1. health and fitness

The skinny on age
defying products
How to help your
grandchildren
Belize, a treasure
trove of activity
page 17
page 14
page 10
Find Index of Caregiving Services on page 3
Published Monthly / FREE / December 2011 / Vol. 37 / No. 12 / 20 pp.
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Inside This Month
Fifty Plus Advocate ■ Boston Metro-West Edition ■ Demember 1, 2011 ■ Vol. 37 / No. 12 ■
20 pp. ■ Published monthly
FEATURED STORIES
Volunteers ease budget crunch
6
A Medicare premiums break
6
Obama addresses drug shortages
7
Grandparent visitation concerns
9
The quest for longer life
11
Retirees not on the move
12
Anxiety about retirement grows
15
Grandparents
rights
9
6
Volunteer relief
DEPARTMENTS
17
Feeling Healthy
16
5
14
13
15
10
8
Home Improvement
Just My Opinion
Money Matters
Resource for Caregivers
NEW: Social Security
Travel
Viewpoint
■
INDEX
OF
ADVOCACY
Staying put
AFFORDABLE SENIOR HOUSING
Peter’s Grove .................................. p. 12
Sherwood Village ............................. p. 2
ASSISTED LIVING
Merrimack River Valley .................. p. 2
ATTORNEY, ELDER LAW
Ingle Law ......................................... p. 19
Summers, Summers & Associates .. p. 15
CREMATION SERVICES
Casper Cremations ........................ p. 14
11
ABOUT THE COVER
What is the job climate for older workers p. 4
SERVICES
IN THIS
DENTURE / IMPLANTS
AARP ................................................ p. 5
12
Long life
secret
Dr. Steven Rinaldi .......................... p. 15
DIABETICS / FOOT CARE
Canney Medical Supply ................. p. 17
HEALTH CARE
Wilmington Health Care Ctr. ........... p. 9
HEALTH CARE INFORMATION
SHINE Program ............................... p. 19
HOME IMPROVEMENTS
Total Access of New England ..... p. 11, 19
IN-HOME CARE
Altranais Health Care ..................... p. 2
ISSUE
■
MEDICAL RESEARCH STUDIES .......... p. 6, 7
Alzheimer’s Study
~ Neurocare
Aging Study
~ Brandeis University
Tai Chi / Knee Osteoarthris Study
~ Tufts New England Medical Center
NURSING HOMES
Golden LivingCenters .................... p. 20
Golden LivingCenter – Lexington
Life Care Center of Northshore ....... p. 9
SUBSIDIZED HOUSING
Millhaus Apartments ...................... p. 12
If you use any services listed above, please mention you saw their ad in the Fifty Plus Advocate.
UMass Medical School wins recognition for older worker offerings
By Brian Goslow
WORCESTER —
he University of Massachusetts Medical
School (UMMS) has joined previous
honorees DentaQuest of Charlestown,
Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
in Cambridge on AARP’s 2011 list of Best
Employers for Workers Over 50.
The award follows an ongoing effort by
UMMS to address issues related to older
worker satisfaction, including the creation of
a mature workforce committee which developed a “Program for the Mature Worker,”
utilizing results from a Diversity and Equal
Opportunity Office online climate survey.
UMMS created programs to help employees with their career development. Employees
at the school who work 20 hours or more
a week are offered tuition reimbursement,
certification classes and in-house classroom
training. To assist employees who are visionimpaired, UMMS purchased technology such
as Dragon speech recognition software.
“There are all kinds of training here for
full-time and part-time employees,” said
Patricia Keith, chair of the 20-member mature
workforce committee, which is open to all
UMMS employees. UMMS utilizes various
Internet sites and job fairs to recruit mature
employees; the university defines mature
workers as 40 and older, following federal
guidelines.
Keith said mature workers need to be
retained. “It’s going to be total brain drain
when the baby boomers retire,” she explained.
T
Thirty-four percent of the UMMS
new nutritional information labeling.
workforces is over 50 years old, 52
Eydie Cullen, 53, of Medway, has
percent is over 40.
worked in the university’s contract
Administrative manager Susanna
credibility and support services office
Perkins, who is in her 50s, has worked
for the past seven years; she’s been at
at UMass for over six years. “I had taken
UMMS for 12. “I had worked in high
a buyout package at a high tech comtech and put out a bunch of applicapany and wanted to change industries,”
tions,” she said. “When UMass called,
she said. “I lived a half-mile away and
I thought I’d try something different.”
wanted to work here. I wish, in hindShe enjoys working at UMMS. “I
sight, I had done this 10 years earlier.”
love the atmosphere of academia,”
Perkins started at UMMS as a finanCullen said. “I’ve never worked in a
cial analyst; she was hired at a lower
place with such a variety of people of
rate than she made in high tech. She
all ages and different backgrounds.
noted the private sector tends to pay
When you work with people of
higher salaries. “I already had the backdifferent ages, you learn things you
ground I needed for my position but
wouldn’t otherwise have a chance
I’ve taken a lot of internal educational UMMS workers (from l to r) Eydie Cullen, Pat Keith and
to learn.”
classes,” Perkins said. “In switching Susanna Perkins
Cullen has taken courses for new
from the private to the public sector,
managers and research administrachild had twins and another employee needed
we didn’t deal with grants and used a different time to help elders, they took advantage of tors, and is currently taking one through
software system.”
Commonwealth Medicine on leadership posithe flextime.”
She enjoys the shared environment of
Perkins personally benefited from her tions. “It’s a collaboration between UMass and
working in a place that is part hospital, employer’s attention to older workers when Clark University that could lead to me getting
part college campus. “My entire staff is over she returned to the office after undergoing a master’s degree in public health,” she said.
50,” she said. “They have a great amount of surgery for carpel tunnel syndrome. “They
When UMMS workers retire the school
experience — which comes with age — and had an ergonomics person do a study on encourages them to return to the campus
a great work ethic too.”
my workplace,” she said. “They changed a couple of days a week. “A lot of really
They benefit from the option of a flexible my chair, keyboard and mouse, and the seasoned faculty teachers retire and come
work schedule and other benefits important distance my monitor is from me, and gave back and teach medical students,” Keith
to people of that generation, especially when me a foot rest.”
said. “They’ve been teaching students for 30
it comes to caregiving concerns. “Folks in the
UMMS employees receive individual or more years. They’re great and good at it.”
sandwich generation have it more difficult and family medical and prescription drug
Cullen agreed. “The value they bring is
than younger parents,” Perkins said. “They coverage and individual and family vision the history and being someone who knows
know where their kids are during the day. and dental insurance. At the request of its how things work, she said. “They give you
When you have elderly parents or kids in col- employees, UMMS worked with its vendors the continuity; they know whom to go to if
lege, you’re not so sure. When an employee’s to provide healthier cafeteria food and add you need help (solving a problem).”
5 hot job categories for retirees, older workers
By Dave Carpenter
CHICAGO —
ooking for a job isn’t just a concern
for those under 65. Retirees and
those past the traditional age for calling it quits increasingly need or want to
work.
The challenge, of course, is finding suitable work in an economy with chronically
high unemployment.
Many are succeeding, as the rapid graying of the work force shows.
The number of U.S. workers 65 or
older has grown 24 percent in five years,
to 6.7 million. And that’s with the babyboom generation just now entering the age
group.
More than half of that total were
employed full-time, and nearly 1.3 million were 75 or older, according to a 2011
survey by the Employee Benefit Research
Institute (EBRI). Seventy four percent said
they expect to work after they officially
retire, up from 63 percent in 2008.
With that in mind, seniors looking for
work must examine their own skills as well
as the labor market’s needs in order to find
L
a satisfying job.
Retirees typically have the advantage
of being more interested in a job than a
career, noted Bill Coleman, vice president
at RetirementJobs.com.
“They can be a good resource, bringing 30 or 40 years of work
experience to the table and
not looking to squeeze every
last dollar out of a position,”
Coleman said. “That can be
very appealing to an organization.”
Searching for work in
your primary career field is
the obvious approach. But
that may not pan out, or perhaps you’re just ready for a
new challenge. Here’s a look
at five job categories with
promising demand now and in the years
ahead for retirees willing to tackle something different:
1. Health care — Home health aide
and personal aide top a Bureau of Labor
Statistics list of job fields expected to grow
the fastest by 2018. The pay is modest —
median wages of roughly $20,000 for each
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in 2008. But caregiving work can be a good
fit for those looking to work 20 to 25 hours
a week and do something meaningful.
Flexible work arrangements, substantial health care benefits, and training and
development opportunities make the jobs
appealing to many older
workers, according to Jean
Setzfand, director of financial
security for AARP.
Age discrimination
shouldn’t be an issue. Health
care facilities will likely
recruit among older professionals to match their aging
client base.
Other health jobs in
demand that don’t require
special degrees include medical assistant, physical therapist aide and medical billing specialist.
2. Retail — Retail jobs are popular
with older workers. Openings are frequent,
hours are flexible and many part-time
opportunities are available.
Many retailers welcome seniors as
customer service employees or cashiers
because they have found that older work-
ers are very good at making customers
happy, according to Coleman. Other retail
jobs available for seniors may include retail
manager, floor supervisor, stock-room
associate, greeter or food company demonstration worker.
Seasonal work also gives retirees ample
opportunities to work without the requirement of a year-round grind. Big retail
chains, grocery stores and hardware stores
all are a good bet.
3. Government — Two government
agencies in particular — the Department
of Veterans Affairs (VA) (www.va.gov/
jobs) and the Transportation Security
Administration (TSA) (www.tsa.gov/jobs)
— are known for seeking older workers.
Both agencies have openings requiring
little or no experience.
