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How to Make Your Home Age-Friendly
Tweet Share on Facebook September 30, 2010 Comment (1)If you want to stay in your home as you age, take a look around and do some hard thinking about whether your home is a suitable place for you to spend your 70s and 80s (perhaps beyond). If you were in a wheelchair, could you navigate your home without help? Could you cook meals? If you had trouble walking or getting out of bed, how hard would it be for someone to help you? Are there grab bars in the bathrooms? Easily accessible wall switches?
Surveys show that overwhelmingly, people want to grow old in their own homes. But such aging in place, as many experts call it, is made very difficult by a widespread lack of age-friendly home modifications. As a recent report from MetLife notes, most homes use "Peter Pan housing" designs, because they appear to be built for people who will never grow old.
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6 Big Pluses for Foreign Retirement
Tweet Share on Facebook September 27, 2010 Comment (10)You name it: Ecuador, Belize, southern France, Mexico, Italy—the list goes on. Retire to these idyllic locales, we're told, and you will save money while improving the quality of your life. The only thing wrong with this picture is that hardly anyone actually retires overseas. Only about 1 percent of Social Security payments are made to beneficiaries outside the United States.
As the economic picture at home continues to darken, however, the grass is looking greener and greener in other countries. And if people explore leaving the United States, they will see a world that has gotten much smaller. Globalization is creating a homogeneity that may draw the wrath of some critics but undoubtedly makes foreign locations less, well, foreign. People can land in a strange country and not feel so strange.
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20 Needless Expenses for Many Seniors
Tweet Share on Facebook September 22, 2010 Comment (1)Nearly two years into our so-called economic recovery, it's clear that frugality is still the prevailing financial trend. Saving money is not only necessary, it's almost patriotic. Here are 20 ways you can do your bit for the savings cause. They work for me. I hope they work for you. Check off the ones that apply to you and then actually take action.
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Why Social Security is Your Best Investment
Tweet Share on Facebook September 20, 2010 Comment (14)Traditional retirement planning often advises holding on to your market investments as long as you can. But a close look at the Social Security rules makes a strong case that you'd be better off cashing in those 401(k)s if doing so will delay your need to begin taking Social Security benefits.
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How to Evaluate Retirement Communities
Tweet Share on Facebook September 15, 2010 CommentMaking the decision to enter a full-service, continuing care retirement community (CCRC) may not be easy. It can be triggered by the conclusion, often reached with reluctance, that keeping up the old homestead is just too much work. Then there's the process of selling and moving out of a place that may hold decades of precious memories, plus lots and lots and lots of stuff. Selling a home these days is no snap, either. Entrance fees at CCRCs can be steep. Most people pay between $250,000 and $400,000. On top of this, monthly fees for meals, upkeep, and other services can easily run from $3,500 to $6,000 per couple.
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8 Money Trends Shaping Seniors' Lives
Tweet Share on Facebook September 13, 2010 Comment (3)Unless you're in your 90s, the Depression is only an indirect memory. Today's Great Recession is the closest we've personally been to a dysfunctional economy. And it's been plenty scary enough. Looking ahead, it would be nice if we could expect a return to healthy growth rates, lower unemployment, and the kind of stability we got used to for most of the period since World War II. A more likely forecast is for continued uncertainly, low growth and volatile investment markets. Prospering in such conditions will take planning and perseverance.
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Advice for Widows and Older Couples, Too
Tweet Share on Facebook September 10, 2010 Comment (2)Kathleen Rehl shares an unwanted identity with 11.5 million other American women. She's a widow. Unlike most of them, she's a financial planner. And now, more than three years after the death of her husband, Tom, she is also an author. "Moving Forward on Your Own: A Financial Guidebook for Widows," is a short, 80-page journey through the stages of grief that she felt. It's also an emotional as well as financial guide to the types of adjustments faced by a sadly growing number of women who have outlived their husbands.
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Include Healthcare in Retirement Savings
Tweet Share on Facebook September 8, 2010 Comment (1)Out-of-pocket health expenses are the largest uncontrollable expense most people will face in retirement. For an average 65-year-old couple, the projected price tag is about $250,000. Yet less than 30 percent of people still working set aside retirement dollars specifically for healthcare, according to a recent survey sponsored by First Command Financial Services. That's not so surprising. Most people view their retirement accounts as funding all retirement expenses, and don't look at separate categories.
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Working Past 65 is Nothing New
Tweet Share on Facebook September 5, 2010 Comment (4)More older Americans want to work than ever before. It's tempting this Labor Day to attribute this rise to the current recession. There is no question more people of all ages have been driven to seek work because of the weakness of the economy and the continued hangover from our twin investment and real estate collapses. But there are other forces at work, and they're part of a sustained change that's been going on for more than 20 years.
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It's Time to Review Your Medicare Options
Tweet Share on Facebook September 3, 2010 Comment (2)Medicare coverage should be a key component of every one's retirement planning. A 65-year-old couple will pay, on average, $250,000 in future out-of-pocket healthcare costs. Unforeseen medical expenses are the leading cause of personal bankruptcy. In practice, most people give Medicare little thought until they near their 65th birthday.
