April 2015 Mature Lifestyles

MATURE

Lifestyles

April 2015

a special publication by

2 - Mature Lifestyles - April 2015 - TheIntelligencer.com

Associated Press

In this Oct. 16 photo, Jim Albaugh flips an upside down apple cake that he just baked in the west side Manhattan apartment he shares with two roommates in New York. Albaugh could be thought of as just one of the working poor, untold millions in the baby boomer generation who are not prepared for retirement.

LGBT baby boomers face tough retirement hurdles NEW YORK (AP) — For Kathy Murphy, the difference between being gay or straight is $583 a month.

Retirement should have been a “slam dunk,” the 62-year-old Texas widow says. She saved, bought a house with her spouse and has a pension through her employer.

But Murphy’s golden years have not been as secure as they should have been. She is missing out on thousands of dollars a year in Social Security benefits simply because she was married to a woman, not a man.

Murphy fell into a loophole in Social Security that denies survivor

benefits to same-sex couples depending on what state they live in. Had Murphy and her wife, Sara Barker, lived next door in New Mexico, a state that does recognize same-sex marriage, this wouldn’t have been an issue.

“If I had been straight, getting widow’s benefits would have been a slam dunk,” Murphy says. “I never thought I would live to see same-sex marriage, but the government still minimizes my marriage and my relationship of 32 years.”

Murphy could be thought of as just one of the many baby boomers

who are not prepared for retirement.

But while the group overall is not ready to stop working, gay boomers face challenges that make them even more vulnerable, experts say.

For many, decades of workplace discrimination impaired their earning power. The AIDS crisis caused lasting financial and psychological damage, particularly for gay men.

And legal pitfalls within Social Security, the cornerstone in any senior ’s financial planning, have left gay boomers ill-equipped for retirement.

Continued on Page 4

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Boomers Continued from Page 2 Same-sex couples in general are likely to have saved far less for retirement than their straight counterparts, according to an exclusive analysis of the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances by the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. The center is jointly operated

by The Associated Press and NORC, a leading research center at the University of Chicago.

The median retirement savings for a same-sex couple is roughly $66,000, while straight married couples have roughly $88,000, according to the data, which looks at the finances of straight and same-sex couples aged 19 to 95 going back to 2001.

This data, as well as other studies, show that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender adults tend to be poorer, in worse health, and most often, alone — with no family to care for them when they reach old age.

“In the aging world, there has been little regard for even the existence of LGBT older people, let alone their particular social and financial needs,” says Michael Adams, executive director of SAGE, a national organization focused on social services and advocacy for LGBT seniors.

When financial firm Prudential asked LGBT adults aged 25 to 68 last year if they were “well prepared” for retirement, only 14 percent said they were, compared with 29 percent of the total population.

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And in a sad irony, many of the aging pioneers of gay rights are too old to reap the retirement benefits from the marriage laws they championed.

LOWER EARNINGS Gays and lesbians have faced higher unemployment, lower wages and a workplace where discrimination based upon sexual orientation was common. While many corporations have non-discrimination policies now, it is still legal to fire someone for their sexual orientation in 21 states, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.

Two polls, one by Pew Research in 2013 and one by Gallup in 2012, reached the same conclusion: LGBT individuals were more likely to make less money than their straight peers during their careers. Gay men earned as much as 32 percent less than straight men, according to research by the Williams Institute, a California-based think tank that focuses on LGBT issues.

As a result, gay men and women over 65 are more likely to end up in poverty. Lesbians, who face wage discrimination because of both their gender and sexual orientation, are even more vulnerable.

Being LGBT “just amplifies the financial problems women already face in the workforce,” says Ineke Mushovic, executive director of the Movement Advancement Project, a Denver-based LGBT-focused think tank.

The Gallup poll found that 15.9 percent of gay men over 65 were near or below the Federal poverty line, compared to 9.7 percent of heterosexual men in the same age group.

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Boomers Continued from Page 4 While the Gallup poll showed poverty rates for straight and gay women to be statistically similar, other studies, including a 2009 report by the Williams Institute, showed lesbian couples over the age of 65 were twice as likely to live below the poverty line as opposite-sex couples, and were much more likely to be on public assistance programs such as food stamps.

MARRIED WITHOUT BENEFITS Gay couples were only recently extended the core elements of the retirement safety net available to married straight couples: inheritance of a spouse’s Social Security benefits and pensions. But even with the recent expansion of gay marriage, same-sex couples still face discrimination when it comes to benefits.

When a husband or wife in a straight marriage dies, their spouses can typically collect Social Security benefits based on the higher earner’s work history. Not so for many gay spouses. Only widows or widowers in states that recognize same-sex marriage can get that higher income.

Why? Social Security differs from most federal programs in that the law requires it to use individual states’ definition of marriage.

That requirement is why the Obama Administration was unable to extend Social Security benefits to all same-sex couples nationwide, even after the Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act last year. Before then, the federal government did not recognize same-sex marriage at all, even in states where it was legal. Domestic partnerships are still unrecognized by the federal government.

In Florida, Arlene Goldberg faces a retirement of significantly less income. When her partner of 47 years, Carol Goldwasser, died in March, Goldberg was denied her wife’s Social Security survivor benefits on the basis that Florida does not recognize same-sex marriage.

Goldwasser’s death certificate said “single, never married,” even though the couple wed in New York in 2011. Had they been living in New York, Goldberg would earn $800 more in monthly benefits.

“The Social Security problems were bad, but the fact they listed Carol as single was the worst possible thing they could have done to me,” Goldberg says.

The State of Florida revised Goldwasser’s death certificate in October to recognize the couple’s marriage, but Goldberg still has not received any Federal benefits.

“The Social Security Administration knows this is a problem, but there is little they can do, because they’re bound to the letter of the law,” says Karen Loewy, a senior attorney at Lambda Legal, a national organization that focuses on legal issues affecting the LGBT community.

In the case of Murphy and Baker, the couple got married in Massachusetts in 2010. Baker died in 2012 and since then Murphy has been unable to collect her wife’s benefit of $583 a month. Same-sex marriage has been legal in Massachusetts since 2003, but it’s not allowed in Texas, and the federal government is required to use the couples’ state of residence to determine benefits.