The VA has a wide range of nationwide
listings, including everything from technologists to clerks, cemetery caretakers and
telephone operators. The department likes
older workers in customer service, nursing and counseling positions, according to
Coleman of RetirementJobs.com. “Older
Research Study Advertising: Donna Davis: ext. 130
Boston Metro / Boston South Sales Manager:
Reva Capellari: ext. 5
Sales:
Cara Kassab: ext. 125
Steven M. Persichetti
Members of the Associated Press.
HOT JOB page 8
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necessarily those of the newspaper.
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Bargain hunter laments
passing of Filene’s Basement
By Sondra L. Shapiro
entrance. During that first trip, I was so
overwhelmed that I only managed to buy
odesty took a backseat to a bargain two pairs of nylons and a tube of lipstick.
at the original Filene’s Basement
On subsequent trips, I learned how
in downtown Boston. As women
to push and shove with the best of them,
stripped down to their bras and girdles in
and developed a practiced eye for getting
the middle of aisles to try on skirts, dresses
through a lot of junk quickly in search of
or slacks, men stood on the stairs leading
that one treasure: a Tahari suit, which was
down to the Basement unabashedly ogling
so well-made and timeless that I kept and
the scene below.
wore it for decades; a Willie Smith Zoot
Suit that became a hit in my teen party circuit; luxurious cashmere sweaters (not the
cheap, thin offerings that department stores
put on sale these days); and a Diane von
Furstenberg wrap dress, which pushed my
budget to the limit.
The Basement was a
I learned the hard way that my best
place where good manattempts at burying a prized hand-knit
ners were left at the door as women of
sweater underneath a pile of cotton underevery shape, size and age pushed, clawed
wear in hopes it would still be there when
and in some cases engaged in tug-a-war
another markdown was taken was no
to acquire a drastically marked down
match for my fellow treasure hunters who
Johnathan Logan dress or
were far more seasoned
a cashmere sweater at 75
than I.
percent off.
Friends brag about
The Basement — the
their purchases from disoldest off-price retailer in
counters like T.J.Maxx
the country — was started
and Marshalls, but nothin 1909 in Boston by
ing compares to the thrill
William Filene as a place
of the hunt during those
for the Filene’s department
early days at Filene’s
store to sell excess merBasement. The disorgachandise. Filene invented
nized merchandizing:
the automatic markdown
tables brimming with
system, which meant the
wrinkled, haphazardly
price tag on each item was
displayed clothing and
marked with the date it hit
racks so crammed with
the selling floor. The longer
hanging items that it
an item remained unsold, Filene’s famous clock at the
took brute strength and
the more the price would Boston location
a willingness to ruin a
automatically be reduced
manicure for the sake of
to 25 percent off the original cost, then 50
possibly laying hands on a newly marked
percent and finally 75 percent. What was
down mini dress, like the one Twiggy wore
not sold was given to charity.
on the latest cover of Vogue.
Without rehashing the various acquisiSince I was making the trip to Boston
tions the store has been part of, suffice it
specifically to shop at the Basement, I
to say the latest company to own it, Syms
would never consider leaving one stone
Corp., filed bankruptcy and is liquidatunturned, or more accurately, no rack or
ing all 21 Filene’s Basement locations. The table untouched. It was serious business, a
news fills me with sadness and a sense
day-long task. When I left the store, I’d be
of bittersweet nostalgia, since the store
sweating, regardless of the 30-degree temis where I developed my bargain shopperature outside.
ping chops and a fondness for discount
But my brimming bag filled with those
designer duds.
once-in-a-lifetime finds was worth every
To venture into the dark depths that
hour I spent underground.
housed the Basement required the shopper
Yes, I admit I respected and related to
to embrace reckless abandon — a concept
the women who filled the aisles in maniacal
that was alien to my 1960s world since I
frenzy — my fellow fashion warriors.
was raised by a mother who would never
The Filene’s Basement experience is an
leave the house wearing slacks or without
indelible memory of my youth, one that
makeup and who had genteel manners to
helped shape the “shopper.” If it’s not dismatch — habits that were surely ingrained
count, I won’t buy it. Now and then I still
by her southern background. Yet, her penfind myself burying a coveted scarf underchant for well-made clothing combined
neath a pile of pocketbooks in hopes it will
with a blue-collar income helped convince
still be there when markdowns are taken.
my mother that abandoning a sense of
Some habits are just too ingrained to break.
decorum was a small price to pay in order
So, although Filene’s Basement is a ghost
to venture into the underworld of retail
of the off-price giant of its past, we bargain
mayhem that was Filene’s Basement.
addicts will pay homage by squeezing
The Basement was the destination of my through the doors, pushing and shoving
first adult-free trip to downtown Boston
toward that final markdown.
from my home in Malden. I was around
14 when my friend Pammy and I skipped
Sondra Shapiro is the executive editor of
going to a Saturday football game, caught
the Fifty Plus Advocate. Email her at sshapiro.
a bus, then hopped on the Orange Line
[email protected] or read more at
train and were finally deposited at Filene’s
www.fiftyplusadvocate.com.
M
Just My
Opinion
(Zone 3)
www.fiftyplusadvocate.com
5
Social service organizations rethink recruitment of baby boomer volunteers
By Brian Goslow
the two-year study period.
“A lot of it is creating flexible opportuniaking advantage of the professional ties,” said David Voegele-Albin, DIAL/SELF
skills of recently retired or nearing Teen Services’ executive director. Those
retirement age baby boomers can opportunities include enlisting local college
help non-profit organizations continue to faculty or staff to visit area schools to give
provide high-level services to their clients a one-hour lecture or serve as a “vendor”
despite recent funding cuts. The key at a career fair where they can discuss their
is identifying potential volunteers who career paths, including whether they went
have a background in areas that match an to college and what went into that decision,
organization’s specific need — and
as well as their life experiences.
convincing those individuals that
“Once someone engages with us
their commitment would provide
one time, it raises the chances
a rewarding experience.
of them working with us a secThat’s the finding of a two-year
ond,” said Voegele-Albin, whose
study and test program conductoffice serves as the AmeriCorps
ed by the Massachusetts Service
VISTA service program office for
Alliance in partnership with the
its region.
ACT Volunteer Center of DIAL/
He said that in his dealing with
SAFE Youth and Community Voegele-Albin young volunteers, they might stick
Services of Greenfield and the Corporation around for 10 months to a year. But, boomfor National & Community Service. ers offer more longevity. “If they’re excited
The report, “Volunteer Connectors as about the opportunity, they could be with
Relationship Brokers: Toward an Expanded us for 10 years and play a vital role for a
Role for Volunteer Centers,” details how long time.”
ACT, through rethinking how it solicited
The study found that one successful
new volunteers, was able to bring aboard change at the start of the relationship
new people to fill positions that would have — calling volunteers by the title of the
been lost to funding cutbacks.
job they fill — made a psychological
The project targeted baby boomers difference, both to the person and those
45-64 currently employed at Western they interacted with. Oftentimes, when
Massachusetts-based college campuses to someone would call businesses about the
serve as volunteers at schools and nonprofit program, company representatives would
agencies that serve children and youth. request to speak with someone other than
Over 400 volunteers participated during a “volunteer.”
T
Thus, when Starr Pinkos, a retired
Spanish teacher who lives in Montague,
started as DIAL/SELF’s executive projects
coordinator, she had a desk, a
computer and business cards with
her name and title waiting for her.
She works two days a week, eight
hours a day, helping with the organization’s fundraising.
“She can help update our website,” Voegele-Albin said. “We used
to do that maybe every six months. Weiner
Now, thanks to her, it’s updated
once a week with program updates and a
calendar. We were able to create the right
role for her and she’s enthusiastic about
what she’s doing.”
ACT Volunteer Center Director Barbara
Abraham had been executive director of a
multi-service agency in Leominster, where
she resides. “She had 30 years of experience managing volunteers,” Voegele-Albin
said. “She wasn’t interested in working
full-time but was interested in continuing
to do what she did in the past.” A flexible
work schedule helped recruit Abraham,
who travels to the Greenfield office twice a
week while staying in touch with volunteers
other days via phone or e-mail.
To successfully engage new ACT
volunteers, techniques such as creating
compelling opportunities that provide
flexible roles and tasks; researching ways
to identify individuals best suited for a
volunteer opportunity; and how to request
their assistance with a personalized request
were used.
“Boomers will want flexibility when it
comes to using their time,” said
Naomi Weiner, the Massachusetts
Service Alliance’s director of
training and technical assistance.
“They’re busy and have a huge
choice of how to spend their time.
Many of them don’t expect to retire
in a traditional sense and they’re
going to be healthier and active for
longer periods than past generations. They want to work in the area in
which they’re content. They’re able to say,
‘If I’m not happy, I’ll go somewhere else.’ ”
Traditionally, organizations would seek
a long-term commitment, usually a year,
for a volunteer position. Weiner said if an
organization finds someone it feels would
be a good fit for what it’s looking for and
they can’t make a long-time commitment,
it should ask if the person would be willing
to sign on for a small part of calendar year.
“You might end up with four volunteers
where you would have had just one, Weiner
said. “If the experience is good and positive, even if it’s only for a short time, the
volunteer will ask, ‘How else can I help?’ ”
For more details: Massachusetts Service
Alliance, online at mass-service.org or call
617-542-2544; DIAL/SELF Youth and
Community Services, online at dialself.org or
413-774-7054.
Medicare relief: Premiums will not be as high as feared
By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar
WASHINGTON —
edicare’s basic monthly premium
will be much lower than expected
next year, the government recently
announced. That could pay political dividends for President Barack Obama and for
Democrats struggling to win over seniors in
a close election.
The new Part B premium for outpatient
care will be $99.90 a month for 2012, or
about $7 less than projected as recently as
May.
M
The bottom line: most seniors will pay
an additional $3.50 a month next year, instead of $10.20, as forecast earlier.
Some younger retirees who enrolled
recently will actually pay less. They have
been paying up to $115.40 a month.
Instead, they’ll also pay $99.90 next year.
