BoomerUpdate
News and Resources for Boomers
Double the Odds of Seeing 85
Mar 9th
When It Comes to Longevity, Regular Exercise May Be the Most Potent Weapon Against Disease
By RON WINSLOW
The leading edge of the baby boom generation turns 65 next year, which means a new milestone looms on the horizon: age 85.
So what do boomers need to do not just to survive to 85, but to live healthy lives into old age and not break the bank at the federal Medicare program?
The most important strategy, according to the latest research to look at the question, is to be physically active in middle age. “If you are fit in mid-life, you double your chance of surviving to 85,” says Jarett Berry, a cardiologist at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.
Put another way: If you’re not fit in your 50s, your projected life span “is eight years shorter than if you are fit,” Dr. Berry says.
wsj.com
Many women avoid calling 911
Mar 8th
By Kim Painter, USA TODAY
If you think you are having symptoms of a heart attack or stroke, the best thing to do is to:
• Lie down for a while and see if you feel better.
• Call a friend or family member to see what they think.
• Call your doctor’s office.
• Drive yourself to an emergency room.
• Have someone else drive you.
• Call 911.
People do all of the above, but calling 911 is the best choice by far, experts say. The emergency medical technicians who respond are trained to assess and treat patients right away. They also provide the quickest route through hospital doors and into the hands of doctors and nurses at a time when mere minutes can determine life or death, recovery or lasting disability.
But the simple message to “call 911″ clearly needs more attention. The latest evidence: Just over half of women surveyed by the American Heart Association said they would do so if they thought they were having a heart attack.
usatoday.com
Forget the prophets of doom – I’m proud to be a baby boomer
Mar 8th
The world is a happier place thanks to my generation, and the next will look after itself, says Boris Johnson.
By Boris Johnson
Oh the shame of being a baby boomer. What a bunch of shysters we seem to be.
We are the most selfish, greedy, job-hogging, pension-grabbing bunch of egomaniacs history has ever seen. Here we are, cackling to ourselves in our overpriced homes and exploiting our political power to shaft the younger generation. We use our demographic throw-weight to skew the welfare system in our favour and above all we are squandering the natural resources of the planet. You know that Goya picture of the giant eating a naked human being?
That’s us, all right – Saturn devouring his children. Or at least, that is the portrait presented by my brilliant old friend and colleague David Willetts in his new book, The Pinch, which has been received with rapture by one and all. You can see his point. We baby boomers – those of us born in the great bulge of fecundity in the Fifties and Sixties – have had it easy. We are the ones whose extravagant pension entitlements must now be met by our kids.
telegraph.co.uk
Earlier Retirement: Beating Back the High Fees
Mar 7th
By ELEANOR LAISE
Jeff Powelson knows how tough it is to fight for lower fees in a 401(k) retirement plan. He tried to get his employer to add lower-cost investment options to its plan in late 2008. He failed. But when he switched jobs last year, the 27-year-old took one look at his new, pricey 401(k) plan and decided to try again.
This time, Mr. Powelson, a controller at a Washington corporate foreign-exchange firm, is winning the fight. After he lobbied for months, his employer Tempus Consulting plans to replace its plan’s higher-cost actively managed funds with cheaper index-tracking funds. “At companies our size, you don’t have someone devoted 24 hours a day to these human-resource things,” says Keinan Ashkenazi, a co-owner and principal at Tempus. Mr. Powelson “was able to take it by the horns and really look at it.”
When it comes to 401(k) plans, Mr. Powelson says, “I am rather passionate.”
wsj.com
Assisted Living Centers Cut Costs, Negotiate Fees
Mar 7th
Assisted living facilities are slashing costs, negotiating fees and offering more services, as operators adjust strategies to attract more residents in a tough economy.
Assisted living isn’t exactly recession-proof, but it has a solid customer base because it’s need-driven business. If an adult has health problems that make independent living untenable, then a move must be made, despite the cost or current economic conditions.
Also, demand for all types of senior housing, including assisted living, will rise in the years ahead as 75 million Baby Boomers reach retirement age and the number of Americans 85 and older grows.
nytimes.com
AARP: Unemployment For Older Americans Surged 331 Percent Over Past Decade
Mar 5th
Unemployment for Americans 55 and older surged 331 percent over the past decade, according to a new analysis by the AARP Public Policy Institute.
“The data clearly shows that older workers have faced a devastating rise in unemployment, with far-reaching implications not only for their employment status but also for their health and retirement security,” said AARP spokeswoman Mary Liz Burns. Burns added that unemployment puts a particularly tough squeeze on middle-aged folks — who often have to provide for kids moving back home after college and elderly parents.
According to AARP, from January 2000 through December 2009, the total number of unemployed individuals 55 and older rose from 490,000 to 2,114,000. The number of unemployed 65 and up rose from 143,000 to 479,000. And the average duration of unemployment for people 55 and up increased 85.6 percent from 18.7 weeks to 34.7 weeks. For people older than 64, the duration went up almost a third, from 24.8 weeks to 32.9 weeks.
huffingtonpost.com
Older Workers Bring New Purpose to Volunteer Work
Mar 5th
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
CHICAGO (AP) — Stuffing envelopes is out and meaningful work experience is in for a new generation of volunteers.
Spurred by the tight job market or often career-change aspirations, older workers with specific goals for donating their time are remaking the face of volunteerism. Call it giving back with an agenda.
Executives at nonprofit organizations around the country testify to the new worker demands, many of them from baby boomers used to pushing for what they want. The execs are hardly complaining — volunteerism is on the rise and it’s the older population that’s behind it.
just 0.7 percent among younger volunteers.
nytimes.com