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Many Greatest Generations on Veterans Day
Tweet Share on Facebook November 9, 2009 Comment (3)The 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
Tweet Share on Facebook November 6, 2009 CommentThe 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
Tweet Share on Facebook November 5, 2009 CommentIncontinence 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
Tweet Share on Facebook November 4, 2009 Comment (3)Retirement 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
Tweet Share on Facebook November 3, 2009 Comment (1)Making 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
Tweet Share on Facebook November 2, 2009 Comment (3)The 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.]
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The Best Life
Philip Moeller, contributing editor for U.S. News Money, writes about achieving success and happiness in older age. He also is a research fellow at the Sloan Center on Aging & Work at Boston College.
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