ShAARP Session: Observations from AARP

An article on Newsweek's Web site called "Fired is the New Retired" - which will appear in the November 9th issue - gives us the lowdown on the very bleak unemployment statistics for Americans over age 65...and the even bleaker issue of age discrimination in the U.S. As we know, the Supreme Court ruled in the Jack Gross case that the burden falls upon the employee to prove that age is the reason for discrimination.

Dan Kohrman, senior attorney with AARP, is featured in the article, saying that the fact that statistics show a 29 percent jump in age-discrimination complaints from 2007 to 2008 sure make it clear that "something bad is going on."

The article poignantly points out, however, that the issue of age discrimination isn't just a matter of law; it's a matter of "changing ourselves" when it comes to the stereotypes many people hold against older workers.

Also...
The story continues on nursing home reform in the Chicago Tribune. Today's news focuses on advocates for the mentally ill who are housed in nursing homes alongside the elderly. They argue that those psychiatric patients could be more effectively - and cheaply - treated in a community setting, where they would build life skills. Advocates say that reform will be beneficial to all parties involved - the seniors and disabled in nursing homes, the mentally ill who would be relocated, and their caregivers.

The Los Angeles Times is reporting today on the Schwarzenegger administration's rush to begin background checks for home health workers for the elderly and disabled - the plan is for those checks to begin next week. But, as the Times reports, social service chiefs from around the state are not ready to begin the time-consuming application process. This delay could mean that some patients go without care.

On another note...
CNNMoney.com has a valuable piece today answering the question of "When is a good time to invest in my 401(k)?" That answer: a resounding NOW! Walter Updegrave, Money Magazine senior editor, says in the story that "regardless of what's going on in the economy and the financial markets at any given moment," we should always, always be contributing to our 401(k). He points out that we cannot predict when the economy will be up, when it will be down, or anything else about it for that matter - so it makes sense that the only way to build up a large enough nest egg is to regularly be investing in this varying economy. And hey - could it be easier to invest in a 401(k)? Convenient payroll deductions mean there's no excuse to be contributing throughout your career.

Following up on yesterday's news...
The Chicago Tribune is reporting again on the compromised care in Illinois nursing homes. The new development is that half of Illinois' best nursing homes have now been cited for improper use of psychotropic drugs since 2001. Check out the story for the alarming details.

There's a very disturbing story in the Chicago Tribune today about patients in nursing homes across Illinois who have received, wrongly, "powerful psychotropic drugs" without any condition that would give cause for a need for such drugs.

Since 2001, the Tribune has found 1,200 violations (affecting 2,900 patients) at nursing homes across the state, and this isn't the first offense of Illinois nursing homes that's getting news coverage. Recently, the Tribune also reported that mentally ill felons were living alongside the elderly and disabled.

The other side of the story is that health care workers are saying that administering these psychotropic drugs for things such as "restlessness" or "confusion" makes patients "easier to care for" and even makes life happier for those patients with dementia. However, according to the Tribune article, the drugs we're talking about here can have dangerous side effects - including extreme lethargy, seizures and even sudden death. Disturbing stuff for those who put their loved ones in the care of nursing homes.

Some AARP News of Note...USA Today has a piece today on AARP's newly launched Web site, LifeTuner.org. The site was created to offer financial advice to people in their 20s and 30s - a much younger audience than the typical AARP crowd. Check out the article - and the site!

Yesterday, in the New York Times' "New Old Age" blog, there was a comforting article about how best to cultivate a positive relationship with nursing home staff members. That relationship is an important one when you have to put a loved one in the care of someone else. The post follows one woman's struggles with one nursing home, and is encouraging if you are experiencing any difficulty in ensuring the best care for your loved one. Check out the blog - it's got some other great posts too.

Here's a fun story from CNN yesterday...600 seniors broke a world record recently by taking place in the largest senior Wii bowling tournament! In addition to the fun and record-breaking, the event was really to encourage seniors to get fit and stay active to help prevent life-altering injuries. Wii bowling is exercise in disguise!

One more news item worth checking out today comes from the Chicago Tribune. The article is called "Are baby boomers turning into outsiders?" and the author takes a poignant look at how baby boomers are approaching "has been" status more quickly than they had expected. She says, "Oh, the irony. The generation that coined the phrase "don't trust anyone over 30" is now being clobbered by their own stereotypes." Read the story to see if she's tapping into how you feel in "late middle age!"

Some daring folks trying to change the urban landscape - watch it on AARP TV:

There is a great piece at the Columbus Dispatch about the lives of older single women and how, despite the stereotype of the lonely "old maid," senior singletons (as they're popularly called) are actually living it up:

According to census data, more than 11 million women 65 and older are single. The stereotype holds that as a group they're a lonely, unhappy, insecure lot, struggling through life without the benefit of a mate.

But the reality for many couldn't be further from that image. The AARP studied older women who live alone and found that half are happier than they've ever been. A whopping 63 percent of single women who live alone say their older years are the time to pursue their dreams.

