The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

Baby boomers may be heavier and more disabled as they get older

Older Americans entering their 70s aren’t functioning as well as the generations that came before them, a new study shows.

That may predict that baby boomers will have higher disability rates in their “golden years.”

The study compared disability measurements, which assess how well an individual can perform daily activities, such as walking up a flight of stairs, managing personal finances, and performing household chores.

The study doesn't explain why more people are becoming disabled as they enter their later years, reports the Los Angeles Times article “Baby Boomers May Face High Disability Rates.” However, Teresa E. Seeman, a professor of medicine and epidemiology at University of California at Los Angeles’ David Geffen School of Medicine, is quoted in the article as saying:

Rising levels of obesity appear to be the major factor; the greatest increases in disabilities were among non-whites and people who were obese or overweight. Normal-weight individuals do not show a trend of increasing disabilities. It does seem to be that the increase is restricted to the groups that are overweight and obese. But part of the problem is that more and more people are overweight and obese.

Baby boomers can improve their chances of being active and healthy as they get older by losing weight.

Here are resources on weight loss:

“Weight Loss for Life” – National Institutes of Health

“Good News for Women Trying to Lose Weight” – About.com

“Resources for People Who Want to Lose Weight” – Diabetes Spectrum

“10 Painless Ways to Lose Weight” – WebMD

“Top 10 Diet and Nutrition Resolutions” – MedicineNet.com

“Dieting on a Budget” – ConsumerReports.org

“Top Diets Reviewed” – ConsumerReports.org

“Rating the Diet Books” – Center for Science in the Public Interest

Copyright 2009, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Injuries up substantially among boomers exercising excessively

Many baby boomers stay fit through rigorous exercise that can strain, injure, and wear out their bodies.

Exercise-related ailments such as sore shoulders, inflamed tendons, and arthritic knees often are the result.

"Baby boomers are the first generation in droves trying to stay active in an aging frame," said Nicholas DiNubile, M.D., 57, in the article "Boomers: Gen Xcessive – Staying Active Can Be a Painful Fountain of Youth" on Philly.com. The Havertown orthopedic surgeon is credited with first using the term "boomeritis" to describe the growing number of middle-age patients with exercise-related ailments.

For its article, the Philadelphia Inquirer asked the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to analyze boomer exercise-related injuries through its National Electronic Injury Surveillance System data.

The commission estimated that in 2008, emergency rooms treated 282,476 injuries among baby boomers – ages 44 to 62 – who suffered sports- and exercise-related injuries – a 47 percent increase from a decade earlier.

An example is bicycling. The Centers for Disease Control reported in 2002 that more than a fifth of the men 45 and older with sports- and recreation-related injuries treated in the ER had a biking accident – nearly the same as the portion of boys 5 to 9 – 23 percent – and much more than the 16 percent for 10-to-14-year-olds.

Overuse is one of the main causes of boomeritis. At the same time, the benefits of exercise come from pushing limits.

"It's a fine line," Cathe Friedrich, 45, co-owner of Four Seasons Health Club in Glassboro and an exercise instructor, said in the article. Friedrich has had surgery on an inflamed knee. "As we get older, that fine line gets finer."

Copyright 2009, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Baby boomers and skin cancer: What you need to know

Boomers are getting older, and the effects of the sun from their youth and their love of outdoor activities are now beginning to show up.

Little was known when boomers were growing up about the importance of protecting the skin from the sun. And boomers don’t wear sunscreen as often as dermatologists recommend.

In a Harris Poll, 82 percent of baby boomers surveyed said they frequently spent time in the sun during their childhood without protecting their skin from the sun’s dangerous ultraviolet or UV rays, reports DentalPlans.com.

The survey also showed that the majority of older adults who wear sunscreen wear it when in the sun for an extended period of time such at the beach or gardening. However, only one-third are diligent about replying sunscreen at least every two to three hours. The American Academy of Dermatology recommends reapplying sunscreen every one and a half hours when outdoors, even on cloudy days.

Skin cancer is more prevalent today than any other time in history, as this chart from the Centers for Disease Control shows.

More than one million cases of non-melanoma skin cancer diagnosed annually in the United States are considered to be sun related.

Melanoma, the most serious type of skin cancer will account for 68,720 cases of skin cancer in 2009 and most – about 8,650 – of the deaths due to skin cancer each year, reports the American Cancer Society.

