Category Archives: Senior Living / Retirement

By David L. Cumming

Longer lifespans and rising health care costs are driving investors to control their financial exposure to uncovered bouts of care—particularly in retirement.

The United States spends more than $3 trillion a year on health care, or nearly $10,000 per person. Overall spending rose 5.8 percent in 2015, faster than the pace of inflation or wage growth.

Systemic efforts to rein in costs have met with some success. Consolidated hospital networks are better positioned to deliver treatment at scale and pass savings onto patients and insurers, and an increasing focus on preventative care aims to address medical issues before they snowball into chronic and costly conditions.

Still, another trend in the changing health care system—patients shouldering a larger share of treatment costs—is driving up out-of-pocket expenses. The elderly, who require the most care, often bear the brunt of the costs.

By Doug Coggins

As a business owner, C-suite executive or human resources manager, chances are your areas of expertise lie with your chosen profession so choosing or re-evaluating retirement benefits for your employees can be intimidating.

IRAs, SIMPLE Plans, 403b, 401k – the list goes on. How can you be sure that you choose a retirement plan solution that meets the budget, maximizes tax deductions, keeps current employees happy and makes you competitive for employee recruitment? The best retirement plan service providers will get to know your organization and will work with you as a partner to find the right solution.

Here are five tips to help get you started:

According to a new AARP survey of experienced workers, nearly nine in 10 work for financial reasons, but approximately eight in 10 either enjoy or feel useful doing their work.

Among those who plan to retire, over one in four plans to start a business or earn money in some independent way, such as a gig economy job. Given employers’ need for talent, it makes great business sense to hire experienced workers, as demonstrated by additional AARP research, the organization said.

“With rich work histories, varied experiences and expertise, older workers want to work, they’re ready to work, and they need to work,” said AARP Vice President of Financial Resilience Susan Weinstock. “More employers are looking for qualified candidates and experienced workers should have the opportunity to be judged on their merits, rather than their age.”

To highlight job opportunities among 50-plus workers, AARP launched an employer pledge for companies who hire workers based on ability, regardless of age. Since 2013, 650 employers have signed AARP’s pledge. AARP also continues to educate employers about the value of older workers and the benefits of a multigenerational workforce.

The Glens Falls Senior Center has completed the first phase of its interior restoration project.

Rob Keating, chairman of the fundraising committee, said the Sherman House restoration campaign has resulted in numerous interior upgrades, including the replacement of two nearly 100-year-old boilers

Phase II, the exterior phase of the project, can now begin, he said.

The primary focus of that phase is the replacement of all the roofs on the building, including side porches. Over the years some of the exterior architecture, including the massive corbels, have been damaged by water and will need to be repaired or replaced and all exterior trim will be repainted, said Keating. 

By Jill Nagy

Typically, people wait seven years between noticing a hearing loss and doing something about it, observed Dr. Susan Boggia, an audiologist at the Center for Better Hearing in Glens Falls.

Telltale signs include missing the punch line when someone tells a joke on the other side of the room, or turning up the sound on the TV beyond where other family members might want it. Having problems hearing in a crowd—distinguishing speech from background noise—is pretty common as people age, she said, “nearly everyone experiences that.”

Boggia said she recommends that people, as they get older, get a baseline hearing evaluation. The evaluation determines how someone hears different tones and different frequencies and how well he or she hears different words. Sometimes, it is hard to understand speech even if it is loud, she noted.

The common problem of hearing in a crowd can get a lot worse if the situation is ignored. That is an issue involving processing of sound by the brain.

“It is important to stimulate the brain,” Boggia said. “The longer you wait, the more significant the loss becomes,” and the harder it will be to adjust to hearing again. “Your brain has to relearn how to process sound and how to ignore it and it takes some time for your brain to acclimate,” after a hearing loss is compensated for.

Joan E. Taub is an associate broker with Berkshire Halthaway HomeServices, Blake. Courtesy Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Blake By Joan E. Taub There have never been more choices in determining where one wants to live. When my grandparents retired they...