shAARP Talk: Observations from AARP

US News And World Report: "Bare Bones" Plans Contain Major Coverage Gaps

Michelle Andrews writes that the Florida bill signed by Governor Charlie Crist "is the latest example of a nationwide trend toward offering 'limited benefit' or 'bare bones' plans that often cover some everyday medical expenses like visits to the doctor and prescription medications but may come up seriously short if a policyholder gets seriously ill." Andrews continues, "It's easy to understand the appeal of these policies to politicians and business owners, who are scrambling to find ways to insure people amid escalating costs. But consumers need to ask hard questions about what they're really getting for their money and read the fine print of any policy they're considering," looking for important line such as the "total annual coverage" cap.

USA Today: USAT Today Offers Advice From Financial Mentors

"Mentors help us make sense of our choices. With their years of experience, they smooth over our naïveté. Just as we're about to veer down a black hole, they can shepherd us toward the correct path." This "surely holds true for money mentors. They can help you bolster your financial security. But why settle for just one? We've assembled a panel of Money Mentors who have volunteered to answer your questions with straight-ahead candor. In preparing for retirement, these folks have logged their share of both successes and blunders. And now that they've retired, they're eager to share what they've learned."

CBS News: Health Experts Prepare For Rise In Fall Injuries As Boomers Age

"The potential for this particular problem in our community is huge," said Sharyn Heuer, of Scottsdale Healthcare in Arizona. "I just think that we don't put it in the same category as things like cancer and heart disease and stroke because so many times, it's so often viewed as a normal progression of aging." One possible solution is the use of space-age technology - literally. Schraeder visits the Balance and Mobility Center at Scottsdale Healthcare, where technology originally developed to test the balance of astronauts back from space is now used to pinpoint problems that can lead to falls. Falls can be deadly, reports Gupta, as 30 percent of seniors who break their hip die within a year.

Forbes: "Universal Design" Helps Seniors Age In Place

Ashlea Ebeling writes, "A survey by AARP found 90% of folks 65 to 74 want to live out their years in their current homes. Yet many will find those homes ill-suited for physical limitations that can come with old age. One solution is to remodel while you're spry and able to supervise the work." The "key" to this kind of remodeling "is what's known as 'universal design.' That doesn't mean installing ugly wheelchair ramps that destroy your house's curb appeal," but making a "home safe and accessible" to people with "limited mobility." Neither do homeowners "need to settle for fusty design; architect Michael Graves, 73, who's relied on a wheelchair since 2003, is creating a new line of home products for people with limited mobility that includes a handheld shower massager and a bath bench." If "the idea of preparing now for possible future decline strike you as morose or a waste," the "consider the alternative, says Elinor Ginzler, AARP's senior vice president for livable communities. 'If you fall and break your hip, and want to go home after rehab, but you don't have a way to get to the second floor, then you can't go home,' she says."

US News And World Report: Older Workers Must Compete For Jobs As Retirement Plans Unravel

"While the economy is rocky for all age groups and jobs are scarcer than they were a year ago, older workers may face employers who think they're overqualified, too expensive, or -- not to put too fine a point on it -- just too old. That's a tough reality for nearly 30 percent of older workers who are rolling back their plans to retire, a figure recently reported by AARP." Jon Zion, executive at staffing company Robert Half International, says that companies "are becoming less focused on the potential drawbacks as baby boomers reach retirement age and create talent shortages." Zion offers some advice on "nabbing the interview as an older worker." Zion suggests that a "résumé shouldn't be any longer than 1 1/2 to two pages." Zion also says "networking is still the best way to find a job."

USA Today: Roth IRAs Better If Tax Rate Increases

Matt Krantz writes, "Roth IRAs are often described as nothing short as the best thing going for investors. And that naturally creates some skepticism. ... After all, why would the government be willing to give up on the lucrative toll they take on money taken from other retirement savings accounts?" Krantz says readers shouldn't "worry about the Internal Revenue Service, it's collecting its tax dollars whether you contribute to the Roth or the traditional IRA. It's just that you're essentially prepaying the tax when you contribute to a Roth and paying the tax when you take the money out with a traditional IRA. That means a Roth is a great deal if you think your tax rate will be higher in the future than it is now."

USA Today: AARP Draws On Hollywood Star Power To Push Health Care Issues

"More than 500 Hollywood writers and producers are working with senior advocacy group AARP to bring attention to the need to provide affordable health care, the groups will announce today. Divided We Fail, an AARP campaign that wants to find bipartisan ways to make health care affordable, will work with the Hollywood Radio & Television Society, the Entertainment Industry Foundation and the Motion Picture & Television Fund to make sure health care messages are included in the story lines of popular TV shows and movies. 'People are worried,' says Nancy LeaMond, AARP's executive vice president of social impact. 'They're putting their money into day-to-day survival. We started thinking what was really important was to reach out through popular culture. There's nothing more effective.'" During a meeting scheduled for Thursday, "writers and producers will share personal anecdotes, as well as clips from shows that have tackled health care." Law & Order: SVU producer Neal Baer "says he was drawn to the AARP campaign because he is also a pediatrician. While at Harvard Medical School, he read a script for ER and ultimately spent six years as its executive producer."

