shAARP Talk: Observations from AARP

US News And World Report: Divided We Fail Polls Gen X And Y On Their Lives Compared To Their Parents'

"A recent online survey of 1,752 members of generations X and Y, those between the ages of 19 and 39, asked, 'To the best of your knowledge, do you think it is easier or harder for people in your generation to do each of the following than it was for your parents 'generation'?'" Brandon notes that the poll come from the American Savings Education Council and the Divided We Fail [dividedwefail.org] coalition (AARP, Business Roundtable, National Federation of Independent Business, Service Employees International Union)." Brandon concludes, "Interestingly, young people think it's easier to get an education today than it was for previous generations. It's just more difficult to pay for it."

Bloomberg News: Senate Passes Housing Bill By Wide Margin

"The chamber voted 84-12 to approve legislation providing tax cuts worth about $18 billion during the next 18 months for home builders, banks and other businesses affected by the subprime mortgage debacle." The bill "must be reconciled with a House plan that omits the business tax breaks in favor of more generous assistance to individuals." According to Senator Chris Dodd, the bill "could still be rewritten in negotiations with House Democrats."

UPI: Increased Funding Fails To Improve Nursing Home Care In California

"A California law falls short of its goal of improving nursing home care and administration costs have gone up," according to a University of California, San Francisco School of Nursing study. The "law...raised nursing home reimbursement rates from $124 per day in 2004 to $152 per day in 2006," but "was followed by a 19 percent increase in administrative costs, but staffing levels remained significantly lower than recommended and staff turnover actually increased." And the "number of complaints about poor quality of care increased, as did documented deficiencies -- including those that caused harm and jeopardy."

Yes, America is stressed about the single largest source of retirement savings – our homes. This is especially true when too many people are faced with losing them, as we are seeing in today’s fragile economy. The Senate passed housing legislation today that just doesn’t do enough. While there are some good things to help with reverse mortgages in the bill, bankruptcy protections that already apply to some should be available to help all homeowners. This thing still is not over, now the House has its turn to provide relief to homeowners.

Troubling poll numbers on how middle class Americans feel about their lives, according to a new poll out from the Pew Research Center. One-third of those who responded to the poll believe they are worse off than five years ago – the highest number over the last 50 years.

If this isn’t a battle cry for change, I am not sure what is. Let’s just hope people actually hear it.

USA Today: Medical Tourism Expenses Can Be Tax Deductible

Jordan Amin, CPA, responds to a readers question on the tax deductibility of medical-travel expenses. Amin writes, "If your trip to India was primarily for medical expenses, your actual transportation and lodging costs are deductible. Lodging costs however are limited to $50 per night and the costs of meals are not deductible. Qualified medical expenses are deductible for federal income tax purposes as an itemized deduction to the extent that they exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income."

Forbes: The Best Cars For Retirees

"On top: the Honda Odyssey. It earned stellar safety ratings. What's more, it has a tilt and telescoping steering column and eight-way power-adjustable seats to improve visibility without a lot of twisting and turning. The sliding doors are power-operated for easier opening." And those "amenities...are becoming increasingly common as automakers cater to men and women age 65 and older--the country's fastest-growing population segment." Forbes adds, "Some things that mature drivers should take into consideration when buying a vehicle are crash-test safety ratings; safety features such as airbags; driver's seat position in proportion to the vehicle's controls; ease of egress and entrance; and ample cargo space."

CNN: Report Shows Americans Are Increasingly Pessimistic About Retirement Savings

Rooney reports that "nearly half of the retirees polled said their health care costs were higher than they expected and more than half say they are more worried about their financial future now than they were right after entering retirement." But the "rising awareness about the diminishing availability of employer-paid health care coverage in retirement may actually turn out to be a blessing in disguise, according to Salisbury."