“I try not to worry about money, but it’s about fairness,”

Murphy says.

This isn’t the first time state marriage laws and Social Security has been at odds. The denial of benefits to mixedrace couples was cited by the Supreme Court in 1967, when it struck down laws that barred black and whites from marrying. For gay couples, the state laws that block federal benefits amount to similar discrimination, advocates say.

Government agencies have little understanding of the scope of problems facing the LGBT demographic. The Administration on Aging, part of the Department of Health and Human Services, collects data on aging minority groups such as African Americans, Native Americans and Hispanics, but not on gay individuals. This is important because the federal government allocates money toward specific elderly programs based on these surveys.

The White House has called for legislation to allow samesex couples to access survivor benefits in all states. It also has asked for an update of the Older Americans Act to authorize data collection on LGBT individuals. However, there has been little momentum in Congress to take up these issues.

“We’re not talking about some fringe benefit here,” says SAGE’s Adams. “Social Security is the most important financial resource for older Americans in this country, and this is just as true for LGBT older Americans.”

THE SHADOW OF AIDS Bill C. was never supposed to reach retirement. Diagnosed with HIV in the late 1980s, he spent three years in and out of hospitals with AIDS-related infections, watching helplessly as dozens of his friends died.

The 67-year-old, who did not want his last name used for fear his HIV status would negatively impact his acting career, chose to live for what moments he thought he had left. He cashed in his retirement savings and bought a waterfront home on Long Island he knew he couldn’t afford. There he thought he’d spend his days sailing, fishing and riding horses until the disease took him.

He nearly died a handful of times, spending much of 1995, 1996 and 1997 in the hospital. He had to shutter his fabric business.

And the dream house where he was supposed to live out the rest of his life? It was taken by the bank in 1995.

Like Bill C., many long-term AIDS survivors interviewed by the AP talked about poor financial decisions they made in the 1980s and 1990s — when they believed they were facing a death sentence — and are now paying for as they enter retirement.

The advent of life-prolonging antiretroviral “cocktail” therapies in the late 1990s helped end that fatalistic outlook, but by then, HIV-positive baby boomers had lost a decade or more of savings time. Those who had cashed in their retirement funds had to start saving again. Those who had AIDS-related infections went on workplace disability, stunting their savings potential.

“A lot of people who had jobs and financial resources before they became sick were then stuck in some relatively permanent status of financial disarray,” says Sean Strub, the founder of POZ, a New York-based magazine focused on the HIV-positive community.

Jim Albaugh is one of these people.

Diagnosed with HIV in 1987, then AIDS in 1990, Albaugh was in and out of hospitals. But after coming back from the brink of death, he faces a different crisis: He can’t work as much as before he was sick and has little savings.

Continued on Page 8

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Associated Press

Lori Brennan, senior account executive at Kellwood Corp., reacts as Al Boscov dances with her during their meeting Nov. 4 in New York. Boscov, 85, is the chairman of the department store chain bearing his name.

Retail chairman still a driving force at 85 READING, Pa. (AP) — Al Boscov pulled his white Acura RDX into the parking lot at the employee entrance of the Reading Mall at 6:25 a.m., strode to the entrance of a chartered bus and scaled a couple steps.

“Did we load all the pretzels?” asked the 85-year-old chairman of the department store chain bearing his name.

Excusing himself, he hurried into the rear of the unopened Boscov’s store at the Berks County mall before returning minutes later with a bag of muffins, cookies, bananas and yogurt.

A maintenance worker followed, pushing a cart loaded with hot coffee, breakfast items and soft drinks.

Nobody went hungry on this 13-hour round trip to New York, which includ-

ed about three dozen Boscov’s executives and buyers. Boscov made eight visits during his seven-hour mission in Manhattan, displaying his legendary stamina, hammy wit and instincts for a bargain.

Boscov brought a small media contingent along on Nov. 5 for one of his regular Wednesday business excursions to New York with the chain’s apparel buyers. The outing tied in to promotions related to the 100th anniversary of the founding of Boscov’s by his father, Solomon.

“We have a lot of people calling with cancellations of orders,” Boscov said as the bus rolled east through Lehigh County at sunup. “The industry has changed. Manufacturers used to overproduce. So, we’ll be checking

to see what’s around.”

Major retailers had to scale back holiday season orders by Oct. 25, Boscov said, and some bargains could be had for more than 40 Boscov’s stores.

“These manufacturers don’t want to have this stuff after Christmas,” he said. “They would lose money on it.”

During the three-hour bus ride to New York, Boscov marked up newspaper advertising proofs with a red felttip pen. He pulled a leather-bound, pocket-sized address book out of his suit coat near Union, N.J., and phoned ahead to set up appointments. He wrote the stops out by hand in felt-tip pen on sheets of paper he had used to check the ad proofs.

Continued on Page 8

TheIntelligencer.com - April 2015 - Mature Lifestyles - 7

Remedies for joint pain (BPT) - Soreness, stiffness, tenderness - joint pain can have a direct impact on quality of life. Fortunately, there are a number of proactive steps that incorporate all-natural solutions to help improve joint health and overall wellness.

Joint pain is one of the most common health concerns. It affects 30 percent of U.S. adults, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Not surprisingly, joint pain prevalence increases with age. Forty-two percent of adults 45-64 years old, and about onehalf of adults 65 and older, have experienced recent joint pain, the CDC reports.

“Just because a person ages, it doesn’t mean they should hurt,” says Dr. Christopher Mohr, a fitness and nutritional expert who consults for television, print and radio outlets throughout the country. “Lifestyle plays a big role in maintaining joint health. Joint health and integrity is built on a strong foundation diet, exercise, and weight management.”

Mohr offers four all-natural ways to improve - and even eliminate - joint pain in the knees, hips and ankles:

1. Eat for joint health Key nutrients that help with joint health, mobility and lubrication are healthy fats like omega-3s.

“Think of these like lube for your joints,” says Mohr. “Replace some of the usual protein in your diet with fish - wild salmon, tuna, sardines, anchovies, etc. Aim to do this at least twice per week.”

In addition to increasing foods with healthy omega-3 fats, Mohr recommends reducing unhealthy fats like trans and saturated fats. These are often found in packaged items, sweet treats and other overly processed foods.