MarketWatch: Geriatrician Sees Benefits In Working Beyond Retirement Age

Marshall Loeb writes that "in a "provocative new book, 'The Longevity Revolution,' Dr Robert N. Butler, a top expert in geriatrics," says that he and his colleagues "found that people who had clearly specified goals and organization in their lives lived longer than those who did not. Whether work extends a person's life requires further investigation, but its enhancement of the quality of life seems certain." Butler also indicates that "studies show that cognitive health can be maintained by intellectual stimulation as well as by physical activity." Butler recommends some "opportunities for constructive volunteer work" in lieu of employment: "The AARP has a large volunteer program that uses a database to match skills with needs."

AP: High Court Rules For Workers In Job Bias Cases

Sherman writes "In two employment cases, one involving race and the other, age, the court took an expansive view of workers' rights and avoided the narrow, ideology-based decisions that marked its previous term.
The justices read parts of an 1860s civil rights act and the main anti-age bias law to include the right to sue over reprisals even though neither provision expressly prohibits retaliation."

Here's the latest from Carmel Perez-Snyder in Florida:

Three clowns, a pirate, a Gecko, a beauty queen, the mayor and young women in orange shorts from a certain chain ... No this is not a joke. All have one thing in common: they visited the Champmobile and all signed a Divided We Fail pledge in Palatka at the Blue Crab Festival.

It was literally three hot days at the Blue Crab festival as staff and volunteers collected pledges and authentic voices.

In the end, we gathered more than 800 pledges, recorded three authentic voices, plus a couple submitted online and really gained some strong possibilities for volunteers in Northeast Florida. We even had some folks hop on the CM and join AARP online.

AP: Existing Home Sales Down Again In April

The AP reported, "The median price for an existing home dropped 8 percent, compared with a year ago, to $202,300. It was the second largest price decline on record and analysts predicted prices would fall further in the months ahead given the huge backlog of unsold single-family homes. The number of unsold single-family homes in April rose to a 10.7 months supply at the current sales pace, the highest level since June 1985."

US News And World Report: Author Offers Advice To Retiree-Entrepreneurs

Some people cling to the security of working for someone else most of their lives, repressing their inner entrepreneur until retirement, says Stan Spector, author of The Baby Boomer's Official Guide to Retirement Income." Spector offers some advice to entrepreneurial boomers, such as avoiding "ventures that would require a lot of fixed costs, such as building up a large inventory or leasing a building." Also, selling "consulting services for your old profession, for example, is one way to leverage your experience and contacts." One advantage retirees have the luxury of time, allowing them to "focus their business on times when the money really rolls in."

NewsWeek: Fear Of Voter Fraud Said To Be Overblown

Evidence suggests that rampant voter fraud is a myth, and voter-ID laws may suppress votes rather than protect them. ... The fiction that Democrats -- especially black and Hispanic Democrats -- steal elections has gained traction only since 2000. And that fervent belief has rapidly gone from a Bush administration side dish to its main course." However, according to Lithwick, "evidence of widespread vote fraud just hasn't materialized. Despite a massive Bush administration initiative to smoke out liberal vote fraud, 120 prosecutions between 2002 and 2006 resulted in only 86 convictions, mostly of Democrats and mainly for errors in filling out forms or confusion over eligibility."

Forbes: Long Term Care Insurance May Alleviate Pressure On Relatives

"Now living longer than ever before, two out of five Americans will eventually need long-term care at some point in their lives. Neither health nor disability insurance covers long-term care, leaving long-term-care insurance as the only option besides paying out of pocket." But "having long-term-care insurance alleviates the pressure on a spouse or family member to be the primary caregiver." Forbes recommends, "When shopping around for a long-term-care insurance policy, buy only from an insurer with at least $1 billion in assets as well as an A.M. Best rating of at least A-. In addition to John Hancock and Genworth, some of the best carriers include Guardian, Met Life, New York Life, Northwest Mutual and Mass Mutual. All long-term-care policies are guaranteed renewable as long as you pay your premiums."

Fortune: Gas-Guzzling Cars Predicted To Follow Smoking As Publicly Unacceptable

Alex Taylor III writes, "Simply by chance, a pair of new cars fell into my hands last weekend that perfectly demonstrated the yin and yang of today's auto industry. The Pontiac G8 was powerful, exciting, fun to drive - and as obsolete as the buggy whip. The Nissan Cube was homely, utilitarian and slow - and we all ought to get used to it, because that's what most of us are going to be driving in the future." Recently, "tobacco use finally reached the tipping point where it no longer became acceptable to light up in public." Inexorably, gas-inefficient, "high-displacement automobiles like the G8 are approaching that same juncture. At some point, people will find it sociably unacceptable to drive them. Exactly when that day arrives is anybody's guess, but it surely isn't too far off."

MarketWatch: Moving To Assisted Living Or Nursing Home Can Trigger Sale Clause Of Reverse Mortgage

Lew Sichelman writes, "Reverse mortgages are repaid from the sale of the residence when the borrower moves out." However, "according to attorney Josh Ard of Williamston, Mich., when you no longer use the home as your principal residence is defined much more broadly as it applies to reverse mortgages than it is for tax purposes and legal domicile." Ard said, "Leaving one's home for an assisted living facility or a nursing home for a matter of months is enough to trigger the due-on-sale clause for most reverse mortgage products." Michigan law allows "a person in a nursing home [to] still claim her home as her residence for property tax purposes, but moving to a nursing home would force her to pay off her reverse mortgage."

