Monthly Archives for April 2019

NCPSSM Says It Pays Off to Delay Claiming Social Security Benefits

Published in Woonsocket Call on April 28, 2019

You have an eight-year window to choose to sign up for Social Security to collect your monthly benefit check. Some may be forced to collect Social Security at age 62, because of their finances, health and lifestyle. Others make a decision to wait until either age 66 (if you were born after 1954) or 67 (or born in 1960 or after) to collect full monthly benefits. While some even choose to wait until age 70, if they financially can, to get the maximum program benefits.

For this age 64-year old writer and to many of my older peers in their 60s, determining the right age to collect Social Security can be confusing at best. Will my decision, to make less by collecting at age 62 or more by waiting until full benefits are paid at age 66 or 67 or waiting to receive maximum benefits at age 70, provide me with adequate retirement income to pay my bills into my eighties or even nineties? The National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare (NCPSSM) hopes to assist older workers to make the right decision for them through a new educational campaign, Delay & Gain.

Educational Campaign Kicks Off in Five Cities

This month, the NCPSSM kicks off a new educational campaign, Delay & Gain, to urge workers in their 60s to opt for more money, up to thousands of dollars per year in additional Social Security benefits, by working at least until their normal retirement age 66 or 67. Filing for Social Security at age 62 locks you into a lower benefit, permanently. You are not entitled to 100 percent of the benefit calculated from your earnings history unless you apply at your age 66 or 67
Launched by the Washington, DC-based NCPSSM, Delay & Gain includes a six-figure ad campaign targeting five U.S. cities where workforce participation is high, but too many workers are losing money by choosing to retire early.

According to NCPSSM, more than one-third of American workers claim Social Security at the early retirement age of 62, lowering their monthly benefits for the rest of their lives. In a recent survey of American workers, nearly half of respondents did not know that their monthly Social Security benefits will be reduced by claiming at the earliest eligible age of 62 — and boosted up to 25 percent for waiting until the full retirement age of 66. Seniors who delay claiming until age 70 receive an even larger financial bump — up to 44 percent more than if they had filed for benefits early. For the average beneficiary that can mean a difference of roughly $1,000 per month in extra income.

“We understand that not all workers have the option of working longer due to poor health, caregiving demands, age discrimination or physically demanding work. But we consistently hear from seniors who retired early because they were sick and tired of working, who soon discovered that they were more sick and tired of not having enough money in retirement,” says Max Richtman, NCPSSM’s President and CEO in an April 8 statement announcing this new initiative.

Many Benefits of Working Longer

The risks of running out of money in later life are very evident, says NCPSSM. “Some 8 percent of seniors under 70 live in poverty. But the poverty rate jumps to 12 percent for those over 85. Older women are in greater jeopardy than men, because they tend to live longer, saved less for retirement and lower Social Security benefits. Some 11 percent of all elderly women live in poverty compared to 8 percent of older men,” says NCPSSM, whose chief mission is to protect Social Security and Medicare.

“Because Social Security helps keep seniors out of poverty — and because benefits are adjusted for inflation — it’s imperative that workers maximize their future benefits,” says NCPSSM in its statement. “Retirees rely more and more on Social Security as they age. One-half of all retirees receive most of their income from Social Security. But 42 percent of seniors over age 80 depend on Social Security for almost all their cash income. With one in four 65-year-olds expected to live past 90, it’s evident why workers should try to reap the highest possible monthly benefits. As they say, you can outlive other sources of income, but not Social Security,” notes the aging advocacy group.

The Delay & Gain campaign was rolled-out in Baltimore, Maryland, Davenport, Iowa. Detroit, Michigan, Louisville, Kentucky, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on April 8, 2019. NCPSSM’s campaign will reach out to older workers through radio ads, videos, social media and mobile billboards while providing educational material for distribution and publication to Human Resource departments, community centers and libraries, and financial institutions. The campaign website, delayandgain.org offers additional resources including Ask Us, a free service where Social Security experts answer personal questions about benefits, filing a claim and more.

