where do you wish to live, and how do you see this unfolding?

Over the next decade, it became apparent that the elders had chosen their attorneys and executors wisely based on understanding their wishes, geography, and the skills to cope with an everchanging set of circumstances in declining health, different living accommodations, and diminished capacity. It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day dramas of managing an elderly person’s situation as their health starts to fail. However, having had the conversation a decade earlier, it was much easier to establish goals and make decisions knowing the person’s wishes when they required more care. One person commented – it’s as if a north star was pointing the way; the path to get there was full of zig zags, but we knew where we were eventually going.

Having “the garden conversation” well before requiring action is critically important. Life happens and can change in a heartbeat. So how do we, as family members or as planning advisors, start “the conversation”?

• Pick a time and favourite place for a quiet conversation.
• Give them assurances that you will respect their wishes.
• Ask a simple question – what do you want us to do if you can no longer live at home due to ill health? Any ideas on where you want to live and how you see this unfolding?
• Keep a journal of conversations over the years to document wishes and thoughts.
• Other opportunities may arise with a health crisis. An empathetic oncologist we know was able to discuss an elderly man’s prognosis with him in terms he understood. He loved to garden, so when she asked him his goals for the year, he said he wanted to plant his spring potatoes. She said, I think you’ll be able to plant them, but I’m not sure you will be here to harvest them. He understood and nodded.

In your case, it may happen sooner or later, but there will come a time when decisions will have to be made. With our rapidly aging population, there could be scarce caregiving resources to assist an older person in your family. Empower your older clients and family members to describe how they want to see their last chapter play out. The most profound impact you can have on that aging journey and your participation is engaging in “the garden conversation” well before any action is needed.

[1] Thirgood, J. and Egulu, E. (2024) Aging Canada 2040: Policy Implications of Demographic Change. Canadian Standards Association, Toronto, ON.