An update from the center of the universe in politics (this week), from Florida's Carmel Perez Snyder:

Don’t bring your water bottles, big bags, food, chairs, etc. Security was tight at the first Obama rally in Tampa since the Democratic boycott of Florida. But no one told Divided We Fail staff and volunteers to leave the pledge cards at home. Determined volunteers like Tess Canja worked the crowd as they waited for the candidate to appear. Not only did DWF Florida get one television interview and several notable newspaper interviews – they also walked out with more than 110 signed pledges and half the crowd by the stage was wearing Champ buttons.

CNN/Money: AARP Looks To Help Older Workers Find Jobs In Tough Times

"While it's not easy to land a job in this weak economy, older workers are in a particularly tough spot." Workers age 55 and older" spent "an average of 21.1 weeks to land a new job in 2007, about five weeks longer than their younger counterparts, according to AARP. 'Clearly older workers will be more adversely affected because of the time it takes to transition into another job,' said Deborah Russell, AARP's director of workforce issues. During the recession of the early 1990s, older workers were hit hard by mass layoffs. Concerned this is happening again, AARP is reaching out to companies conducting the large-scale downsizings and giving them tip sheets to distribute to older workers. The handouts aim to help workers navigate today's job market by explaining search methods such as online employment boards and the importance of networking."

USA Today: Kennedy Absence Could Impede Progress On FDA, Healthcare Reforms

"One day after revealing that he has been diagnosed with brain cancer, Sen. Edward Kennedy walked out of a hospital here and headed to his Cape Cod home for a stroll on the beach with his dogs, Sunny and Splash, and a sail on his sloop, Mya." Kennedy told reporters, "Good to be back home." USA Today adds that "in a statement, Kennedy's doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital said he 'recovered remarkably quickly' from a brain biopsy and would continue to recuperate at home while they await further lab results. Kennedy, 76, had been hospitalized since suffering a seizure on Saturday."

MarketWatch: Society Of Actuaries Recommends Ways Of Managing Retirement Risk

Robert Powell writes that "the Society of Actuaries has boiled down its list of 15-plus retirement risks to a manageable list of five, along with what it calls 'actuarial approaches' to manage those risks." The Society recommends "retirees and would-be retirees should consider investing in equities, a home and other assets, such as Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) and annuity products with a cost-of-living adjustment" to protect against inflation and loss of a spouse. And to guard against rising health care costs, the Society "suggests retirees and would-be retirees manage this risk by purchasing medical insurance and Medicare supplemental insurance."

AP: New Federal Budget Ignores Cost Ignores Challenges

"Democrats controlling Congress unveiled an election-year fiscal blueprint Tuesday that puts the federal budget mostly on autopilot, leaving the winner of November's presidential election with a set of enormous challenges." The budget "contains a host of shaky assumptions" and "does nothing to address the unsustainable growth of federal benefit programs." But "even GOP opponents of the plan gave Democrats grudging praise for producing a budget in a difficult election-year environment, even though disagree with what's in it."

USA Today: Inflation Report Sparks Concerns

"Stocks, which seemed poised for an upside breakout a day earlier, took a nose dive Tuesday, raising fears that the 10-week-old rally could turn out to be a head fake.
Dragging down stocks was another record close for crude oil, which jumped $2.02 to $129.07 a barrel. Oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens, in a CNBC interview, predicted crude would hit $150 by the end of the year."

US News And World Report: Target Funds Can Vary Widely In Assets

Emily Brandon writes, "Target-date retirement funds are designed to automatically shift investors' portfolios to less risky assets as they age." Yet the "'age appropriate' level of risk is open to interpretation. A recent analysis of target-date funds by consulting firm Watson Wyatt found that allocations to equities for employees 10 years from retirement varied from 40 percent to 80 percent among target-date funds in 2006," and a Morningstar Direct "report found that some funds for employees expecting to retire in 2010 still have almost 70 percent of assets in equities."

Check out this Yahoo! article about aging Aussies who rallied for better pensions … in their underwear. Well, it certainly got our attention, right? How far would you go to make your voice heard? Here’s an idea – start by signing the Divided We Fail pledge to ensure that all Americans have access to health care and long-term financial security. You can also share your story and spread the word about Divided We Fail. It’s not naked, but it’s a start!

Bloomberg News: Google Launches Health Records Service

Bloomberg notes that according to Roni Zeiger, a Google product manager, "Users will control who has access to their information, and can change those permissions at any time." The company also pointed out that "Google Health won't be funded by advertising. Instead, the site is designed to lure more users to all of Google's services, helping boost ad revenue."

UPI: Less Than One Fifth Of Seniors Have "Good" Diet

"Only 17 percent of U.S. adults age 60 and over consume a 'good' quality diet," according to a measure of "Healthy Eating Index scores" in the "National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey." The survey also found that "72 percent of older U.S. adults meet the guidelines for cholesterol intake, while 56 percent meet the recommendation for diet variety and fewer than one-third meet the recommendations for five food groups.'

Forbes: Employers Look To Alternative Ways For Workers To Commute

Forbes reports that "employers are getting quite creative in helping offset the cost of the commute. In many cases, there's an environmental benefit, too." At one Colorado-based brewing company, "[w]hen an employee reaches the one-year mark with the company, they're given a bike and encouraged to ride it to work. No need to worry about messy hair or sweaty clothes--the company provides showers."

