-
Exercise is Key to Successful Aging
Tweet Share on Facebook June 12, 2012 CommentSeniors are sweating a lot of things these days, but in at least one case, this is a good thing. People from their 60s to their 80s are demanding much higher levels of physical fitness facilities and programs. At neighborhood gyms and retirement communities throughout the country, a pronounced fitness and wellness trend is making itself felt.
[In Pictures: The Best Places to Retire in 2012.]
The physical and mental benefits of vigorous exercise have become increasingly clear in recent years. So has the linkage with fitness and diet. Lastly, the social benefits of fitness and wellness classes are being recognized as a powerful benefit as well as a marketing tool to get seniors into pools and onto treadmills, bikes, and cross trainers.
-
How to Bring Hospital Care to Your Home
Tweet Share on Facebook June 11, 2012 CommentA program called Hospital at Home is producing results for older patients that seem too good to be true. Instead of being in a hospital, imagine getting acute-care services from your local hospital in your home, accompanied by at least daily visits from doctors and nurses, plus all the equipment and related tools needed to treat your health condition.
[See Top 10 U.S. Places for Healthcare.]
You'd think the program would be prohibitively expensive, but it actually costs less than providing the same care in a hospital. The health outcomes in early tests are better for Hospital at Home patients than control groups receiving similar care in a hospital. And, not surprisingly, consumers show a strong preference for receiving care at home over being hospitalized.
-
Get Ready for the Coming Social Security Fight
Tweet Share on Facebook June 8, 2012 Comment (24)That crashing sound you hear is the sickening thud of the nation's pensions hitting the brick wall of financial reality. After years of being warned about making financial promises we cannot afford, private and public pension systems are cutting benefits across the country. Employees are being asked to shoulder more of their own retirement load. Retiree healthcare help is becoming a relic of earlier times when unions had serious workplace clout.
Ford and GM are making very visible efforts to control pension expenses by offering lump-sum buyouts. Voters in San Diego and San Jose, Calif., this week acted to actually cut retirement benefits. Wisconsin voters may not have wildly cheered Republic Governor Scott Walker's curbs on union rights. But they understand the financial times we live in, and clearly felt (aided by enormous recall campaign contributions from conservative groups) his actions did not justify his recall.
-
Why Retirement Prospects Are Brighter Than They Seem
Tweet Share on Facebook June 6, 2012 Comment (4)Survey after survey reports that Americans are ill-prepared for retirement. Looking at people's average retirement savings balances, it appears we have set very little aside. The average retirement plan balance is way too small to support meaningful amounts of retirement income.
[See The 10 Best Places to Retire in 2012.]
True enough. But in looking at 401(k) account balances, it turns out, the story told by average numbers is not the same story told by individual savings behaviors. "It's really impacted by new participants coming into plans," says Jeanne Thompson, a market research specialist and vice president in Fidelity Investments' 401(k) business. Fidelity provides services to some 20,000 401(k) plans with 11.8 million participants.
-
Use of High-Deductible Health Plans Soars
Tweet Share on Facebook June 5, 2012 Comment (5)Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) are booming. More than 13.5 million people now have HSAs and other high-deductible health plans, according to the 2012 HSA census released by America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP). That's a jump of more than 2 million in the past year. HSAs are linked with high-deductible health plans.
[See Top 10 U.S. Places for Healthcare.]
To qualify for the plans, you must pay at least the first $1,200 in qualifying health expenses ($2,400 for families) before you can start to use your insurance. That's a minimum. Most plans have much higher deductibles:$2,000 to $3,000 for individuals and roughly double that for families.
-
LGBT Retirees Face Tax and Estate Hurdles
Tweet Share on Facebook June 4, 2012 Comment (3)The lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender retirement community (LGBT) has set aside more money for retirement than the general population and believes its retirement spending needs will be substantially larger as well. According to a recent survey by Wells Fargo, the median LGBT retiree has saved $450,000, compared with $350,000 for a national sample of retirees. Whereas the median national retiree thinks he or she needs a median of $500,000 in savings, the median LGBT retiree believes he or she will require $800,000.
[See 10 Best Places for Single Seniors to Retire.]
Among all LGBT investors, average savings now total $150,000, only about a sixth of the $900,000 they expect to need for their retirements. They are slightly more optimistic about reaching this goal than the national sample (61 percent versus 53 percent) but many still expect they will need to work during their retirement years (36 percent versus 41 percent of all investors surveyed).
-
How State and Local Taxes Shape Your Retirement
Tweet Share on Facebook June 1, 2012 Comment (5)Federal taxes on income, investment gains, and Social Security benefits dominate most discussions of retiree tax issues. But while we may complain or even seek to change these taxes, they tend to affect us equally regardless of where we make our retirement home.
State and local taxes, however, are a much different matter. There are big differences in these taxes among the states. U.S. News drew upon state and local tax information from the Federation of Tax Administrators, the Tax Foundation, the National Conference of State Legislatures, and the Council of State Governments. The most current available information is presented but rates can change, so it's wise to contact taxing authorities before making decisions.
New Jersey is the leading "taxaholic" state. Its citizens paid 12.2 percent of their incomes in various state and local taxes and fees in 2009. Other top taxing states were New York (12.1 percent), Connecticut (12 percent), Wisconsin (11 percent), and Rhode Island (10.7 percent). Alaska, which relies on enormous oil royalties, is home to the nation's least-taxed residents in terms of what they pay in state and local taxes. It collected only 6.3 percent of average per-capita incomes. Nevada, which is also something of a special case because of its gambling revenues, came in second at 7.5 percent. The other lowest-taxing states were South Dakota and Tennessee (both 7.6 percent), and Wyoming (7.8 percent).
advertisement
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.
Follow U.S. News Money
Like Us On Facebook
Our retirement readiness calculator will provide a rough idea of how long your retirement savings and income will last.
advertisement