The main reason for lower-than-expected premiums has to do with the interaction between Social Security COLAs and
Medicare.
But the Obama administration is hoping
seniors will get a simple takeaway message:
Medicare is under sound management.
Would you like to participate in
research on aging? Are you 65 or older?
The Face Perception Laboratory at Brandeis University, directed by Professor Leslie Zebrowitz,
is currently looking for people who would like to volunteer as research participants for various
psychological studies. Each study involves face perception tasks that are designed to investigate
how people form first impressions about other people based on their faces. The tasks are interesting
and results from the studies will contribute to our understanding of the aging process. Participants
will complete a variety of pencil and paper tasks as well as computerized tasks (no prior computer
experience is necessary). You must have at least a tenth grade education and be fluent in English to
participate.
t&BDITUVEZUBLFTUPIPVSTUPDPNQMFUF
t4UVEJFTUZQJDBMMZQBZCFUXFFOBOIPVS
If you’re interested in participating or would like more information,
please call (781) 736-3294 or e-mail [email protected].
Older voters went for Republicans in the
2010 elections, after Obama’s health care
overhaul law cut Medicare spending to help
finance coverage for the uninsured. Since
then, the administration has doubled down
to reverse any perception that Obama is
steering Medicare into decline.
The Medicare news means the majority of seniors will have to fork over only a
small part of a long-awaited Social Security
increase next year for premiums.
Premiums have been frozen at the
2008 level of $96.40 a month for about
three-fourths of beneficiaries. That was
due to the lack of a Social Security cost-ofliving adjustment during the depths of the
economic downturn. But Social Security
recently announced a COLA raise in
monthly checks averaging $39 for 2012.
Earlier this year, officials had announced
that premiums for Medicare’s prescription
benefit would remain unchanged for 2012,
on average. Similarly, average premiums for
popular Medicare Advantage plans will dip
slightly in 2012. But those announcements
do not have as much impact. Averages used
RELIEF page 7
Tai Chi and Physical Therapy
for Knee Osteoarthritis Study
If you are age 40 or older with Knee Osteoarthritis, you may be eligible to
participate in a study at Tufts Medical Center in 2011 and 2012!
The study, funded by the National Institute of Health, will investigate the
effects of Tai Chi and Physical Therapy on people with Knee Osteoarthritis.
Up to twenty-four FREE Tai Chi or Physical Therapy sessions.
Compensation of up to $200 is available
For more information, call 617-636-2612
or email [email protected].
Obama directs FDA to help reduce drug shortages
WASHINGTON —
resident Barack Obama is directing the
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
to take steps to reduce drug shortages,
action he says will help stop a “slow-rolling
problem” that puts patients at risk and raises
the potential for price gouging.
Obama signed an executive order instructing the FDA to take action in three areas:
broadening its reporting of potential drug
shortages; accelerating reviews of applications
to change production of drugs facing potential
shortages; and giving the Justice Department
more information about possible instances of
collusion or price gouging.
Patient deaths have been blamed on the
P
➤ Relief
Cont. from page 6
by the government don’t reflect individual
experiences. And fewer beneficiaries are
enrolled in either of those two benefits.
The Part B premium is one number that
most of the 48 million people on Medicare
can connect with.
Upper-income retirees pay more, and
Medicaid covers premiums for low-income
beneficiaries. But middle-class beneficiaries
shortages, which tend to affect cancer drugs,
anesthetics, drugs used in emergency medicine and electrolytes needed for intravenous
feeding. Hospitals have been forced to buy
from secondary suppliers at huge markups.
Surgeries and cancer treatments have been
delayed.
“Even though the FDA has successfully
prevented an actual crisis, this is one of those
slow-rolling problems that could end up
resulting in disaster for patients and health
care facilities all over the country,” Obama
said.
The president ordered the new steps
without congressional approval, saying his
administration refused to wait for lawmakers
to act on similar legislation pending on Capitol
Hill. The measure is part of a White House
effort to use executive action to get around
congressional Republicans.
Obama said the White House would continue to push lawmakers to pass bipartisan
legislation to prevent drug shortages, but said
“we can’t wait for action on the Hill, we’ve got
to go ahead and move forward.”
The FDA reported 178 drug shortages last
year, and the agency reported it continues to
see an increase in shortages this year. Major
causes of drug shortages are said to be quality or manufacturing problems, or delays in
receiving components from suppliers. Drug
makers also discontinue certain drugs in favor
of newer medications that are more profitable.
The FDA does not have authority to force drug
makers to continue production of a drug.
The administration acknowledged the
steps Obama approved won’t solve a growing problem. Shortages have tripled in recent
years and show no signs of slowing.
Indeed, officials said the FDA has managed
to prevent 137 drug shortages over the past
21 months when companies told regulators
they were having trouble. Options include
getting other manufacturers to ramp up their
own production, helping to find alternative
suppliers of key ingredients, even sometimes
allowing temporary importation of competitors usually only sold abroad. — AP
on tight budgets watch the Part B figure.
A leading nonpartisan expert on Medicare said she doubted election-year politics
are behind the lower-than-expected premiums for 2012.
“Changes in premiums are obviously
important to seniors but the numbers are
based on what the law requires, and determined by independent actuaries, rather
than politics,” said Tricia Neuman of the
Kaiser Family Foundation.
Neuman said the explanation is likely
due to the complicated relationship bet-
ween Social Security COLAs and Medicare
premiums.
By law, the Part B premium is set to
cover 25 percent of the cost of Medicare’s
outpatient care benefit.
But premiums have been frozen for
most beneficiaries in recent years because
federal law also says that — with some
exceptions — an individual’s Medicare premium cannot go up more than their Social
Security COLA.
That left a relatively small share of beneficiaries, including recent enrollees, bearing
the brunt of higher Medicare costs. Indeed,
the so-called “standard premium” for 2011
rose to $115.40.
Back in May, when government experts
originally forecast a premium of $106.60
for 2012, they were also projecting a
Social Security COLA of just 0.7 percent.
But the final COLA increase turned out
to be a 3.6 percent raise. And that meant
rising Medicare costs could be spread
among many more people, resulting in
smaller increases for each individual.
— AP
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7
Viewpoint
Deadline nears for Medicare Part D enrollment
By Ron Pollack
I
f you have Medicare, you know that as soon as the
leaves start falling from the trees, your mailbox will
fill up with information about your Medicare choices
for 2012. And, as tempting as it is to ignore it all, you
really should take the time to review your
current Medicare coverage to see if it will
be different next year and whether you
want to switch plans.
There’s one big change this year that
affects most people with Medicare. It’s
not a change in coverage, but a change
in timing. This year, the annual enrollment period for Medicare Advantage and
Medicare prescription drug plans started and will end
earlier. It began Oct. 15 and ends Dec. 7 for changes
that take effect January 1, 2012.
This is actually a longer period of time to make a
decision — more than seven weeks, instead of the six
weeks in past years. But it means that, unlike past years,
you can’t wait until the very end of the year to decide
about your coverage for next year.
The new enrollment period is part of the Affordable
Care Act (the health reform law). The longer enrollment
period gives people more time to make decisions. And
making it earlier means that people won’t be changing
Medicare plans around the Christmas holidays, when
it’s hard to get help and paperwork can be delayed. But
it means that those with Medicare, and those who help
loved ones with Medicare, need to be on his or her toes
this year to make sure to meet the earlier deadline.
So, what should you do during the upcoming enrollment period? First, you should review the coverage you
have now. If you have a Part D prescription drug plan
or Medicare Advantage plan, you should have received a
letter from your plan (your “Annual Notice of Change”)
by the end of September. Don’t ignore it. That letter tells
you how your
plan will be
changing next
year. Check to
see what will happen with your premiums and copayments. Find out if coverage of particular drugs or services is changing.
Then take some time to look at your other options.
Maybe you can find a different drug or Medicare
Advantage plan that’s cheaper or better fits your needs.
Or, maybe the plan you have now is the best one for
you.
Here are a few tips:
•If you have original Medicare and a supplemental
plan (sometimes called Medigap), and you like your coverage, you don’t need to change. Be very careful if you
do decide to drop your Medigap plan — you may not
be able to get it back later. Each state has its own rules
about purchasing Medigap plans.
•Don’t fall for any high-pressure sales. Everyone with
Families USA
Medicare has the same enrollment period: Oct. 15 to
Dec. 7. There are no “limited-time offers.” Don’t make
any changes in your coverage until you fully understand
the consequences.
•Don’t be shy — do your research, ask questions and
get help if you want it. The Medicare.gov website lists all
the plans in your area. You can call 800-MEDICARE for
general information and to enroll in a plan. You can also
ask for a referral to your local State Health Insurance
Assistance Program, or SHIP. There’s one in every state,
and they provide free counseling and advice to everyone
with Medicare.
•If you or someone you know has limited income and
resources, there are programs that can help with your
costs. Talk to your local SHIP or go to the Social Security
website: www.ssa.gov/prescriptionhelp.
•If you decide to enroll in a new plan, do it through
800-MEDICARE, rather than through the plan itself.
The annual enrollment period is a good time to take
stock of your Medicare coverage, even if you’re happy
with what you have. Just remember, Dec. 7 is the last
day you can make changes for coverage starting in
January, 2012.
Ron Pollack is the executive director of Families USA, a
national organization for health care consumers. It is nonprofit
and nonpartisan, and its mission is to secure high-quality,
affordable health coverage and care for all Americans. Online:
www.familiesusa.org.
The Social Security COLA wars are fizzing up
By Al Norman
A
fter two straight years with a 0 percent Social Security cost of living
adjustment (COLA), the recently
announced 3.6 percent Social Security
COLA must have looked
pretty good to retirees. But
this is one of those cases
of “been down so long
it looks like up to me.”