USA Today: Government's 2007 Long-Term Deficit Grew By $2.5 Trillion

In a front page story, USA Today (5/18, 1A, Cauchon, 2.28M) reports, "The federal government's long-term financial obligations grew by $2.5 trillion last year, a reflection of the mushrooming cost of Medicare and Social Security benefits as more baby boomers reach retirement. That's double the red ink of a year earlier." In a analysis by USA Today, the paper found that Americans "are on the hook for a record $57.3 trillion in federal liabilities to cover the lifetime benefits of everyone eligible for Medicare, Social Security and other government programs," a total of "nearly $500,000 per household." Those unfunded liabilities dwarf "officially announced" federal deficit of "$162 billion." And the reason is that, unlike corporations and state governments, "the [federal] government counts the cost of benefits for the current year," rather than accounting for "lifetime benefits." The largest liability "taken on in 2007" was for Medicare, estimated at "$1.2 trillion."

UPI: Survey Finds Low Level Of Understanding Of Health Plans

"Gender may play a role in how people understand paying for healthcare but workers of both sexes generally do not understand coverage, a U.S. survey indicates." According to "a survey by the Guardian Life Insurance Co of America...58 percent of women are more likely than 47 percent of men to find paying for healthcare premiums and out-of-pocket costs a challenge." Among the other findings, "two-thirds of the employees surveyed said healthcare plans in general and healthcare coverage and benefits are difficult to understand," and "less than 50 percent of baby boomers are currently planning or believe they are fully prepared financially for their healthcare in retirement."

MarketWatch : Proper Asset Allocation Seen As Mitigating Stock Downturn

Chuck Jaffe writes "on how entering the 'distribution phase' of your financial life at the wrong time can ruin your nest egg," with the idea "that if you must withdraw funds from your retirement savings -- the money you're counting on to grow throughout your golden years -- at a time when the anemic market is sucking dollars out of your portfolio, you can upset a lifetime of careful financial planning." Jaffe adds that since "the accumulation phase (where you are building assets) is so different from the distribution phase (where you deplete your savings), many financial advisers suggest dividing assets accordingly." Jaffe advises readers "keep in mind that the specific funds you own are less important than the asset allocation you create."

USA Today: IRS Runs Into Rebate Delivery Problems

To date, the IRS has issued nearly 30 million stimulus checks, totaling more than $27 billion." And it is the "first time the IRS has used direct deposit to deliver rebates - a step intended to quickly pump money into the struggling economy," but there have been delays. Those "who applied for refund-anticipation loans or who had their e-filing fees deducted from their refunds won't receive their rebates by direct deposit, even if their regular tax refunds were delivered that way." And "taxpayers who filed jointly with a spouse who doesn't have a Social Security number won't receive a rebate at all."

US News And World Report: Proper Diversification Seen As The Most Important Investing Principle

Reshma Kapadia writes that the "the way money is divvied up is responsible for more than 90 percent of a portfolio's performance - not stock picking or even selecting the right fund manager, according to a landmark 1986 study that has been confirmed by several subsequent ones. In other words, getting that allocation right - and sticking to it - plays a bigger role than most investors realize."

BusinessWeek: AARP Survey Highlights Major Retirement Uncertainties Among Boomers

"It looks like fewer of those 78 million [baby boomers] will be either rich enough or young enough at retirement to meet the expectations of businesses catering to boomers released from the workforce." Baby boomers "face falling stock and housing values plus skyrocketing health-care and energy costs. These are all reasons to stay on the payroll. Meanwhile, stock losses have led 14% of retirees to consider returning to work, according to the AARP." And "boomers make up the first generation to fund retirement partly from finite pools of savings instead of wholly from guaranteed-for-life pensions. Says AARP's director of financial security, Jean Setzfand, 'That makes them fundamentally more cautious.'"

Bloomberg News: AARP Finds Seniors Paid Less For Generic Drugs Last Year

"Older Americans paid an average 9.6 percent less last year for widely used generic drugs, the biggest drop since at least 2003, according to a report by the retiree lobbyist group AARP." Spending on health care "has soared as the U.S. population ages and more people face chronic conditions including high blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes. Lower-priced copies of brand-name drugs offer a valuable alternative, especially since an earlier study found a 7.4 percent price increase last year in the top 220 brand-name medicines, said the AARP, which represents people age 50 and older. 'As the economy continues to tighten, people need to look for cost-savings at every opportunity,' said John Rother, AARP's director of public policy, in an e-mailed statement. 'Often more expensive, brand-name drugs aren't necessarily any more effective than the generic "cousins" that you won't see advertised on TV.'"

UPI: Baby Boomers Financially Unprepared For Disability

"A survey by Harris Interactive on behalf of America's Health Insurance Plans assessed how financially prepared baby boomers are if the primary wage earner in their household became disabled and was unable to work for an extended period of time. Fifty-five percent say they are not at all or somewhat unprepared and 15 percent say they are very or extremely prepared if a disability occurred." Harris conducted the "online survey from April 25-29 among a nationwide sample of 3,607 adults age 18 and older, including 1,182 baby boomers ages 44 to 62."

USA Today: Roth IRA Seen As More Beneficial Than Traditional Savings Account

Matt Krantz writes that the tax-free status of Roth IRA earnings is "a big advantage over a taxable account." There are also no "minimum withdrawals starting at age 70 1/2." Krantz says that while the "the end result is the same as with a traditional IRA" when investing," investors "don't have to pay taxes when you take out the money, giving the Roth a huge edge. You can't count on tax rates being lower in the future, when you take your withdrawals."

