shAARP Talk: Observations from AARP

Over at Back in Skinny Jeans, Stephanie marvels at just what Madonna does at nearly 50 (her birthday’s in August). Her new video, Four Minutes (with Justin Timberlake), is worth a look if you want to see the epitome of defying the stereotype. Check out her site to enjoy her moves.

MarketWatch: Workers Unaware Of Costly 401(k) Fees

Marshall Loeb warns readers about "hidden fees in your 401(k)" which "can be levied on your account year after year," according to "money columnist Albert Crenshaw for AARP magazine, for everything from money management to record keeping." But "only a handful of workers appears to understand what's going on. According to a poll sponsored by AARP, 83% of workers don't know how much they pay in such fees -- and most do not realize they pay any fees at all." Thankfully, "the U.S. Department of Labor has proposed regulations that would require that workers receive clear and complete explanations of the fees imposed on their 401(k) accounts."

Forbes: Medicare Advantage Seen As Costly Mistake

David Whelan writes that "here's one of the very few things all three presidential candidates agree on: that the program has been an expensive boondoggle. It could face the scalpel of a new Administration in Washington, and those companies would pay the price." The idea of private companies providing Medicare services once seemed "a decent idea for curbing health care inflation," but "opponents counter that the $95 billion budgeted annually for private Medicare is $10 billion more than government-run Medicare would spend. The Kaiser Family Foundation says as a result Medicare's coffers could be depleted two years earlier, by 2018." Whelan asks, "What went wrong?" A "2003 law hiked the payments to lure more insurers into the market," and some minimum payments "reached as much as 128% of the amount Medicare traditionally spends per patient. Insurers rushed in, and costs soared."

AP: Senate Rejects House Bankruptcy Bill

"A measure billed as boosting the slumping housing market showers money-losing businesses with $25 billion in tax relief in the next few years but offers just $3 billion to homeowners." During the debate over the housing bill, the "highlight was a 58-36 vote to kill a Democratic plan, opposed by banks and their GOP allies, to change bankruptcy laws to give judges the power to cut interest rates and principal on troubled mortgages to help desperate borrowers trapped in subprime mortgages keep their homes. Proponents say that would give borrowers duped into abusive mortgages leverage in getting their loan terms adjusted."

Medicare and Keeping it Fair. I wrote about AARP’s efforts last week and this week. The good news is that you are on it. I hear that we’ve had 160,000 petitions signed, sealed and delivered. Keep it up!

Video clips haven't surfaced yet, but last night on The Tonight Show, Jay Leno poked fun at the Foreigner “Feels Like The First Time” tour presented by AARP. He said that "this is when you know you're getting old," referring to the fact that AARP was presenting the tour. Maybe it is a sign of the times, but I think Foreigner still sounds great. Lots of bloggers have picked up on this story and they seem to either think it is worth a good laugh or a cause for recognizing the passage of time. Either way you won't hear me poking any fun, even if Foreigner is a bit before my time. While it might be a little funny to picture bands like Foreigner getting older, I say enjoy the fact that while they may be maturing they play good music. It’s only going to get worse. Imagine in 20 years when we’ll be rocking out in packed arenas to boy band reunions or Britney Spears playing her greatest hits.

USA Today: Study Finds Drug Prices Increasing For The Insured

"People with health insurance are having more trouble paying for prescription drugs as higher out-of-pocket costs for medications and a slowing economy strain family budgets, according to surveys and health care analysts." The National Patient Advocate Foundation "found that 31% of the 44,729 people it aided last year cited drug co-payments -- the patient's portion of the drug's cost -- as their top medical-debt problem."

BusinessWeek: Report Discusses Investment Gap In Health And Social Programs

The Every Child Matters Education Fund "says there is a growing 'national investment gap' in health and social programs contributing to the well-being of children in the U.S., with poor southern states generally losing out to states in New England." The nonprofit's report "ranks states using 10 indicators of child well-being, including infant and child mortality, prenatal care, child poverty, access to health insurance coverage, teenage pregnancy, and child abuse and neglect. The authors say the biggest determinants of a state's standing in those rankings are poverty, educational achievement, and the size of minority populations."

AP: Boomers Are Joining Social Networking Web Sites

"Eons is one of at least two dozen social networks aimed squarely at baby boomers, the population bubble born between 1946 and 1964 that has defied traditional perceptions of aging and retirement." Boomers have "jumped into the Internet mashup to keep track of their kids on Facebook or MySpace, then moved on to their own networks in search of more common ground." Some sites "are loaded with staff content and expertise, or have a particular focus such as social change. Others, Eons included, are more user-driven, with hundreds of discussion groups, beginner widgets and age-specific applications like Eons' 'LifePath,' a way to plot a timeline of important personal events and future aspirations."

Associated Press: Senate Leaders Break Procedural Deadlock Over Housing Bill

"A legislative effort to address the nation's home foreclosure crisis moved forward in the Senate Tuesday as Democratic and GOP leaders defused a potential filibuster." Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell "agreed to bring a bipartisan bill to the floor instead of a Democratic plan that stalled a month ago." The AP adds "Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., and the panel's top Republican, Richard Shelby of Alabama, were instructed to forge a compromise that could come to the floor as early as Wednesday."