“Of course, also think about adding loads and loads of colorful veggies and fruits, as well as decreasing sugar and other refined carbs in the diet,” Mohr suggests.

2. Add supplements Omega-3 fats can support joint health, but often people don’t get enough through the foods they eat. Supplementation is a good option for people who suffer from joint pain.

“Joint health can be maintained by ‘feeding’ the body what it needs,” says Mohr.

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ity, concentrated dose of omega-3 fats that your body uses most efficiently. I like the Nordic Naturals EPA Xtra product, as EPA is one of the omega-3 fats that’s particularly beneficial for healthy joints.”

3. Manage a healthy weight “The less body weight you have to carry around, the easier it will be to move around,” says Mohr. “Make physical activity a regular part of your day. The stronger your muscles, the easier it will be to move comfortably. Above all, this will help relieve some of the common pains in the joints.”

4. Stay physically active Mohr says one of the most common misconceptions about joint pain is that rest is helpful.

“Unfortunately that becomes a vicious cycle, where more rest can ultimately cause more pain because the surrounding muscles are getting weaker and giving less support to those joints,” he says.

Appropriate physical activity should be part of a daily joint-health routine, but it doesn’t require joining a gym or hiring a trainer.

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Boscov Continued from Page 6 Nearby, company president Sam Flamholz hauled breakfast food up and down the bus’s center aisle.

“This is not doing wonders for my ego,” Flamholz teased Boscov.

After his catering duties, Flamholz said the New York trips establish relationships with vendors and Mr. Boscov sets the tone.

“I don’t think you would see too many other people bringing candy and chocolate-covered pretzels to their vendors,” Flamholz said. “His personal attention and relationships in the market make a big difference for us. He truly is one of a kind in many ways.”

Boscov’s first New York stop was in a skyscraper off Seventh Avenue near West 35th Street at the Doneger Group, a fashion intelligence firm that provides consulting to retailers. Boscov handed a receptionist a box of chocolate-covered pretzels with Boscov’s logo on the wrapping.

“You spoil me. God bless you,” she said to the retail magnate.

About 80 percent of the nation’s fashion industry has representatives within 10 blocks of Seventh Avenue and 35th Street, said Lee Mandelbaum, an executive vice president at the Doneger Group, and Boscov knows apparel better than any retail executive in the industry. “This is the way business was done 30 years ago. He is a consummate merchant,” Mandelbaum said. “I have been doing this for 35 years and I’ve never met anyone like him.”

At Kensie, a women’s apparel manufacturer in the same building as the Doneger Group, Boscov bargained for prices on misses and juniors casual

wear. Kensie is a division of fashion giant GIII Apparel Group, whose licenses include Kenneth Cole, Jones New York, Tommy Hilfiger and Dockers lines and vendors tried to interest Boscov in some discount items.

“We want you to be a $9.99 store,” an executive told Boscov.

“We’ll trade up to it,” Boscov retorted.

At Rabbit, Rabbit Rabbit Designs, a dressmaker with an office along Broadway near 30th Street, Boscov helped a buyer negotiate orders for shifts, silhouettes and crochet dresses the chain bought for about $20 each and will sell for about $29.

Company founder Diane Randall, who manages sales for Rabbit, Rabbit Rabbit, has known Boscov for decades.

Most retail chains have isolated management and quick executive turnover, Ms. Randall said.

“How often do you know the name of the chairman of the board?” she asked, glancing at Boscov. “This doesn’t happen anymore.”

Following his handwritten itinerary, Boscov walked next to Lee Jeans, which is owned by VF Corp., an apparel titan whose licenses include Nautica, Timberland and North Face brands.

Nibbling on a lunch of chicken and rice during a presentation on Lee’s products, Boscov reminded company representatives that VF Corp. traces its history to the Reading Glove and Mitten Manufacturing Co. in his hometown.

Lee officials agreed to supply Boscov’s with discounted jeans for a special holiday retail sold at retail for $14.99.

Leading a small contingent on foot to My Michelle, a division of the Kellwood Co. at Broadway and 39th Street, Mr. Boscov helped negotiate purchases on discontinued juniors and misses products.

Boomers Continued from Page 5 When the 55-year-old former actor does save, “something pops up and it’s gone.” Recently, he says, he was “lucky” to buy a new pair of shoes. Without the public support programs that help him with his New York City rent, he would not be able to get by.

Albaugh has 10 years before he hits retirement age. But when asked about it, he says: “I don’t think about retirement

Inspecting a rack of young women’s clothing, he pulled a red spaghetti-strap dress and mock modeled it over his gray suit. To laughs and good-natured compliments, he returned it and quipped, “This one is a little old for me.”

After boarding the charter bus outside Madison Square Garden for the return, the buyers and Boscov compared experiences as they dined on food from the Stage Door deli during the return trip.

One buyer of men’s apparel told Boscov she had spent more than $300,000 on orders.

As Mr. Boscov caught a quick nap on the return ride, Flamholz said the seven hours spent in New York provided a glimpse of the edge Mr. Boscov provides for the company.

“He leads by example,” Flamholz said. “You see him and say to yourself, ‘How could I do less?’”

The chain plans to invest heavily in a 2015 upgrade to the downtown WilkesBarre store, Boscov said. Negotiations continue on ownership of the Mall of Steamtown, he said, with a bank-affiliated company that acquired it through foreclosure in July from a group including Boscov.

When he came out of retirement to save the chain from liquidation in a $100 million deal in bankruptcy court in 2008, Boscov’s had 39 stores and did about $850 million annually in revenue.

The chain has 43 stores now and will top $1 billion in sales this year, Boscov said.

Six years after Boscov retook control and stabilized the chain, questions inevitably arise about the octogenarian’s return to retirement.

“I plan to cut back this coming year,” Boscov said as he adjusted an overhead reading light to check more advertising proofs during the return bus trip to Reading. “We will see how it goes.”

because I don’t believe I will have one.”

He can’t work as much as before and has fallen behind on saving for retirement.

“I was working 40 hours a week and I ended up twice in the hospital,” he says. “It took me a long time to realize I couldn’t work as much as I really wanted.”