There was an interesting piece in the New York Times yesterday from Bob Herbert, talking about the Millennials. Aside from the political conversation, what’s so interesting to me is that Herbert discusses the bleak financial picture for this age group. Combine this with the new research out today from AARP on boomers and the stress they feel about their finances.

Herbert writes:
“The landscape is changing before our eyes. Younger voters struggling with the enormous costs of a college education, or trying to raise families in a bleak employment environment, or using their credit cards to cover everyday expenses like food or energy costs are not much interested in hearing that the government to which they pay taxes can do little or nothing to help them.”

The survey released yesterday found almost 25% of people ages 45-64 are prematurely taking money out of their 401(k)s and other investments. Younger boomers (ages 45-54), in particular, are doing things like postponing paying bills (27%) and even cutting back on medications (17%).

Seems like young and old alike are struggling today, even sometimes with the same challenges – meeting basic needs.

I know many have stopped paying attention and are planning their summer vacations. But West Virginia had a Democratic primary and the exit polls continue the trend we’ve seen nearly everywhere – 50 plus voters are half of those who are showing up. In West Virginia, exit polls have 55 percent of the electorate over 55 50 and 63 percent citing the economy as a key issue. A new question also centers on the recession and 89 percent of those who showed up yesterday said they are impacted by the economic downturn.

Sooo… I hear two things here – it’s the economy and it’s 50 plus voters will show up in the fall.

You may have heard that the presidential candidates are interested in holding joint forums with voters. AARP is offering to host them and have sent a letter out to the campaigns telling them. Why you ask? Because going beyond the partisan differences is important, it’s the only way were going to get anything done. It’s also why AARP formed Divided We Fail with a bunch of different organizations who have all come together agreeing to find common ground.

We’ll keep you posted on all of the candidate’s responses.

BusinessWeek: Researchers See Success In Boosting Retirement Plan Participation

BusinessWeek reports on Dartmouth researchers attempts to "develop a program designed to motivate employees of companies to sign up for retirement saving initiatives." The researchers used a "social marketing approach to saving for retirement...that targeted groups" at Dartmouth "that were less likely to save." Researchers claim that "Dartmouth employees electing retirement plans more than tripled in a 30-day period after the program's launch. More organizations are seeking help in this area. Keller is working with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE), and AARP to help them apply social marketing to financial planning for their members."

AP: Tentative Budget Agreement Would Ignore Tough Decisions On Medicare, Medicaid

The AP reports the majority Democrats "are leaving grim decisions on automatic tax increases to the next president and the newly elected Congress under a freshly negotiated House-Senate blueprint for the upcoming budget year." The fiscal 2009 budget plan "worked out in private talks between House Budget Committee Chairman John Spratt Jr., D-S.C., and his Senate counterpart, Kent Conrad, D-N.D., awards an approximately 4% increase on average to non-defense Cabinet budgets passed by Congress each year. But it makes no effort to rein in the rapidly rising cost of federal benefit programs such as Medicare."

UPI: Con Ed's Early Retirement Option Resembles Loan Shark Scheme

An early retirement option for New York Con Ed employees was allegedly a deal that resembled a loan-shark scheme, attorneys said Tuesday. Employees said a buy-out offering early retirement from New York's Con Edison Co., turned out to be a loan that required sizable deductions from their pension checks, the New York Post reported. Lawyers filed a class-action suit in federal court in New York City. ... Plaintiffs said when the loans were made, there was no mention of interest charged. However, the retirees found monthly checks were reduced at higher-than-expected rates."

The word today from Lindsay Thomson:

In “Driven to the Brink: How the Gas Price Spike Popped the Housing Bubble and Devalued the Suburbs,” a new report out from CEOs for Cities, author Joe Cortright writes:

“For decades, the growth of suburban housing was predicated on cheap gas. In effect, the low price of gas made sprawl economical. While predatory and sub-prime lending have been blamed for the housing crisis and have certainly contributed to the problem, another economic factor has been almost entirely overlooked in the timing and the geography of the nation’s housing market implosion. The rise in gas prices from less than $1.10 in early 2002 to more than $3 today has dealt a major blow to consumer purchasing power and weighs most heavily on those metropolitan areas and those suburbs where people have to drive the farthest. Indeed, the decline in housing markets is strongly correlated with auto dependence.”

Ahem, make that nearly $4 a gallon. Poh-ta-to, po-tah-to, right? Unfortunately not … AARP has long promoted livable communities – places with a range of transportation options and accessible housing that can enable people of all ages and abilities to live independently and be engaged in community life. Looks like we can add rising gas prices to our list of reasons why livable communities just make sense.

New survey out today that says boomers are feeling the pinch of the sluggish economy. 81% of Americans 45 plus say the economy is in fairly bad or very bad condition. Even more upsetting, one in ten is borrowing to pay everyday expenses and more than a third of them are helping their children pay bills.

For boomers (45-64) almost a quarter are prematurely taking money out of their 401(k)s and other investments. For those 65 plus, almost six out of 10 are having a harder time paying for food, gas and medicine.

This is tough news for the state of the economy. But it may be even tougher for politicians. Almost three-in-four (74%) say their elected officials are not doing enough to help people caught in the economic squeeze. Sounds like a warning to me.