On Oct. 19, the Social
Security Administration
announced that Social
Security checks will rise
by 3.6 percent beginning
January of 2012. By comparison, the COLA
increased 5.8 percent in January of 2009.
Since 1975, Social Security’s general benefit increases have been based on increases
in the cost of living, as measured by the
Consumer Price Index for urban workers.
Beginning this January, the typical retired
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worker earning $1,186 will see his/her
monthly check rise by $43 per month to
$1,229. Over the course of a year, the 2012
COLA amounts to $516 a year in increased
benefits. The typical disabled worker will see
a benefit check rise from $1,072 to $1,111,
or $39 more per month.
Although the COLA hike was good
news for the 60 million Americans on
Social
Security
and Supplemental
Security Income,
the numbers show
just how meager
Social Security is for most retirees — before
any cutbacks are made by Congress to the
program. The estimated average annual
earning for retired workers will be only
$14,748 after the latest COLA increase kicks
in this January.
Many seniors feel that the COLA that
Congress uses is not a good measure of the
living expenses actually facing the elderly.
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Even though the COLA is the only way retirees can cope with the rising cost of daily living, Congress is considering changes in the
method used to calculate the COLA. Some
lawmakers argue that the current consumer
price index does not accurately reflect the
inflation experienced by seniors and argue
that the COLAs should be larger. Others
argue that the COLAs should be smaller.
The federal government actually calculates what is known as the CPI-E, a
measurement that more accurately reflects
the market basket of goods and services
purchased by the elderly. But opponents
of a CPI-E argue that more than 20 percent
of the people on Social Security are under
the age of 62.
Congress is also being lobbied to adopt
the “chained CPI,” which takes into account
the tendency for people to substitute
cheaper goods for more expensive items as
prices go up. For example, if the price of
➤ Hot Job
Cont. from page 4
people have more patience and tend to
come across as more caring and nurturing
— that’s what we hear from employers,”
he said.
The TSA, with over 450 work locations
around the country, has jobs as screeners
or otherwise dealing with passengers and
customers. It values flexibility and reliability in its employees — two traits older
workers are known to offer.
4. Computer work — One of the
most popular profession switches for
older workers and retirees is going into
computer-related work, according to Jim
Toedtman, editor of the AARP Bulletin.
The jobs entail such tasks as data entry or
working with data communication systems
and networks.
pork increases but the price of beef does
not, consumers might shift from pork
to beef. The chained CPI adjusts for this
type of consumer substitution. But elderly
households spend about twice as much on
health care as all other households, and
unlike discretionary spending, health care
cannot be substituted or short-changed.
Elders won’t like the chained CPI because
the average earner retiring in 2011 at age
65 would lose roughly $6,000 over 15 years
if the chained CPI were adopted compared
with the current urban worker CPI.
Cut this column out and send it to your
congressman. Let him/her know that you
don’t want to be tied to a “chained CPI” and
want a COLA that more accurately reflects
your true cost of living.
Al Norman is the executive director of Mass
Home Care. He can be reached at 413-7735555 x 2295, or at: [email protected]
Specific training to learn new skills is
required. Anyone looking to get work in
another specialty in retirement should seek
out low-cost training opportunities at a
community college or elsewhere.
5. Temp agencies — Retirees have
been flocking to temp agencies. Like seasonal retail work, temporary help in an
office or elsewhere can be an ideal match
for an older worker and employer. The
worker offers flexible hours and experience and gets the opportunity for new
challenges and limited-term working
assignments that sometimes lead to fulltime positions.
The largest staffing services firms —
including Adecco, Manpower and Kelly
Services — have thousands of office locations among them and hire on behalf of
employers in many fields ranging from
medical and information technology to
teaching and tele-services. — AP
States’ grandparent visitation laws raise concern
By Stephanie Reitz
HARTFORD, Conn. —
ncreasingly, a wrenching dispute is playing out in courts nationwide: balancing
parents’ constitutional rights to raise
their children without interference against
grandparents’ desire to be involved in those
youngsters’ lives.
Now, a growing number of grandparents are pushing lawmakers around the
country to change state standards they say
are too restrictive and ignore the unique
bonds many grandparents have with their
grandchildren.
The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to
decide this winter whether it will revisit
the issue, which it addressed 11 years ago
in a landmark case out of Washington state
that makes competent parents’ wishes the
guiding principle in most disputes.
Although all state laws must meet that
constitutional threshold, their efforts have
resulted in a patchwork of state court rulings
and legislation. They now impose such a
variety of conditions that the parties’ home
states can affect the cases almost as much
as the specifics.
Connecticut has become a battleground
state in the issue for two reasons: its protections for parents are among the nation’s
strictest and many of its grandparents are
very vocal in their push to change it.
A task force will advise the General
Assembly this winter on whether to change
state law to give grandparents more chance
to get into court to argue their cases.
I
“Right now it’s the luck of the draw if
you’re some poor family stuck in a state
that doesn’t stand behind that grandparentgrandchild bond and attachment,” said
Susan Hoffman, 59. She founded Advocates
for
Grandparent
Grandchild
Connection after losing
her California petition
for visitation when her
adult son signed away
parenting rights to her
grandson.
The growing movement among grandparents’ groups has
alarmed many parents
and their advocacy
groups nationwide,
including organizers
and participants on
the parentsrights.com
website.
Many say they are
being pilloried by those who wrongly
accept stereotypes that all grandparents
are loving and supportive. And they say
they’re being drained financially to defend
parenting rights the Supreme Court has
already upheld.
All 50 states have laws governing the
conditions for non-parent third parties seeking visitation, but it was only in 2000 that
the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling said none
of those laws can infringe on the rights of
competent parents.
That includes determining who can
spend time with their children, with courts
stepping in to order non-parent visitation
only under tight circumstances deemed in
the child’s best interest.
That’s where state laws and court rulings have evolved to
include conditions
that vary widely from
one state to the next.
The circumstances
also vary, from intact
two-parent families being sued by
grandparents to situations stemming from
thorny divorces and
remarriages, disputes
with one parent after
another dies, and
other cases.
In some states,
grandparents can sue
for visitation only if
they have been completely cut off by custodial parents. In others,
they must show their relationship with the
grandchild was similar to that of a parent.
In yet others, they must prove with “clear
and convincing evidence” that the child will
suffer irreversible harm without the visits.
And while some states have a combination of those standards, others have very few
and give grandparents far more latitude to
present their cases.
That can include deposing their adult
children, seeking the parents’ medical and
financial records and other time-consuming
Committed to a Culture of Excellence
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People arewith
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actions. And some state courts have ruled
that even if the grandparents lose, the parents can’t get their legal bills reimbursed.
Connecticut is not the only state struggling with the issue. In June, Alabama’s
state Supreme Court struck down its law
as unconstitutional because it included
grandparent visitation rights over competent
parents’ objections.
Attorneys in the case have asked the U.S.
Supreme Court to take up the issue, backed
by officials in Ohio, Hawaii, Louisiana,
Michigan and Washington.
Connecticut, Florida and Arizona are
considered among the most parent-friendly
based on their laws or court precedents.
Others are considered more grandparent-friendly, including Utah, Kansas and
Oklahoma.
For parents and grandparents facing
challenges in “unfriendly” states, the stress
of family disagreements can be magnified
by expensive court proceedings.
The possibility of that door being opened
too far alarms many parents, though, particularly those who say they want to shield
their own young children from grandparents
who have broken boundaries and trust.
Karen Wyle, an attorney in Bloomington,
Ind., who works with parents in such cases,
said the grandchildren are the ultimate
victims.
“They’re in an emotional crossfire,” she
said. “The courthouse doors should have
written on them, ‘Abandon all hope, ye who
enter here.’ Litigation is not going to heal
these families — quite the reverse.” — AP
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9
Travel and Entertainment
By Victor Block
Most intriguing to me are
the Garifuna, descendants of
had heard that Belize has long stretches of lovely
African slaves and Caribbean
beach backed by dense tropical foliage — and it does. Arawak Indians. Their lifestyle
I knew that its dense jungles hide intriguing
may be experienced in coastal
Mayan ruins, some dating back before the birth of
settlements of wooden houses
Christ — and they do.
lining dusty streets, including
What surprised and delighted me during my visit to
Dangriga, Punta Gorda and
the New Hampshire-size Central American country was Seine Bight.
the treasure trove of other attractions and list of things
I was fortunate enough to
to do.
meet 78-year-old Erdengela
Like most visitors, I spent some delicious time relax- Polonio, a buyei (healer) who
ing on soft sand beaches. I also relived the mastery, and was preparing to conduct a
mystery, of the great Mayan civilization. I hiked hidden dugu ceremony in her wooden,
paths, enjoyed gentle canoe paddles and explored the
thatch-roofed “temple” to cure
jungle, rain forests and rivers that encompass inland
two young girls who could not
Belize.
walk.
Just off its Caribbean coastline, some 200 island
I also relived the compelcayes (pronounced “keys”) bask in the warm waters.
ling story of the Mayans.
Most visitors head for Ambergris Caye, which has
Wherever you are in Belize,
exploded in recent years as a diving and snorkeling
remains of Mayan sites are
destination.
likely to be nearby. The jungle
I preferred the more laid-back life on smaller, lessconceals more than 600 ruins Waterfall in a rain forest
developed Caye Caulker. Brightly painted wooden
of that once-great civilization.
houses line its two narrow lanes. Most transportation is My introduction focused upon
by foot, bicycle or golf carts.
Caracol, the largest Mayan location in Belize, which
One of Belize’s most intriguing attractions is the
sprawls over 50 square miles and encompasses remains
mélange of its residents. Mestizos, descendants of
of some 36,000 structures.
Spanish and Mayan ancestors, and Creoles of mixed
Massive pyramids, broad plazas, ball courts and
African and white blood, account for about 75 perover 100 reservoirs are linked by more than 20 miles
cent of the population of some 275,000. Mayans, East
of roads that radiate out like spokes of a wheel.
