The Best Life
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Growing Older, Getting Mellower, Feeling Good
Continue reading… 1 CommentTaking a step back from the dismal economy and housing bust, things apparently look pretty good to older Americans. A Pew Research Center poll and report on Growing Old in America finds people 65 and older feeling pretty good about themselves and their lives—better, in fact, than the views of old age held by younger Americans.
Of course, it may be hard to see an attractive bigger picture when your home is worth far less than it was two years ago, you can't find even part-time work and the dollars don't stretch as far as you want, regardless of what government statistics say about low rates of inflation. -
Downsizing: Where to Move, What to Take
Continue reading… 9 CommentsThe Boomerater™ Report, our weekly collaboration with online baby boomer resource Boomerater, this week follows up on our recent post about downsizing. A Boomerater member was seeking information about various housing types and other downsizing tips and members weighed in with their first-hand experiences.
[See Paralyzed by Your Possessions? Read On.] -
Smart Ways to Access Your Housing Wealth
Continue reading… 2 CommentsUsing the equity in your home as a long-term tool to enhance your retirement is a common goal. Doing so wisely is the focus of an uncommonly sound report by MetLife's Mature Market Institute. Tapping Home Equity in Retirement is well worth the hour or so it would take to read and ponder its suggestions. Even with big drops in home values, the declines in retirement accounts and traditional pensions have made home equity an even more important asset for many people as they approach retirement. Here's a highlight reel:
Strengthen Security. Retirement income used to be described as a three-legged stool based on savings, private pensions and Social Security. But the report notes that pensions and the savings rate have both declined, leading to more active use of housing wealth as a source of retirement security. Tools include expanded use of reverse mortgages and home equity lines of credit, with loan proceeds often used to enhance longer-term financial security. "Home equity can play an important role to strengthen the capacity of older homeowners to cope with financial uncertainties in later life," the report says. It emphasizes that these decisions should be carefully studied and that tapping home equity at earlier ages may make many homeowners particularly vulnerable to financial pressures later in their lives. -
Paralyzed by Your Possessions? Read On
Continue reading… 28 CommentsDownsizing a household is a challenge often made much harder by the emotional tug of belongings and mementos. Some people are heartbroken at auctioning a cherished item on eBay or selling it on Amazon; others are in denial, and either refuse to move or cart their very own Mt. Memorabilia to a new home. There, the prospect of its eventual disposition looms ever larger, while the abilities of many aging homeowners are moving in the opposite direction.
Experts say downsizing requires the same type of careful planning and execution as a retirement plan. Because most downsizing efforts are tied to the sale of a home, it is wise to begin the downsizing process as much as a year before you sell your home. "In order to sell a house today, you have to stage it," says University of Kansas gerontologist David Ekerdt. "You have to downsize and take the clutter out of the house before you even put it on the market." -
Who Plays on Your Insurance Team?
Continue reading… 12 CommentsThe Boomerater™ Report, our weekly collaboration with online baby boomer resource Boomerater, this week explores the insurance coverage you need to be properly protected. Certified financial planner Paul Bennett is today's guide; Paul is a featured advisor in Boomerater’s financial advisor directory.
[See 6 Tips to Save on Insurance Costs.] -
Health Reform Bill Includes Major Changes for Seniors
Continue reading… 11 CommentsWhen a health reform bill finally lands on President Obama's desk—this fall, or perhaps even later—it will contain far-reaching changes of major interest to older consumers. And it will reflect what's likely to be a brutal political and legislative process in coming weeks as detailed proposals emerge from the Senate and, later, the House. As the drama unfolds, here's what you should be looking for:
Boomers ages 45 to 54. People in this group are experiencing rising healthcare costs, but they're too young to qualify for Medicare. And they've been hit hard by the recession. According to David Certner, AARP's legislative policy director, access to affordable coverage would be a major victory for this group. He says that there are as many as 7 million uninsured people in this age group and that the numbers of uninsured people jumped 36 percent from 2000 to 2007—and that's before the economy began its nose dive.
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New Technologies Require New Learning
Continue reading… 1 CommentAs the nation continues to struggle with the switch from analog to digital TV signals, it's a good time to give older consumers their due. By now, we've all seen stories about elderly people struggling to obtain and then connect digital converter boxes to their older televisions. But the truth is that older consumers were better prepared -- by far -- to handle the conversion than other groups.
According to the Nielsen TV monitoring company, only 1.3 percent of consumers aged 55 and up were unprepared for digital TV (DTV) on the eve of the June 12 conversion. This was much better than the overall unpreparedness rate of 2.5 percent, Nielsen reported. And, in a nod to geezer gadgetry, our record just obliterated the performance of the 35 and under crowd, 4.6 per cent of whom were unprepared for the conversion. -
Is a Reverse Mortgage Right for You?
Continue reading… 5 CommentsSince the credit and housing meltdown largely removed private reverse mortgages from the market, home equity conversion mortgages (HECMs)—federally insured reverse mortgages—have been growing steadily. Now, with housing activity improving in most markets, the time is right for homeowners age 62 and older to see if a HECM might work for them. The loans have been controversial, and they are complicated, which is one reason that consumer counseling is a required component of the HECM loan process.
Pros . The benefits of a HECM loan are that people get to stay in their homes as long as they wish without making further mortgage payments. They can access the available equity in their home whenever they want, and that amount of money is guaranteed to them because their loan is federally insured. They retain the title to the home until they leave, and any untapped equity or price appreciation can be captured by them or their heirs by selling the home. If they've stayed in the home so long that they owe more money on the HECM loan than the home is worth, they can simply walk away with no financial obligations under HECM's nonrecourse loan rules.
[See I Pay My Mortgage: What's in the Housing Bailout for Me?]
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Better Planning Needed for Health Expenses
Continue reading… 6 CommentsHealth-care costs are the dominant cause of personal bankruptcies, according to a recent study based on detailed 2007 records and extensive interviews with people who filed for bankruptcy that year. The study was released for maximum impact amidst the Congressional debate over health-care reform, and it has been repeatedly cited as proof that the system needs fixing. While that may be a valuable outcome of the research, its underlying message will not be altered any time soon by reform efforts: health-care expenses are the largest uncontrollable expense that Americans face, and insurance does not make the problem go away. For seniors and those nearing traditional retirement age, setting aside funds for future health-care expenses simply must assume greater importance in financial plans.
[See 4 Tips for Investing in Your Physical Wealth.] -
Long-Term Care Insurance Getting Attention
Continue reading… 8 CommentsLong-term care insurance (LTCI) is an expensive and complicated product. It's sold by a shrinking number of financially challenged insurers and subject to differing state rules that aren't always effectively enforced. Consumers have faced large rate increases, and complaints about industry sales practices and claims denials are on the rise. No wonder that private LTCI paid for only 7 percent of the nation's long-term care bill in 2007. Why would anyone want to buy this product?
Because fear of outliving our assets is one of the strongest motivators driving the financial decisions of aging Americans. Because dramatic gains in life expectancies haven't been matched by comparable improvements in retirement finances. Because many of us are scared about Alzheimer's Disease (see Unforgettable TV: HBO's Alzheimer's Project). And because we don't want to become financial and emotional burdens on our children (without inviting generational warfare, we haven't exactly set the table so well for their financial futures).