AP: Boomers Cutting Back On Expenses According To AARP Survey

"The economic downturn is hitting roughly one in 10 middle-aged and older Americans especially hard, compelling them to borrow money for everyday living expenses and to seek help from family, friends or charities, according to a survey released Tuesday by the AARP. In the telephone survey of 1,002 adults 45 and older, nearly four in 10 said they had helped a child pay bills or expenses." As opposed to "older people, a greater percentage of younger baby boomers, those 45 to 54, said they were cutting back on medications, prematurely withdrawing retirement funds and postponing paying bills. 'For the younger boomers, it's been an especially rude wake-up call,' said Jim Dau, a spokesman for the AARP, a nonprofit that advocates Americans 50 and older."

CNN/Money: Report Warns Of Looming Cash Shortage In Health Care

"At the end of May, global management consultancy AT Kearney is to publish a paper, Healthcare Out Of Balance, warning healthcare systems in developed nations, including the U.S., U.K. and Europe, are simply not sustainable as it is becoming increasingly hard to fund expensive treatments for aging populations." At a seminar in London, the author of the report said that "today's healthcare systems were designed for the postwar 'baby-boomer' generation, when there where typically six or seven working people for everyone in retirement. That will have dwindled to about three by 2020, he said."

MarketWatch: Changes In Employee Benefits Have Major Effect On Retirement Status

"Older workers who receive employer-sponsored coverage and don't expect to have job-based retiree coverage are 16.5 percentage points less likely to retire in any given year than workers with access to health insurance from another source, according to a study released last week from benefits consulting company Watson Wyatt." Also, "the decision to retire often hinges on the status of the broader U.S. economy," and with the advent of 401(k)s, "the incentive to retire when markets are up may run counter to employers' need to ramp up production during a boom time," which shows what one Wyatt researcher called a "perverse incentive."

AP: Study Finds Many Make Costly Retirement Mistakes

"Despite extensive efforts to educate workers about saving for retirement, many employees are not doing a good job of managing their company-sponsored 401(k) accounts, a new study indicates." A review of "nearly 1 million retirement portfolios found that 69 percent have inappropriate risk or diversification of holdings and 36 percent have worrisome concentrations of company stock. In addition, one-third of savers aren't putting enough aside to qualify for the full company matching contribution." Those mistakes are "especially pronounced among young and low-paid workers, according to the study by Financial Engines, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based firm that provides investment advice and managed accounts for defined contribution plans like 401(k)s."

CNN/Money: Higher Tax Rates In Future Seen As Inevitably Lowering Retirement Savings

Janice Revell reports, "Today's low rates can't last. The tax cuts of the past decades were supposed to lift economic growth (which they did) and hike tax receipts faster than federal spending (which they did not). Not even close. The resulting tsunami of federal debt is one reason to expect your taxes to rise over the next quarter-century." Add in the retirement of the Baby Boomers and "if today's low tax rates remain in place, a staggering 76% of all federal income tax revenue in 2050 will be soaked up by" Medicare and Social Security. This fact "has major implications for your retirement savings strategy." In the face of a "very real possibility that you'll be in a higher marginal tax bracket when you retire," workers "should be saving in vehicles that allow you to pay taxes today, instead of putting them off until tomorrow," like Roth IRAs and Roth 401(k)s.

BusinessWeek: America Moving To Adapt To Older Drivers

"The oldest baby boomers start turning 65 in less than three years, but car-crazed American society isn't ready, and neither are the boomers themselves." For future use, "GM is working on 'vehicle-to-vehicle' communications, which could for instance warn a driver that cars in a line several cars ahead are applying their brakes. GM is also making more widespread use of simpler features like larger, more legible numbers and letters in its instrument panels." Besides safety, the issue of when and "if older drivers should lose their licenses could be the stickiest issue of all, looming with the new wave of elderly drivers." And while "[p]eople are conscious of the need to plan financially for retirement, but they often overlook the likelihood that sooner or later, they won't be able to drive," which presents "a problem for retirees in suburban or rural settings."

We haven’t talked about the stimulus in awhile but since checks are in the mail starting today, I thought we'd start entertaining the possibilities. New summer clothes? A new set of golf clubs? Some bills?

Share your ideas in the comments section here or if you need inspiration, check out this great website and read what other people are doing. A notable post is from Bill and Jackie Nopar in Phoenix, who are spending their stimulus on their prescription drugs. How about you?

Sorry everyone for the light day yesterday. We were all taking part in AARP's Day of Service. I was lucky enough to spend part of my day yesterday at the National Arboretum in Washington DC mulching in their herb garden. We worked until the early afternoon when the rain and the mud just became too much. It was a really rewarding experience. What about you? Who volunteered yesterday and what did you do?

Bloomberg News: Coverage Of 'Uninsurables' Draws Candidate's Attention

Bloomberg News reports, "Strengthening the safety net for the uninsurables has become part of the presidential candidates' debate over health care." Senator John McCain last week "proposed federal aid to help expand state high-risk plans. His Guaranteed Access Plan, or GAP, is in addition to tax credits he previously promised to make private insurance more affordable." Democratic candidates "would require insurers to cover anyone who applies for a policy as part of their plans to expand U.S. subsidies for health care." AHIP "wants hospitals and other health-care providers, as well as the federal government, to share the burden insurers already bear through assessments that help finance many of the pools, said Mohit Ghose, a spokesman for the insurer group."

BusinessWeek: Disabled Seniors More Likely To Take Inappropriate Drugs

BusinessWeek reports, "Senior citizens with disabilities are twice as likely as their non-disabled counterparts to being taking at least one prescription drug deemed inappropriate for people 65 or older, according to new research" on 2004 data. The research found "that about a quarter of disabled seniors in the United States have taken one of 33 medications regarded as ineffective or posing a high risk of side effects to the elderly. These drugs include Xanax, Demerol, Darvon and Procardia." Only "13 percent of seniors without disabilities used these medications, according to the analysis, published in the latest News and Numbers from the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality."

