SPRING 2011
PERSPECTIVES ON SENIOR LIVING A SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT TO THE MONTANA STANDARD
2 ■ THE MONTANA STANDARD, BUTTE, SATURDAY, APRIL 9, 2011
Call him ‘coach’ Charlie Merrifield reflects on a lifetime spent coaching kids BY PAULA J. MCGARVEY for The Montana Standard
W
hen Charlie Merrifield retired from teaching 16 years ago, he wasn’t about to give up his lifelong passion for coaching track and field. “He always called it his hobby. When he retired he said, ‘you can’t quit your job and your hobby at the same time,’” said Betty Merrifield, his wife of more than 50 years. The track-and-field athletes of Butte are better off for that decision. “He’s got a good temperament for kids. He tells them what they need to hear, but always has got a good thing to say to them, too,” Betty said. That special rapport with young people is what made Charlie Merrifield a successful educator in the classroom during his teaching years. It also has made him a positive role model and mentor on the track field for the past 57 years. And, 78-year-old Merrifield has no plans of retiring from coaching any time soon. When asked what keeps him coming back to the track each spring, he replied: “The kids — obviously, I’m still having fun.”
See COACH, Page 3
WALTER HINICK / THE MONTANA STANDARD
CHARLIE MERRIFIELD coaches this past weekend at Butte High’s first competition of the 2011 track-and-field season. Merrifield, 78, has spent the last 57 years being a positive role model and mentor on the track field.
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Coach ... Continued from Page 2 Merrifield said that his first teaching job was a fifth- and sixth-grade combo class at the newly opened Whittier School in 1954. He took on the role of coaching right from the start — working with youth in grade school leagues for basketball, football and track. In 1958, he took a job teaching eighthgrade math at the East Jr. High. “The next year, Betty and I got married,” he said. Merrifield said that back in the ’50s, married women weren’t allowed to teach in the district, so he and his newlywed, teacher-spouse set out for Las Vegas, where they both could find work in the profession they loved. The arrival of their first son, Jim, led to a decision to return to Montana. “I decided I didn’t want to raise my kids in that environment,” Merrifield said. Back in Montana, he took a job in Helena for a year, before settling in at Butte High School in the math department and donning the Bulldogs’ track coach’s cap in 1962. He continued teaching math and coaching track, and he and Betty welcomed three more children: Liza, Lori and Chuck. He took a leave of absence for a year, to earn a master’s degree in math at the University of Colorado, but for the majority of his teaching career, the family was a regular fixture at track-and-field events in Butte. Betty and the kids grew to share his passion for the sport “When I met Betty, she didn’t know what a track meet was — I’ve created a monster,” he said. Betty agreed. Before the advent of computers, she used to hand score events at track meets. Today, her voice can regularly be heard over the public address system at the track at East Middle School, which just so happens to bear Charlie Merrifield’s name — an honor he received in 2007. Throughout the years, the Merrifield family has remained involved with the sport Charlie loves and loves to coach. “If you come to a track meet in Butte, you’ll see my whole family working,” Merrifield said. Betty listed off the roles her kids are still playing on the track field. Daughter, Liza Dennehy, coordinates computer scoring, while son, Jim Merrifield, links competitor’s names and team numbers with their assigned lanes using his “palm pilot,” she said. Daughter, Lori Richardson, a technology coordinator for the elementary district in Dillon, drives up when she can. Son, Chuck Merrifield,
WALTER HINICK / THE MONTANA STANDARD
CHARLIE MERRIFIELD and his wife Betty watch the boys’ hurdles recently at Charlie Merrifield Track at Bulldog Memorial Stadium. Meets are a family affair for the Merrifields.