Albaugh hopes to wean himself off some public aid programs in the next couple years but acknowledges that he’ll need others, like Social Security disability.

“I’ll work as hard as I can until I can work no more. After that,” he says, his voice trailing off, “I don’t know what I will do.”

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28 retirement mistakes you should avoid

By CHRISTINA LAVINGIA GOBankingRates.com

Retirement planning can be incredibly tricky for two reasons: First, numerous factors that affect your retirement planning, and second, no two retirement needs are the exact same. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to realizing the visions of your golden years, and even financial advisors and experts differ in their advice. So how should you approach this financial hurdle?

The right retirement plan is all about timing and opportunity. In nearly every way you could make a mistake — for example, starting to save too late — you can also make up ground by availing yourself of all resources at your disposal (say, your employer ’s 401(k) matching program).

With that in mind, we’ve compiled a list of major retirement pitfalls to avoid — and what to do if you end up taking some missteps.

HAVING NO RETIREMENT PLAN Starting with the basics here: Not beginning the retirement-planning process is one of the first and biggest mistakes you can make. Consider what you want your future to look like and how much money you can reliably set aside now. Then find a deposit product that will get you there. Employers often offer 401(k) plans and pensions (though fewer offer pensions these days). You can also open an IRA without an employer sponsoring the account.

These products, which can offer greater returns and more diversification in investment than a traditional deposit account, are a great way to start your retirement savings.

NOT TAKING YOUR EMPLOYER’S MATCH If your employer offers to match your 401(k) contributions to a certain percentage and you don’t opt in, you’re essentially leaving free money on the table. Make sure to contribute at least the amount your employer matches to your retirement accounts each month — the bonus is the incentive you’ll have to save more.

INCORRECT BENEFICIARY DESIGNATIONS In the event of your passing, you likely don’t want to leave a financial mess for your family by having your retirement plan beneficiaries and your will in conflict.

Make sure these designations match your intentions so dividing up your remaining assets will be as simple as possible.

HIGH RETIREMENT ACCOUNT FEES According to the Center for American Progress, the average worker will lose $70,000 from his 401(k) to fees. The promise of high yields might be tantalizing, but compare these account fees to ones attached to lower-yield options to determine the true value of your investment.

NOT CHECKING YOUR ACCOUNT’S PERFORMANCE Sitting on your laurels does not bode well for a strong retirement. Do you know how well your investments performed last year? Or over the last five years? Unless retire-

ment is imminent, long-term performance should dictate which funds you invest in. Don’t let years pass you by on low-return investments if other safe options yield better rates.

RELYING ON SOCIAL SECURITY OR A PENSION It’s no secret that the future of the Social Security system is in question. With the baby boomer generation cashing out, no one knows for certain whether the system will still exist by the time millennials retire — and if it does, what it will look like. What’s more, companies are now freezing pensions en masse; 40 percent of Fortune 1000 companies already have, according to a Towers Watson study.

CASHING OUT YOUR 401(K)S BETWEEN JOBS According to PBS Frontline, 70 percent of workers in their 20s cash out their 401(k)s instead of rolling them over, while 55 percent of those in their 30s do that. That means you’re paying taxes and a 10 percent penalty repeatedly on your savings if you’re under 55.

BELIEVING YOU WILL WANT TO KEEP WORKING You might love your career and not be able to imagine life without a 9-to-5 gig. However, your ability to keep pace in the workplace will likely wane eventually. Circumstances change, your health might not keep up with you, and you’ll likely be ready to eventually take it easy and retire. Don’t skimp on your saving because you think you can work until you’re 90 and earn more than you do today.

NOT CAPITALIZING ON YOUR TAX DEFERRAL There are a number of tax advantages that apply when you’re saving for retirement. These are meant to be an incentive for saving, so take advantage of them by properly reducing your taxable income and letting these funds grow tax-deferred.

TRANSFER ON DEATH AND PAYABLE ON DEATH DESIGNATION MISTAKES A factor if you have a trust or estate plan, Fidelity recommends double-checking your “transfer on death” and “payable on death” designations to ensure they match your will, as these designations will affect who gets your retirement account assets when you pass away. “Transfer on death” registration overrides your will, according to Fidelity.

CASHING OUT YOUR PENSION Your financial advisor might try to convince you to cash out your pension from a former employer. Unless you really need the money now, this is mostly in the interest of your advisor, who could make tens of thousands in the form of commission, according to Time Magazine.

Consider the incalculable benefit of a stable check you can depend on before liquidating your pension and assuming you can perfectly plan it out to last.

BUYING TOO MUCH COMPANY STOCK It’s unlikely that your employer is the next Enron — but you can’t rule out that possibility. Don’t own more than 10 percent of your investments in company stock.

Continued on Page 12

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Mistakes Continued from Page 10 BURNING THROUGH YOUR SAVINGS If you saved a lot for retirement, it might feel like the ultimate payoff to finally stop working and gain access to your funds. However, don’t let all that cash fool you into living the high life early on in retirement. Sure, the first years of retirement might be the best time to travel, do home projects and generally spend money on things you might no longer enjoy later on; however, moderation is key, as you have no idea how long you’ll need those funds to last you.

INCORRECT TRUSTS If your hope is to still have some money left over for your children or beneficiaries to inherit, then you’ll want to pay attention to your trusts. Every situation varies, but designating a trust as the beneficiary of a retirement account could be entirely useless if not drafted appropriately.

RETIRING TOO EARLY Your retirement payouts are dictated by your age — if you retire early or retire late. Depending on your designated full retirement age, you could be receiving less benefits (or more, if you wait) each year.

INVESTING TOO CONSERVATIVELY The Great Recession might have scared you from risk-

ier investments, but if you’re decades from retirement, don’t be too conservative with your funds, especially if your options could give you high returns over a long period of time.

INVESTING TOO AGGRESSIVELY Again, the theme here is moderation. You don’t want to miss out on the best returns you can get, but you also don’t want to open yourself up to too much risk, especially in the years leading up to retirement.

BORROWING FROM YOUR 401(K) This isn’t always a terrible idea, especially if your other loan options come at a higher price; however, in general you’re going to want to avoid borrowing from your 401(k). It will likely set you back far longer than the amount of time it took you to save those funds in the first place, thanks to compounding interest.

