mbeals

7/4/2013 - “Better” Business? (EBRI)

It has become something of a truism in our industry that defined benefit plans are “better” than defined contribution plans. We’re told that returns are higher and fees lower in the former, that employees are better served by having the investment decisions made by professionals, and that many individuals don’t save enough on their own… Read more 7/4/2013 - “Better” Business? (EBRI)

7/5/2013 - Retiring Baby Boomers Create Housing Boomtowns

Baby boomers — those born between 1946 and 1964, constituting roughly 75 million people — are retiring in increasing numbers, prompting a new cycle of growth in housing markets that are popular with seniors. Read the full article at The Street.

7/5/2013 - Seniors Flex Creative Muscles In Retirement Arts Colonies

Some famous writers, painters and musicians have done some of their best work in their later years — impressionist Claude Monet, for one. But at the North Hollywood Senior Arts Colony, older people are proving that you don’t have to be famous — or even a professional artist — to live a creatively fulfilling life in… Read more 7/5/2013 - Seniors Flex Creative Muscles In Retirement Arts Colonies

7/3/2013 - Older working women may be healthier as a result

Postmenopausal women who work tend be in better health than their unemployed counterparts, according to a new study from South Korea. Read the full article at Reuters.

7/3/2013 - Chinatown 'Blessing Scams' Target Elderly Women

In Chinatowns around the country — in San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, New York — a peculiar financial scam is targeting elderly Chinese women. This so-called “blessing scam” isn’t much of a blessing. By asking lots of personal questions, the scammers convince their targets that they face terrible tragedy that they can only avoid if they… Read more 7/3/2013 - Chinatown 'Blessing Scams' Target Elderly Women

7/1/2013 - Uncle Sam wants you—to buy annuities (Wall Street Journal)

The Treasury Department got a lot of attention in February 2012 when it announced a proposal that would make it easier for IRAs and 401(k)-type plans to offer so-called longevity annuities. Because they delay income payments until later in life–for example, age 80 or 85—these products can offer retirees a relatively low-cost way to purchase,… Read more 7/1/2013 - Uncle Sam wants you—to buy annuities (Wall Street Journal)

7/1/2013 - Long-Term-Care Insurance Gap Hits Seniors (Wall Street Journal)

Rob and Katherine Deane thought they were being responsible by buying insurance policies to provide for care in their later years. Instead, the Michigan couple are encountering a growing gap in health-care coverage that the government overhaul will do nothing to fix. Read the full article at The Wall Street Journal.

6/30/2013 - Retired, yet still paying mortgage (Columbus Dispatch)

A growing number of homeowners are keeping a mortgage longer than they are keeping a job. Although some financial planners are alarmed by the trend, others say that, under the right circumstances, carrying a mortgage into retirement years makes financial sense. No one, however, disputes that the percentage of retirees holding a mortgage has skyrocketed.… Read more 6/30/2013 - Retired, yet still paying mortgage (Columbus Dispatch)

7/1/2013 - Aging work force requires changes like partial pensions, flexible positions

It’s time to face the aging of Canada’s work force, experts say. From offering partial retirement plans and accommodating elderly employees to dealing with discrimination claims from both old and young workers, there is a growing need for policies and processes in the greying labour market. Read the full article at The Globe and Mail.

7/1/2013 - Hanging up the keys is tough decision for seniors

Eunice Moore, 90, wants to keep driving as long as she can. Although a daughter living in Blue Grass “is always taking me someplace,” Moore said, she likes the convenience of being able to get into her 1995 Chevy Lumina for short trips around Davenport. The decision to stop driving is one of the most wrenching decisions… Read more 7/1/2013 - Hanging up the keys is tough decision for seniors