According to a 2013 report by the American Gaming Association, one third of Americans (34 percent) visited a casino in the past 12 months. 28 percent of people aged 65 and older visited a casino in the past 12 months. An article in Psychology Today, however, puts the percentage much higher: David Oslin at the University of Pennsylvania claims that 70 percent of people 65 years and older “had gambled in the previous year and that one in 11 had bet more than he or she could comfortably afford to lose.” A measly 6 percent of senior casino visitors go…
The graying of the American homeowner is upon us. The question is: Will communities be ready for the challenges that come with that? The number of households headed by someone age 70 or older will surge by 42 percent from 2015 to 2025, according to a report on the state of housing released last month by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University (JCHS). The Harvard researchers note that a majority of those households will be aging in place, not downsizing or moving to retirement communities. That will have implications for an array of support services people will…
As baby boomers age, families have more options for providing and paying for their care. Much has changed in the past two decades when it comes to long-term care options and how to fund them. Baby boomers and subsequent generations will need to plan for long-term care in a different way than their parents in light of factors such as longer life spans, the uncertain future of entitlement benefits, and rapidly rising medical costs. Choices when it comes to planning for long-term care include earmarking savings for long-term medical expenses, relying on entitlement benefits, or depending on their families. Long-term…
When you die, your debts do not expire with you. Most debt still needs to be paid off, if possible, although who is responsible for paying the debt depends on the type of debt, and some assets are protected from being used to satisfy a debt. Outstanding debt may include mortgages, credit card bills, car loans, personal loans, or condominium fees — even car leases, where death is considered “early termination” of a contract. Usually your estate is responsible for paying any debts you leave behind. If the estate does not have enough money, the debts will go unpaid. In…
With the Health Insurance Marketplace underway, there is information available for those on Medicare about what the Marketplace means to them. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) and the National Council on Aging (NCOA) have developed helpful factsheets for your clients who are 65+ and for people ages 55-64. View the CMS fact sheet and NCOA fact sheet. View the NCOA fact sheet for people under 65.
The world is aging so fast that most countries are not prepared to support their swelling numbers of elderly people, according to a global study issued by the United Nations and an elder rights group. The report ranks the social and economic well-being of elders in 91 countries, with Sweden coming out on top and Afghanistan at the bottom. It reflects what advocates for the old have been warning, with increasing urgency, for years: Nations are simply not working quickly enough to cope with a population graying faster than ever before. By the year 2050, for the first time in…
University of Utah electrical engineers have developed a network of wireless sensors that can detect a person falling. This monitoring technology could be linked to a service that would call emergency help for the elderly without requiring them to wear monitoring devices. For people age 65 and older, falling is a leading cause of injury and death. Most fall-detection devices monitor a person's posture or require a person to push a button to call for help. However, these devices must be worn at all times. A 2008 study showed 80 percent of elderly adults who owned call buttons didn't use…
Older pedestrians are statistically less likely to be killed by cars in Connecticut than in New York or New Jersey, but a tougher law on careless driving would make them even safer, an advocacy group says. All three states should redesign their most dangerous roads — particularly the relatively high-speed and congested arterials such as Route 1 in Connecticut — to make them safer for pedestrians, according to the Tri-State Transportation Campaign. In a recently released analysis of pedestrian fatalities between 2009 and 2011, Tri-State concluded that senior citizens stand a disproportionately high risk while crossing or walking along high-speed…
A new survey shows that communities are having mixed success in making accommodations for their aging populations. One-third of older Americans say their city or town is not preparing for the future needs of a growing senior population. Approximately 18 percent of seniors say that their community is not responsive to senior needs. Transportation and affordable housing are the two areas where seniors say their city should increase investments. Learn more.
Animals make great companions for senior citizens, but elderly people who always drive with a pet in the car are far more likely to crash than those who never drive with a pet, researchers have found. The new study included 2,000 licensed drivers aged 70 and older. The nearly 700 participants who had pets were asked how often they drove with their pet in the car. Among those who always drove with their pets, the crash risk was twice as high as among those who never drove with their pet. Crash rates for those who sometimes or rarely drove with…
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