Feeling secure about personal finances is tough for everyone right now. Home values are dropping, the stock market is volatile, and the price of food and gas keeps rising. One of the ways to dodge the bullet is to plan and be smart about your dough. According to the Wall Street Journal, even Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is pushing the financial literacy thing. He even thinks financial literacy classes should be required in all high schools before graduation. Not a bad idea, not a bad idea at all.

Elizabeth Edwards, the wife of former Senator John Edwards, has endorsed Senator Hillary Clinton’s health care plan. You may recall that I blogged about her tousle with Senator McCain earlier this week. In announcing her support this morning on Good Morning America, she mentioned the mandates that are included in Clinton’s plan.

Whether you mandate it or not, at least all the candidates (Clinton, McCain and Obama) agree that something needs to be done.

Associated Press: Economic Woes Shake Confidence In Ability To Retire

"Rising health care costs and the faltering economy are making consumers worry that they won't be able to save enough for a comfortable retirement. The Employee Benefit Research Institute's annual survey, released Wednesday, showed the weakest worker confidence in seven years with just 61 percent saying they were "very confident" or "somewhat confident" of having enough money for retirement."

Washington Post: WPost Voices Caution On DC Universal Health Care Plan

"The District of Columbia is "pushing a plan to achieve universal health care. The initiative holds promise, but city officials should be cautious as they scrutinize a plan that could contain hidden risks. The brainchild of council member David A. Catania (I-At Large), the far-reaching program targets...the intractable middle of the uninsured."

USA Today: Fed Minutes Suggest Rate Cut Campaign Might Be Over

"According to the minutes of a March 18th meeting of Federal Reserve officials, "officials raised the specter of a 'prolonged and severe economic downturn,'" illustrating "the stark situation facing Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues, including what appears to be a growing consensus at the central bank that recession is likely."

Some of you may have noticed our new layout and design, which is just a start for the new AARP.org. The site relaunches with social networking and daily news from the AARP Bulletin. The new online social network is geared towards the 50 plus folks and has lots of good ways to connect, including more than 500 groups ranging from the Dodgers to dog lovers.

AARP Bulletin Today will offer daily news and exclusive features, including Scam Alert, Save a Buck, Outrage of the Week, Ask the Experts, What I Really Know, Health Discoveries, Myth Busters, Ask Ms. Medicare, and Campaign Watch. That’s not the only thing - the site will also deliver breaking news specifically on 50+ issues, from hundreds of top news sources.

There are 24 million AARP members online (including you), a chunk of the more than 82 million boomers who are out there instant messaging, reading blogs, and even paying bills and downloading movies and music.

Yesterday, Jamie Lee Curtis was on Oprah dishing about being 50 plus and about posing for the AARP Magazine cover. Check it out!

MarketWatch: While Consumers Are Borrowing Less, Credit Card Debt Is Increasing

"There's a dark reality looming beneath the surface of some seemingly good news released Monday about consumer credit." While "some experts suggest[ed] that the news was positive because consumers were tightening their belts," however, "Dig a little deeper, however, and a starker picture begins to form. The problem is that the overwhelming bulk of the expansion came from credit-card debt, which jumped at an annualized rate of almost 6%." Jaffe concludes, "If the trend continues -- and people have to move more of their debt to revolving accounts instead of the steadier, lower-cost big-dollar loans -- America's consumer credit crisis will get a lot worse, even if the overall numbers don't say so."

CNNMoney: Advice On How To Navigate The Stock Market

"It may be difficult to look at your investment statement these days. But consider that the stock market is considered a forward-looking index." Those "close to retirement...should have some stocks in [their] portfolio. If you don't, you'll run the risk of outliving your money." Willis recommends index funds, since, as "no one picks the stocks or times the market, there are lower fees." Willis adds, "Even active fund managers have a hard time beating the long term returns of index funds says Christine Benz of Morningstar.com." Willis also advises, "Whatever you do, don't try to build your portfolio based on what the market is doing now. Timing the market is something that even the pros don't get right."