PUTTING YOUR MONEY IN VARIABLE ANNUITIES In comparison to other mutual fund options, variable annuities can cost 50 to 100 percent more in fees and surrender charges, according to FinancialMentor.com. Furthermore, the gains on these accounts are taxed as normal income — not capital gains — upon withdrawal.

STARTING YOUR RETIREMENT SAVINGS TOO LATE Time is of the essence when it comes to retirement planning.

Start even a decade later, and you’ll have to dramatically adjust your monthly contributions to start making up for lost time. Do yourself a favor and save less each paycheck for longer to head for a sizable retirement.

Continued on Page 13

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Mistakes Continued from Page 12 SAVING TOO MUCH TOO EARLY If you’re in your 20s and you’re putting north of 10 percent of your income toward retirement, you might want to slow down. Sure, you’re setting yourself up for a comfortable retirement if you start saving aggressively at a young age, but you also don’t want to be behind on your savings for more imminent investments, like a home.

Make sure you’re saving an appropriate amount to still reach other goals with minimal debt.

AVOIDING STOCKS Franklin Templeton found in a 2013 survey that 37 percent of long-term investors think they can avoid stocks altogether. However, you likely won’t see your retirement grow to where you’d like it to be by relying on bonds, certificates of deposit and traditional deposit accounts — especially at today’s rates.

NOT PLANNING FOR MEDICAL EXPENSES The mind often outlives the body, and medical care doesn’t come cheap.

With higher insurance costs the older we get, it’s important to factor in medical expenses when budgeting for retirement.

Opening a health savings account can help ensure you are socking away a designated amount of money toward these costs.

NOT CALCULATING HOW LONG YOUR RETIREMENT WILL BE There’s no way to know how long you’ll live, but it’s always better to err on the side of overplanning. The alternative is you’ll outlive your retirement funds.

UNREALISTIC EXPECTATIONS FOR RETIREMENT Consider the true costs of planning for retirement and be honest: What kind of lifestyle do you want? Draft a budget that’s realistic and face the present reality of what you’ll have to sacrifice to get there.

PAYING OFF DEBT BEFORE SAVING When faced with the prospect of saving for the future or paying down debt, many struggle with deciding which

takes precedence. However, because time is so crucial when saving for retirement — even if it’s a few decade off — it’s best to devise a strategy that allows you to pay down debt while still making some headway, however minor, toward retirement.

PRIORITIZING YOUR CHILD’S EDUCATION It’s no doubt generous to save for a child’s education; however, you should consider the costs and benefits of you versus your child saddling that burden, especially if you’re behind on your retirement savings. There are a number of options your child can take advantage of to pay for part or all of college — and these options should be on the table.

Ultimately, if you’re short on retirement savings, you’ll likely have fewer chances than your child will to cover expenses.

CARRYING DEBT WITH YOU By its nature, retirement means transitioning to a fixed-income lifestyle.

Carrying debt into retirement will be detrimental to your financial strength and eat away at your savings. Do your best to get all debt paid off before you stop working.

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TheIntelligencer.com - April 2015 - Mature Lifestyles - 15

How to choose the right hearing aid

By LINDA A. JOHNSON AP Business Writer

Tired of making people repeat themselves? Is cranking up the volume on the TV no longer enough help?

That’s a signal it’s time to get your hearing checked and consider a hearing aid. In the last several years, the technology has advanced tremendously, hearing aids have become less conspicuous and insurance coverage has improved.

“This is not your grandfather’s hearing aid,” yet many people have that outdated view, says audiologist Carolyn Smaka, editor of the website www.audiologyonline.com .

Today, virtually all hearing aids are digital and they do far more than boost volume. They’re essentially minicomputers, precisely programmed for each patient, to boost sounds and adjust tones where they need it most, much like the way stereo equalizers adjust various frequencies to produce the best sound, says Smaka.

They’re also pricey: Most run from $1,000 to $6,000 each, including follow-up. Nearly everyone needs two, and they usually must be replaced about every five years.

“People should realize that their hearing loss is much more noticeable than any hearing aid will be,” says Kim Cavitt, an audiology consultant in Chicago and president of the Academy of Doctors of Audiology.

About 30 million U.S. teens and adults have impaired hearing, often caused by excessive noise at work or leisure, such as loud music. That includes nearly 1 in 10 adults aged 55 to 64; 1 in 4 aged 65 to 74; and half those 75 and older.

Hearing impairment can cause frustration, social isolation and depression, so hearing aids can greatly improve daily life, though they can’t completely restore hearing.

With all the available options, selecting a device is complicated, but most manufacturers provide a trial period entitling you to a refund if you’re not satisfied.

Here’s a roadmap: — Talk with your doctor. A thorough exam is essential, as about 15 percent of patients with hearing problems are found to have ear infections, medication side effects, benign tumors or other problems hearing aids can’t fix, Cavitt says.

—Seek recommendations. If a hearing aid is appropriate, it’s crucial to pick a hearing professional who answers all your questions and listens to your concerns. Options include an audiologist, who has a master’s or doctoral degree, or a hearing aid dispenser, who may be equally knowledgeable but may not have an advanced degree. Be sure to ask about qualifications and fees in advance.

Start with your doctor, but also ask relatives and friends who have a hearing aid, or search the databases of professional organizations, such as http://www.audiology.org .

—Check insurance coverage. The initial evaluation normally is covered, but until recently the hearing aid, fitting and follow-up were rarely covered, except by the Veterans Administration. Today, roughly 30 percent of plans cover at least some of that, according to Cavitt. Your out-ofpocket costs may limit what options you choose.

—Interview a couple hearing aid providers. Besides an initial evaluation, you’ll need a fitting that includes programming the device and training on insertion, cleaning and battery changing, plus two to three follow-ups to fine tune the hearing aid’s settings.

—Get tested. At this stage you should receive a 45- to 60-minute test analyzing your hearing loss, such as whether your problem is mainly with low frequencies or high frequencies.

High frequencies usually go first as you age, making it difficult to understand children and women.

—Discuss your specific problems.

For many, that’s trouble talking on the phone and hearing conversations at a party or restaurant. For those still working, it may be difficulty participating in office meetings.

