Like a lot of grandmothers, Sheri Williams doesn’t get to visit her grandchildren as often as she’d like. In part, that’s because she has a full-time job and nine grandchildren spread across several time zones. The youngest one lives in Arlington, Va.; the oldest lives in Hawaii. “I can’t just drive down the street,” she says.
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For Kathy Murphy, the difference between being gay or straight is $583 a month.
Retirement should have been a “slam dunk,” the 62-year-old Texas widow says. She saved, bought a house with her spouse and has a pension through her employer.
Related reading:
- Know Your Rights (KYR) is an initiative designed to educate and motivate LGBT elder couples to file claims for their earned benefits with the Social Security Administration.
- Lambda Legal Sues Social Security Administration on Behalf of Texas Lesbian Widow and National Committee to Preserve Social Security & Medicare.
The Dec. 1 Fed Page article “LGBT baby boomers face hurdles at retirement time” was a fairly comprehensive look at the hardships faced by many older, married lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender couples, especially those who have been denied Social Security survivor’s benefits due to a state’s failure to recognize their same-sex marriage.
The percentage of older residents in Thurston County is increasing. People ages 65 and older made up 13 percent of the population in 2010, according to the Census. By 2015, that number was 15.9 percent, slightly higher than the statewide average.
As baby boomers enter or approach their own retirement, their parents need more support for their physical and cognitive needs.
via Oregon Live.
Related Reading:
- Why Silence Isn’t Golden for Millions in Medicare.
- Hearing aids are incredibly expensive, ranging from $600 to over $5,000 each. These high price tags discourage many seniors from seeking a very basic solution that could dramatically improve their lives.
- Research shows even mild hearing loss can double the risk of dementia. Untreated hearing loss also contributes to balance problems and falls,
isolation, depression and a greater incidence of stress-related diseases
like diabetes and heart disease.
But today, millions of Americans—including the nearly half of all Baby Boomers and Gen Xers who the current system is also failing—are expected to fall short in private retirement savings.
via Generation Progress.
It is one of “the most significant labor market trends” in the United States, says Wellesley College researcher Courtney Coile.
She’s referring to big increases since the 1980s and 1990s in the share of older Americans in the labor force, including one in three men in their late 60s.
As for women, the baby boomers were really the first generation to thoroughly embrace full-time employment. Older women’s participation in the labor force hasn’t quite caught up with their male coworkers, but they’ve made impressive strides since the 1980s and have rapidly closed the retirement-age gap.
via Squared Away Blog.
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In years to come, the housing picture will become even more gray as baby boomers head into their seventies and eighties.
Many will need accessible housing that can accommodate disabilities and mobility challenges - far beyond what can be met by current supply. Perhaps the most striking aspect of this report is that the biggest challenges will be faced by people now in their fifties, because they will enter retirement with lower income and wealth than the current generation of seniors. This group will face a housing crunch marked by a shortage of age-appropriate housing that they can afford to own or rent.
“We need to address gaps in the affordability and accessibility of our housing stock,” said Jennifer Molinsky, lead author of the report. “As the number of households in their 80s grows, it will be essential that we strengthen the links between housing, healthcare, and other services.”
via Reuters.
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70% of Baby Boomers Will Use Long-Term Care
As America’s baby boomers are hitting 65 at a rate of 10,000 a day, and healthier lifestyles are keeping them in their homes longer, demand is escalating for a little talked-about — yet critical — health care-related job: Transporting people to and from nonemergency medical appointments.
“It’s going to become a massive phenomena,” said Ken Dychtwald, founder and chief executive of Age Wave, a consulting firm specializing in age-related issues. “This is an unmet need that’s going to be in the tens of millions of people.”
It’s no longer enough to call a taxi or regular car service and hope that frail seniors can get in and out — or through the entrance of a doctor’s office on their own as the driver speeds off. For people requiring oxygen tanks and wheelchairs, it’s an even bigger challenge, and long waiting periods are often required to arrange for specially equipped vehicles. Those needing transportation and specialized drivers covered by their insurance often have to wade through another labyrinth of red tape.
via New York Times.
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It’s tempting for some to retire early and start taking social security benefits at age 62, but if you can wait, that is the smart move. The average Social Security benefit in Kentucky is roughly $16,000 per year. Even with Social Security, some 13% of Kentucky seniors live in poverty.
A lot of people say they plan to retire early simply because they are “sick and tired of working.” If they retire too soon, they might be even more sick and tired of not having enough money in old age.
You can increase the size of your future Social Security checks by delaying retirement. If you wait until you’re 66 to start taking your benefit, you can receive up to 44% more. And your cost of living increases going forward will be based on the higher amount. Life expectancy is much longer now than it was in 1935 when social security was created. Seniors of today must survive on their fixed incomes even longer.
via WDRB.
Related Reading:
Fox 41 General Manager Bill Lamb echoes National Committee “Delay and Gain” project in on-air editorial: “It’s tempting for some to retire early and start taking social security benefits at age 62, but if you can wait, that is the smart move.”
You can learn more about our education initiative, Delay & Gain, by clicking here.
Seniors went to Capitol Hill earlier this month to tell Congress why their current #SocialSecurity benefits are inadequate. Boost Social Security Now! https://www.ncpssm.org/campaigns/boost-social-security-now/ @RepJohnLarson