Indians, Chinese, and even Mennonites and Amish add Hieroglyphic texts carved into stelae and other facades
to the mix.
provide the names and sometimes portraits of rulers,
and descriptions of important historical events.
Descendants of the Maya today live in villages of
thatch-roofed wooden homes, dine on traditional
foods like corn tortillas and caldo (a kind of cabbage), and keep their customs alive in other ways.
Along with strolls through Mayan sites, very
different kinds of walks attempt nature lovers. A
personal favorite was the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife
Sanctuary, a remote rainforest known as the only
jaguar preserve in the world. Because jaguars
are nocturnal animals, human visitors have little
chance to see one. As our guide Santos Gonzalez
remarked, “The best place to see a jaguar is a zoo.”
However, we did spot jaguar tracks, and a wild
pig and tapir. We also encountered a troop of
howler monkeys in the treetops, which complained
about our presence by their chorus of barking noisBelize beach
(photo by dave humphreys) es that can be heard for a mile. We also saw croco-
I
(photo by damian solano)
dile half submerged at the edge of a river, a tarantula
hidden beneath a fallen tree trunk, and a number of
the estimated 300 species of colorful tropical birds that
live in the overhead tree canopy.
Caving is another popular pastime in Belize, and it
doesn’t have to be the crawl-on-your-belly, slide-downa-rope kind of activity. You may choose a walk-in
experience, canoe or kayak ride, or float in an inner
tube.
I enjoyed a pleasant hour-long canoe ride into
Barton Creek Cave. Even without the human skulls,
animal bones, clay pots and other evidence of Mayan
occupation, the beauty of the cave itself is entrancing.
Multi-hued stalactites suspended from the ceiling reach
almost to the water. The ceiling soars to a cathedrallike height of 165 feet, then descends so low that boaters have to duck in order to pass.
As our canoe glided between walls just wide enough
to navigate through, I recalled the open expanse of
Caribbean beach I had enjoyed just hours before. That
diversity — of nature, people and history — is to me
the greatest appeal of a visit to Belize.
If you go
For more information contact the Belize Tourism
Board by logging onto www.travelbelize.org or calling
800-624-0686.
Read previous issues
of the
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10
Fifty Plus Advocate
(Zone 3)
December 1, 2011
Secrets of long life sought in DNA of the elderly
By Malcolm Ritter
NEW YORK —
eorge Eberhardt just turned 107,
and scientists would love to know
how he and other older folks like
him made it that far. So he’s going to
hand over some of his DNA.
He’s one of 100 centenarians taking
part in a new project that will examine
some of the oldest citizens with one of
the newest scientific tools: whole-genome
sequencing, the deciphering of a person’s
complete collection of DNA.
Scientists think DNA from very old
healthy people could offer clues to how
they lived so long. And that could one
day lead to medicines to help the rest of
us stay disease-free longer.
By the time you reach, say, 105, “it’s
very hard to get there without some
genetic advantages,” said Dr. Thomas
Perls, a geriatrics expert at Boston
University.
Perls is helping find centenarians for
the Archon Genomics X Prize competition. The X Prize Foundation, best known
for a spaceflight competition, is offering
$10 million in prize money to researchers who decipher the complete DNA
code from 100 people older than 100.
The contest will be judged on accuracy,
completeness and the speed and cost of
sequencing.
The contest is a relaunch of an older
competition with a new focus on cente-
G
narians.
Genome pioneer J. Craig Venter said
the centenarian project is just a first step
in revealing the genetic secrets of a long
and healthy life.
“We need
10,000 genomes,
not 100, to start
to understand
the link between
genetics, disease
and wellness,”
said Venter, who is
co-chairing the X
Prize contest.
The 107-yearold Eberhardt
of Chester, N.J.,
played and taught
tennis until he was
94. He said he’s
participating in
the X Prize project
because he’s interested in science
and technology. It’s
not clear his genes
will reveal much.
Nobody else in his
extended family
reached 100, and he thinks only a couple
reached 90, he said in a telephone interview.
So why does he think he lived so long?
He credits 70 years of marriage to his
wife, Marie. She in turn cites his “intense
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interest in so many things” over a lifetime,
from building radios as a child to pursuing a career in electronics research.
But scientists believe there’s more to
it, and they want
to use genome
sequencing to
investigate. Dr.
Richard Cawthon
of the University of
Utah, who is seeking longevity genes
by other means,
said it may turn
up genetic features
that protect against
multiple diseases
or that slow the
process of aging in
general.
Protective features of a centenarian’s DNA can
even overcome
less-than-ideal
lifestyles, said Dr.
Nir Barzilai of the
Albert Einstein
College of
Medicine in New
York. His own study of how centenarians
live found that “as a group, they haven’t
done the right things.”
Many in the group he studied were
obese or overweight. Many were smokers
and few exercised or followed a vegetar-
ian diet. His oldest participant, who died
this month just short of her 110th birthday, smoked for 95 years.
“She had genes that protected her
against the environment,” Barzilai said.
One of her sisters died at 102, and one
of her brothers is 105 and still manages a
hedge fund.
Scripps Health of San Diego recently
announced a different genome project involving the elderly. The Scripps
Wellderly Study will receive the complete
genomes of 1,000 people age 80 and
older from a sequencing company.
A complete genome reveals not only
genes but also other DNA that’s responsible for regulating genes. It’s “the full
monty,” showing DNA elements that are
key for illness and health, said Dr. Eric
Topol, who heads the Wellderly Study.
Participants in that study have an average age of 87 and range up to 108, and
they’ve never had diabetes, heart disease
or cancer, or any neurological disease.
“Why are these people Teflon-coated?”
Topol asked. “Why don’t they get disease?”
The ability to turn out lots of complete
genomes is “the new-new thing” in trying
to find out, he said.
“There’s been too much emphasis on
disorders per se and not enough on the
people who are exceptionally healthy,”
to learn from their genomes, Topol said.
“Now we have the powerful tools to do
that.” — AP
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Many boomers expect to retire where they are
By Derek Kravitz
WASHINGTON —
any baby boomers say they’re likely
to stay put in retirement amid a
shaky economy. Those who hope
to buy a new place are looking for a smaller
home somewhere with a better climate that’s
more affordable and close to family, a new
poll finds.
The 77 million-strong generation born
between 1946 and 1964 is increasingly worried about retirement and their finances in
light of the economic crisis of the past three
years. Just 9 percent say they are strongly
convinced they’ll be able to live comfortably
when they retire, according to the Associated
Press-LifeGoesStrong.com poll.
Shelley Wernholm, a 47-year-old single
mother of two who works for a health insurance company in Cleveland, said she wanted
to retire and move to a new home by 60. But
her pension was eliminated five years ago,
her personal investments tanked during the
recession and her home of 21 years has lost
more than half its value.
“I was hoping I’d be moving to a beach
somewhere, anywhere, preferably a warm
one,” Wernholm said. “But I’m not moving.
I can’t. It’s hard to remain optimistic.”
Overall, about 6 in 10 baby boomers say
their workplace retirement plans, personal
investments or real estate lost value during
the economic downturn. Of this group, 53
percent say they’ll have to delay retirement
because their nest eggs shrank.
Financial experts say those losses, including home prices that have dropped by a third
M
nationwide over the past four years, have left
boomers anxious about moving and selling
their homes.
“There’s a mistrust of the real estate
market that we didn’t have before,” said
Barbara Corcoran, a New York-based real
estate consultant. “There’s a concern about
whether people will get money
out of their house. They envision
the home as a problem, not an
asset, and this unshakable belief
in homes as a tool for retirement
has been shaken to the core.”
Fifty-two percent of boomers
say they are unlikely to move
someplace new in retirement,
unchanged from March. And 4 in 10 say they
are very likely to stay in their current home
throughout their retirement.
Older boomers are more apt to say they’re
already settled in for their golden years; 48
percent say it’s extremely or very likely they’ll
stay in the home they live in now throughout
their retirement, compared with 35 percent
among younger boomers. Those who’ve lived
in their current home for 20 or more years
are also more likely to say they’ll stay.
Midwestern and rural baby boomers are
more inclined to stay put, too.
Not surprisingly, higher-earning boomers who make more than $100,000 a year
are more likely to buy a new home during
retirement.
Overall, boomers are just as likely to say
they expect to buy as rent their retirement
home: About 3 in 10 say it’s at least somewhat likely they will buy, and about as many
expect to rent.
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Why buy a new home? About 4 in 10 of
those who say it’s likely they’ll buy a new
home would prefer a smaller one. Other
important considerations include a different,
and perhaps warmer, climate (30 percent); a
more affordable home (25 percent); and being
closer to family (15 percent).
Just 8 percent of those surveyed are looking for a larger
home and only 10 percent are
searching for a city with more
services.
John Fortune, a 60-year-old
small business owner in Scotch
Plains, N.J., outside Newark,
said he’d ideally like to move in
his retirement years. But he’s unsure about the
future and whether he’ll have any money left
over after putting three kids through college.
“I don’t expect to fully retire,” said Fortune,
who runs a business that sharpens knives,
tools and other cutlery. “It just depends on
what happens to the economy. I’d like to find
someplace that is warmer and doesn’t have the
high taxes but we’ll just have to see.”
Regardless of whether they are likely to
move, boomers’ top priorities for their retirement home is to be near their children (50
percent), not have any stairs (46 percent), and
close to medical care (39 percent) and shops
and services (38 percent).
Mothers were far more likely than fathers
to say that living near their children was an
important consideration in planning retirement housing.
When those kids have left the nest, baby
boomer parents are most likely to turn their
children’s rooms into new guest bedrooms —
perhaps because 3 out of 4 say they would
prefer visiting friends and family stay with
them instead of at a hotel.
Many boomers are saying they’ll keep
working during retirement: a total of 73
percent in the new poll, compared with 67
percent in March. That’s more than in any
other generation.
Sherry Wise, a 53-year-old agricultural economist in Lorton, Va., a suburb of
Washington, said she is worried she will have
to work well into her 60s and beyond in order
to continue paying her mortgage, keep up an
investment property in New Mexico and look
after her two daughters.
“The one thing I know is that you can’t
count on anything anymore. This economy
has gotten so screwed up,” Wise said. “We’re
just going to try to earn as much money as
possible.”
Knowledge Networks of Palo Alto, Calif
conducted the AP-LifeGoesStrong.com poll
Oct. 5-12. The poll involved online interviews
with 1,095 people born between 1946 and
1964, as well as companion interviews with
an additional 315 adults of other age groups.
The margin of sampling error for baby boomers was plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.
Knowledge Networks used traditional
telephone and mail sampling methods to
randomly recruit respondents. People selected
who had no Internet access were given it for
free. — AP
Online: Questions and results: www.surveys.ap.org; Lifegoesstrong.com: www.home.
lifegoesstrong.com/new-poll-reveals-midliferswill-retire-close-home.
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Dementia patients suffer dubious hospitalizations
By Marilynn Marchione
O
ne-fifth of Medicare nursing home patients with
advanced Alzheimer’s or other dementias were sent
to hospitals or other nursing homes for questionable reasons in their final months, often enduring tube
feeding and intensive care that prolonged their demise,
a new study found.
Nursing homes may feel hospital care is warranted
when a frail, elderly patient develops swallowing problems, pneumonia or a serious infection, but researchers
suspect a different motive for many transfers: money.
Medicare pays about three times the normal daily rate
for nursing homes to take patients back after a brief
hospitalization.
“I think that’s unfortunately a factor in what’s happening here,” said Dr. Joan Teno, a palliative care physician
and health policy professor at Brown University. “A lot
of this care just feels like in and out, in and out. You
really have to question, is the health care system doing
a good job or not.”
She is a co-author of the study, published in a
recent New England Journal of Medicine and done with
researchers from Harvard University and Dartmouth
Medical School.
Among the nearly 475,000 patients studied, 19 percent were moved for questionable reasons. The study
provided no evidence that money motivated such transfers or that there was wrongdoing involved. However,
the large variation that researchers saw from state to
state suggests money may be playing a role.
Rates of such transfers varied from 2 percent in Alaska
to more than 37 percent in Louisiana. In McAllen,
Texas, 26 percent of study participants had multiple
hospitalizations for urinary infections, pneumonia or
dehydration — conditions that usually can be treated
in a nursing home. That compares to just 1 percent of
patients in Grand Junction, Colo.
The researchers used Medicare records from 2000
through 2007 to identify “burdensome” transitions of care:
moving patients in the last three days of life, moving them
multiple times in the last three months of life, or moving
them so they landed in a new nursing home afterward.
Medicaid pays on average $175 per day, depending on
the state, for long-term care, but Medicare will pay three
times that for skilled nursing care after a patient returns
from three days or more in a hospital.
“If you have a nursing home that is operating on a
margin, it adds up. It can be a tremendous incentive to
hospitalize these people,” Teno said.
Researchers found that patients who had a dubious
transfer were more likely to have a feeding tube inserted,
to spend time in intensive care in the last month of life,
to have a severe bedsore or to be enrolled in hospice late
(three days or less before they died).
Dubious transfers were more common with black
patients, Hispanics and those without advance directives,
legal documents spelling out care wishes.
The National Institute on Aging sponsored the study.
One author consults for a nursing home system and owns
stock in a long-term care information services company.
The study is important because more than 1.6 million
Americans live in nursing homes, and nearly one-quarter
of people admitted to one after hospitalization wind up
back in the hospital within a month, Dr. Joseph Ouslander
of Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton and Dr.
Robert Berenson of the Urban Institute in Washington,
D.C., wrote in an editorial in the journal. Nursing homes
may fear legal liability if they don’t hospitalize a very sick
patient, they wrote.
However, people with advanced dementia have a
terminal condition.
“These are people who are unable to recognize their
relatives, they’re bed-bound and they’re now usually
having problems with swallowing. This is a population
where the burdens of hospitalization often outweigh the
possible benefits,” Teno said. “These patients actually
do better when they stay in a nursing home,” where
caregivers and surroundings are familiar, she said.
For families and nursing homes, “it may be difficult
to recognize that in fact, this person is in the dying
process,” said Dr. Michael Malone, medical director
of senior services for Aurora Health Care, a network
of 15 hospitals in eastern Wisconsin. His 87-year-old
father, Wendell Malone, died in January of advanced
dementia in a nursing home that managed his care
without frequent hospitalizations.
“It provided dignity, it provided comfort for the
family,” and let him stay in a place and with caregivers
he knew, Malone said.
Beth Kallmyer, who runs programs for caregivers for
the Alzheimer’s Association, said the most important
thing is to have a plan in place, with legal documents
like “do not hospitalize” directives, before a nursing
home has to make a decision about whether to hospitalize someone or instead focus on comfort care and
not try to prolong life.
“When the time comes, the family will be able to say
‘This is what dad wanted,’ ” Kallmyer said.
She and other experts offered these tips:
•Involve patients in planning their care while they’re
still able to do so, and make sure wishes like “do not
resuscitate” or “do not call 911” are spelled out in legal
documents.
•Develop good relationships with nursing home staff
and attending physicians so they understand the family’s
goals of care.
•Consider hospice care when seniors with advanced
dementia are admitted.
•Revisit and review the plan whenever there is a change
in a loved one’s status. Someone may not be end-stage
when they enter a nursing home but that can change.
•Seek advice. The Alzheimer’s Association has a
24-hour toll-free number, 800-272-3900, with counselors
to help families.
State reports: www.LTCFocUS.org.
What to look for when choosing a walk-in tub
By Dan Martin
M
ost people have never seen, let alone experienced,
a walk-in tub.
To make an informed buying decision, there
are things to consider.
Caregiving Tips
First, what are the benefits of walk-in tubs?
They are particularly suited for those aging in place (at
home) and people with mobility challenges. Walk-in tubs
also help caregivers to transfer and bathe patients.
Some tubs offer therapeutic hydrotherapy, which is
often prescribed by doctors to provide relief from fibromyalgia, poor blood circulation and arthritis, as well as
sore muscles and joints. The built-in jets will soothe sore
muscles, alleviate fatigue, reduce stress, and can be part of
a rehabilitation program.
Different tubs offer different levels of accessibility. The
original walk-in tub has a small door that swings in. These
come in a variety of qualities and are appropriate for fully
mobile individuals.
Then there are “out-swing tubs” These are truly accessible tubs that safely accommodate persons of varying
mobility levels.
Good quality tubs use quality materials that will last for
years. Cheap versions are made of poor-quality materials
that will inevitably fail, costing the buyer time, money and
frustration. The frame of a tub can be made of wood, steel
or aluminum. Aluminum seems superior because wood
can potentially rot while steel expands and contracts in the
opposite direction as the fiberglass, thus stressing the tub
and causing unwanted problems.
The door, seal and valve are also crucial components to
the quality of any tub. Cheaper tubs use small valves that
make filling up the tub a long, arduous process. Larger
valves allow tubs to fill quickly and not waste time. One
might wonder while inspecting or sitting in a tub: “How
does this thing not leak?” The answer is the design and
quality of the door and seal.
The process of buying a tub is most important of all.
There are generally two scenarios. There are companies
that typically will get their tubs overseas, use a distributor
to ship them, have another independent person marketing
the tubs and another installing them, for instance. All these
(Zone 4)
disjointed components make for a disorganized process
with little to no customer service. Worst of all, there is no
one company to call when something goes wrong.
The second scenario is a real business that can assess
your needs properly and make sure the tub will fit in your
bathroom. These companies order the tub, deliver it, install
it, place it under warrantee and service it over the years
if needed. These second types of businesses are generally
local and involved in the community while the first types
are not.
Walk-in tubs are a wonderful way to improve quality of
living for yourself and loved ones. Their safety and luxuriousness will keep older adults independent, healthy and
joyfully living an improved life.
Dan Martin is the owner of Total Access New England,
serving New England from his local base in Westborough. He
is also a certified aging in place specialist (CAPS) and can be
reached during business hours by phone at 508-329-1031
anytime by email at [email protected]. Visit
his websites: elegantbathroomsbydan.com or totalaccessne.com.
Archives of articles from previous issues can be read at www.
fiftyplusadvocate.com .
www.fiftyplusadvocate.com
13
Sponsored by:
Money Matters
3 common money missteps grandparents make
By David Pitt
I
t’s so tempting to want to give the grandchildren
everything and put their wants and needs first.
However, one of the common money mistakes
grandparents make is to put spending on grandkids
ahead of their own retirement security.
Here are three money missteps grandparents make
and ways to avoid them:
1. Excessively spoiling grandchildren — Financial
advisers and estate planners have all kinds of stories about retirees who insist on spending significant
amounts of their savings on grandchildren. Too often
they fail to recognize the severity of the risk it poses for
their own retirement security.
“You really cannot reason with people not to do it,”
said Jean A. Dorrell, an estate planner in Summerfield,
Fla. “They know they shouldn’t be doing it, but they will
continue until they don’t want to do it anymore.”
Another temptation is for grandparents to set up
Uniform Gifts to Minors Act (UGMA) or Uniform
Transfers to Minors Act (UTMA) accounts for children as
a way to pay private school expenses or for college costs
such as tuition, books or room and board.
However, many don’t realize that when their grandchild becomes an adult (age 18 or 21 depending on the
state where the account was established) the money can
be spent on anything the child wants, said Casey Weade,
a financial planner with Fort Wayne, Ind.-based Howard
Bailey Financial Inc. The child owns the assets in these
accounts. That also means the account can affect the
amount of financial aid a college student may receive.
