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Most Against Another $250 Payment to Seniors
Tweet Share on Facebook October 20, 2009 Comment (57)The push for Congress to enact another $250 cash payment to seniors has generated substantial opposition. The prevailing view, voiced widely on the Internet in blogs and comments on news stories, is that seniors already have protection from price inflation and don't merit further special help, particularly when most Americans are financially strapped and the nation is running horrendous budget deficits.
[See Social Security Makes the Call: No 2010 COLA.] -
Erickson Communities Agrees to Sale, Bankruptcy
Tweet Share on Facebook October 19, 2009 Comment (5)Unable to find new investors, Erickson Retirement Communities announced late Monday afternoon that it is selling the company and, as a condition of the sale, will seek bankruptcy protection in order to restructure its debts. The company, which operates 19 complexes around the country with 23,000 residents, is one of the nation's largest developers of continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs). It said it is being acquired by Redwood Capital Investments, a privately held investment company controlled by Jim Davis, chairman and majority owner of Allegis Group. The companies are based near Baltimore.
[See 7 Tips on Retirement Community Safeguards.] -
It's Never Too Late to Find Your Next Career
Tweet Share on Facebook October 19, 2009 CommentThe Boomerater™ Report, our weekly collaboration with online baby boomer resource Boomerater, this week explores factors to consider when searching for a new career. Here is the question from a Boomerater member: “I am planning to leave the very stressful job I have held for the past 10 years. At age 55 I still want, and need, to work, but I’m looking for a job I like, closer to home. I’m concerned about changing jobs at my age in this rough job market. I’d be interested to know of websites that cater to the 50-plus crowd and also about companies that realize the benefit of hiring older, wiser employees.” Other Boomerater members shared these suggestions:
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6 Steps to a Better Retirement
Tweet Share on Facebook October 16, 2009 Comment (2)Standard financial-planning advice often begins with telling consumers to set aside three to six months of their spending needs in liquid assets. This is important, we're told, so that we have money stashed away for an emergency. Otherwise, we might have to sell investments at an inopportune time or dip into retirement funds. The assumption is that consumers have discretionary resources to begin with and thus have the luxury of a studied response to an emergency.
In most households, an emergency really means an emergency. Many consumers don't have extra money lying around. Even in normal times, funding the next three to six months' spending needs is a stressful balancing act. How effective it is to tell these households to set aside yet more funds—funds they don't have—for longer-term retirement and old-age health needs?
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Social Security Makes the Call: No 2010 COLA
Tweet Share on Facebook October 15, 2009 Comment (51)The Social Security Administration (SSA) announced on October 15 that the absence of consumer price inflation means the agency will provide no cost of living adjustment (COLA) for Social Security recipients in 2010. The widely expected announcement comes after last year's 5.8 percent COLA—largest in 25 years—and hits retirees during what's being regarded as the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.
[See Poor Social Security Knowledge Has Big Costs.] -
Target-Date Funds Post Strong 3rd Quarter
Tweet Share on Facebook October 14, 2009 Comment (7)Target-date funds continued to post stellar results in the third quarter, according to Ibbotson Associates, a unit of Morningstar. Among 319 funds in business at least a year, the average target maturity fund returned 14.3 percent during the quarter, compared with a 15.6 percent gain for the S&P 500 Index. Target-date funds are keyed to investors' planned retirement ages. Over time, they automatically adjust their mix of stocks, bonds, and other holdings to create a risk profile, or glide path, appropriate to an investor's changing age. The funds have become increasingly popular default options in many employers' 401(k) plans.
[See A New Role for Stocks in Retirement Funds?] -
Is Retirement Really a Fading Goal?
Tweet Share on Facebook October 13, 2009 Comment (11)If you like getting hit with a hammer, then keep reading the dour retirement surveys that lots of investment firms and think tanks have been conducting. They all pretty much say the same thing: This recession is a game-changer, and has put retirement out of reach for millions of Americans. If you want to track a related thematic reprise, it's that the horde of baby boomers nearing retirement has decided to eschew the materialistic life in favor of more meaningful pursuits.
[See Is This High Tide for Senior Finances?] -
5 Smart Ways to Lower Your 2009 Taxes
Tweet Share on Facebook October 12, 2009 CommentThe Boomerater™ Report, our weekly collaboration with online baby boomer resource Boomerater, this week explores what you can do now to lower your 2009 income taxes. “With the end of the year approaching I’d like to learn about anything I can do now to lower my taxes,” a Boomerater member asks. “Are there any stimulus offers I can take advantage of now before they expire?” Other Boomerater members offered these suggestions:
[See 6 Money Lessons of the Great Recession.] -
7 Tips on Retirement Community Safeguards
Tweet Share on Facebook October 9, 2009 Comment (8)Consumers living in or interested in a retirement community—particularly a newer facility—should carefully review the community's financial records and its ability to honor its service and refund commitments. Concerns have arisen in response to reports that the recession and the depressed real estate market have caused financial hardships for some institutions throughout the country. Maryland-based Erickson Retirement Communities, widely considered a pioneer and leader in the field, has been forced to seek additional investment support to shore up the finances of some of its 19 campuses, according to a story in the Wall Street Journal. According to the newspaper account, which an Erickson spokesman said was accurate, the company was forced to close an Ohio facility and warned that two other campuses might need to seek bankruptcy protection.
[See 6 Pillars of Solid Retirement Communities.]
More than 22,000 people live in Erickson's continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs), which provide a range of independent and assisted living facilities. Occupants furnish a substantial entry deposit to secure their apartment, pay monthly living expenses, and usually stay for the rest of their lives. There are other CCRC business models, including rental communities. Assurance of lifetime residency and care are the industry's hallmark service commitments.
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More Economic Relief Being Sought for Seniors
Tweet Share on Facebook October 7, 2009 Comment (3)AARP last week sent a letter to Congressional leaders asking them to approve emergency one-time payments of $250 to seniors. The reasons are plain enough. The recession continues to make things tough for everyone. And, due to low inflation, seniors will not be getting a cost-of-living increase next year (and, likely, in 2011 as well) in Social Security payments. Although overall inflation is modest, healthcare costs continue to rise. This will raise insurance premiums and out-of-pocket costs for people on Medicare. The U.S. House of Representatives has already passed a measure to keep a lid on premiums for the portion of Medicare that covers doctors fees and other non-hospital expenses. But this will only address a small component of the typical senior's healthcare expenses.
[See Double-Digit Medical Expense Trend to Continue.]