The Economic and Social Research Council found that women older than 60 who live alone rate their lives as happier and healthier than if they cohabited. Men, in contrast, are far more likely to remarry after divorce or the death of a spouse.

The only downside is that single women over 65 are twice as likely to live in poverty than those that have a partner, which is a pretty big deal. But does that exclude the many older women who live together? Couldn't that be a legitimate financial support system?

By Neil Schuster, president and CEO, American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA)

Over the last 10 years the press has made much ado regarding the question, "How old is too old to drive?" Fortunately, after much debate and discussion, most highway safety advocates and medical professionals agree that age should not be the critical factor in determining someone's physical and cognitive fitness to drive.

I agree. And with so few transportation alternatives available today, our best plan of action should be to implement the types of policies, practices and licensing procedures at the state level that help people continue driving for as long as it is safely possible.
To that end, today, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety (AAAFTS) released some key objectives and policies that could help safely lengthen everyone's time behind the wheel as well as better identify at-risk drivers. And it gives me great pleasure to say, "State motor vehicle agencies (DMVs) are already implementing, or exploring how to implement, many of the AAAFTS recommendations!"

But even though your DMV is already on the case where many of the AAAFTS recommendations are concerned, not all of the objectives can be easily implemented, especially given state budget constraints and competing state and federal priorities.
Here's what I mean.

One of the recommendations suggests that states should require an in-person examination at each renewal cycle. In theory, it is a good safety practice to periodically retest drivers of all ages, but is it necessary at every renewal and how realistic is it in today's budget-strapped environment?

State DMVs lack funding to employee the additional personnel needed to carry out this task. Given limited resources, if state DMVs did attempt retest every licensee at every renewal, you would likely be waiting in line for hours to renew your own license because of the additional volume of people being reexamined.

This isn't a bad idea. But it presents a challenge to the DMV. Again, given limited resources, should DMV focus on retesting every license holder at every renewal, or invest scarce dollars in other programs, whether graduated licenses for teen drivers or, greater education and enforcement of repeat impaired drivers, or other programs that might yield a better safety payoff?

So the question becomes, not "how old is too old," but "where are limited dollars best employed in the battle to improve road safety?"

Founded in 1933, AAMVA is a non-profit voluntary educational association representing the chief motor vehicle administrators and law enforcement officials in the U.S. and Canada. AAMVA promotes uniformity among its members by developing best practices in driver's licensing and ID credentialing, vehicle tilting and registration and law enforcement, among others.

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.

America’s suburbs have become a source of learning for foreigner planners, according to a story earlier in the month from USA Today. There are some good things happening in this country, like mixed use development, those nice town centers and easy access to public transportation spots. Unfortunately, they are not everywhere. In too many American suburbs if you don’t drive, you are stuck at home. If our brethren from the rest of the world want a lesson to take home, it should be that suburbs need more travel choices and services close by - especially with men and women outliving their driving years by six and 10 years respectively. This isn’t just for those who are not able to drive, a little exercise never hurt. And if you throw in the price of gas these days, a walk doesn’t sound like a bad idea for just about anyone.

Ray mentioned it below, but there was a really interesting story in this weekend's Washington Post about people over 65 who have no access to transportation. I don’t expect this is a problem limited to the Washington area. In fact, 20 percent of Americans over 65 are living like this. And I can’t imagine with the demographic shift that this number is going to get any smaller or that most of us are not going to face a parent or loved one in this situation. After all, 70 percent of Americans are living in the suburbs today.

What can be done? A couple of ideas:

- There are a host of interesting non-profit organizations that allow people to bank time while they are able to drive, so they can earn credits toward rides in the future, or even other things. Check ‘em out here .

- Build communities where lots of amenities are close by. Some good examples are Arlington's Ballston neighborhood; Burlington, Vermont and even Traverse City, Michigan.

- Provide people choices when it comes to transportation. Buses and subways can go a long way.

As with most problems, this one will only get bigger and more expensive to solve, so hopefully we will see more innovation and good ideas before it gets out of hand.

Just in time for Caregiver Awareness Month, AARP has released a survey about those who are doing most of the caregiving – boomer women. Turns out these women are talking to their parents about how they want to live as they get older, but not enough are actually doing the planning. Nearly 70 percent of these women also believe their parents can afford their care, but the reality is that a nursing home can cost as much as $75,000 a year and a private home health aid about $19 an hour.

What does all this mean? It means it is not enough to have the conversation, it’s time to get a plan.

It used to be that bells and whistles that made cars safer were only for the high rollers. No more. Today’s NY Times highlights what Detroit and others are offering drivers in new cars to make them safer and easier to drive. Among the toys are: cameras that see behind you and steering that can help prevent or correct a skid. Pretty cool, huh?

What’s key here is that the automotive industry recognizes that the needs of drivers is changing. People want to stay mobile as long as possible and “smarter” cars can help them do just that.