Archive for May, 2007

Social Security benefits now expedited for military claims

Posted on May 31, 2007 by Jason

Journal & Courier Online, May 30th, 2007

We have just honored our military service members
on Memorial Day. Social Security announced on May 25 that it will
expedite payment of survivors and disability applications for our
military service members and their qualified family members.

The
Commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA), Michael J.
Astrue, announced that Social Security wants active duty personnel and
their families to know that procedures are now in place to expedite
survivors applications and disability claims that apply to any injured
military service member, no matter where the injury occurred.

Commissioner
Astrue stated: “I want to assure the brave men and women of our Armed
Forces and their families that they will not have to wait for these
needed benefits. The special process is just one way Social Security
can show our military personnel how much we appreciate their service.”

Survivors
eligible for benefits should call Social Security’s toll-free number –
1-800-772-1213 — to sign up. SSA reports there is a
specially-dedicated immediate claims taking unit that processes an
application at the time of contact. Those applications received in a
local Social Security office also are expedited and are given priority
handling.

Read more of this Article.

In reversal, U.S. retirement age rises

Posted on May 31, 2007 by Jason

Monsters & Critics.com, May 30th, 2007

The age U.S. workers choose to retire is rising, after falling for more than 100 years, U.S. government statistics show.

In the mid-1980s, 18 percent of people in their late 60s still had
jobs, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. The figure is now
up to 29 percent, it said.

And experts say it will continue to rise as workers face the
prospect of a lengthy and expensive old age, with limited retirement
benefits, the Los Angeles Times reported.

More than one in four baby boomers — born from 1946 to 1964 — say
they never plan to retire, a recent survey by the National Association
of Realtors showed.

In contrast to the latter half of the 20th century — with Social
Security retirement benefits, Medicare health insurance and guaranteed
income through employer pensions — workers today face a hazardous
landscape, the Times said.

Traditional pensions are rare. Companies have cut back retiree healthcare benefits. Even Social Security is retrenching.

Workers born in 1960 and later will have to wait until age 67, rather than 65, to get their full retirement benefits.

And more Social Security benefits will be subject to income tax and higher Medicare premiums.

Read more of this article.

Problem paying off debts

Posted on May 30, 2007 by Jason

Cincinnati Post, May 29th, 2007

DEAR BRUCE: I have a 30-year adjustable with a
24-month fixed rate. Then it will go according to the adjustable rate.
I have been in this home since November, and I have no equity yet. What
type of loan or line of equity can I get at this point? Please tell me
what can I do about my credit if I can’t keep up. I need a loan to pay
at least $5,000 worth of debt off. – Sharon, via e-mail

DEAR SHARON:
Unfortunately, an absolute reality is one can’t borrow oneself to
prosperity. You’ve gotten into a home, which very likely you couldn’t
afford, and many have done so and been encouraged to do so by lenders
who extended more credit than was appropriate. On top of this issue,
apparently, you have other debts. The other stark reality very likely
is that you have no equity in this home, and you might have a great
deal of difficulty getting out with the whole skin. I wish I could be
more positive, Sharon, but the only thing I can suggest is that, if
it’s impossible after you pared your budget down to an absolute
minimum, if you are physically able and have abilities that you
consider an extra job to help whittle away at your debt.

Unhappily,
there is little you can do to preserve your debt if you are unable to
make your payments. However, if you find that you are not able to make
your house payments, contact the lender immediately! Don’t wait until
they contact you. That goes a long way in encouraging them to help
reduce your payments for a temporary period of time to help you get
your feet back on the ground.

Read more of this article.   Learn more about Reverse Mortgages.

Corporate pensions had a flourishing year

Posted on May 28, 2007 by Jason

Seniorscopie.com, May 28th, 2007

The nation’s corporate pension funds had a healthy
2006, doped by stronger-than-anticipated returns from the stock market
and slower-than-anticipated growth in expected payments to retirees.

The
Milliman consulting firm reviewed the 100 biggest companies that offer
pension plans. Those manage $1.3 trillion in pension benefits, about 75
percent of traditional-pension money in the U.S. private sector.

Last
year, experts predicted that the net worth of many companies offering
traditional pensions would fall because of accounting rule changes that
took effect in 2006. The rules require a company to reflect on its
balance sheet the market value of all pension assets and obligations,
rather than just those payouts that affect its earnings for the year.

But
the stock market performed better than expected — offering average
returns of 12.8 percent, rather than the 8.4 percent the consultants
predicted — meaning the funds’stated ability to pay future expenses
was not hurt by the new rules as much as was predicted a year ago.

Milliman
actuary Adrien LaBombarde said that on average, “pension funds look
pretty good right now.” But he said some companies, especially in the
troubled auto and airline industries, continue to worry the federal
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. The PBGC guarantees payouts, up to a
point, for retirees owed money from a failed pension plan.

Read more of this article.

Receding pensions: How are you making up for it?

Posted on May 27, 2007 by Jason

Marketwatch.com, May 27th, 2007

Workers now understand that their retirement
outlook has grown more dire as employers increasingly move away from
traditional pensions, but a significant portion of those workers aren’t
doing much to improve their retirement security, according to the 17th
annual Retirement Confidence Survey by the nonprofit Employee Benefit
Research Institute.

More people seem to be
aware that the traditional pension is on tenuous ground, with 45
percent of workers saying they’re less confident about receiving money
from a traditional pension, according to the survey of 1,252 U.S.
adults 25 and older.

Seventeen percent of workers experienced cuts to
their pensions firsthand within the past two years, according to the
survey produced by the institute and Mathew Greenwald & Associates,
a survey-research firm.

The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Response to reduced benefits

But
of the 17 percent who experienced retirement-plan cuts, 39 percent said
they’ve not made any changes as a result of the cutbacks.

“I
looked at that and said, ‘This has to be an age influence’ ” — that is,
what younger workers are doing — said Jack VanDerhei, a Temple
University professor, EBRI fellow, and co-author of the survey. See the
full report on the EBRI Web site.

“Surprisingly,
it’s not. You’re virtually as likely to do nothing if you’re 55 years
or older as if you’re younger,” he said. That’s worrisome, he said,
because “if you lose your defined-benefit accruals when you’re old, you
have a huge financial setback. And they’re basically not doing
anything.”

Read more of this article.

Medicare Plans to Deny Coverage of Artificial Disks

Posted on May 27, 2007 by Jason

The New York Times, May 26th, 2007

Government regulators said yesterday that Medicare, the federal
insurance program, planned to deny coverage for artificial disks
implanted in the lower spines of older patients.

The
preliminary decision, which is expected to become final in August,
extends to the ProDisc-L made by Synthes a national coverage ban
imposed a year ago on the Charité lumbar disk made by Johnson & Johnson; the Food and Drug Administration cleared the Pro Disc-L for sale last summer. It also signaled that Medicare will not cover Medtronic’s Maverick lumbar disk when that device reaches the market.

Yesterday’s decision applies to patients over 60, which is most of the
43 million people Medicare covers. Local administrators of Medicare
benefits will continue to be able to pay for the devices in younger
disabled patients on a case by case basis.

The Centers for
Medicare and Medicaid Services, the agency that administers Medicare,
said that none of the clinical trials used to gain F.D.A. approval of
the devices included patients over 60, leaving Medicare with no basis
for saying the devices were a reasonable or necessary therapy for such
patients.

“Information on safety in real-world patient
situations is essential for informed choice,” the agency said in the
memorandum summarizing its proposed decision.

Read more of this article.

What Is A Reverse Home Mortgage And Why It May Be Useful To You

Posted on May 24, 2007 by Jason

BestSyndication.com, May 24th, 2007

Reverse mortgage, as the name suggests enables you receive money
against equity on your home. It allows you to get money, without
selling your home. However you need to repay the money after your
death, while you sell your home or you stop living in the house. Many
Americans, the age of 62 and above partly depend on reverse mortgage
for different financial requirements like healthcare expenses, to
supplement their retirement income or to pay off their mortgage.

Statutory laws pronounce reverse mortgage process generally tax-free and in most cases, without income restriction.

Basically, there are three types of Mortgages

Single Purpose Reverse Mortgages, supported by local, state agencies or nonprofit organizations

They are low cost loans, usable for only a specific purpose, as
specified by the lender. They are available to people with low to
moderate income.