US News And World Report: Even Wealthy Boomers Aren't Immune From Retirement Fears

Emily Brandon writes, "Is a million dollars enough to retire comfortably on? Many baby boomer millionaires don't think so, especially once recession fears come into play. Almost 30 percent of 60-year-old baby boomers with investable assets of $1 million or more say they feel more financial stress now than six months ago, according to a new survey from Bell Investment Advisors and Opinion Research Corp." And millionaires "aren't immune to making irrational investment choices as the media endlessly report a looming recession. Some 23 percent of affluent boomers say they are planning to change their investment strategy in response to a potential recession."

An update from the Champmobile in Florida:

Divided We Fail - Florida staff did a double take when they spotted (pun intended) a cow -- yes, a cow -- as it hopped aboard the Champmobile today in Brooksville, Fla. The unidentified cow, known to promote the consumption of poultry over beef, took a short stroll through the Champmobile at the Older Americans Month Picnic at Oakhill Hospital in Brooksville. Fortunately, beef wasn't on the menu -- or maybe it was...

While Champ was entertaining his guest inside the CM, volunteers and staff were engaging picnic attendees, collecting more than 100 pledges from the 130 picnic goers.

There’s a really neat website called On Day One that gives you the opportunity to tell the next President what to do on his first day in office. People are blogging, commenting, and vloggging about what they’d like to see come January 2009. There are some topics the site already lays out, mostly focused on foreign policy, but a critical health care mass would be a great thing. Check it out.

MarketWatch: Increasing Health Care Costs Force Employers To Focus On Health Care Reforms

In her MarketWatch (5/6) blog, Kristen Gerencher writes that Len Nichols, a health economist at the New America Foundation, described in a conference call "a new study from the foundation" that examined "how high health-care costs are putting U.S. employers at a significant competitive disadvantage compared with the health-care burden shouldered by other industrialized nations. The problem will get worse unless financing for health coverage starts to shift away from the employer-based model, Nichols said." Gerencher adds that "groups of big employers ranging from AARP to Safeway to Wal-Mart with names like Divided We Fail, the Coalition to Advance Healthcare Reform and Better Health Care Together are calling for comprehensive change, a marked departure from employers' role in the last attempt at national health reform in 1993." To increase competiveness in the global market, "Nichols suggests eliminating or capping the tax exclusion that workers get for their employers' premium contributions and cashing them out by requiring employers to convert premium contributions into higher wages that workers could use to buy insurance on their own. For workers who can't afford it, he also recommends a sliding-scale tax credit."

BusinessWeek: Japanese Auto Makers Target Seniors

BusinessWeek reports that Japanese auto makers "are keen to keep seniors behind the wheel. Although few admit to targeting older customers with specific models, many new technologies or design trends are being developed with older drivers in mind." Toyota has "approached Ryuta Kawashima, a professor at Tohoku University, who chairs a 'mobility and smart aging' study group at the university, to help develop a car of the future. One idea is for the car to recognize how the driver normally drives, such as the way he or she accelerates or holds the steering wheel. If the approach to driving changes significantly, for instance, accelerating for no obvious reason, the car could automatically slow."

CNN/Money: Candidates Using 'Fuzzy Math' During Campaigns

CNN reports, "It's a good thing they're not running for accountant in chief. When it comes to selling their economic proposals as fiscally responsible, all three presidential candidates have managed to do some funny math." Democratic candidates "frequently cite their plans to let the Bush tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 expire for high-income taxpayers as a way to pay for their initiatives." That revenue "certainly could go a long way toward paying" for their health care reforms, but not the rest of their proposals. And "some of their other cost-saving measures, such as modernizing the health system and reducing wasteful health spending, are not easily quantifiable." McCain's campaign says his proposed tax cuts "will stimulate economic growth and maintain a healthy level of tax revenue. But studies - including one by Holtz-Eakin in his capacity as Congressional Budget Office director in 2005 - suggest that tax cuts don't pay for themselves over time."

Tonight's primary showed us more of what we have already seen. And what's that? 50 plus voters turning out to vote and economic issues topping voters' concerns. According to the exit polls, North Carolina saw 55 percent of the electorate over 50 and in Indiana, 49 percent were 50+. The economy dominated as the top issue, with 61 percent in North Carolina and 67 percent in Indiana naming it as a top concern.

Hmmm... haven't we heard this before? Seems that across the nation there are two things that are pretty consistent - half the electorate is over 50 and the top issue is clearly the economy. Let's hope the candidates are paying attention.

Another good one from Lindsay:

We’re not the only ones busting boomer myths. Over at Business Week they’re talking about new research that shows how tech savvy boomers really are …

Contrary to the popular belief that tech entrepreneurs start their companies in their teens or early 20s, we found that the average and median age of founders was 39. Twice as many were older than 50 as were younger than 25. And there were twice as many over 60 as under 20. So, we may read stories about young people starting tech companies, but they're the minority. Most tech entrepreneurs have grey hair and experience.

I’m not surprised – boomers are a vast and varied group who are redefining growing older. Many will continue to work after retirement and a solid majority of them don’t let the years prevent them from using the internet.

