Medicaid Planning

Financial Challenges Facing Seniors…And How to Fight Back

Most of us look forward to a retirement filled with leisure and relaxation, but many older Americans are facing financial difficulties that are destroying their retirement dreams. One article addressed some of seniors’ biggest financial challenges and what they can do to fight back. What follows is a summary of the article.

Historically Low Interest Rates
For almost a decade, the Federal Reserve has kept the federal funds rate at a record low. This might be good if you are refinancing debt, but it is disastrous for those who stay in fixed-income investments such as certificates of deposit, money market accounts, savings accounts and bonds—all long-time favorites of seniors who are more risk-averse than other investors.

Low Trust in the Stock Market
The recession provided an opportunity for long-term investors to snap up stocks at attractive lower prices. But for many seniors, it was a reminder of the volatile nature of the stock market which is contrary to their more conservative investing approach. Many of them stayed in their low-yielding fixed-income investments and lost out on the subsequent gains of the rebounding market.

Fight back: Be willing to invest a portion of your investments in the stock market. It’s one of the few places you can invest your money that, over the long term, will outperform inflation. And with people living longer today, your savings will need to last longer than before.

Rising Health Care Costs
Medicare doesn’t cover all medical costs, and out-of-pocket expenses can be substantial. One survey found that 20% of seniors did not see their doctor because of the out-of-pocket costs. Also, the costs of drugs, diagnostics and medical devices continue to rise.

Fight back: Use some of your savings, investment income or work income to purchase supplemental health insurance that will help cover medical expenses not covered by Medicare.

Social Security Issues
According to the Social Security Administration, more than half of all couples rely on Social Security for at least 50% of their retirement income, and almost half of unmarried seniors rely on it for at least 90% of their retirement income. But the cash reserves that supply this income are in trouble and, unless Congress addresses the problem soon, they could run out by 2033.

Unfavorable Job Market
Going back to work is an option for many seniors who have little retirement income or rely heavily on Social Security income. Yet it takes older workers longer to find employment and they are often competing with younger workers who are willing to accept lower wages.

Fight back: Working longer at your current job may be a viable option. You may also be able to find paying work in a hobby or avocation. You may even be able to start a small business to supplement your income.

Debt…and Feeling Obligated to Help Adult Kids
Fully 45% of all homeowners over the age of 62 still have a mortgage payment. Many have credit card and other consumer debt. Of those age 60 and over, who are no longer working, 43% admitted to helping their adult children pay their bills. Many seniors have student loan debt for themselves, their children and dependents going to college.

Fight back: Learn to say “no,” especially if your retirement funds are limited. This is your retirement, and your children and grandchildren need to respect that. If you are earning extra income, use some of it to pay off your debt.

See full article here: https://www.fool.com/retirement/general/2015/05/17/the-7-biggest-financial-challenges-senior-citizens.aspx

Warning: An Alzheimer’s Tsunami is Coming and We Must Prepare

That’s the message from Andrew Tisch, chairman of Loews Corporation, co-founder of the

political reform group No Labels, and Vice Chair of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition.

In a recent article, Mr. Tisch describes how we are unprepared for the enormous costs we will

soon be facing from a huge upswing in our aging population and the resulting number of

Alzheimer’s patients.

As he points out, in 2010 there were 11.4 million Americans over the age of 80. By the year

2050, due to the power of modern medicine, there will be over 32 million. But amid that laudable

success is a glaring problem: One in two people who reach their 80s will get Alzheimer’s, and

the American health care system isn’t even remotely prepared to deal with that.

The annual cost to care for people with Alzheimer’s and other dementias is already $226 billion,

with Medicare and Medicaid picking up 68% of the costs. If recent trends continue, he states, the

annual cost of Alzheimer’s could reach $1 trillion, in current dollars, by 2050, costing Medicare

and Medicaid almost $700 billion—about one-fifth of the federal government’s current budget.

Mr. Tisch calls for Washington to dramatically increase the amount of federal money going to

Alzheimer’s research. While disease research of all kinds is worthy and important, he states,

Alzheimer’s stands apart for the destruction it wreaks on families and finances. Five million

Americans currently have Alzheimer’s and the disease’s impact spreads far beyond those who

have it. Every person with Alzheimer’s requires three people—children, spouses, friends and

health care workers—to serve as caregivers. This can be a full-time job, and it often takes a

financial, emotional and physical toll on the caregivers and their families.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) allocated almost $1 billion to Alzheimer’s research last

year, but funding is behind what researchers need and what other diseases already receive. The

treatments available now only treat symptoms and do not prevent, slow or reverse the disease.

Researchers believe a significant boost in funding could lead to breakthroughs in the coming

years. Dr. Greg Petsko of Weill Cornell Medical College states that “if NIH doubled research

funding for Alzheimer’s tomorrow, it would kick the whole machinery of grant making and

academic and pharmaceutical company research into a higher gear.”

President Trump’s budget proposal includes an 18% cut to the NIH budget as part of a broader

effort to slash discretionary spending. However, a bipartisan group of a dozen senators have

written a letter to President Trump asking him to increase funding for Alzheimer’s research. As

Mr. Tisch puts it, a potential cure for Alzheimer’s should not go undiscovered for lack of a few

billion dollars in a $4 trillion-dollar annual budget.

Financial Challenges Facing Seniors…And How to Fight Back

Warning: An Alzheimer’s Tsunami is Coming and We Must Prepare

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