Federally Insured Reverse Mortgages, also known as Home Equity
Conversion Mortgages (HECMs), backed by US Department of Housing and
Urban Development (HUD)

Proprietary Reverse Mortgages offered by different companies:  HECMs and proprietary reverse mortgages are costlier than single purpose reverse mortgages.

Read more of this article.   Learn more about Reverse Mortgages.

Study highlights senior citizens’ contributions to society, shows many put off retirement

Posted on May 23, 2007 by Jason

Napa Valley Register, May 23rd, 2007

Senior citizens are important engines
of society, not dependent burdens, according to an international study
on aging released Tuesday that shows one in 10 people in their 70s
still work.

People in their 60s and 70s continue to play a vital
role in the economy as many report feeling healthier and choosing to
reject a quiet retirement, the study from Oxford University’s Institute
of Aging shows.

“The future of old people is not penury or
dependence. They have become turbos rather than the brakes of our
community,” said Clive Bannister, managing director of HSBC Insurance,
which asked the institute to conduct the study so it could learn about
consumer behavior.

Researchers interviewed more than 21,000
people between the ages of 40 and 79 in about 20 countries for the
largest study of its kind. The aim was to explore attitudes about life
in the elder years and retirement.
Global
demographic trends have shifted in recent years as life expectancy has
increased and birth rates decreased, said Professor Sarah Harper,
director of the institute.

Contrary to the commonly held belief
that older people are draining state resources, the study indicates
they are more independent and active in social and economic life than
previously thought.

“People in their 50s and 70s are very
different now than they were before. They are making a tremendous
contribution to society,” Harper said.

Older people volunteer
for more than 13 million hours per year, which in Britain alone amounts
to $3.1 billion worth of unpaid work.

Read more of this article.

Two questions for potential retirees

Posted on May 21, 2007 by Jason

Napa Valley Register, May 21st, 2007

Questions one: If you are accumulating wealth during a 10-year period
and can earn an average annual return of 11.6 percent but have to take
a loss of 10.5 percent one those years, would you prefer to take the
loss the first year, the fifth or the 10th year?

Question two.
Now assume the same 10-year period and average return of 11.6 percent,
except now you withdraw $11,500 each year from the same portfolio. Now
would you prefer to take the 10.5 percent loss in the first, fifth or
10th year?

Let’s assume you start both questions with a
$100,000. The answer to question one is that it doesn’t matter when the
loss occurs. At the end of the 10 years, you will have $291,049 no
matter when it occurs.

Question two has a completely different
answer. Using the same $100,000 starting amount and assuming that you
are taking the $11,500 (11.5 percent) withdrawal each year, at the end
of the 10th year, your amounts differ dramatically depending upon when
the loss occurs. If the loss occurs in the first year, your 10th year
value is only $46,700. The 10th year values when the loss occurs in the
fifth or tenth year are $73,396 and $92,020, respectively.

Read more of this article.

Couple Learn the High Price of Easy Credit

Posted on May 20, 2007 by Jason

The New York Times, May 19th, 2007

On a recent evening, Christine Moellering, 40, sorted through the plastic
laundry basket where she keeps the family bills, statements and coupons.

“The Sears one is 32.24 percent,” Ms. Moellering said, reading a credit card
statement with a balance of $5,955, including $155 in monthly finance charges.
The high interest rate took her by surprise. “That’s nice,” she said
sarcastically.

Ms. Moellering, and her husband, Mark, 39, earn average salaries for their
age (together about $66,000 a year), live in an average-priced home and have an
average cost of living. But like many other households these days, they have
found that their day-to-day economic life has come to depend not just on how
much they earn or spend, but also on how well they shuffle what they owe among a
broad array of credit cards, home equity loans and other lines of credit.

Americans spent one in seven of their take-home dollars on debt payments last
year, up from one in nine in 1980. Experts say few consumers are able to
calculate the true costs of such payments.

Behind closed doors, the decisions families like the Moellerings make about
their debt — when to pay it off, when to shuffle it to lower-interest sources
and when to let it revolve and build — can determine how much their salaries are
worth. Like many others, the Moellerings have run up avoidable penalties and
occasionally spent themselves into more debt or higher interest rates, even as
they have tried to juggle other balances to bring down their monthly payments.

Read more of this article.

« Older Entries
NewRetirement Blogs Home