assistant principal and athletic director at Butte High is on hand each spring to help coach track alongside his father. “I enjoy it. It’s fun being around my dad,” he said. Charlie Merrifield said that his relationship with youth on the track is different from the one he had in the classroom, and that his senior citizen status hasn’t changed his ability to communicate some important pearls of wisdom to today’s teens about being successful in life. “It’s a competition — and your entire life you’re competing with other people. You also find you don’t win every time, so it teaches you to learn to accept defeat and come back and do better next time. It also teaches you that hard work pays off,” he said. The chance to forge some lifelong friendships is an added plus, and Merrifield has made many through his career with both youth and his peers. “I like the camaraderie with the coaches in the state,” he said. Especially when they involve former students he’s coached who grew to follow in his footsteps, such as Danny Hodges of Kalispell. “He just retired, and he’s still coaching the Kalispell Flathead Braves,” he said. Though football and basketball teams work together, the individual nature of
track-and-field events drives participants to compete against their own personal best — a necessary component to achieve success both in and out of high school. “My first all-class state record holder, Sam Verona, went on to own his own computer company in the Silicon Valley,” Merrifield said. Former team members keep their “Coach” filled in on their achievements long after graduation. “I have kids stopping to see me all the time,” he said. It should be noted that after almost 60 years on the track, those “kids” range from seniors in high school to senior citizens themselves. In addition to competition, just stepping onto the track field in mile high Butte in spring brings the added opportunity to develop self discipline as athletes learn to cope with training in cold, and often snowy, weather. Merrifield was recently interviewed sporting a down coat on a blustery April afternoon with temperatures in the high 40s. He said that dealing with the weather was just part of the sport. “How do you expect the kids to be out there if you aren’t willing to be out there yourself?” he said. Paula J. McGarvey may be reached at 782-6510 or via e-mail at paulajmc@bresnan.net.
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4 ■ THE MONTANA STANDARD, BUTTE, SATURDAY, APRIL 9, 2011
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6 ■ THE MONTANA STANDARD, BUTTE, SATURDAY, APRIL 9, 2011
Boomers volunteer at highest rate of any group BY ANA VECIANA-SUAREZ of McClatchy Newspapers
Every Tuesday, Andrea Downs takes two buses and a train from her home to the public library in downtown Miami. There, the retired teacher with a master’s degree in education tutors a woman who never attended school in her native Haiti. “I do it because I enjoy it,” Downs says. “I feel I’m improving the life of another person and in the end I get back as much as I give.” Downs, 63, is typical of the 78 million-strong baby boomer generation that, for the most part, still wants to change the world. Forty years after marching on Washington and staging sit-ins on campuses, they’re turning their attention to homeless shelters, literacy programs, animal rescue organizations, arts cooperatives anything that sparks a passion. And they’re doing it more than anyone else. About 33 percent of all boomers those born between 1946 and 1964 volunteer on a regular basis, the highest rate of any generational group and four percentage points above the national average of 28.8 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The volunteer rate for young boomers, ages 46 to 57, is 30.9 percent, significantly higher than the 25.3 percent recorded by the same age group in 1974 and the 23.2 percent recorded in 1989. “This goes along with the idealistic, change-the-world feelings of their youth,” says Yolanda Rodriguez, who serves on the executive council of AARP in Florida. “For many, it’s about pursuing a lifelong passion.” This is true for Downs. As a teacher, she believes an education can be lifechanging. When she worked, she always volunteered for committees at school. In retiring two years ago, she wanted to continue that commitment to her community but in a different setting. So when a librarian friend told her about Miami-Dade County Public Library’s Project L.E.A.D. (Literacy for Every Adult in Dade), she immediately called them. “Perfect fit,” she calls the arrangement. Like so many other facets of society they have influenced, boomers want to make the biggest splash possible wherever they donate their time. Instead