Weade said it makes more sense to set up a 529
college-savings plan which offers tax benefits when used
for qualified college expenses including tuition, books
and housing.
2. Failing to establish an estate plan — Estate planning is essential. The smooth transfer of wealth between
generations is an important part of a family’s financial
well-being, yet most families don’t have the proper documentation in place. That would include a will, a power
of attorney for finances or a trust. In a 2009 survey of
more than 1,000 people aged 18 and older by Lawyers.
com, just 39 percent of respondents reported having a
will. Even fewer had a power of attorney and fewer still
had set up a trust.
While it may seem daunting to think about all the
aspects of estate planning, it’s not impossible to pull
together the basics so that last wishes are fulfilled when
the time comes.
3. Leaving retirement funds on autopilot — It’s
very common to have multiple accounts, said Chuck
Cornelio, president of defined contribution for Lincoln
Financial Group, which provides retirement and other
financial services. It’s not unusual to see workers with as
many as six or seven. Frequently workers fail to consolidate accounts in a way that would enable them to manage their money effectively.
Consolidating accounts into an IRA, for example,
helps ensure the money is adequately diversified across
investment options and can help in developing an overall
retirement plan.
“That’s actually a good idea because then you can get
a holistic picture of all your investment opportunities
and where you can get your money from in retirement,”
Cornelio said.
Workers frequently leave 401(k) money with a previous employer or sometimes roll it over to an IRA and
keep it invested in the stock market, said Dorrell. She
advises them to evaluate the risk of keeping too much
exposed to the volatility of stocks when at or near retirement age.
Having both a traditional IRA and a Roth IRA account
to pull money from can help a retiree control taxable
income. With a Roth IRA, deposits are taxed when made
to the account, but money can be pulled out in retirement tax-free.
For many it would make sense to consider converting to a Roth. Anyone who expects to be in a higher
tax bracket at retirement would benefit by paying the
taxes on those savings now. And with tax rates widely
expected to rise in the future, many retirees may end up
in higher brackets than they are currently.
The Vanguard Group provides a good review of Roth
conversions here: www.vanguard.com/pdf/rpd21.pdf.
For further help, check this calculator to help determine
whether a Roth conversion makes sense: www3.tiaa-cref.
org/iracalcs/conversion_calc.jsp. — AP
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Boomers’ anxiety about retirement grows
WASHINGTON —
majority of baby boomers say they
have taken a financial hit in the past
three years and most now doubt that
they will be financially secure after they
retire, according to a new poll.
So much for kicking back at the lake
house, long afternoons of golf or pretty
much anything this generation had dreamed
about in retirement. The Associated PressLifeGoesStrong.com poll
found a baby boom generation planning to work into
retirement years — with 73
percent planning to work
past retirement, up from
67 percent this spring.
In all, 53 percent of
boomers polled said they
do not feel confident they’ll
be able to afford a comfortable retirement. That’s up from 44 percent
who were concerned about retirement
finances in March.
“I’m not confident at all,” said 63-yearold Susan Webb of West Liberty, Iowa.
Webb — one of the 77 million boomers
born between 1946 and 1964 — had long
hoped to retire at 65 from her job as a real
estate broker. Not anymore, not since the
economic downturn that led to depressed
housing prices, wild stock market swings
and an unemployment rate hovering at or
above 9 percent for all but two months
since May 2009.
Webb and her husband, who’s 67, are
both still working full time. They hope to
ratchet back to part time at some point,
but plans for a scenic lake house where
they can go fishing and spend time with
their two grandchildren will likely mean
A
selling their current home — not part of
the original plan.
In the poll, 41 percent of boomers said
they are expecting to have to scale back
their lifestyle in some way in retirement
and 31 percent believe they will struggle
financially.
Retirement expert Olivia Mitchell said
working longer and cutting back are two
practical ways for boomers to save more.
“It’s a kind of downscaled consumer society
that I see in the next
five years at least,”
said Mitchell, a professor at the University of
Pennsylvania’s Wharton
School and executive director of the Pension Research
Council. “Consume less
and tighten the belt.”
In all, 62 percent of the boomers polled
lost money on at least one of four core parts
of retirement savings:
•A workplace retirement savings plan,
42 percent.
•Personal investments outside of an
IRA/workplace savings, 41 percent.
•An IRA (individual retirement account),
32 percent.
•Real estate, 29 percent.
Knowledge Networks of Palo Alto, Calif
conducted the AP-LifeGoesStrong.com poll
Oct. 5-12. It involved online interviews
with 1,095 baby boomers, as well as companion interviews with an additional 315
adults of other age groups. The survey has
a margin of sampling error of plus or minus
3.6 percentage points for baby boomers
and 4.8 percentage points for all adults.
— AP
Wrap up your retirement application
before wrapping holiday gifts
By Kristen Alberino
T
he holiday season is, for many people the busiest time of year with gift
lists and to-do lists, feast planning
and party preparation. The busy schedule,
like the gift lists, often can get out of hand.
Social Security
If you’re planning on retiring sometime
early in the new year, you should wrap up
your retirement application now before
wrapping any holiday gifts. It’s so easy and
can take as little as 15 minutes. Just go to
www.socialsecurity.gov/applyonline.
The website makes the retirement application process quick, easy and secure. In
most cases, once your application is submitted electronically, you’re done. There
are no forms to sign and usually no documentation is required. Social Security will
process your application and contact you if
any further information is needed.
Before you start your application, you
may want to spend a few minutes to get
an estimate of your retirement benefit
at www.socialsecurity.gov/estimator. The
Retirement Estimator uses your personal
employment history to estimate your
retirement benefit.
Then, jump right into the retirement
application. You can use the online application to apply for Social Security retire-
ment or spouses benefits if you:
•Are at least 61 years and 9 months old;
•Want to start your benefits in the next
four months; and
•Live in the United States.
Before filing online for retirement, you
should have the following information on
hand:
•Your date and place of birth and Social
Security number;
•Your bank or financial institution’s
routing transit number and the account
number, for direct deposit of your benefits;
•The amount of money earned last
year and this year. If you are filing for benefits in the months of September through
December, you also will need to estimate
next year’s earnings;
•The name and address of your employer(s) for this year and last year;
•The beginning and ending dates of any
active U.S. military service you had before
1968;
•The name, Social Security number and
date of birth or age of your current spouse
and any former spouse. You also should
know the dates and places of marriage and
dates of divorce or death (if appropriate);
and
•A copy of your Social Security
Statement.
Kristen Alberino is Social Security Public
Affairs Specialist in Quincy.
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15
Home Improvement
Getting creative with color: how to do it right
By Melissa Rayworth
Striped staircases and lavender walls?
They’re not just for high-profile designers
anymore.
Home-decorating TV shows and glossy
shelter magazines have many homeowners
embracing the bold, unexpected use of
color that cutting-edge designers love. But
creative color can be tricky. Three experts
offer advice on doing it right:
Being adventurous
with color doesn’t
always mean
using loud hues.
Unexpected places
Bursts of color are perfect for areas that
normally get little attention, said Cortney
Novogratz, co-host of the new HGTV
series Home by Novogratz. Stairs, alcoves
and unused corners of rooms, she said, are
spots “that people don’t realize they can
really dress up and have fun with to show a
reflection of who they are as homeowners.”
For her show’s first episode, she painted
a beach house staircase white with pink and
blue stripes from top to bottom. This nar-
row approach to the second floor suddenly
became bright and inviting.
Skip the standard pairings
Black and white. Red and green. Brown
and light blue. These common color palettes
surface frequently in home decorating.
Freshen up these typical pairings by bringing in a third color no one would expect,
said Brian Patrick Flynn, HGTV blogger and
founder of DecorDemon.com.
“If you really want chocolate brown with
pale blue, which has been done to death,
then add something like celery green,” he
said. “All of a sudden, it’s fresh and you’ve
made it your own.”
If you love wild colors like bright orange
but aren’t sure how to decorate with them,
Flynn suggests using a bright hue alongside
a very dark and a very light one. Orange
might be a disaster mixed with green and
yellow, but it can look sophisticated when
used with silver and dark charcoal.
Bold doesn’t have to mean bright
Being adventurous with color doesn’t
always mean using loud hues. Betsy
Burnham, founder of Los Angeles’ Burnham
Design, recently chose lavender for the
entryway of a home in Beverly Hills.
Her client had expected the walls of this
two-story space to be painted a classic neutral — maybe cream or taupe. Lavender was
an unexpected choice, but the owner was
thrilled: It gave the entryway subtle drama
Do You Want
without looking outrageous.
Paint isn’t the only way
Paint is inexpensive and easy to apply,
so it can be the perfect
vehicle to bring in wilder colors. But Flynn
finds that some homeowners are intimidated
by choosing a bold or
quirky color for their
walls: “They feel like
it’s permanent, even
though it isn’t,” he said.
If you prefer neutral
walls, you can easily
bring in edgier colors
with furniture, window
treatments and accessories. Novogratz suggests another option:
Choose vibrant pieces
of art, and then frame
them in brightly colored frames. She and Novogratz
her husband, Robert,
who is also her design partner, sometimes
take basic wooden picture frames and
repaint them in a vivid red lacquer.
It’s all in the shade
No color is off-limits, provided you
choose the right shade, Novogratz said.
A tip from Burnham: If you want to
use a color like teal or chartreuse but are
worried it will be overpowering, look for
what she calls a “dusty” version of these
colors — one that’s tempered by a bit of
gray.
Balance bright,
quirky colors with
wood tones
The edgiest colors
can be tamed nicely
by pairing them with
natural wood tones.
Burnham often
adds furniture with
black wood finishes to
rooms where she has
used intense colors.
Novogratz
did
the same in a master
bedroom where she
used a single shade
of bright yellow for
the walls and floor.