Knowing those details will help your audiologist pick the most suitable device. If it’s programmable, you can have multiple settings for specific situations, such as quietly listening to music, trying to hear over all the background chatter at church bingo or carrying on a conversation when you’re driving and can’t watch the passenger’s face.

—Review optional features. If you want multiple settings for different sound situations, you might consider a remote control to switch between settings.

Feedback control, which prevents loud squealing and whistling, is a must.

You likely will want directional hearing aids; they have two or three microphones, which helps you focus on what you want to hear and can reduce annoying background noise.

If you use a cellphone, ask about hearing aid compatibility. For example, there’s an iPhone app for that can stream a call directly into your hearing aids.

But you may not need the most advanced bells and whistles. Those include hearing aids that are water-resistant and ones with accessories such as a penlike device that streams TV audio.

—Consider appearance. Options include devices that hook behind the ear, sit in the outer ear, or are in the ear canal and nearly invisible.

—Discuss price options. In general, the smaller and more sophisticated the device, the higher the price.

Beware of “bargains,” though. Some hearing aids can be bought online, but most Internet offerings are really just personal sound amplifiers. Although they sell for as little as $100, they’re not regulated and are only for people who want volume boosted a bit.

—Review the warranty. Hearing aids typically are covered for one to three years, and the first year may include replacing lost ones — a common problem, since they’re so small. An extended warranty might be smart.

16 - Mature Lifestyles - April 2015 - TheIntelligencer.com

Associated Press

In this photo taken Jan. 29, 2015, seniors and high school students line dance during the Senior Citizen Prom at the Callaway Christian Church in Fulton, Mo. For the past 14 years, members of the North Callaway High School chapter of the Future Farmers of America and senior citizens have gathered annually to dance.

Teens, seniors gather for annual dance

FULTON, Mo. (AP) — Cassidy Jones, 16, held the gold-andred velvet coronation crown over her grandfather’s head.

As she put it in place, Kenneth Jones, 75, beamed. He had just been crowned king of the Senior Citizen Prom, the Columbia Missourian reports.

For the past 14 years, members of the North Callaway High School chapter of the Future Farmers of America and senior citizens have gathered annually to dance.

This year, it took place in January at Callaway Christian

Church. More than 80 people attended; about half were teenagers and half were at least 50 or older. They came from all over central Missouri, including Fulton, Auxvasse, Kingdom City, Mexico and Farber.

For many of the older group, it may have been half a century since their high school prom.

“This is my second time around,” said prom queen Darlene Behlmann, referring to her senior prom in 1967.

Continued on Page 19

TheIntelligencer.com - April 2015 - Mature Lifestyles - 17

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18 - Mature Lifestyles - April 2015 - TheIntelligencer.com

Two generations, retired and together

By FRAN HAWTHORNE New York Times News Service

Almost every morning, Lauri McBride, 62, a retired middle-school science teacher, spends a half-hour chatting with her father, William Fink, 88, while he eats breakfast. Most evenings, McBride returns for another 30 minutes as her father sips a martini.

“She pokes her head in and wants to know what I did yesterday,” joked Fink, who is widowed and retired from careers as an optician and an industrial arts teacher.

McBride visited her father twice a day even before she retired last June, since she’s right upstairs. She and her husband, John, 66, an IT consultant, rent the upper two floors of Fink’s brownstone in New York. But that was only for brief hellos. “It was always rushed,” she recalled. “I feel like we’ve gotten closer now.”

Now that they are both retired, father and daughter even find time to go out to art museums and restaurants. This kind of relationship, with parents and offspring in the same family both retired, would have been almost unheard of in an earlier day. But dual-generation retirements have become more numerous, at least for the moment, thanks to a rare confluence of trends. Among them are increased life spans, the relatively young marriage age of the Greatest Generation and what may be the last wave of retirees with traditional pensions, which allow for more secure, even early, retirements.

“This is historically unprecedented, where you have older people and their still-older parents,” said Phyllis Moen, a sociology professor at the University of Minnesota. “Families are having to figure out those intergenerational relationships.”

While the mutual leisure time can allow for nice talks and travel, too much unaccustomed togetherness can rankle, while caretaking responsibilities mount.

The main reason for dual retirements is that people are living longer. More than 11.2 million Americans were over age 80 in the 2010 U.S. census. Logically, many of those were parents of the 36.5 million baby boomers who were then hitting the classic retirement ages of 55 to 64.

In a survey of about 1,000 of the oldest boomers by the MetLife Mature Market Institute in 2012, 24 percent had a parent who was alive.

But to continue the trend, the 55-and-older group must retire young enough, while their parents are still alive. That situation may not continue. The 2008 recession led to many involuntary early retirements, but surveys show several indicators of later retirement — like the work force participation rate of those over age 55. The ages at which people say they expect to retire and their actual retirement ages have also been rising slowly and for the most part steadily for more than a decade.

People are also putting off having children, which will make it harder for such parents to survive until their

daughters and sons retire. The average woman born in 1960 had her first child at 22.7, compared with 20.8 for her mother born in 1935, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Experts say the dual-retirement phenomenon favors certain demographic groups. Employees are more likely to retire if they can count on secure pensions, but those were available to just 13 percent of the private sector work force in 2012, down from 39 percent in 1980, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute, based in Washington.

Among the few careers still offering pensions are unionized, labor-intensive jobs. Those are the same categories of workers who often “won’t physically be able to defer retirement,” said Stewart D. Lawrence, head of the U.S. retirement practice at the Segal Group, a benefits consulting firm based in New York.

Another group of generally unionized workers, public sector employees, including teachers like McBride, are also likely to have pensions. The benefit institute found that 83 percent of state and local employees had access to a traditional defined-benefit plan in 2014.

There are also persuasive reasons to expect that “among that two-generation retirement population, you’re going to have a disproportionate share who are better-educated professionals,” said Sara Rix, a senior strategic policy adviser at the AARP Public Policy Institute, the internal think tank for the giant lobbying group for older people.

Although people with advanced education rarely have the kind of physically demanding jobs that might spur early retirement, she said, education correlates with better health care. Their higher incomes may also enable this group to save enough to compensate for the lack of a pension.