of stuffing envelopes, they prefer to offer professional, managerial and marketing talent. Experts call it “strategic volunteering.” “Boomers,” says Robert Rosenthal, a spokesman for VolunteerMatch.org, an online service that helps connect volunteers and causes, “are like other generations in their desire to help people, but the ways they want to help are different.” Baby boomers “look for organizations to partner with. It’s all about sharing the skills they’ve acquired over a lifetime,” he said. Robert Holloman, of Miramar, Fla., retired from the U.S. Postal Service in 2009. During his almost 30 years there, the former Marine and father of three managed to volunteer in the youth mentoring program at his church as well as at his sons’ youth sports leagues. Raised by an aunt who was a school principal and fierce advocate of giving back, Holloman, 63, believed “you have to walk the walk if you’re going to talk the talk.” With children grown and hours to spare, he wanted to continue giving back. At the suggestion of a fraternity brother, he began working in the mail room of Camillus House, a full-service organization helping the homeless in Miami. Using his knowledge as a letter carrier and supervisor, he immediately organized the mail room, starting a system that guarantees safe storage and distribution of hundreds of letters, bills, checks and court orders that arrive for the homeless who use Camillus as a permanent postal address. Three days a week, he helps sort and purge the mail, storing it alphabetically in bins stacked against the wall and across a counter. “I’m a Christian,” Holloman says, “and I’ve learned that if you want to be great, you must be a server.” Though his main duties are in that small mail room, he likes to leave its air-conditioned confines and mingle with the men and women who line up around the downtown facility. He listens to their stories and has been touched that so many are veterans like he is. “It makes you appreciate exponentially what you have, all these amenities that we take for granted,” he adds. Matching volunteer talent with the right kind of work is a win on both sides,
Baby boomer volunteering facts ■ About 33 percent of baby boomers volunteer, the highest rate of any generational group and four percentage points above the national average of 28.8 percent ■ The volunteer rate for younger boomers ages 46 to 57 is 30.9 percent, significantly higher than the 25.3 percent recorded by the same age cohort in 1974 and the 23.2 percent recorded in 1989. The most popular volunteer opportunities for boomers are religious groups, followed by educational or youth service organizations. ■ A typical boomer volunteer serves 51 hours a year. The type of volunteer work influences whether boomers stay with it over time. Retention is highest when boomers are involved in professional or management activities. ■ Informal volunteering is growing in popularity. In 2003, 34 percent of boomer volunteers reported volunteering on their own and not through an organization. In 2009, that spiked to 57 percent. SOURCES: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Corporation for National & Community Service, AARP
says Thomas Endres, vice president for civic engagement at the National Council on Aging. Boomers want volunteer projects with a mission, not a task. “They want autonomy,” Endres says. “They don’t want to reinvent the wheel, but they want assignments with responsibilities and authority to get it done.” Boomers who volunteer in a professional or management capacity — marketing or strategic planning, for example — are the most likely to volunteer from year to year, with an almost 75 percent retention rate, according to the Corporation for National & Community Service, a federal agency that oversees a variety of civic engagement projects. On the other end, those engaged in general labor are the least likely to return, with a retention rate of 55 percent. Luisa Murai, an architect, is a diligent
volunteer. She co-chaired and sat on the city of Miami’s Historic and Environmental Preservation Board and serves on the building and grounds committee for Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart, her alma mater. Recently, she redesigned and performed construction administration for two residential fourplexes across from Centro Mater, a nonprofit that provides child care, education, health services and after school programs. The project involved months of work and site visits. But when asked how many hours she has put in, Murai replies, “I didn’t keep track of the hours. I spent as much time as was necessary to get the project done well.” Murai, 62, has been involved with Centro Mater since she was a teenager. In 1968, her mother joined a group of Cuban women and Mother Margarita Miranda to raise funds for an affordable childcare center in the area. “It’s a wonderful project, and what I can offer them is my skills,” Murai said. “There’s also the added dimension that Centro Mater was my mother’s favorite project, and I feel especially close to her when working to help the organization.” Whether it’s to carry on a family tradition or to reconnect with youthful passions, boomers also seem to understand that volunteering is good for the heart figuratively and literally. Studies have shown that even small amounts of volunteering contribute to healthy aging because of the social interaction and the physical activity involved. Erwin Tan, a physician and geriatrician, is director of Senior Corps, a government group that connects people 55 and older with community organizations that need help. When patients complain they feel sluggish, disconnected and without purpose, he suggests they volunteer. “It keeps you sharp,” he says. “It’s an excellent way of keeping mentally engaged. Having a purpose in life, having a reason to get up in the morning, is good for one’s health.” Holloman, the retired post office worker, couldn’t agree more. He says he gets as much as he gives for volunteering at Camillus House. “It’s like therapy for me,” Holloman says. “At home, I’d be alone and not really doing anything. You can easily get depressed that way.”
