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By Admin 27 Feb, 2020
Going through her mail, Kendra slices open an envelope from her preferred airline. Inside she finds a hefty gray card with her name etched on it. The 36-year old reads the enclosed letter informing her of her “achievement.” She has reached Platinum status as a frequent flyer. But, her newfound “status” is not because she is a regular business traveler, but because she is a caregiver. Kendra is among a growing number of Millennials caring for ailing parents. A 2018 Associated Press-NORC reports that one-third of Americans under 40 consider themselves a caregiver. Two years ago Kendra’s 71 year-old mother began having difficulty managing her diabetes. Divorced many years ago, her mother lives alone. Simply telephoning every evening was not enough to allay Kendra’s stress about her mother’s wellbeing. Now, nearly every other week, the rising public relations executive flies from Philadelphia to Sacramento to help her mother with maintaining the house, checking in on her diet, and managing medications. Caregiving is a fact of life that presents several paradoxes. Here is the first paradox: even when needed, it is never wanted. Kendra now finds the end of each visit punctuated by an argument with her mother. Her mother tells Kendra that traveling to Sacramento is too expensive and takes too much time from her work and social life. In short, Kendra’s mother argues she does not need her daughter’s help. Are you a caregiver? You might be without even knowing it. In 2018, 40 million Americans were unpaid caregivers, according to AARP . Many of them are working full-time jobs or raising children while caregiving. You may hear “caregiver” and think of lifting a loved one out of bed in the morning, pushing them in a wheelchair in the afternoon, and bathing them at night. You may think of adult diapers, medication bottles, and compression socks. But not everything caregivers do is health related or complex – a phone call to say hello, scheduling an appliance repair, or dropping off groceries is an act of caregiving. The wide range of caregiving tasks and acts of love lead to a second caregiving paradox: People who aid their parents, spouses, partners, siblings, and other loved ones, do not see themselves as caregivers—they see themselves as just being helpful, being a good family member or friend. But they are caregivers, even if they don’t give themselves the label. Dorothy, 85-years old, lives alone and does most things on her own. Dorothy’s Gen X, 49 year-old daughter, Karen, stops by after work a few days a week to visit. On weekends Karen takes her mom grocery shopping and once a month helps her pay bills. When told that she was a caregiver, Karen looks blankly away, and robotically replies, “I am just trying to be a good daughter, never thought I was a caregiver.” For others, caregiving is a full-time responsibility that presents a third caregiving paradox: Caregiving is universal, a natural part of living in an era of longer lifespans, but rarely discussed, let alone planned. Sean and Pat have been married for 55 years. Pat had a minor stroke and fell three years ago. She never gained back her full mobility. Unable to exercise, she has put on weight, and is increasingly dependent upon Sean for nearly everything. Sean celebrates his 80th birthday this year and is managing his own physical limitations making lifting and moving his wife more difficult each day. Neither Sean, nor Pat, ever thought they would move from their family home, but Sean wonders how long he can care for his wife. Although he is not sure what assisted living options might be available, Pat ends the conversation of moving before Sean can even explore any alternatives with her. Sean remarks, “We planned for retirement, but we never planned for this.” One result of these three paradoxes is that caregiving is a phenomenon—who does it, how we do it, its impacts, its details, how to plan for it —is remarkably under-explored at the profoundly human level. While we are awash in statistics, as to its scope, the essential, unpaid, and under-appreciated work of caregivers remains largely unseen in the shadows. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology AgeLab which, in full disclosure, I lead, is building an international research panel of caregivers called CareHive. To learn more, visit the MIT AgeLab CareHive website or view our video . CareHive will bring to light what it means to be a caregiver, the many ways that caregivers provide help, and how caregiving affects the lives of those receiving help and the caregivers themselves. If you are a caregiver, please consider joining thousands of others from around the world by signing up for the AgeLab’s CareHive, which engages caregivers in research. We need to hear from you. Here is how to help. First, sign up on the MIT AgeLab CareHive site and answer a few questions. Second, you will be asked periodically to participate in follow-up surveys, perhaps interviews, and, for some, experiments, all at your convenience. Your personal information will be confidential, but the insights we develop from caregivers like you, will inform research to improve the lives of older people and those that care for them. Often caregivers lament, no one “asks about what I do, or how I am.” So now, we are asking in the belief that CareHive will help us to understand how technology might help caregivers; the many other ways that caregivers need help to provide care to others and to care for themselves; and how to plan for this universally experienced fact of life. https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephcoughlin/2020/02/23/what-millennials-gen-x–boomers-have-in-common-but-dont-admit-discuss-nor-plan-for/?ss=retirement#32c6beb03c0f
By Admin 20 Feb, 2020
The new year has brought a number of changes in financial rules affecting consumers. Many of them are in new federal legislation called the Secure Act, which mostly applies to retirement plans but also has provisions that help new parents and those with student loans. Another opportunity for savers is an increase in 401(k) contribution limits, which are set by the IRS. Here’s a checklist of the biggest changes and how you can make the most of them.
By Admin 13 Feb, 2020
For many people, retirement is a key reward for decades of daily work—a time to relax, explore, and have fun unburdened by the daily grind. For others, though, retirement is a frustrating period marked by declining health and increasing limitations. For years, researchers have been trying to figure out whether the act of retiring, or retirement itself, is good for health, bad for it, or neutral. A new salvo comes from researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health. They looked at rates of heart attack and stroke among men and women in the ongoing U.S. Health and Retirement Study. Among 5,422 individuals in the study, those who had retired were 40% more likely to have had a heart attack or stroke than those who were still working. The increase was more pronounced during the first year after retirement, and leveled off after that. The results, reported in the journal Social Science & Medicine, are in line with earlier studies that have shown that retirement is associated with a decline in health. But others have shown that retirement is associated with improvements in health, while some have shown it has little effect on health.
By Admin 05 Feb, 2020
Among the various kinds of annuities, which are contracts you sign with an insurance company to pay a premium for guaranteed income later, two of the most common are fixed and fixed indexed annuities. The former offers a fixed rate of return; the latter ties your rate to a market index to let you realize greater returns. Comparing the key differences between the two will help you determine which one might be suitable for your retirement saving strategy.
By Admin 31 Jan, 2020
A new year and a new decade begin next week. Whether you’re retired or still working, many changes are coming that could affect you—for better and/or worse. Here’s our breakdown of what you need to know in 2020: Retirement plans You’ll be able to stash $19,500 in your 401(k) plan, 403 (b), Thrift Savings Plan and most 457 plans. That’s up $500 from this year. If you’re age 50 or older, so-called “catch-up” contributions allow you to save an additional $6,500 in each of these accounts—also up $500 from this year. If you have a SIMPLE retirement account (typically offered by small businesses with 100 or fewer employees), you can save $13,500, which is also up $500 from 2019. If you have an individual retirement account (IRA), you can save $6,000 in 2020, with a catch-up contribution of an additional $1,000. These levels are unchanged from 2019. Social Security According to the Social Security Administration, the average Social Security benefit in 2019 was $1,356.05 per month. This will rise an extra 1.6% in 2020. The increase, tied to inflation, works out to an extra $21.69 a month. In 2019, some 63.8 million Americans drew Social Security—the first time since the program began in 1935 that spending topped the $1 trillion mark. There’s another important Social Security threshold to mention. The program’s full retirement age (also known as the “normal retirement age”) will increase by two months to 66 years and eight months for persons born in 1958. This means if you were born that year, you’ll have to be that age in order to collect your full 100% benefit. In both 2021 and 2022, the full retirement age will increase another two months a year—bringing the full retirement age to 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later. Of course, you can still begin taking payments as early as age 62, but you’ll get less. How much less? The Social Security Administration says if you start receiving retirement benefits at age 62, you’ll get 75% of the monthly benefit because you’ll be getting benefits for an additional 48 months; age 65, you’ll get 93.3% of the monthly benefit because you’ll be getting benefits for an additional 12 months If you start receiving benefits as a spouse, there’s an additional set of numbers to be aware of. When should you and/or your spouse begin taking payments? There’s no one-size-fits-all answer here. It also depends on other factors, such as your pension, your level of personal savings and so forth. As always, you should discuss your own situation over with a trusted financial adviser. Medicare It’s worth noting that while you’ll get 1.6% more from Social Security, you’ll pay 6.7% more for Medicare—or at least the standard monthly Part B premiums. They’ll increase to $144.60, up from $135.50 in 2019 (funny how politicians mention the good news but not the bad, isn’t it?). That’s the minimum premium. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, says that depending on your income, premiums could be as much as $491.60 per month. Part B premiums cover doctor visits and outpatient care. Why the increase in premiums? Medicare officials blame higher drug prices. Health care tsunami It’s important to remember that these rising medical costs are part of a far bigger problem that retirees are likely to face. Each year, Fidelity Investments, the Boston-based asset management firm, estimates out-of-pocket medical expenses for the average couple retiring at age 65. The figure for 2019? Hold on to your hat: $285,000. For single retirees, the health care cost estimate is $150,000 for women and $135,000 for men. You can be sure these figures will rise another few percentage points in 2020. This is a sobering figure, particularly when you consider how little millions of Americans have saved up. I’ve said it before and say it again now: for many, there won’t be any golden years. For younger Americans, it’s a reminder to save as much as you can—starting right now. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/numbers-that-older-workers-and-retirees-need-to-know-in-2020-2019-12-26
By Admin 23 Jan, 2020
Every day, 10,000 or so baby boomers are turning 65. Some of you have probably already retired. Many are likely counting the days until they can leave the full-time workforce. For many of you, Social Security will be a major part of your retirement income. With that in mind, it is important to know how Social Security will be changing for 2020.
By Admin 17 Jan, 2020
WHEN YOU ARE READY TO retire, there are certain basic things you should do before you leave the comfort and security of your old job. You need to make final adjustments to your financial plan and make important decisions about Social Security and health insurance. Here’s a checklist for retiring in 2020: Decide when to start Social Security. Sign up for Medicare or other health insurance. Check your retirement benefits. Take advantage of last-minute benefits at work. Consider rolling over your 401(k) to an IRA. Make a financial plan. Decide what to do next. Remember to do these things if 2020 is the year you’re finally going to take the leap into retirement.
By Admin 09 Jan, 2020
Both annuities and life insurance should be considered in your long-term financial plan. While both include death benefits, you buy life insurance in the event you die too soon and an annuity in case you live too long. In other words, life insurance provides economic protection to your loved ones if you die before your financial obligations to them are met, while annuities guard against outliving your assets.
By Admin 02 Jan, 2020
The new Setting Every Community Up For Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act, just signed by President Trump, is the broadest piece of retirement legislation passed in 13 years. Ultimately, the law focuses on retirement planning in three key areas: 1) modifying required minimum distribution (RMD) rules for retirement plans; 2) expanding retirement plan access and 3) increasing lifetime income options in retirement plans. The most immediate impact of the bill will be felt by those nearing or in retirement. If you’re a saver or investor in your 50s or 60s, there are six ways the SECURE Act may affect you:
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