The Best Life
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Act Now to Reverse 2009 Minimum Plan Payouts
Continue reading… 0 CommentsNov. 30 is the deadline for most people to reinvest any unwanted minimum payouts from retirement plans. When people with IRAs, 401(k)s, and other qualifying plans reach the age of 70 and a half, they must begin taking at least minimum required distributions (RMDs) from these plans, according to IRS rules. But there was widespread sentiment to waive this requirement for 2009 RMDs because big 2008 investment losses would have forced many retirees to sell holdings at depressed prices.
[See Best Affordable Places to Retire.] -
Attractive and Functional Design Solutions for Aging Homeowners
Continue reading… 3 CommentsMaking a home suitable for older occupants is becoming a mainstream part of the home remodeling business. Growing numbers of seniors want to remain in their homes as they age, and attractive design solutions for aging in place projects have evolved. Making such modifications not only helps current occupants but may broaden the market for future buyers when the home is placed on the market.
[Slide Show: Design Solutions for Aging Homeowners.]
Illustrating this trend, about 3,000 home remodeling and repair contractors have taken a three-day training course to become Certified Aging-in-Place Specialists. The CAPS program was begun by the National Association. of Home Builders and AARP. Therese Ford Crahan, executive director of NAHB's Remodelers Council, describes the sensitivity training that contractors must take as part of the program. "The remodelers are required to put a tennis ball in their nonwriting hand, put that hand in a sock, and then try and write a check," she says, simulating challenges that many people with arthritis face. "Next, we put them in a wheelchair" and they have to maneuver around. Then, "we put sunglasses on them and cover the lenses with Vaseline and then make them try to get around. . . . It's just an eye-opener for remodelers," she says. "They just don't understand . . . until they've been there."
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Why Long-Term Care is So Hard to Provide
Continue reading… 4 CommentsFinding a better way to protect people from being forced into poverty by long-term care expenses would seem a laudable goal of health reform efforts. The difficulties in finding that better way provide just one of many lessons about why reform efforts are so hard. Long-term care is very expensive and most people will need to be cared for at some point in their lives. There is private long-term care insurance, but it's expensive and few people buy it. There is a relatively new market for group long-term care policies and while it shows some promise, its development has been hurt by the recession and cutbacks in all types of employer benefits.
[See Best Affordable Places to Retire.] -
Ailing States Retirees May Want to Avoid
Continue reading… 0 CommentsIf you're nearing retirement or are considering relocating to a different state any time in the next several years, you need to do some careful thinking about how the recession and housing downturn have affected the finances of different states. The National Governors Association says it will take a decade for states to recover. Many states have had little choice but to raise taxes and fees in the teeth of the recession, and further increases are likely. Even so, public services will decrease, especially after one-time funds from the federal stimulus program stop flowing to the states.
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Financial Basics Easy to Find Online
Continue reading… 0 CommentsThe Boomerater™ Report, our weekly collaboration with online baby boomer resource Boomerater, this week explores how to get a financial education online. A Boomerater member recently asked: “Is there a good web site out there to find good financial education?” Other members shared their advice:
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2010 Medicare Changes Demand Careful Review
Continue reading… 2 CommentsLike warnings from the boy who cried wolf, pleas to some 46 million older consumers to carefully review their Medicare insurance risk are falling on deaf ears. After all, this advice is given every year as we approach the annual open enrollment period for Medicare, November 15 to December 31. But this year, the stakes are very high. Insurers have substantially cut back choices in Medicare Advantage and Part D prescription drug plans and have generally raised premiums in the process. They are responding to continued inflation in healthcare costs and government rules that could reduce the profitability of their Medicare policies.
[See Your Guide to Maximizing Medicare.]
Nearly 11 million people use Medicare Advantage (MA) policies for their Medicare coverage, and most of them choose MA policies that include prescription drug coverage. Doing nothing about your MA policy is always an option, but it will be an expensive choice in 2010. The Kaiser Family Foundation has reviewed 2010 MA plans and says the average premium for people who keep their current coverage will rise by roughly a third—to $48 per month, up from $36 this year. That's on top of the $96.40 that most people pay every month for basic Medicare coverage. For higher-income Medicare beneficiaries, however, basic Medicare premiums in 2010 are set to rise by 15 percent. Kaiser says that monthly average premiums for Part D prescription coverage will rise 11 percent to $38.94 but notes that rates vary greatly—from $8.80 to $120.20—depending on plans and where beneficiaries live.
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Retirement May Not Be a Casualty of Recession
Continue reading… 0 CommentsDouble-digit unemployment, soaring budget deficits, and a fragile economic recovery all provide ammunition to the "sky is falling" truth tellers. Forget about retirement, we're told. Expect to work forever. Against this tide of doom, it is refreshing to come upon a fact-based assessment of our economic situation that says, in effect, "aint no big deal."
[See 6 Steps to a Better Retirement] -
Aging Populations Drive Social, Legal Changes
Continue reading… 2 CommentsDealing with large and growing numbers of old and "old old" people (those above the age of 85) inevitably will change social norms. Decisions that seemed clear—when should people stop working and retire, for example—will become less clear. Attitudes toward older people will change, and this is already happening in our increasingly negative attitudes toward warehousing the elderly in nursing homes and other institutional settings. Our laws and rules will reflect emerging demographic realities as well. In fact, this is one of the first places we'd expect to see structured responses to the age wave.
[See Can Boomers Lead an Elder Revolution?] -
Many Greatest Generations on Veterans Day
Continue reading… 3 CommentsThe Boomerater™ Report, our weekly collaboration with online baby boomer resource Boomerater, this week discusses how boomers are honoring four generations of veterans. “Members of our generation served in Vietnam and the Gulf War,” a Boomerater member stated. “Our children have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, and many of us have parents and grandparents who served in Korea or in World War I and World War II. Nearly all our lives have been touched by the commitment and sacrifice of America’s veterans. I am interested to know other boomers’ memories and what they are doing to honor our veterans.” Boomerater members shared their thoughts:
Growing up in a patriotic home. I'm a baby boomer, so I grew up in the long shadow of World War II. It was a patriotic and hopeful time in the years following this great Allied victory. Both my parents fought overseas as did four of my uncles. All returned home safe. As kids, we played with their uniforms and caps and medals and K-rations and whatever else we found in their trunks, which were lined up in my grandmother's garage. I remember when our family gathered around my grandmother's dining room table in Shawnee, OK: Late night ice-clinking, cigarette smoke run amok, with sounds of crickets and curtains flapping in the hot summer breeze. Occasionally, there was talk about those "old" Army days, especially when my older cousins were home and considering entering the Korean War. We were all so patriotic, and though I don't remember exactly what was said, I am sure my cousins fought in Korea because their uncles and aunt came home from Europe steadfast in their support of our country's mission all over the world. -
A Healthcare Portfolio for an Aging Society
Continue reading… 0 CommentsThe greatest unknown in retirement planning is the uncertainty of future healthcare expenses. On average, they will total between $250,000 and $300,000 for the typical retired couple. And this is for out-of-pocket spending—after all the insurance and other benefit programs have helped pay medical bills. Although it's admittedly a bit whimsical, one way to cushion the impact could be to invest in a portfolio of healthcare companies that cater to an aging population. These are firms whose products and services are particularly keyed to an aging population. Think of it as the perfect hedge against those unknown healthcare expenses.
[See 3 Industries Riding the Wave of Aging Boomers.]
Jay Nogueira, a healthcare analyst at T. Rowe Price, says the reality of an aging society has not yet sunk in. Even though we see the numbers all the time—78 million baby boomers nearing retirement, 80-year-olds becoming the fastest-growing segment of our population—they remain "future tense" in our minds. "The general perception is that we keep getting older," he says, but the transition has been gradual so far. Looking at the share of our population that's age 65 and older, Nogueira says, "We've been somewhere around 11 to 12 percent since 1980." But in 2011, when the first baby boomers begin to turn 65, this portion will begin surging, and it will hit 20 percent in only 20 years. "That is just enormous on the scale of what we're talking about."
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Incontinence: Looking Away is Not an Answer
Continue reading… 0 CommentsIncontinence may never be a cocktail-party topic, but in an aging society, it needs to shed its taboo status. More than 25 million Americans suffer from incontinence, according to a 2008 report from the National Institutes of Health. And nearly two-thirds of caregivers say the family members they look after have some type of incontinence, according to a current survey by Caring.com and SCA, makers of the TENA brand of bladder-weakness and incontinence products.
[See What Gives Your Life Meaning and Purpose?] -
5 Tips in Using Retirement Planning Tools
Continue reading… 3 CommentsRetirement planning software is available for free on several major investment and retirement websites. But according to a recent analysis sponsored by the Pension Research Council, these programs do an inconsistent and often poor job. Anna M. Rappaport and John A. Turner, long-term pension and retirement experts, looked at both free and fee-based products. They found that many fundamental realities of retirement planning often were ignored in the tools. Consumers, however, aren't likely to possess the knowledge to spot these flaws.
[See 6 Steps to a Better Retirement.] -
Bathroom Work Tops Senior Home Makeover Needs
Continue reading… 0 CommentsMaking bathrooms more friendly to older homeowners tops the list of important projects to help people remain in their homes as they age. Angie's List has more than a million consumers in its local networks providing their experiences and recommendations of favored contractors and service providers. It polled participating contractors and found that the four most requested bathroom improvement projects were the installation of grab bars in the shower-bath area, replacement of a bathtub with a walk-in shower-tub, installation of bathroom vanities with space underneath to accommodate a wheelchair, and the lowering of electrical switches to make them easier to reach.
[See Seniors' Home Repair Help From Angie's List.] -
Seven Tips to Sell a Home in a Tough Economy
Continue reading… 2 CommentsThe Boomerater™ Report, our weekly collaboration with online baby boomer resource Boomerater, this week offers tips to help sell a house in a down economy. “I’m looking for clever ways to help sell my home is this tough market,” a Boomerater member asks. “My mother has moved into assisted living and I need to sell her home.” Other Boomerater members weighed in with their suggestions:
[See Make a Housing Plan for Your Later Years.] -
Seniors Finding That It Does Take a Village
Continue reading… 1 CommentOlder people who want to stay in their homes as they age might look to an expanding network of "villages" throughout the country as one possible way to get the support and services they need. The villages are part of a broader movement involving what are called naturally occurring retirement communities, or NORCs. These are virtual communities that provide a mix of transportation, home maintenance, and social and healthcare services to their members, who usually live within a few miles of one another.
[See NORCs: Unique Havens for an Aging America.]
Some NORCs are tightly structured, but many are not, reflecting the different residential settings and needs of their members. NORC residents are generally age 65 or older and intend to stay in their homes. As they age, they increasingly need a tailored social safety net that is best fashioned by people in their communities who are intimately familiar with their needs. Some programs are government funded, most scurry for philanthropic and volunteer help, and others rely only on member dues and fees.
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Can Boomers Lead an Elder Revolution?
Continue reading… 6 CommentsThe implications of an aging world are widely viewed with alarm. When 10,000 people a day begin reaching retirement age in a few years, how will society support them? And when these people are turning 65, thousands more will be turning 80 or 85. Who will take care of them? And how will we afford the bills? This enormous price tag is the elephant in the room during debates about healthcare reform.
[See What Gives Your Life Meaning and Purpose?] -
Are You Ready to Take the E-Book Plunge?
Continue reading… 8 CommentsDo you see yourself ever reading books and periodicals electronically—on a computer screen or hand-held device? The movement of paper-based printed materials to the digital world is gathering steam. Seniors will need to decide whether they have the desire and aptitude to embrace these new tools.
[See New Technologies Require New Learning.] -
Entertaining Exercise Options for Boomers
Continue reading… 5 CommentsThe Boomerater™ Report, our weekly collaboration with online baby boomer resource Boomerater, this week explores new ways to stay fit that are both fun and physically challenging. “I’m 56 and work from home and know I’m not getting enough physical activity,” a Boomerater member commented. “I’ve heard that some of the new video games have fitness programs. I wouldn’t mind investing in one if they really work without getting too monotonous. I'm also interested in good tapes or TV fitness shows that are geared toward the 50s crowd. I’d like to hear of any ideas for ways to stay fit without going to a gym.” Other Boomerater members shared these insights:
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8 Tips to Avoid Nasty Estate Surprises
Continue reading… 1 CommentCombine the worst downturn since the Great Depression, mix in a steep drop in stock prices, and garnish with the disappearance of trillions of dollars in home values. Voilà! You have just stirred up the recipe for a surge in estate litigation and intrafamily feuding.
[See why Estate Taxes Are a Nice Problem to Have.]
"I think we have definitely seen an increase in family squabbles and a lot more people wanting to contest wills," says Adam Gaslowitz, an estate attorney in Atlanta. The recession also has led to reduced asset values for stocks and real estate, making it harder to split the pie and reach amicable settlements. "I also think that the recession may be used, perhaps unconsciously, by some children to wrestle control of assets away from aging parents," Gaslowitz says. Some children may feel that it's better for them to manage their parents' assets in such troubled times. If there's any silver lining to the downturn, he observes, it's that "financial difficulties may make it harder for people to afford such a legal fight."
Steven K. Mignogna, who practices estate law in New Jersey, says there's been a sustained increase in contested estates during the past 20 years. He says that generally we are more litigious, but it's also true that the volume of wealth transfers has picked up in our aging society. Lastly, he notes, families have become more fragmented, which leads to more complex bequests and more potential for family conflict. "In the last year or two, I have seen an increase of perhaps 10 to 20 percent," Mignogna says. "It is difficult to determine if that increase is attributable solely to the economy, or to the trends from the last 20 years. . . . I am sure that the economy is a factor."
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What Gives Your Life Meaning and Purpose?
Continue reading… 3 CommentsMaking a difference, doing something of value, and having a purpose in life. They all stem from a common human need that doesn't disappear with age. However, the perception that you're making a difference may well decline sharply after the end of a career, and the close of a professional life with decades of rich experiences and relationships. And as we get older, our self-perceived worth can take another hit if people have trouble looking beyond our age when they interact with us. All too often, older people aren't valued for what they can offer, and often aren't even expected to participate in activities.
[See 7 Tips for Finding Right Volunteer Work.]