THE MONTANA STANDARD, BUTTE, SATURDAY, APRIL 9, 2011 ■ 7
Skin care benefits overall health for seniors Taking care of your skin undoubtedly has its cosmetic benefits, but more significantly, it also plays a large role in overall health — particularly for seniors. “Age brings a number of changes that can compromise the skin’s ability to protect us,” says Cynthia Fleck, a registered nurse and vice president of clinical marketing for Advanced Skin and Wound Care at Medline, which manufactures and distributes skin care products and educational resources for seniors. Fleck offers advice on how to care for aging skin: ■ Avoid a daily shower or bath, which can contribute to dry skin. ■ Moisturizing on a daily basis is essential, especially since older skin fails to retain moisture as well as younger skin. ■ Take care to avoid injuries that can tear the skin or caustic substances that can disrupt the skin’s ability to protect. ■ Protect your skin from the sun. ■ Be aware of special skin care needs that often accompany some common diseases, such as diabetes. ■ Avoid strong antibacterial soaps that may have high pH level, which can dry aging skin. To learn more about skin care products, visit www.medline.com/woundcare. For specific advice, contact your health care professional. — ARAcontent
Grandparent scam comes in all forms BY PAUL MUSCHICK of The Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.)
It’s a pretty common scam, but with people continuing to be victimized, authorities recently launched a nationwide effort to teach senior citizens to beware of the “grandparent scam.” The fraud has several variations, but in the end, the hook is the same. A loved one is in trouble and embarrassed about it. Please send money to get them out of jail, and don’t tell anyone else. The scam starts with a phone call. The caller often is a young person who implores grandpa or grandma (whoever answered the phone) for help. The caller says it’s “your grandson.” Some seniors may be caught offguard and respond with a name of their grandson (is this Johnny, or Michael?), and the scam is on. The caller immediately assumes the grandson’s identity and makes the pitch.
I’m overseas or out of state and was busted for drunken driving, or some other offense. Please wire my bail money, and don’t tell my parents. I don’t want them to know, that’s why I called you. Too often, grandparents who are eager to help rush to the local store to wire the money. Only later do they learn the caller wasn’t their grandson. I heard recently from a couple who lost about $9,000 to the scam. The fraud in their case was a tad different, with the caller saying he was their son, and had been in an accident and needed money for bail, and to repair the other person’s car and cover medical bills. In other variations, the caller will be a lawyer, judge or cop, telling seniors that money is needed or their loved one will be in big trouble. The results always are the same, though. Once the money is wired, it’s likely gone forever. The scam is
common, with the Federal Trade Commission receiving more than 60,000 complaints last year about it and related imposter scams. That’s why the N.J. attorney general’s office and the Consumer Federation of America has launched a campaign against the scam. It includes a video. See it at http://www.youtube.com/watch ?v=QOpLCcBl93w . Never wire money based on a request made over the phone. You don’t really know who is on the line. Requests to wire cash overseas or to Canada are signs that it’s a fraud. If you get a call like this, contact another family member or trusted friend before wiring the money. They can help evaluate the situation. You also can try to contact your grandson. If they answer the phone at home, they’re not in jail. Make sure your older family members know about this scam.