CNNMoney: Columnist Offers Advice On How To Maintain Retirement Lifestyle

"Want to be sure you won't run out of money in retirement? The standard advice that you'll hear from planners (or find on the pages of Money Magazine) is to follow the 4% rule: Withdraw no more than 4% of your portfolio the first year of retirement and then increase that amount for inflation each year." While a good general rule, it "can't cover all of the surprises that life - and the markets - may have in store for you."

Washington Post: OPM Says RetireEZ Computer Modernization System Working Effectively

"The RetireEZ "computer system, which began operating in February, is allowing the Office of Personnel Management to pay full pension benefits on time, instead of only partial benefits to new retirees, the office said yesterday. The OPM said it compared 34 pensions awarded by the new computer system with those based on paper records and concluded that the technology upgrade provided the right amount within 30 days of an employee's retirement."

Last week I wrote about Medicare and today I will write about it again. New website launched today where you can call on Congress to keep Medicare fair. This new website is also part of a larger effort that will include advertising, an article in the AARP Bulletin, and action by AARP’s legions of grassroots activists. Join the fun!

I said it last week and I’ll say it again - Jacking up Medicare premiums because Congress has repeatedly failed to fix a flawed system just doesn’t sound very fair. Excessive premium increases could price people on Medicare out of getting the care they need most.

Here's the scoop from Florida AARP's Carmel Perez-Snyder:

Springtime in Tallahassee, Florida brings out a diverse group of organizations and individuals from college students to...AARP. And, Divided We Fail Florida's Champmobile was right in the mix of the Springtime Tallahassee celebration this past weekend. After a stop in the courtyard of the Florida State Capitol, the Champmobile and crew lined up for the annual parade. The hot day provided a perfect opportunity for "branding" the crowd with Divided We Fail fans, which soon lined Monroe Avenue from one end to the other. The new interactive vehicle will continue its tour of Florida's capital region with the parade kicking off the Leon County "community blitz."

BusinessWeek: Most Doctors Favor Single-Payer National Health System

"According to a study published in the Mar. 31 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine, 59% of the nation's physicians support federal legislation to establish national health insurance, often referred to as a single-payer system." Presidential candidates "have drawn up plans for addressing what they consider flaws in a system that has left 47 million people uninsured -- although none is calling for a single-payer system." The results "signal a sea change in the attitude of the medical establishment toward universal care," as "medical associations are also beginning to change their stance on national health insurance."

USA Today: Gas Prices Reach Record Levels

"The average price of gasoline" rose to a record "after two weeks of respite, two major surveys reported Monday. The rise provides a high springboard from which prices could vault close to $4 a gallon as Memorial Day nears." Although "oil tumbled $4.04 Monday, it never traded at less than $100 a barrel and traded as high as $106.78. It closed the trading day at $101.58 on the New York Mercantile Exchange." The Energy Information Administration's "weekly survey said the U.S. average for regular gasoline was a record $3.29 per gallon Monday. That's up 3.1 cents from a week ago, up 58.3 cents from a year ago and breaks the March 17 record of $3.284."

Fortune: Business Organizations Help Small Businesses Get Benefits

"There's a wealth of information online, also. Try the U.S. Department of Labor's website. The IRS has a great site with an overview of retirement plan options for small businesses, as does the SBA. Be sure to get comparative bids from several companies before choosing a plan." Rutberg notes, 'Trade and business organizations often offer benefits plans to members."

Think Progress today points out some confusion about Senator McCain’s position on Social Security. While in a Wall Street Journal interview a few weeks ago, McCain reiterated his support of private accounts. According to Think Progress, yesterday Senator Lieberman was out denying McCain’s stance. Hmm? Cloudy, I’d say.

US News And World Report: AARP Survey Finds Older Americans Will Embrace Technology To Stay At Home

In its "On Medicine" blog, US News And World Report (3/28, Balduaf) reports, "According to a report released Friday by AARP, older people are willing to use devices -- like those that regulate lights and temperature, detect when someone has fallen, or monitor blood pressure -- if doing so will help them" live in their own home. AARP senior vice president for livable communities Elinor Ginzler said, "Here's a population who did not grow up with this technology but is willing to use it to maintain independence, choice, and control." According to Ginzler "the stakes are high." But "adopting devices to make aging at home safer and easier also involves an awareness of what's available. Finding that information, says Ginzler, can be pretty difficult, especially if you're not accustomed to using technology to begin with."

Bloomberg: 1 In 5 College Students Lacks Health Coverage

"About one U.S. college student in five lacks health insurance, leaving the federal government and states to pay for their care," according to a GAO report. The uninsured "were more likely part-time, older, or from families with lower incomes than those with coverage, according to the report." The GAO said that, after treating uninsured patients, health care "providers 'attempt to recover these costs from the insured population in the form of increased fees and insurance premiums, or from federal and state payers, such as Medicaid.'"

USA Today: Large Debate Likely Over New Role For Fed

"Congressional response, though cautiously approving, signaled the likelihood of years of fierce debate." Sen. Charles Schumer "said it doesn't do enough to deal with unregulated investments even experts 'don't fully comprehend,'" while Rep. Barney Frank, who termed the plan "constructive," also "said it 'goes too far in diminishing the role of the states, and not far enough' in new Fed power over non-bank institutions. Many financial groups offered preliminary support, though the American Bankers Association criticized what it called the crippling of state banking charters. The National Association of Mortgage Brokers said it would support a mortgage commission as long as it oversees all players."