What are the types of skin cancer?

Most skin cancers are classified as non-melanoma, usually starting in either basal cells or squamous cells. These cells are located at the base of the outer layer of the skin or cover the internal and external surfaces of the body.

Most non-melanoma skin cancers develop on sun-exposed areas of the body, such as the face, ear, neck, lips, and the backs of the hands, the society reports. Depending on the type, they can be fast or slow growing, but they rarely spread to other parts of the body.

Melanoma is a cancer that begins in the melanocytes – the cells that produce the skin coloring or pigment known as melanin. Melanin helps protect the deeper layers of the skin from the harmful effects of the sun.

Melanoma is almost always curable when it is detected in its early stages, according to the society. Although melanoma accounts for only a small percentage of skin cancer, it’s far more dangerous than other skin cancers and causes most skin cancer deaths.

What are the risk factors for skin cancer?

• Unprotected and/or excessive exposure to UV radiation.

• Fair complexion.

• Occupational exposures to coal tar, pitch, creosote, arsenic compounds, or radium.

• Family history.

• Multiple or atypical moles.

• Severe sunburns as a child.

What are the signs and symptoms of skin cancer?

• Any change on the skin, especially in the size or color of a mole or other darkly pigmented growth or spot, or a new growth.

• Scaliness, oozing, bleeding, or change in the appearance of a bump or nodule.

• The spread of pigmentation beyond its border such as dark coloring that spreads past the edge of a mole or mark.

• A change in sensation, itchiness, tenderness, or pain.

What can you do to avoid skin cancer?

• Avoid the sun between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.

• Seek shade: Look for shade, especially in the middle of the day when the sun's rays are strongest. Practice the shadow rule and teach it to children. If your shadow is shorter than you, the sun’s rays are at their strongest.

• Slip on a shirt: Cover up with protective clothing to guard as much skin as possible when you are out in the sun. Choose comfortable clothes made of tightly woven fabrics that you cannot see through when held up to a light.

• Slop on sunscreen: Use sunscreen and lip balm with a sun protection factor SPF of 15 or higher. Apply a generous amount of sunscreen – about a palmful – and reapply after swimming, toweling dry, or perspiring. Use sunscreen even on hazy or overcast days.

• Slap on a hat: Cover your head with a wide-brimmed hat, shading your face, ears, and neck. If you choose a baseball cap, remember to protect your ears and neck with sunscreen.

• Wrap on sunglasses: Wear sunglasses with 99 percent to 100 percent UV absorption to provide optimal protection for the eyes and the surrounding skin.

• Follow these practices to protect your skin even on cloudy or overcast days. UV rays travel through clouds.

• Avoid other sources of UV light. Tanning beds and sun lamps are dangerous because they can damage your skin.

The society recommends that you check your skin every month. See "Examining Your Skin for Details."

If you find anything unusual, see your doctor right away.

Copyright 2009, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Recall of the Week: Silver, pink, and purple Durabrand DVD players sold by Wal-Mart

The recent recall of the silver Durabrand DVD player is being expanded to include the pink and purple-colored versions of the same DVD player.

About 4.2 million DVD players imported by Wal-Mart Stores Inc., of Bentonville, Ark., are being recalled because the DVD player’s circuit board can overheat, posing a fire and burn hazard to consumers. The recall of 1.5 million silver Durabrand DVD players was previously announced.

Wal-Mart has received 14 reports of DVD players overheating, seven of which have resulted in fires that caused property damage, reports the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. No injuries have been reported.

The recall involves a single DVD player with a remote control. The device was sold in three colors – silver, pink, and purple and has a U-shaped opening at the top to insert the DVD.

The DVD players were sold under the following UPC codes and model numbers:

Silver: UPC 1799901002, Model No. 1002

Pink: UPC 1799934100, Model No. 1002 PINK

Purple: UPC 1799932100, Model No. 1002 PUR

Manufactured in China, the DVD players were sold only at Wal-Mart stores nationwide from January 2006 through July 2009 for about $29.

Consumers should immediately stop using the product and return it to the nearest Wal-Mart for a full refund, the commission advises.

For additional information, consumers should contact Wal-Mart Stores at 800-925-6278 between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. CT Monday through Friday, or visit the firm’s Web site at www.walmartstores.com.

To find about other recalls, see www.recalls.gov.

