2/5/2013 - Many Relying on Home Equity for Retirement

Even though the housing market has not recovered, nearly half of older working Americans expect to use equity in their homes to help finance their retirement, a new survey finds. Read the full article at The New York Times.

2/5/2013 - Seven ways boomers are rewriting the rules of retirement

Boomers aren’t heading quietly into retirement. They’re launching businesses, embracing digital technology and living abroad in greater numbers than ever before. But in other ways they are struggling more than the previous generation. Here is a look at trends shaping the next wave of retirement. Read the full article at Reuters.

2/5/2013 - In Blended Families, Responsibility Blurs

Research shows that the ties which lead adult children to become caregivers — depending on how much contact they have with parents, how nearby they live, how obligated they feel — are weaker in stepchildren. Money sometimes enters the equation too, if biological children resent a parent’s spending their presumed inheritance on care for an… Read more 2/5/2013 - In Blended Families, Responsibility Blurs

2/4/13 - Outsmarting con artists (American Psychological Association)

Each year, researchers estimate that more than 30 million Americans are victims of financial fraud, whether it’s losing their retirement savings to a deceitful financial advisor, falling for an Internet scam or having their money surreptitiously siphoned by their own adult children. Fraud may total up to $50 billion annually in the United States and… Read more 2/4/13 - Outsmarting con artists (American Psychological Association)

2/3/13 - New Annuity Gurantees Raise Questions (Wall Street Journal)

With millions of baby boomers headed to retirement without old-fashioned pension plans as safety nets, here is a product that would seem to have big appeal: a guarantee of lifetime income from a portfolio of ordinary mutual funds—however long the investor lives and even if the stock market tanks. That’s what the life-insurance industry thinks.… Read more 2/3/13 - New Annuity Gurantees Raise Questions (Wall Street Journal)

2/2/13 - In Hard Economy for All Ages, Older Isn't Better ... It's Brutal (New York Times)

Young graduates are in debt, out of work and on their parents’ couches. People in their 30s and 40s can’t afford to buy homes or have children. Retirees are earning near-zero interest on their savings. In the current listless economy, every generation has a claim to having been most injured. But the Labor Department’s latest… Read more 2/2/13 - In Hard Economy for All Ages, Older Isn't Better ... It's Brutal (New York Times)

2/4/2013 - Therapy Plateau No Longer Ends Coverage

The settlement of a class-action lawsuit last month now means that Medicare is prohibited from denying patients coverage for skilled nursing care, home health services or outpatient therapy because they had reached a “plateau,” and their conditions were not improving. That will allow people with Medicare who have chronic health problems and disabilities to get… Read more 2/4/2013 - Therapy Plateau No Longer Ends Coverage

2/4/2013 - Delaying retirement? Have a backup plan

The economic downturn forced a sharp uptick in the number of middle-aged and older workers who say they plan to delay retirement. But if you’re one of those who intend to work longer to rebuild your depleted nest egg, make sure you have a backup plan. Read the full article at MarketWatch.

2/2/2013 - In Hard Economy for All Ages, Older Isn’t Better ... It’s Brutal

In the current listless economy, every generation has a claim to having been most injured. But the Labor Department’s latest jobs snapshot and other recent data reports present a strong case for crowning baby boomers as the greatest victims of the recession and its grim aftermath. Read the full article at The New York Times.

2/2/2013 - Weighing the End of Life

When asked whether it was time to put Byron “to sleep,” our vet said he used the 50 percent rule: Were at least half of Byron’s days good days? Or was it two bad days for every good? When you get to the latter, he explained, it’s time. Of course, we can’t have a 50… Read more 2/2/2013 - Weighing the End of Life