Ethnic-based predictions are somewhat tricky. The Centers for Disease Control statistics show that whites have longer life expectancy than African-Americans. But African-American as well as Latino cultures “have expectations that, ‘We do not put our parents in a nursing home,’” thus the children are more likely to retire early to care for their elders, said Lori Simon-Rusinowitz, interim director of the Center on Aging at the University of Maryland.

The luckiest families, like the McBride-Fink clan, enjoy more quality time in their shared retirement.

Suzanne Marquard, now 64, spent four days in Chicago with her father, William A. Marquard, a former chief executive of the American Standard Cos., and other family members for her daughter ’s graduation from the University of Chicago in 2006. If she had not taken an early retirement incentive package from Prudential Financial 18 months before, she might have squeezed in only a one-day trip, Suzanne Marquard said. “It would have been stressful. I would have been thinking about the stuff I had to do.”

Continued on Page 20

TheIntelligencer.com - April 2015 - Mature Lifestyles - 19

Dance Continued from Page 16 The FFA chapter puts on community events at least three times a month, but many in the chapter said in a year-end survey that the dance is their favorite.

“I actually just had a student say to me, ‘I didn’t think this would be fun at all but I’m having a great time,’” said organization adviser and North Callaway High School agricultural teacher Katie Milhollin.

The Easy Rhythm Band, a country-Western group from Fulton, took the stage to play old standards and familiar tunes.

It was their eighth-year providing entertainment for the prom.

The music is “different than it was when I was growing up in the ‘60’s,” said Farber, Missouri, resident Cindy Evans, but the atmosphere is more comfortable.

Most at the dance were friends and neighbors who mingled comfortably, compared to in the ‘60s and ‘70s when girls and boys stood across the room from one another, too scared to dance, Evans said.

The student-organized dance is similar to others

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for senior citizens in the mid-Missouri area, said Mexico resident Kathy Beasley.

Beasley is in a band called Silver Wings, which has played dances put on by various senior activity centers around mid-Missouri.

But this prom is special, several said, because it connects the younger generation to the older one, especially in terms of what the teenagers can learn from those with more experiences in farming.

“It’s nicer to know what the older generations did,” FFA chaplain and co-event-organizer Kenneth Taylor said.

“There’s a time gap in there where we think, ‘we should do it this way,’ or we can ask the people who grew up in an older generation and give us a better knowledge of what to do.”

Kenneth Jones and his wife, Betty, have been coming to the dance for “uncountable years.” Most of their many grandchildren have been part of the FFA. “This has been special that the kids are dancing with the seniors,” Kenneth Jones said. “It helps to re-establish a respect from the young people for the old. Part of that’s kind of been missing in society.

This kind of brings it back to light.”

“It’s a pretty good time,” Bailey Keme, North Callaway High School FFA president, said. “We really respect them because they’re older, and it’s a chance to dance and talk with them. We can learn so much from them.”

“It feels like United Methodist Village was made just for me.

I’ve got everything I want right outside my door — lifelong friends, interesting programs and social gatherings, and a beautiful lake view to enjoy from my balcony. I don’t have to worry about housekeeping or transportation — and with such a wonderful dining room, I don’t even have to cook unless I want to! Now, you can’t make life any easier than that.”

One visit to United Methodist Village, and you’ll see what easy living really means. At our maintenancefree senior living community, we deliver the kind of personalized service that will make you wonder why you didn’t move here sooner. And you’ll enjoy life even more, knowing that on-site assistance is right here if ever needed. Experience what easy living is really like — join us for lunch at United Methodist Village by calling 618.466.8662 today.

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20 - Mature Lifestyles - April 2015 - TheIntelligencer.com

Together Continued from Page 18

William Marquard died four months later at age 86, and Suzanne Marquard’s mother, Margaret, who been unable to travel to the graduation, died in 2010 at age 90.

If she had not already retired from her teaching job, Roberta Hunter, 68, could not have gone with her father, Earle Marke, 97, a retired market researcher, and her sister, Jane Marke, 64, a psychiatrist, on a memory lane visit to Earle Marke’s hometown, Stamford, Connecticut, last fall. Too many of the places they wanted to see would not be available on weekends. (Her mother, Anne, 95, also a former teacher, was unable to travel.)

Despina Gakopoulos, a spokeswoman for Road Scholar, an educational tour group that aims at travelers 50 and older, said that staff members had noticed more parent-offspring groups but did not specifically track such demographics.

Often, however, the newfound time is spent on caretaking. In the Employee

Benefit Research Institute’s newest annual Retirement Confidence Survey of 1,500 employees and retirees, nearly half said they had left the work force earlier than planned, and 18 percent of those cited caring for a family member as the reason.

Bette Smith, 99, a retired and widowed bookkeeper, was fairly independent until last fall, according to her son, Frederick, 71, a retired New York City data analyst.

First he started doing more of her paperwork, and after Smith was hospitalized with a broken clavicle in November, the son stayed nearby in her New York co-op for more than a week.

Both generations may chafe at the extra togetherness. “She doesn’t want to be dependent,” Frederick Smith said of his mother. She telephones him twice as often as before the accident, but “she does so apologetically.”

The younger retirees may find caretaker responsibilities eating into what was supposed to be their leisure time.

“Is that less time for your own kids and grandkids, if you’re spending resources on your parents?” Rix of AARP asked.

Lenore Singer-Weinbrom and her husband, Barry Weinbrom, never needed to

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cancel vacation plans because of emergencies with their parents, all four of whom were still alive when Weinbrom retired as a New York City schools science teacher in 2004 at age 58. However, the couple regularly bought trip insurance, because they worried “what happens if . . . ?” recalled Singer-Weinbrom, 64, who retired as a school psychologist in 2009.

(Weinbrom and all the older generation except his mother are now deceased.)

The pressures are less intense while the younger generation is still employed, because “work can offer an escape from the stress of caregiving and the stress of that family relationship,” said Moen of the University of Minnesota.

Despite the hassles, the offspring say they are grateful that retirement has given them extra time with their parents.

If this phenomenon persists into future generations, it may happen at later ages, as baby boomers and their offspring delay retirement, many experts suggest. “By the time their children retire, we may have even more medical advances to help us live even longer,” Moen said.