Copyright 2009, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Why we can’t cut federal spending

Bruce Bartlett, Forbes columnist and author of the soon-to-be-released book "The New American Economy: The Failure of Reagonomics and a New Way Forward," says every time he writes about the need to raise revenues to pay for federal spending, some nitwit always demands to know why we don't just cut spending.

Bartlett says in his column, "Why We Can't Cut Spending," that the votes aren’t there.

Congress determines how the federal budget is spent, he says, adding the president has little discretion in the matter. He must spend federal money as the Congress sets out.

Last year, $456 billion was spent on Medicare, and it’s the fastest growing major government program.

Bartlett says in his column:

How likely is it that the people protesting Obama's Medicare cuts will stand with Republicans if they propose cutting that program even more to balance the budget? They will switch sides in an instant. The elderly will fight anyone who tries to cut their benefits even as they hypocritically demand fiscal responsibility and rant about the national debt. The elderly are the reason why we have a national debt.

And the number of older people is growing in number. Bartlett reports:

In 1980, those over age 65 constituted 11.3 percent of the population. Today they represent 13 percent, a figure that will rise to 16 percent in 2020 with the aging of the baby boomers and increasing longevity, 19.3 percent in 2030 and 20 percent in 2040, according to Census Bureau projections.

In addition, older people are a rising portion of the electorate. He says:

Back when Medicare was established, those over 65 constituted 15.8 percent of voters. Last year, they made up 19.5 percent. This is due to the rising percentage of elderly in the population and their increasing propensity to vote. In 2008, 72 percent of those between the ages of 65 and 74 reported voting while only 48.5 percent of those between the ages of 18 and 24 did.

Bartlett says in summary:

In short, there is no evidence that it is politically possible to cut spending enough to make more than a trivial difference in our nation's fiscal problems. The votes aren't there and never will be. Those who continue to insist otherwise are living in a dream world and deserve no attention from serious people.

I found the link to this interesting article on The Boomer Blog.

Copyright 2009, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

10 best cars for older drivers

If you’re an older baby boomer, you may want to take a look at the safety features new cars offer for mature drivers.

Adjusting the drivers seat is important because sitting too close to a steering wheel-mounted air bag can cause injury or death, reports the article “Top 10 Cars for Older Drivers” on Bankrate.com.

More than 40 million drivers age 65 and older will be operating vehicles in the United States by 2020, up from 29 million in 2005, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The American Automobile Association or AAA, in cooperation with the University of Florida's National Older Driver Research and Training Center, has developed a list of smart features for mature consumers.

Easy access and to the ability to adjust the seats, mirrors, and the gas and brake pedals are among these features, the article states.

Crossover vehicles, which are higher than most cars but lower than SUVs, score well on the AAA list because it's easier for older consumers to get in and out of the driver's seat.

Here are Bankrate.com’s choices for the top cars with safety features for older drivers:

• BMW 7 Series

• Cadillac SRX

• Chrysler 300

• Ford Taurus

• Honda Odyssey

• Hyundai Veracruz

• Mercedes-Benz E-Class

• Nissan Cube

• Toyota RAV-4

• Volvo XC60

See the article for details on the specific safety features for each vehicle.

Flickr photo by Justin Wright

Copyright 2009, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

What are the largest health insurance companies in America?

Several times in recent weeks during the health care debate, I’ve heard or read that a few companies provide most of the health care insurance in the nation.

Who are these companies?

UnitedHealth Group, WellPoint, Aetna, Humana, and Cigna.

Why, with the health care debate in full swing, haven’t we heard more about these firms and how they operate?

While the 10 biggest health insurance companies were seeing their profits rise by more than 400 percent between 2000 and 2007, the number of Americans without health insurance grew by 19 percent, reports the article “Rachel Maddow Show: Wendell Potter on the Health Care Industry Putting Soaring Profits Before People.”

Potter, the former director of communications for Signa, also appeared on the Diane Rehm Show on National Public Radio Wednesday.

Potter described the intensive lobbying efforts that began before the 2008 election to defeat any type of health care reform effort. He said extra lobbyists and public relations firms were hired.

The insurance companies, through their lobbyists and public relations staff, have ties to conservatives in the media and conservative groups. This way, they’ve been able to “stir up” people and get them to protest against health care reform.

Potter also said Signa is undertaking a significant change in the way it does business. They’re planning to greatly increase the deductibles consumers pay with “consumer-oriented” policies. These types of policies means consumers would pay much more for their health care and insurance companies would make even more profits.
 