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8 ■ THE MONTANA STANDARD, BUTTE, SATURDAY, APRIL 9, 2011
Is it really Alzheimer’s? Maybe not BY LINDA SHRIEVES of The Orlando Sentinel
ORLANDO, Fla. — Alicia Harper spent years as a missionary, working in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Mexico, but she faced her greatest challenge six years ago when, at age 69, her mind and body began to falter. When her children visited, she often sat on the sofa in her Longwood, Fla., home, unresponsive to what was going on around her. A regular churchgoer, she gradually lost interest in attending church. She didn’t recognize her own bedroom. Meanwhile, she was beginning to have trouble walking — and her right hand and right leg often shook. The diagnosis? Alzheimer’s disease. The reality? Fluid on the brain. Experts say a significant percentage of those diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease suffer from something else. A study released last week underscored that message. Researchers in Honolulu autopsied the brains of 426 Japanese-American men who were residents of Hawaii, and who died at an average age of 87. Of those, 211 had been diagnosed with a dementia when they were alive, most commonly Alzheimer’s disease. The study found that about half of the men diagnosed with Alzheimer’s did not have sufficient numbers of the brain lesions characterizing that condition to support the diagnosis. For the Harpers, it would take several years — and visits to a handful of doctors — before they discovered Alicia did not have Alzheimer’s disease.
Instead, she had normal pressure hydrocephalus. With NPH, patients have a buildup of fluid on the brain — and often experience memory loss, trouble walking and loss of bladder control. As many as 5 percent of those diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease or some form of dementia may have NPH instead, doctors say. “We hear it so often, over and over again from families,” said Dr. Phillip St. Louis, a neurosurgeon and director of Florida Hospital’s NPH Program. Harper “went to three or four different doctors before they finally found it. And her case is not unusual. But many health-care providers aren’t aware of (the condition).” And that’s as frustrating for families as it is for doctors and medical researchers. After doctors told them Alicia might have Alzheimer’s disease, her husband and their four adult children had to accept that she might never be the same. “To me, it was just a consequence of life,” her husband, Nildo, said. “You just have to live with it.” Nildo became both nurse and caretaker for Alicia, a Cuban emigre who had been the glue that held their family together. He couldn’t leave the house because he was afraid she might fall. Alicia doesn’t remember much about that time — it’s just a hazy memory. “I remember that I wasn’t able to walk,” she said recently. “And that I wasn’t in charge of the house — the cleaning, the cooking — anymore. I
just didn’t care.” Her condition continued to worsen. Walking became increasingly difficult — even with a walker. And she couldn’t control her bladder. Finally, a neurologist suggested performing a series of tests on Alicia, including a spinal tap, to see if she had NPH. The condition is often characterized by how quickly a patient seems to age, St. Louis said. “Let’s say you have Uncle Joe, who you’ve seen and when you see him six months later, he has trouble remembering things from one minute to the other. And his walking is incredibly bad — he has to use a cane or a walker,” said St. Louis. “It’s very easy for someone to say, ‘Well, he’s 70, he’s getting old.’ But it should be a much more gradual decline.” Neurologists typically conduct memory tests on patients — and follow up with MRI scans of their brains, said Dr. Ashok Raj of the Florida Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. A neurologist cannot look at an MRI and conclude that a patient has Alzheimer’s, Raj said, but “nine times out of 10, an MRI is going to exclude a lot of other memory problems — such as strokes, NPH and tumors.” Added St. Louis, “Doctors should at least do an imaging study to see if there’s any reason for this (decline). Many times they don’t. They just assume it’s Alzheimer’s.” Alicia’s MRI showed she had enlarged ventricles in her brain — a sign of NPH — but no significant a trophy of the brain, which would have
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signaled some type of dementia. The next step? More tests. St. Louis and a team of doctors studied her gait, her cognitive function and then did a spinal tap for three days to see if draining some of the fluid from her brain might help. Afterward, St. Louis suggested implanting a shunt in her head to continuously drain the excess fluid. Patients usually experience a slow, but steady improvement in memory, brain function and walking as a result, St. Louis said. But that didn’t happen with Alicia. The Harpers noticed the change within a week. Alicia began trying to walk, her hands and legs stopped shaking and she took an interest in life again. “This is what’s so amazing,” said Nildo, 81. “The symptoms disappeared like magic — without medication.” Alicia, now 75, still needed physical therapy, to rebuild her strength and improve her walking. But now, a year after her surgery, she no longer uses a walker. And best of all, she seems to have returned to her old self. She spent Christmas laughing and enjoying the time with her children and eight grandchildren. She began playing solitaire again on the computer, checking out Facebook, playing with her iPod. And even though her hands hurt from arthritis, she sometimes plays the piano again. She isn’t racing around the mall, but she’s walking and she’s back to bossing Nildo around. “Now,” he says, laughing, “she’ll even argue with me again.”
