The Boomer Blog

FH Boom News Digest - December 22, 2010

Posted: 22 Dec 2010 07:35 AM PST

Few seniors prepared for long-term illness
Only about 10 percent have insurance coverage for nursing home care or assisted living
Michelle Andrews
Kaiser Health News

December 22, 2010
Overview: "People don't like to think about what will happen if they become too ill or infirm to manage on their own. Experts say that partly explains why sales of long-term-care insurance policies are so anemic; only about 10 percent of seniors have such coverage.

Given the complexity of these policies, experts agree it's tough to decide whether they're right for you. The policies have many moving parts: After a waiting period, they generally pay a set daily benefit for a certain number of years. They typically cover care in a nursing home, an assisted living facility or at home.

They also tend to have high premiums. A 60-year-old might pay $200 a month for a policy that pays $150 a day for a maximum of three years, according to a 2009 study by Avalere Health, a research and consulting firm, and the Kaiser Family Foundation. (Kaiser Health News, which produces this column, is a program of the foundation.) Purchasing at a younger age can help trim premium costs.

But since people typically don't make a claim until they're 80 years old or so, that can be a long lead time, especially when you've got college tuitions to pay or may be worried about losing your job."
http://tinyurl.com/298ddbf

Baby Boomers Approach Age 65 -- Glumly
Survey Findings about America's Largest Generation
D'Vera Cohn and Paul Taylor
Pew Research Center Publications
December 20, 2010

Overview: "Perched on the front stoop of old age, Baby Boomers are more downbeat than other age groups about the trajectory of their own lives and about the direction of the nation as a whole.

Some of this pessimism is related to life cycle -- for most people, middle age is the most demanding and stressful time of life. Some of the gloominess, however, appears to be particular to Boomers, who bounded onto the national stage in the 1960s with high hopes for remaking society, but who've spent most of their adulthood trailing other age cohorts in overall life satisfaction."
http://tinyurl.com/25ygazj

Baby Boomers want to live close to loved ones
Paul Briand
Baby Boomer Examiner
December 20th, 2010

Overview: "Just because Baby Boomers' nests are emptying doesn't mean they don't want to see their children any more. Indeed, Baby Boomers want to live close to their kids and other loved ones, according to a lifestyle survey taken by Trilogy Communities.

In October, Trilogy Communities released an online personality assessment tool to engage with and better understand the 55-plus active adult population. It used the tool to compile information regarding the participants' dreams and goals, including their desired living styles and communities, travel and entertainment preferences, and their interests and causes."
http://tinyurl.com/2fx4sac