What comes to mind when you hear the term “senior”? Is it merely a factor of age; once you reach a specific age, do you simply become a senior citizen? And what life changes happen once you are considered to be a senior? If you are fortunate enough to reach your older years, these are questions that you may have wondered about. In this article, we are going to go over what you need to understand about what it means to become a senior citizen in America.

What Exactly Makes Someone a Senior Citizen?

A senior citizen, also known as simply seniors or as elderly, is a demographic in any society based purely on age. This usually refers to anyone who has reached their mid-to-late 50s or beyond, depending on which establishment or entity is making the decision. This term typically means that the person in question has transitioned from being a working adult to the life of a retiree.

Culturally speaking, a senior is someone who may be slowing down a little in life. Maybe you have exited a career, finished raising a family, or some other accomplishment in your younger days. Perhaps you feel more like you have managed to survive until this point. In most cultures across the globe, elders are believed to be wiser and more experienced that the other members of their given society.

On an economic level, most seniors require some kind of financial support. This is usually derived from some form of savings, retirement funds, or a caregiver’s support. Because you are likely no longer working, you need to have access to some form of money to cover the various expenses that arise. For this reason, it is not uncommon to find senior citizens who have become dependent on others for their own welfare.

Medically, senior citizens are more prone to having health issues due to their age. Common health complaints include loss of hearing, mobility, and vision, though others also suffer from chronic pain and other illnesses. Usually, the types of medical issues that seniors have to deal with require support or aid from outside sources.

At What Age Does Someone Become a Senior?

As we said before, often time what age qualifies someone to be considered a senior citizen depends on who you ask. According to Medicare, anyone who is 65 years old or older is a senior. Despite the fact that the Social Security Office lists 67 as the official age of retirement, seniors can start claiming benefits from Social Security at the age of 62. But many fast food restaurants use the age of 55-60 as the minimum age that someone can take advantage of their senior discounts.

So, even though becoming a senior citizen is based on age, it is not a uniform age across the board. It is fair to assume that, once you turn 55, you have entered into the social demographic that can best be defined as being a senior. At the age of 65, you have reached the age most commonly considered the time for people to retire from their job, though there is an increasing number of older adults who continue working after 65. Employment status withstanding, it is generally safe to say that once you turn 65, you should be considered a senior citizen in most places. 

Why Do Senior Citizen Discounts Exist?

The reason why you might see so many senior citizen discounts around is that most of them live on a fixed income. Having limited assets that are going to have to last for an undeterminable amount of years can make for financial uncertainty. To aid seniors in living happy, healthy lives during their twilight years, many companies offer discounts on both the essentials as well as some of the extras.

Many grocery stores and restaurants, including many fast food places, offer senior citizen discounts. Sometimes this may be on certain days or during a certain window of time. Additionally, you can also find discounts on airfare, hotel rooms, movie theater tickets, and sporting events. Even some cell phone providers, hair salons, and tire service companies offer discounts for elderly patrons.

Another possibility to consider is becoming a member of the AARP (American Association of Retired Persons), which provides discounts for its members on things such as car rentals, pet care, resort stays, and technology.

What Living and Care Options Do Seniors Have?

There are three typical situations for living arrangements or care options for senior citizens – continuing to live at home (either on their own or possibly with a caregiver), moving into a retirement community, or relocating to an assisted living facility. With each of these variations of housing arrangements, there are differing levels of care that can be provided to meet your specific needs.

The Least Amount of Care

An older adult who requires the least amount of care and assistance may be able to still live on their own. If you are able to manage your day-to-day activities, such as meals, paying bills, and transportation, this might be the arrangement for you. Typically it is best if you have minimal health problems and are active enough to possibly even work outside of the house at least part of the time. This could still be a good choice if you can manage with a live-in caregiver, such as a nurse or relative who can be close by if the need arises.

In many cases, once an elderly person starts to have issues with daily activities, it is time for a caregiver to move in. Live-in nurses are people who usually stay with a senior during the daytime and then leave them alone overnight. Though it is possible to have a full-time live-in nurse, this is not typically the case in most situations.