It’s noteworthy that two of these large companies, WellPoint and United Health, had action taken against them early this year by government regulators.

Slate.com had a informative article, “Cost of Living: Sarah Palin Is Afraid Obamacare Will Put a Price on Human Life – But We Already Do,” which sheds light on how insurance companies make decisions and deny consumers coverage, even for those who are extremely ill.

Although Sarah Palin and others talk about health care being rationed by “death panels,” rationing already is occurring through the denial of health care by insurance companies, reports the Slate article.

I think the media needs to investigate these firms and tell the public how they’re making such huge profits and how they treat consumers who need health care.

I’d like to see big headlines in newspapers and on Web sites about UnitedHealth Group, WellPoint, Aetna, Humana, and Cigna.

Copyright 2009, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

What you need to know about retirement planning in 2009

Last fall, fall I bought Kiplinger’s Retirement Planning 2008 magazine. With articles such as "Retire Worry-Free," "Protect Your Nest Egg," "Plan Now," and "Live the Dream," I thought there would several articles I could blog about.

However, when I picked up the magazine a few weeks after I purchased it, I was disappointed. The information didn’t fit the current financial crisis. I know the deadline for magazine articles is often three months before publication date. Kiplinger’s Retirement Planning magazine certainly was out of date.

This year’s Kiplinger’s Retirement Planning 2009 magazine is much better.

Helpful articles for boomer consumers include: “Rebuild Your Savings,” “Rethinking Retirement,” “Get Back on Track,” “The Best Financial Advice,” “New Rules for Investing Your Money,” “In Search of Health Insurance,” “Life After a Layoff,” and “Reverse Mortgages Keep Getting Better.”

Here are five ways the magazine suggests for consumers to rebuild after the Great Recession:

1. Contribute at least enough to your 401(k) plan to capture your employer’s match – assuming you still get one – and bump up future contributions automatically.

2. Make additional “catch up” contributions – up to $5,500 in 2009, if you’re 50 or older.

3. Don’t raid your retirement accounts early. You’ll lose the benefits of compounding and could lose as much as 40 percent of your distribution to taxes and penalties.

4. Plan to work a few years longer to fatten your retirement savings and your Social Security check.

5. Reduce your annual withdrawals until the stock market bounces back, if you’re already retired.

Other retirement tips include:

• Plan for a retirement that could last 25 years or more.

• Don’t forget inflation’s impact on your future buying power.

• Keep some of your assets invested for growth, even in retirement.

• Limit withdrawals from savings to 4 percent of your balance during the first year of retirement and adjust for inflation in later years.

• Anticipate rising health care costs, especially if you aren’t eligible for Medicare of if you don’t have employer-provided retiree health benefits.

Resources to help consumers in retirement planning offered in the magazine include:

• See how much income your retirement savings will generate by using the free calculator at www3.towerprice.com/ric/ric/public/ric.do.

• Calculate your Social Security benefits at www.socialsecurity.gov/estimator.

• Locate a financial planner at www.napfa.org.

• Check out financial professionals or report investment fraud at www.helpforinvestors.org.

• See www.callan.com/research to see how different kinds of securities go from winners to losers every year.

• Go to www.medicare.gov to compare your options and the costs in your area, including medigap policies, prescription-drug plans, and the all-in-one Medicare Advantage programs.

• Get advice on choosing the best Medicare plan for you from the State health Insurance Assistance Program in your area at www.shiptalk.org or the Medicare Rights Center at www.medicarerights.org.

• See www.medicarenewswatch.com to get estimates of your out-of-pocket costs for Medicare, HMOs, and PPOs that include drug coverage.

• Check out www.escapeartist.com, www.internationalliving.com, www.liveabroad.com, and www.livtopia.com for information on retirement abroad.

To get a copy of Kiplinger’s Retirement Planning 2009, see newsstands, bookstores, or libraries.

Or you can order the magazine through Kiplinger’s Web site.

It’s worth the $5.95 price.

Copyright 2009, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

What do gay baby boomers need as they grow older?

June is Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month.

In a proclamation, President Obama said that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender or LGBT Americans have made, and continue to make, great and lasting contributions that continue to strengthen the fabric of American society.