THE MONTANA STANDARD, BUTTE, SATURDAY, APRIL 9, 2011 ■ 9
How to get in shape while doing household chores Tackling items on your household to-do list is a great way to spruce up your home, while also toning your body. However, the repetition of some household chores can lead to injury, so it’s important to take the proper precautions to keep you healthy while you get in shape. Here are a few ideas for getting active around the house and how to avoid injury while tackling these projects: ■ Shoveling: Whether you’re shoveling snow or moving dirt around, shoveling is a great way to get a full body workout. When shoveling, make sure you are lifting with your arms and legs, not your back, to avoid injury. ■ Plant a garden: Having a garden lends itself to a constant cycle of good health, from the planting, weeding and harvesting of the vegetables, to eating the fresh produce. But working with garden tools every day can cause pain to your hands and wrists, especially if you have tendonitis or arthritis of the hands. If you find yourself in this situation, you may want to try using a pain relief tool called the SmartGlove, which also provides relief from carpal tunnel syndrome. — ARAcontent
Seniors shoulder large credit card debt burden Younger generations of Americans have long looked up to their elders as paragons of good financial common sense. The “Greatest Generation” managed to get through the country’s toughest economic conditions with a dogged attitude about saving and minimal spending. So it’s surprising to find out that many seniors are facing high levels of credit card debt. A study by the University of Michigan Law School showed that 7 percent of the people filing for bankruptcy between 1991 and 2007 were aged 65 and older — the fastest growing age segment to file. Twothirds of older Americans pointed to high credit card debt as their reason for choosing to file bankruptcy and seniors had 50 percent higher credit card debt than younger people who were filing. Contributing factors to this trend include the rising cost of medical care and decreased income after retirement. Many seniors also deal with the loss of a spouse and
subsequently the loss of a secondary, or even primary, income. Seniors also may be hesitant to talk about their financial issues, not wanting to be seen as asking for help. With a growing number of seniors filing for bankruptcy, it’s apparent that many feel powerless to get out of debt. However, there are options available that are not as drastic as bankruptcy. Financial expert and best-selling author David Bach stresses that it is possible for many seniors to overcome their debt, without declaring bankruptcy. “Bankruptcy should be a last resort,” Bach said. “And that means you need to know about your options to pay off debt before you come to the conclusion of filing bankruptcy. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by debt, but there are smarter ways to eliminate it.” Bach, whose latest book, Debt Free for Life: The Finish Rich Plan for Financial Freedom, outlines a plan for getting out of debt, points
to Debt Wise, an online tool from credit reporting agency Equifax, as one of his favorite methods to help oneself get out of debt. “I like Debt Wise because it uses the same methods I’ve been teaching for decades to help people pay off their debts faster and save on interest, but it does so automatically,” says Bach. “The tool pulls the debts listed in your Equifax credit report so you can set everything up in a matter of minutes, keep yourself on track and monitor your progress.” For seniors, it might seem like it’s too late to tackle debt and that the only way out is to choose bankruptcy. However, by utilizing a system to prioritize debts and structure a payment plan, seniors can often get out of debt — credit card or otherwise — without turning to bankruptcy. For this fiercely independent segment of the population, using a simple tool that can help them overcome debt can offer a new lease on life. — ARAcontent
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10 ■ THE MONTANA STANDARD, BUTTE, SATURDAY, APRIL 9, 2011
Grandfamilies: A new term on the rise BY JILLY PRATHER of DoOver.com