A Moderate Amount of Care

If you are unable or unwilling to live alone, you might consider moving into a place that offers apartment units to seniors as a part of a retirement community. These places are usually very diverse and many of them include specifications to live there, such as golfing, LGBTQ, luxury, military veterans, or religious focuses. The residents of these communities are exclusively seniors over the age of 55 who live in their own units and are still somewhat active.

These communities generally provide specialized care close at hand when it is needed, offering services such as onsite medical clinics, physicians that offer home visits, and routine health check-ups. Perhaps even more crucial are the social networks provided to the elderly people who live in one of these active senior retirement communities. Life as a senior can be lonely, and being alone in your home is one of the hardest adjustments for many older adults. Moving into a retirement community can allow you to overcome this issue and continue to live a full life knowing that you have a support network available any time that you might need it.

Constant Care

For those senior citizens who can no longer handle the day-to-day activities or care needed to live alone, a retirement home may be the best choice. This might be an assisted living complex or a nursing home. If you find that you cannot fully take care of yourself any longer, this type of arrangement is great for those who require closer attention and care. Whether this is caused by chronic illness, dementia, or a loss of mobility, the 24/7 medical observation provided by these facilities ensures that their residents do not suffer from neglect or a lack of proper medical care.

Financial Issues Facing Senior Citizens

In many cases, seniors have ended their working careers around the age of 65 or so. However, as medicine and healthy living make new discoveries constantly, senior citizens now are aging more effectively, living longer lives, and maintaining more active lifestyles than ever before. Because of this, as well as the current economic situation here in the United States., more seniors are opting to stay in the workforce for longer.

While there are likely many factors in making this decision, the biggest is likely to be your financial situation. If you were able to plan ahead well enough to save for your retirement throughout your adulthood, then you may likely have sufficient funds to retire comfortably. However, if you were not able to save a large nest egg, then you may have to work longer than others your age out of necessity.

Options are available to help senior citizens with their finances, such as securing medicare health insurance or taking Social Security benefits. Though helpful, it should be noted that the benefits provided by social security are not sufficient enough to live off of. And even medicare is not free coverage, so it comes with a monthly cost as well.

Legal Issues Facing Senior Citizens

Unfortunately, the later stages of life do not render you immune to legal problems. The typical legal issues that senior citizens face fall into one or more of the three following areas.

Writing Your Will

Drawing up a will is something that you have hopefully done before you reach the age of becoming a senior citizen. But, if not, then you should do so as soon as possible. Write up a legal will that dictates precisely who is to receive what once you pass away. It can morbid to think about, but it should not be avoided. You do not want to leave your family or dependents to have to sort through the legal labyrinth that comes from these types of loose ends.

Choosing Your Executor

You also need to determine who will serve as the executor of your estate and legally document it in writing. If you become incapable of making sound judgments regarding your financial, medical, legal, or other such decisions, this person becomes the party responsible for fulfilling those needs in your place. You don’t want to wait until you are no longer able to make daily decisions and must transition to an assisted living facility or nursing home, to choose this person.

Poor Treatment & Age Discrimination

There are, sadly, people who are willing to take advantage of senior citizens, whether it is a situation of discrimination or simply a matter of being treated unfairly. Discrimination in the workplace due to a senior’s advanced age is not uncommon. In addition, it is not unheard of for a caregiver to abuse an elderly person left in their charge. It could be helpful to have an attorney who can be contacted for your legal advice and protection.

What Health Insurance Options are Available to Seniors?

Senior citizens can find a range of insurance coverages, with some being provided by private health insurance companies and others provided by public health care. If you have private health coverage from your employer or a third-party agent, then you should be covered sufficiently well for most needs. However, if you are retired from work then you might not have health insurance at all. In this case, you should consider looking into getting Medicare.

Medicare is a social health insurance program provided by the federal government of the United States. It is available to anyone 65 or older, but you have a narrow window in which to sign up for enrollment without facing a penalty. Three months before your 65th birthday, you become eligible to sign up, but after seven months have elapsed (meaning seven months after you become eligible), you will have to pay a late enrollment fee, which could be something you pay against for the entire life of your coverage