The LGBT rights movement has achieved great progress, Obama said, but there’s more work to be done… LGBT families and seniors should be allowed to live their lives with dignity and respect. And he added:

As long as the promise of equality for all remains unfulfilled, all Americans are affected. If we can work together to advance the principles upon which our nation was founded, every American will benefit.

During LGBT Pride Month, I call upon the LGBT community, the Congress, and the American people to work together to promote equal rights for all, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

When I marched in the Olympia, Wash., Capital City Pride Parade, I thought about gay baby boomers and what their concerns are, as they grow older.

A study, “Out and Aging: The MetLife Study of Lesbian and Gay Baby Boomers,” takes a look the needs of the boomer generation as it reached midlife and beyond. The study found:

• Both lesbian and bisexual women and gay and bisexual men share a concern about their financial stability as they age into retirement. (1) For women, their greatest fear is outliving their income as they age. (2) For men, their great fear is becoming dependent on others and becoming sick or disabled.

• More than a quarter, 27 percent, of LGBT boomers reported great concern about discrimination as they age, and less than half expressed strong confidence that health-care professionals will treat them “with dignity and respect.” Fears of insensitive and discriminatory treatment by health-care professionals are particularly strong among lesbians, of whom 12 percent said they have absolutely no confidence that they will be treated respectfully.

• LGBT baby boomers want to spend their final days in the comfort of their own homes. Nearly half, 47 percent, said they would like their end-of-life care to take place in their current residence with the help of hospice care, followed at a distant second by 16 percent who would prefer to spend their final days in their current homes without hospice care.

• Lesbian and bisexual women appear to be less financially prepared for the end of life. For instance, they’re less likely than their male counterparts to have purchased long-term care insurance or to have written wills.

• One half, 51 percent, of LGBT baby boomers have yet to complete wills or living wills spelling out their long-term care and end-of-life wishes – yet such documents are important for LGBT older adults given the current lack of legal protection for LGBT couples and families.

• Almost 40 percent of respondents believe that being lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender has helped them prepare for aging in some way. They’ve developed positive character traits, greater resilience, or better support networks as a consequence of being lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender.

The MetLife Mature Market Institute and the Lesbian and Gay Aging Issues Network of the American Society on Aging undertook this national survey of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender baby boomers in February 2006.

A sample of 1,000 LGBT people ages 40 to 61 participated in an online survey conducted by Zogby International, a polling and public-opinion research firm.

Let me know if this survey reflects your concerns as a gay baby boomer consumer as you approach and enter retirement. Do you have additional new worries about the coming years due to the Great Recession?

 
Note: The photos are from Capital City Pride Parade.

Copyright 2009, Rita R. Robison

Memory mistakes after 40

When I entered my 50s, I began burning pans of food and teapots on the stove frequently.

I decided I needed to change my habits when it came to how I operated the stove. I made a new rule: I would put the timer on every time I turned the stove on high. It worked. I seldom burned pans or teapots after that.

Until last week. I made a mistake. I put the teapot on the stove and forgot to put the whistle down so it would sound AND I didn’t set the timer.

As I was writing a post, I was surprised when the smoke alarm went off. I couldn’t figure it out. When I entered the kitchen, I saw the problem immediately. Red-hot burner under empty teapot.

I used a pancake turner to get the teapot off the burner. I was hopeful that the teapot wasn’t ruined. However, a few minutes after I moved the teapot, the small, ball-shaped knob on the teapot lid popped off. I knew it was all over.

It’s common for people in their 40s, 50s, and 60s to make memory mistakes when they’re busy and preoccupied. Just because you’re getting older, it doesn’t mean you can’t improve your memory skills.

Here are some ideas on how you can improve your memory:

“Your Memory: Five Ways to Keep It Sharp” – Consumer Reports Health.org

“How to Improve Your Memory” – suite101.com

“How to Improve Your Memory” – howstuffworks

“Four Strategies to Stretch Your Memory” – Johns Hopkins Health Alerts

“Mind Games – Improve Your Memory With Some Simple Rules” – CBS News.com

“Improving Your Memory: Tips and Techniques for Memory Enhancement” – Helpguide.org

“How to Improve Your Memory” -- Howcast

“11 Quick Tips on How to Improve Your Memory” – ManageYourLife Now.com

“Memory Loss: Seven Tips to Improve Your Memory” – MayoClinic.com

“Forgetfulness Isn’t Always a Cause for Concern” – Consumeraffairs.com

Copyright 2009, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist