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Plan to Cure Alzheimer's Affects Decisions Now
Tweet Share on Facebook May 25, 2012 Comment (2)With appropriate fanfare, a national Alzheimer's plan was announced last week. Its goal is nothing less than to find prevention and treatment approaches for the devastating illness by 2025. That's a very hopeful timetable and reflects growing optimism that we are close to finding effective strategies.
The plan's aggressive blueprint is particularly relevant to aging baby boomers. Millions of them are likely to develop Alzheimer's and other dementia-related conditions during the next 10 to 15 years. Symptoms of memory loss and other behavioral problems tend to show up after people turn 65, and the incidence of the illness becomes more prevalent after that.
An aggressive and optimistic program to attack the disease is welcome. But it's not clear what its current effect will be on people, and their caregivers, who are worried about contracting the illness or are in some stage of it. Does the plan mean anything to them? More to the point, should they do anything differently because of it?
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Investment Challenges are Changing Traditional Advice
Tweet Share on Facebook May 23, 2012 CommentIf you are unsure about how to invest your retirement assets these days, the professionals who do this for a living share your pain. Low interest rates make finding safe returns very difficult. Market volatility is distracting, if not downright scary. Returns on many types of investments are so similar these days that traditional diversification strategies don't work. And many clients want their assets to grow and don't embrace traditional capital-preservation priorities.
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In response to this unusual mix of conditions, many advisers have moved away from traditional approaches, according to a survey of more than 160 U.S. financial advisers commissioned by Natixis Global Asset Management, which has roughly $750 billion in assets under management. Among its key findings:
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10 Healthcare Trends for Older Americans
Tweet Share on Facebook May 22, 2012 CommentThe goals of improved health and financial security are to live longer and, presumably, more fulfilling lives. Increases in longevity have certainly been impressive. Not only has 60 become the new 40, but we're well on our way to the day when 80 becomes the new 60. While the victors in the longevity race have many spoils to enjoy, they also have many aches, pains, and other unpleasant reminders of their continued existence. The government pulls together an impressive array of statistical snapshots in its recent compendium, "Health, 2011," an exhaustive record of the state of the nation's well-being. Here are some of its most compelling findings about the health of an aging America.
[See The Best Places to Retire in 2012.]
1. Healthcare use. Among people 65 and older, only about 5 percent managed to get through the year without seeing a doctor, going to an emergency room, or having a healthcare professional treat them at home. About 34 percent had one to three such visits, 37 percent had four to nine, and 24 percent had 10 or more healthcare visits. About 16 percent of older Americans had at least one hospital stay in 2010; 5 percent had at least two stays.
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Family Values, Not Money, Is Best Legacy
Tweet Share on Facebook May 21, 2012 CommentIn recent years, Americans have been buffeted by a severe recession, the collapse of investment and housing markets, and debilitating government deficits.
Despite these financial upheavals, people thinking about their estates and inheritances continue to believe that passing along personal and family values is the most important legacy they can leave for their heirs. Possessions—especially family items—are also important, and even younger people believe that keeping family possessions is important.
These findings were reached in the "2012 Allianz Life American Legacies Study," sponsored by Allianz Life Insurance Co. of North America. It surveyed baby boomers, ages 47 to 66, and a group it called elders, all 72 or older. The survey closely matched an initial legacies study the company released in 2005, when all things economic were in far better shape than today.
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Take Time for 3-Step Benefits Checkup
Tweet Share on Facebook May 18, 2012 CommentSocial Security and Medicare have improved their online tools to make it easier for people to understand and check their benefits. Here are three steps you should take, at least annually—if not more often—to make sure you're taking full advantage of these important programs.
Social Security. You can now access your complete Social Security earnings history and benefits record online. The Social Security Administration previously mailed a printed annual statement to people every year, but stopped paper statements to save money. The agency took a lot of heat for its decision, because many people, especially seniors, don't have computers or Internet access. But Social Security said at the time that it would soon provide the same information online, and would still send paper statements to anyone 60 years of age or older. Well, it took ages to build the online tool, but better late than never.
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Are Older Workers Taking Jobs From the Young?
Tweet Share on Facebook May 16, 2012 Comment (1)Stubbornly high unemployment rates persist three years after the end of the recession. The problem is acute for younger workers, many of whom carry staggering student-loan debt. During this same period, however, employment of older workers has actually risen. So, isn't it fair to put at least some of the blame on seniors for the employment problems of younger job seekers?
[See The 25 Best Jobs.]
Stringing facts together to "prove" something that's not necessarily true is a popular parlor game. Here's another version of the jobs game:
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15 Decisions to Achieve Retirement Readiness
Tweet Share on Facebook May 15, 2012 Comment (2)However you envision retirement—seashores and tennis, trips to visit grandkids, continued work, or all of the above—you won't get there without some serious thought and effort. Retirement is not an event, but a long process. So is the planning needed to prepare for it. However, according to research by the MetLife Mature Market Institute, there are 15 tasks that, if done, are likely to put you in the fast lane when you do get on your retirement track.
[See the Best Places to Retire in 2012.]
One of the key problems with retirement planning is that people don't know where to start, says John Migliaccio, director of research for the Institute. "With these 15 tasks they've got something specific, so if you start anywhere within this list, you're making progress."
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Is It Time to Rethink 401(k)s?
Tweet Share on Facebook May 14, 2012 Comment (3)Like the proverbial elephant, the view of 401(k) plans depends on which part of the retirement beast you're looking at. Started 30 years ago as a largely self-directed investment companion to traditional pensions, 401(k)s have been forced to grow up and become the nation's primary private retirement-savings vehicle.
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A slew of recent studies have raised serious issues about the plans. For example, BlackRock, the large investment firm, concluded in its survey of 401(k) plan participants and managers that continued employment past the age of 65 will be the norm, not the exception. Charles Schwab has concluded that years of efforts to educate employees about how to use 401(k)s and plan for their financial futures have not succeeded. The firm advocates that employers hire professional investment managers to guide employee retirement activities.
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How to Improve Social Security for Women
Tweet Share on Facebook May 11, 2012 Comment (9)Changing Social Security rules could substantially ease poverty among older women, according to a new set of proposals. The ideas include reducing the loss of benefits for lower-income recipients when their spouse dies, giving benefit credits for caring for children, enhancing disability benefits, and extending benefits to same-sex couples and their children.
[See 10 Ways to Boost Your Social Security Checks.]
The recommended changes are contained in a white paper, "Breaking the Social Security Glass Ceiling," sponsored by the National Committee to Preserve Social Security & Medicare Foundation, the Institute for Women's Policy Research, and the National Organization for Women Foundation.
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401(k) Plan Sponsors: Workers Can't Afford to Retire
Tweet Share on Facebook May 9, 2012 CommentThe retirement-plan industry regularly extols the virtues of 401(k)s and other retirement investment programs. Yet a survey of the heads of many big employer retirement plans found that nearly 80 percent of them agreed that "the days of working until the age of 65, retiring, and then never having to work again are generally over for most workers."
[See How Delaying Retirement Can Help You.]
BlackRock, the investment management firm, polled 118 heads of generally large employer retirement programs. Their sentiment about the need to continue working reflects inadequate retirement savings of older employees, the decline of traditional pensions, and the changing views about retirement among baby boomers.