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BPT photo

If you have diabetes, check with your doctor on the most effective ways to manage it.

Tips for managing diabetes (BPT) - Diabetes is a complex disease affecting more than 29 million people in the United States. Although there is no cure, patients with diabetes see better results when the disease is closely managed through lifestyle changes and medication. Along with making good choices about healthy eating and physical activity, patients living with diabetes should discuss blood sugar monitoring, medication, and options for taking their medication with their health care providers.

Betty Krauss, RDN, a Certified Diabetes Educator (CDE) with Spectrum Health Medical Group, talks diabetes management and suggests what patients can discuss with their doctors at their next appointment.

What is diabetes?

Krauss: Diabetes occurs when the body does not properly use and/or produce enough insulin. Insulin is the hormone needed to convert sugar, starches, and other food into energy.

There are 2 types of diabetes: type 1, in which the body makes little to no insulin, and type 2, in which the body produces too little insulin or cannot properly use the insulin that is produced. When the body does not properly use or produce insulin, blood sugar can reach levels outside of healthy ranges. It’s important to manage your diabetes because high blood sugar can damage your body and lead to other health problems if left untreated.

What impact does lifestyle - like healthy eating and physical activity -

have on diabetes?

Krauss: Balancing both lifestyle changes with the proper medicine is important for diabetes management. Building a diabetes-friendly meal plan can help you understand and manage carbohydrates, sugars, and fats and manage your weight. Physical activity can help your body become more sensitive to insulin so it can work more efficiently and helps your muscles burn sugar for energy, which removes sugar from the blood. Additionally, careful monitoring is key for diabetes patients to ensure their blood sugar remains within a desired range.

What can patients with diabetes do to manage their disease beyond lifestyle changes?

Continued on Page 22

22 - Mature Lifestyles - April 2015 - TheIntelligencer.com

Diabetes Continued from Page 21

Krauss: In addition to healthy eating, physical activity, and blood sugar monitoring, medication is an important part of managing diabetes. There are a variety of treatment options, and patients should work closely with their health care providers to ensure their treatment plan is helping them reach their blood sugar goals.

What medication options are available to patients with diabetes?

Krauss: Patients should work with their health care provider to customize a diabetes treatment plan that includes the right medication for reaching their blood sugar goals. Typically, these options include an insulin or noninsulin medication, and may be pills taken by mouth or injections given under the skin.

What options do patients with diabetes have for administering injectable medications?

Krauss: For patients with diabetes who require daily injections of medica-

tion, diabetes management can initially be uncomfortable. In fact, one study revealed that 83 percent of people are somewhat or very much bothered by needles when they first start injecting.

Thankfully, advancements in technology mean that there are options for these patients.

Today, most insulin and noninsulin injectable medications are available in pen devices, which help patients by providing accurate and reliable dosing.

Additional important advancements have been made to reduce the length and thickness of needles, which are associated with the pain and anxiety that can be caused by injections.

We have come a long way since the world’s first pen needle was launched in 1985 by Novo Nordisk, a world leader in diabetes care. More recently, Novo Nordisk launched NovoFine(R) Plus, an ultra-short, ultra-thin needle - the width of two human hairs - designed to allow for better flow of medication and for less pain.

Do all needles fit on all delivery devices?

Krauss: Some needles, like NovoFine(R) Plus, are universal, which

means they will fit all currently available insulin pens. But patients should choose their pen needle carefully because not all needles will fit on all pens. I encourage patients with diabetes to talk with their pharmacist to ensure they are getting the best pen needle for their pen.

What should patients with diabetes discuss with their health care providers?

Krauss: In addition to appropriate medication, it is also important to discuss how the medication is taken. For example, if daily injections are needed, using a pen with the smallest possible needle may cause less pain.

It is also important to talk about blood sugar monitoring, so patients understand how often and what time of day they need to check their blood sugar, as this can vary from person to person.

Lastly, lifestyle is important to successful diabetes management. Patients should discuss healthy eating and physical activity so their health care providers can advise how best to implement physical activity into daily routines, as well as how to maintain a healthy diet.

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TheIntelligencer.com - April 2015 - Mature Lifestyles - 23

What’s your path to retirement happiness?

(BPT) - Retirees have a message for people still working but wondering what life might be like once they retire: “Come on in, the water’s warm.” But they also say that it pays to plan, the earlier the better, because retirement might come sooner than you expect.

A recent study, sponsored by Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual), found that approximately eight in 10 retirees are enjoying themselves in retirement, seven in 10 can afford a comfortable lifestyle, and two-thirds feel financially secure. The survey also indicated that few retirees characterize themselves as being bored, lonely or anxious, and nearly half (45 percent) retired sooner than they expected.

The study, Hopes, Fears and Reality - What Workers Expect in Retirement and What Steps Help Them Achieve the Retirement They Want, polled more than 900 retirees one to 15 years into retirement and another 900 plus pre-retirees one to 15 years before retirement, all of whom had at least $50,000 in savings and investments.

The research paints a positive picture of retiree lifestyles and adaptability. More importantly, it provides insights into the most important steps to take in preparing for a happy retirement.

“The study provides Americans with a roadmap for enjoy-

ing a happy, secure and fulfilling retirement,” says Elaine Sarsynski, executive vice president of MassMutual Retirement Services. “There was a clear distinction between what steps the happiest retirees took compared to those who were less fulfilled.”

Among the steps taken by the happiest retirees were the following: * Calculated the best time to begin collecting Social Security benefits. The qualifying age for receiving full benefits is gradually moving to age 67, depending on your birthdate. The benefit is reduced for those who take it sooner. For those who wait, the benefit increases each year until age 70. * Targeted how much money they would need to retire comfortably and estimated their medical and dental expenses in retirement. It was a prudent step as many people said their medical and dental expenses were higher in retirement than anticipated. * Created a budget for their retirement income and expenses and made an effort to increase their savings at least five years before stopping work. The 2015 contribution limit for 401(k) plans and other employer-sponsored retirement plans is $18,000 plus an additional $6,000 for employees age 50 and older.

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24 - Mature Lifestyles - April 2015 - TheIntelligencer.com