USA Today: Airports Begin To Host Health Care Services

"Pharmacies and walk-in health clinics are opening at more airports in the USA, hoping to capture a sizable portion of travelers and airport employees who want access to basic primary health care and to fill their prescriptions at the last minute." Those services are more common at "large foreign airports, but domestic airports have mostly focused on services that cater to travelers' immediate needs. Several entrepreneurs are betting that there's pent-up demand for such services at airports in the USA." The "walk-in clinics generally focus on a limited range of medical services and medications. Nurse practitioners typically deliver the services."

Over the weekend, Gertrude Baines turned 114, which makes her the third oldest living person. Many researchers have shown interest in people like Gertrude who have lived past the age of 110. These supercentenarians, as they have been labeled by aging experts, may hold a genetic key to extreme longevity. As for Gertrude, she has all of her faculties about her and her main complaint aside from some arthritis in her knees is about the food at the convalescent hospital where she lives. Just for some reference points: Gertrude was 3 years old at the outbreak of the Spanish-American War. The population of the United States was not yet at 76 million by the time she was 6. Gertrude was already 14 when Henry Ford began to sell the Model T, and she was 35 years of age when the Great Depression hit the U.S. By the time man set foot on the moon, Gertrude had reached the tender age of 75. Gertrude was in both good health and spirits at the time of her birthday. She exercises daily and is showing no signs of slowing down. Congratulations Gertrude! It really makes you wonder what the world will be like if we get to that age. Maybe we will have people on Mars, but I’d settle for a solution to our health care crisis first.

Last week there was talk on the campaign trail about health care with a back and forth between Elizabeth Edwards and McCain advisor Douglas Holtz-Eakin. Now most of this is inside partisan sniping over if Senator McCain’s plan would cover preexisting conditions, but media attention has the McCain folks working on more details on the Senator’s health care plan.

More thinking on health care reform is welcome news, especially when it comes to more specifics. We need to hear more from the candidates on how they can help those with preexisting conditions as well as how they are going to bring skyrocketing health care costs down.

US News And World Report: Analysts Disagree Over Dire State Of Social Security

"By 2041, Social Security will be able to pay out 78 percent of benefits promised to retirees. That's not good, but it's not that bad, either. 'Social Security is in good shape,' argues Barbara Kennelly, president of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare." And "more people are paying into the fund than previously estimated. The catch: Those people are frequently illegal immigrants fraudulently using a Social Security number. Moral and legal issues aside, the illegal workers are paying their taxes." One analyst said that "Social Security is relatively sound for two simple reasons: The United States has a higher birthrate than other industrialized countries, which means a big workforce to support the elderly. And, Social Security doesn't offer very much."

AP:
Drug Recycling Plans May Offer Way To Lower Costs

"The struggle to keep soaring medical costs in check is feeding an increase in state programs that collect unused prescription drugs to give away to the uninsured and poor." Certain states allow for "donations of sealed drugs from individuals, while others only accept pharmaceuticals from institutions, such as doctor's offices or assisted-living homes. Drugs are typically vetted by pharmacists to cross-check safety, then distributed by hospitals, pharmacies or charitable clinics." According to one state official, the "recycling programs pay for themselves 'by just working with one patient and saving them and keeping them out of the hospital over the long term.'"

Bloomberg: ID Theft Law Leads To Massive Law Suits

"Costco Wholesale Corp., FedEx Corp.'s Kinko's unit and scores of other retail companies are under siege by lawyers pursuing them for billions of dollars in damages through a new federal identity-theft law." Attorneys "are filing suits that put retailers at such financial risk, to the point of threatening bankruptcy, that some judges are refusing to certify them as class actions. Defendants are settling cases to avoid the cost of attorney fees and the risk of damages, according to court papers and defense lawyers." A law "prohibits retailers from showing credit-card expiration dates or more than five digits of account numbers on printed receipts, with penalties of $100 to $1,000 for each infraction."