A large wooden bed
in the center of the
room created a calming break from the energizing yellow that
filled the space.
Overall, said Flynn, give yourself permission to experiment and indulge your
creativity. “Every time I do my own space,”
he said, “I think of it as a canvas where I
can experiment with completely unusual
color combinations.” — AP
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December 1, 2011
z-3
12.11
Feeling Healthy
Boomers will be spending
billions to counter aging
By David Crary
NEW YORK —
aby boomers heading into what used to
be called retirement age are providing
a 70 million-member strong market
for legions of companies, entrepreneurs and
cosmetic surgeons eager to capitalize on
their “forever young” mindset, whether it’s
through wrinkle creams, face-lifts or workout
regimens.
It adds up to a potential bonanza. The
market research firm Global Industry Analysts
projects that a boomer-fueled consumer base,
“seeking to keep the
dreaded signs of aging
at bay,” will push the
U.S. market for antiaging products from
about $80 billion now
to more than $114 billion by 2015.
The boomers, who
grew up in a culture
glamorizing youth, face
an array of choices as to
whether and how to be
a part of that market.
Anti-aging enthusiasts contend that life
spans can be prolonged
through interventions
such as hormone
replacement therapy
and dietary supplements. Critics, including much of the medical establishment, say
many anti-aging interventions are ineffective
or harmful.
From mainstream organizations the general advice is to be a skeptical consumer on
guard for possible scams involving purported
anti-aging products.
No treatments have been proven to slow
or reverse the aging process.
Advice for aging well is basic: Eat a healthy
diet, exercise regularly, don’t smoke.
“If someone is promising you today that
you can slow, stop or reverse aging, they’re
likely trying hard to separate you from your
money,” said S. Jay Olshansky, a professor at
the University of Illinois-Chicago’s School of
Public Health, who has written extensively
about aging.
“It’s always the same message: ‘Aging is
your fault and we’ve got the cure,’ ” Olshansky
said. “Invest in yourself, in the simple things
we know work. Get a good pair of running or
walking shoes and a health club membership,
and eat more fruits and vegetables.”
But such advice hasn’t curtailed the
demand for anti-aging products, including many with hefty price tags that aren’t
covered by health insurance. These include
cosmetic surgery procedures at $10,000 or
more, human growth hormone treatment at
$15,000 per year and a skin-care product
called Peau Magnifique that costs $1,500 for
a 28-day supply.
Another challenge for consumers is that
many dietary supplements and cosmetics,
unlike prescription drugs and over-the-
B
counter medicines, aren’t required to undergo
government testing or review before they are
marketed. The Food and Drug Administration
and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
do crack down at times on egregiously false
anti-aging claims, but generally there’s little
protection for people who don’t get hopedfor results.
Mary Engle, director of the FTC’s division of advertising practices, said her agency
focuses on the cases that could cause serious harm, such as bogus cancer treatments
that might prompt an ill person to forgo
proper care.
She said the agency
lacks the resources to
crack down comprehensively on ads with
exaggerated claims
that exploit customers’ hopes for better
looks or more energy.
In contrast to the
caution of mainstream
organizations, there
are many vocal promoters of anti-aging
products and procedures, including the
American Academy of
Anti-Aging Medicine.
It hosts annual conferences in the U.S. and
abroad, and claims
22,000 members,
mostly physicians.
In its mission statement, the academy
says the disabilities associated with normal
aging “are caused by physiological dysfunction which in many cases are ameliorable to
medical treatment, such that the human life
span can be increased.”
One of the academy’s co-founders is Robert
Goldman, a doctor of osteopathic medicine.
He contends that much of the resistance to the
anti-aging movement comes from sectors of
the health and pharmaceutical industries that
feel threatened financially — for example by
the surging use of over-the-counter nutritional
supplements.
Though many anti-aging interventions
are expensive, Goldman said people on tight
budgets still can take useful steps such as
drinking purified water, taking vitamins and
using sunscreen.
“People should be healthy and strong well
into 100 to 120 years of age,” Goldman says
in a biographical video.
Olshansky, who over the years has been
among Goldman’s harshest critics, believes
there will be scientific breakthroughs eventually, perhaps based on studies of the genes
of long-lived people, that will help slow the
rate of aging.
In the meantime, Olshansky said, “I
understand the need for personal freedom,
the freedom to make bad decisions.”
A look at some of the major sectors in the
anti-aging industry:
•Hormone replacement therapy —
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Numerous companies and clinics promote
hormone replacement drugs, including testosterone for men and custom-mixed “bioidentical” hormones for women, as a way to
slow the aging process.
Many consumers have seen ads featuring
muscle-bound Dr. Jeffry Life, now 72. He
used testosterone and human growth hormone in his own bodybuilding regimen and
recommends hormonal therapy for some of
the patients patronizing his age-management
practice in Las Vegas.
The FDA has approved hormone replacement drugs for some specific purposes
related to diseases and deficiencies, but not
to combat aging.
“Finding a ‘fountain of youth’ is a captivating story,” said the National Institute on Aging
(NIA). “The truth is that, to date, no research
has shown that hormone replacement drugs
add years to life or prevent age-related frailty.”
Dr. Evan Hadley, director of the institute’s
Division of Geriatrics, said hormone replacement drugs can have harmful side effects. He
said there is a need for more research, such
as an institute study of testosterone therapy,
to identify the potential risks and benefits.
Hormone drugs can be expensive. HGH
shots can cost more than $15,000 a year,
according to the institute. A hormonebased dietary supplement known as DHEA
(dehydroepiandrosterone), a precursor
of estrogen and testosterone, is marketed
online for $12.95 per capsule by Utah-based
NutraScriptives.
Some proponents say over-the-counter
18
Fifty Plus Advocate
(Zone 3)
DHEA supplements can improve energy
and strength, boost immunity and decrease
fat. The institute says there’s no conclusive
scientific evidence of any such benefits.
Life says he’s a staunch advocate of exercise
and healthy eating, but insists that hormone
replacement therapy, under a doctor’s supervision, is a crucial addition for some men, and
that includes him.
Life acknowledged that the cost of testosterone replacement, probably more than
$5,000 year and not covered by insurance,
could be daunting for some. But he contends
the investment pays off in more vitality.
•Cosmetic surgery — According to the
American Society of Plastic Surgeons, there
were 13.1 million cosmetic plastic surgery
procedures performed in the U.S. in 2010,
a 77 percent increase over a decade.
One notable trend is increased preference for less invasive procedures that enable
patients to get back to work and social settings
without a long leave of absence.
The most popular of these is treatment
with the wrinkle-smoothing drugs Botox
or Dysport. They account for 5.4 million
procedures, averaging about $400 per treatment. Other popular noninvasive procedures
include soft-tissue facial fillers, chemical peels
and microdermabrasion.
More invasive procedures come at a
higher price. Face-lifts can run from $6,000
to $15,000; the plastic surgeons’ academy
reported performing 112,000 of them in
2010.
Dr. Peter Schmid, who runs a cosmetic
surgery practice in Longmont, Colo., said
his field is flourishing because of evolving
attitudes among appearance-conscious boomers. A recent Associated Press-LifeGoesStrong.
December 1, 2011
com poll found that 1 in 5 boomers either
have had or would consider cosmetic surgery.
While the noninvasive procedures cost
less than a face-lift, the effects won’t last as
long and repeat treatments might be needed
several times a year, Schmid said. He advised
patients to calculate carefully which type of
procedure makes the most sense for them
financially.
Schmid, who is on the board of the
American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery, cautioned against any rush to try new procedures
that get a burst of publicity.
Some critics of the anti-aging industry are
supportive of cosmetic surgery, provided the
patient can comfortably afford it.
•Skin care — One of the industry’s booming sectors is anti-aging skin care, featuring
wrinkle creams and facial serums. By some
estimates, the U.S. market for cosmeceutical
products — cosmetics with medicine-based
ingredients — is approaching $20 billion
a year.
The FDA, which oversees cosmetic safety
and labeling, doesn’t require manufacturers
to prove the effectiveness of cosmetic products before they go on sale, and many ads
make claims that critics say are exaggerated
or unverifiable. The American Academy
of Dermatology recommends consulting a
dermatologist on what skin care products
have been proved safe and effective in human
studies.
Consumer Reports has ventured into the
realm of anti-aging cosmetics several times
recently, using high-tech optical devices
and other scientific methods to assess the
products.
Last year, the magazine tested nine face
serums, available at drug stores for prices
ranging from $20 to $65 and all claiming to
reduce wrinkles.
“After six weeks of use, the effectiveness
of even the best products was limited and
varied from subject to subject,” according
to the review. “When we did see wrinkle
reductions, they were at best slight, and they
fell short of the miracles that manufacturers
seemed to imply on product labels.”
Earlier, the magazine tested wrinkle
creams.
“Even the best performers reduced the
average depth of wrinkles by less than 10
percent, a magnitude of change that was,
alas, barely visible to the naked eye,” it said.
Its top-rated product, Olay Regenerist,
cost about $19 at the time of the testing. La
Prairie Cellular, the most expensive at $335,
was rated among the least effective.
Similar conclusions were reached in testing
16 over-the-counter eye creams.
“Even among the best-performing products, wrinkle reduction around the eyes was
generally pretty subtle,” the magazine said.
“After six weeks of daily use, none came close
to eliminating wrinkles.”
It said the most expensive, Perricone
MD at $95 a jar, was no better than cheaper
drugstore brands.
One recent development in anti-aging
skin care is the use of stem cell technology.
ReVive’s expensive Peau Magnifique is among
the new products, claiming to “recruit adult
stem cells into brand new stem cells.”
Neither Consumer Reports nor the FDA has
conducted any specific assessment of Peau
Magnifique’s effectiveness. On a website called
Makeupalley.com, some customer reviews
raved about it; others trashed it as a waste
of money. — AP
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