Today’s definition of “family” has been changing drastically in recent years with the advent of a new kind of family unit. Due to various reasons — such as parents having drug problems, the rise of divorce, an economy that has put millions out of work, and single moms who can no longer raise their own children — we now have a growing generation of grandparents who find themselves in the trenches of raising young grandchildren. This new phenomenon of parents depending on the grandparents to finish raising their children is also called “the skipped generation.” As a grandparent, I once dreamed about my children leaving home to embark upon creating their own lives as independent people, having a home of their own, good jobs, and grandchildren for me to spoil and send home. Retirement was something I looked forward to, with travel plans and the freedom I felt I deserved after decades of raising my kids. One evening a few months ago, I received a call from the police department asking if I could go pick up my 14-year-old granddaughter for an indefinite period. Of course I went quickly, as Sherry (not her real name) and I had a strong bond. I had always told her to call me if she ever needed me for any reason. I scooped her up in my arms and promised her that everything would be okay now — she was now with Grammy. I did what any other loving grandmother would do. When the grandchildren need to be saved from dangerous situations and they have no other adult to turn to, grandparents take over to provide the safety and love the child desperately lacks but needs in order to become a good adult. In 2008, census statistics show that 6.6 million children lived with their grandparents. Of those children, 4.4 million lived in the home of a grandparent without any help or interaction from their parents (U.S. Census Bureau 2009). Those numbers are staggering and continue to increase yearly. Older adults who once looked forward to growing a new nest of opportunities and goals now find
themselves in the midst of having to start over again raising children. Many of these seniors live on a fixed income based on social security, disability or limited retirement funds that make suddenly having another child to support very difficult. In the 2008 census, the government reported that 482,000 grandparents lived below the poverty level before they became responsible for caring for grandchildren (U.S. Census Bureau 2009). Even if half of the more than 4 million children living with grandparents were transferred into the foster system, it would overwhelm the federal foster system at more than $6.5 billion a year. This would add millions more children to a system already taxed with more than half a million cases throughout the country (Federal Interagency Forum 2009). Now the child welfare system is looking to grandparents to fill the gap. Getting custody of a grandchild often takes from several months to years to obtain. Government resources available to grandparents are limited. The federal welfare system offers Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and there is sometimes help available from the state foster care departments, but most people tend to shy away from these resources because they are afraid of the intrusiveness of the caseworkers and that, if one little thing is not right, the grandchild might be taken away into the juvenile court system. My granddaughter, Sherry, approached me one day, wanting to go shopping for new jewelry. I explained to her that funds were short right now until custody was resolved. I felt bad because she had just been through a major crisis within her home, and as teenagers go, money to her seemed to grow on trees. I was pleasantly surprised when she answered, “Grammy, it’s OK. I understand. I’m safe now, and that’s all that really
matters.” Kids are more resilient and often more wise than we give them credit for. Our generation was raised with strong family attachments and values. We did our best with our children and, in hindsight, can now see areas where we probably could have improved. But that is true for every single parent on the planet. We teach our children well and then must step back and allow them to make their own choices, good or bad. Sometimes that means having to pick up the pieces of their broken puzzle. For the sake of the grandchildren, we must step in and once again take the high road and provide the safety net our own children cannot manage to give their offspring. I once heard a very wise man say that if money is your only problem, then you do not have much of a problem. Sherry is grateful that her grandparents love her enough to take her in — love her to pieces, in fact — and are committed to keeping her safe.