AP: As Economy Sours, Health Care Problems Worsen

The AP reports that "as the economy spirals downward, a series of recent reports forecasts that the country's health-care crisis is about to get worse, particularly for children." Researchers at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center "concluded that children who were covered by private insurance were over three times more likely than government-insured children to lose their coverage if a parent lost or quit a job." At the same time, insured "workers can barely afford to keep it. In recent years, most people have seen larger chunks of their paychecks going to health-insurance premiums."

US News And World Report: Boomers Want Specialized Health Care As Geriatricians Disappear

In her US News And World Report (5/5) blog, Emily Brandon writes, "A new survey found that baby boomers want medical care specifically geared toward older patients. Both 55- to 64-year-olds (83 percent) and those over age 65 (87 percent) say it is important to see a healthcare provider with specialized training for adults in their respective age ranges, according to the online survey of 3,110 adults over age 55 by Zogby International and the American System for Advancing Senior Health." At the same time, "highly trained doctors can be elusive. About half of 55-to-64-year-olds (55 percent) and those over age 65 (52 percent) say they've encountered difficulty finding a specialized doctor for their age ranges, the Zogby survey found."

USA Today: Retailers Target Rebate Checks

USA Today reports, "Wall Street has its own opportunistic take on the 2008 economic stimulus plan: Where they shop could add to a stock-price pop. ... But which retailers will ring up the most sales, and which stocks will benefit most?" Wall Street has been trying to figure that out as stores are "offering discounts and promotions to lure shoppers." Wal-Mart has "cut prices on staples, such as shampoo, juice and sports drinks, to give shoppers an incentive to spend their rebates at its stores." Other stores like "grocery chain Supervalu, Sears, office supply giant Staples and grocer Kroger" are targeting consumers.

Jonathan Martin of Politico recently wrote about Senator McCain and the issue of age, wondering if age impacts who is voting for the candidate. It seems to me like people are more focused on the issues and the media more focused on the superficial fluff. In fact, as recently as April’s Washington Post-ABC News poll, 70 percent of respondents said Senator McCain’s age makes no difference. So there.

UPI: Taxpayers Pay Billions For Uninsured's Health Care

"U.S. taxpayers pay $45 billion a year for Medicaid, children's health insurance and unpaid healthcare for full-time workers and their families," according to the Commonwealth Fund. Research conducted on their behalf by researchers at Columbia University "found federal, state and local governments pay $33 billion a year for public coverage such as Medicaid and [SCHIP] for full-time workers and family and $12 billion in uncompensated care expenses." The article concludes, "The cost borne by the public for full-time workers not covered by their own employers is largely a result of fewer workers and worker family members obtaining health insurance coverage through their employers -- even among those employed by firms with more than 100 employees."

USA Today: Job Loss Numbers Said To Indicate Stumbing Economy

According to Friday's report from the Labor Department, US employers "shed 20,000 jobs in April, while wages stalled, leaving Americans struggling to keep up with rising energy and food costs. ... The nation's unemployment rate, based on a separate survey of households, dipped to 5% in April from 5.1% in March. The employment picture was less brutal that the 75,000 job loss economists had predicted, still, it reflects a badly stumbling economy." USA Today adds, "There are now 7.6 million Americans out of work, compared with 6.8 million a year ago. The jobless rate is highest for teenagers at 15.4%, African-Americans at 8.6% and Hispanics at 6.9%."

AP: Fed Announces Crackdown On Credit Card Industry

The AP reported that the proposal "would be the biggest clampdown on the industry in decades. ... Lawmakers who have demanded tougher controls on the credit card industry were generally positive about the proposed rules, as were consumer groups. But some questioned whether the changes would be strong enough and soon enough to help the millions of households struggling with credit card debt."

Yes, I am preachy. Yes, health care costs have skyrocketed. Yes, Medicare premiums have doubled since 2001. Yes, you need to sign the petition. And yes, you need to check out the new ads for Keep Medicare Fair.

This one is courtesy of my colleague Lindsay Thomson:

Recently we mentioned research that links red wine with a longer life span. The mayor of Lo Prado, Chile took the lifestyle approach to managing your wellbeing one step further: the town is giving free Viagra to eligible citizens 60+ on the premise that "an active sexuality improves the overall quality of life.” It’s an idea, that’s for sure … what do you think?

CNN: Analyst Says Candidates' Health Care Plans Lack Sufficient Detail

"Reducing health care costs -- and insuring the 47 million Americans who have no coverage -- is the Rubik's Cube of policy puzzles. And it's one that the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates say they can solve." One expert said that "McCain's plan may drive up insurance costs for older or sicker workers because the credit could encourage younger, healthier workers to look for cheaper plans outside of their company." Another analyst said that companies "may balk at the cost of the mandates under the Clinton and Obama plans and hire fewer workers or pay lower wages to compensate." Ultimately, though, "Policy experts say the candidates have not yet provided enough details of their plans to adequately assess their true cost, savings or effectiveness."

US News And World Report: Medical Tourism Grows Increasingly Popular In Face Of High Health Care Costs

"Thousands of Americans -- estimates range from an ultraconservative 5,000 to 500,000 annually if minor procedures are counted" are leaving the US "for surgery when they have to come up with funds themselves. They may be self-employed or work for a small business and lack health insurance, for example, or their procedure may not be covered. More than 1 in 4 workers earning at least $60,000 a year went without insurance in 2006, according to a Census Bureau survey; too well-off to be eligible fo