I think that when all is said and done in this crazy world, she is right. My mother used to tell me stories about her father being out of work and how they were so poor, she used tar paper to line her holey shoes. When they were evicted from house after house, the aunts and uncles got together and offered their home, food and warmth to my mother’s family. It was what families did in those days. Our society has become so transient and irresponsible that the nuclear family model and tradition seems lost. While we wait for a custody decision, we’ve made up a new budget that considers our grandchild and her needs as best we can for now. But providing our love and looking out for her safety and well-being knows no limits and needs no accounting. There will always be plenty of that to go around. DoOver.com is the online resource and community for the 850,000 women who divorce each year.
YOU ALWAYS PLANNED THE FUTURE TOGETHER.
DON’T STOP NOW. You know each other so well you feel you’re part of each other (and you are). But, with an event as important as your funeral, it’s still an excellent idea to discuss your choices, plan ahead, and document your wishes for others. Once you prearrange, there’s never any question about what you would have wanted.... it’s understood.
723-3221 • 1800 Florence Ave • Butte
THE MONTANA STANDARD, BUTTE, SATURDAY, APRIL 9, 2011 ■ 11
Retirement: Financially, it’s just the beginning Challenges make sound money management necessity during one’s golden years You’ve worked. You’ve saved. You’ve invested. You now have accumulated a significant retirement nest egg. It appears you have a “lock” on a secure financial future. Still, for many either nearing or in retirement, you can’t help but wonder, “Is it really enough?” This nagging question reveals one unavoidable fact: Building a significant retirement fund is no longer the “end game” of financial security; it is a beginning point. Five challenges make it imperative that those in their 50s, 60s and 70s carefully manage their retirement dollars: ■ Due to increased life expectancies, many boomers will have retirements lasting 20 years or more. In fact, the National Center for Health Statistics reports that the median life expectancy
for someone age 65 is 18.6 years. This means about half the population will live longer in retirement. With increased longevity comes increased risk of potentially outliving one’s retirement assets. ■ Retirees need to account for inflation. Inflation is the sustained increase in the general level or prices for goods and services over time. As inflation rises, every dollar owned buys a smaller percentage of a good or service. As prices go up over time due to inflation, the value of investments can erode. This is particularly true over a long time period, like 20 or 30 years. ■ Responsibility for funding retirement is shifting from the employer to the employee. Many traditional company pensions (defined benefit plans) are being phased out or frozen, even by financially healthy companies, and are being replaced with defined contribution plans (like 401(k) and 403(b) plans). This means the burden of managing one’s retirement income is increasingly falling on individuals.
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■ Unplanned personal “life events” will happen. No one can know what lies ahead in their retirement journey. While everyone hopes for good health and the ability to determine “when” to retire, life holds no guarantees. Planning for one’s retirement years must include consideration of life events that have the potential to complicate their retirement years. ■ Investment markets will continue to fluctuate (up and down). Typically, investments generating the potential for greater returns also have greater potential for loss. “Funding your retirement years is a financial balancing act among playing it safe, taking risks and spending wisely,” says Ann Koplin, director of Retirement Marketing for Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. “If any of those areas gets out of whack, troubles may result.” Koplin says products offering a guaranteed income — like annuities and certificates of deposit — may help retirees establish an income floor they cannot outlive. Ideally, individuals can
add to this income base over time as they experience investment gains and convert a percentage of their assets from equities (and growth) to income. This is also dependent on the retiree’s personal circumstances and spending. Koplin also notes that certain protection products — like life insurance and long-term care insurance — are also needed during one’s retirement to protect against the potentially devastating impact of unexpected life events like death and chronic illness. She likens this protection to that of safety net for a tightrope walker. “While you may retire, the fact is your money never should,” Koplin said. “Having a financial strategy that is flexible enough to adapt to a person’s changing needs and circumstances is a must. Retirement can truly be great, but that means carefully managing your money throughout your golden years.” For more information about managing one’s assets in retirement, visit: www.thrivent.com/TRIO. — ARAcontent
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