“We want seniors to be able to pursue a comfortable retirement, with the least amount of stress about paying the bills,” says Richtman. “This campaign will show older workers how to get there,” he notes.

Simply put, NCPSSM’s Delay & Gain initiative, can provide older workers with a simple strategy for planning their retirement, one that just might make their retirement years more comfortable.

Herb Weiss, LRI ’12, is a Pawtucket writer covering aging, health care and medical issues. To purchase Taking Charge: Collected Stories on Aging Boldly, a collection of 79 commentaries, go to herbweiss.com.

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Caregivers Flying Blind in Providing Complex Medical and Nursing Care

Published in the Woonsocket Call on April 21, 2019

Half of the nation’s 40 million family caregivers are performing intense and complicated medical and nursing tasks, managing multiple health conditions for their family members and friends, says a newly published AARP report.

AARP’s special report, “Home Alone Revisited: Family Caregivers Providing Complex Care,” released April 17, 2019, takes a close look at specific medical and nursing tasks (including giving injections, preparing special diets, managing tube feedings and even handling medical equipment) that family caregivers are currently doing. It’s a follow-up report to AARP’s 2012 Home Alone Study that took the first in-depth look at how caregivers managed providing complex medical and nursing care that was formerly offered by trained professionals.

Changes in the Health Care System Can Support Family Caregivers

“This report shows the extent of complex tasks that millions of family caregivers are providing every day. They are largely alone in learning how to perform these tasks,” said Susan Reinhard, RN, Ph.D., Senior vice president and Director, AARP Policy Institute, in a statement announcing the release of the a 56-page report. “About half of family caregivers are worried about making a mistake. We need to do a lot more across the health care system—with providers and hospitals—to help support these family caregivers,” says Reinhard.

Adds Rani E. Snyder, program director at The John A. Hartford Foundation, “Family caregivers are the linchpin in our health care system, particularly for older adults,” “This study shines new light on the diversity of family caregivers performing complex tasks—from men to millennials to multicultural populations—and is a rallying cry for an all hands-on-deck approach to creating age-friendly health systems that better support and prepare these often forgotten members of the health care team.”

The new statistics in this report shed more light on the demands of family caregiving,” said AARP Rhode Island State Director Kathleen Connell, a former nurse. “These described caregiving responsibilities sound like a task list for a team of home nurses, aides, dieticians, physical therapists and personal drivers who work without weekends off, much less vacations. Is there any question that people worry about making a mistake that compounds existing issues?,” she says.

“The takeaway is quite clear,” Connell added. “Caregiving is stressful and we need to expand efforts to provide assistance. And it’s a very big ‘we’ that I am speaking of. Families need to help out and share more responsibilities as well as offer respite for primary caregivers. Neighbors and extended family also can lend a hand. And we need government to continue to provide assistance through legislation that supports family caregivers. Caregiving responsibilities can be both daunting and exhausting. It’s the new reality. The good news is that as we raise awareness we can work together to improve the lives of caregivers, “ says Connell.

A Sampling of the AARP Report’s Findings

AARP’s Home Alone Revised Report report found that almost half of the caregiver respondents (48 percent) prepare special diets multiple times per day. Preparing these meals often involved taking precise measurements, following specific dietary guidelines, constant monitoring, and the use of special equipment for preparation and feeding.

Thirty percent of the respondents say preparing special diets are hard to manage, this being more challenging to men. Younger caregivers found it more difficult to manage this task than older caregivers.

The caregivers also reported that 54 percent of the survey’s respondents say they manage incontinence multiple times a day. Most say managing incontinence is more difficult than managing medications, helping with assistive devices and performing wound care. Seventy-six percent say they learned how to manage incontinence on their own. More than one in four would appreciate having assistance from another person to help.

According to AARP’s report, 70 percent of these caregivers are dealing with the emotional stress of managing pain relief in the middle of a national opioid crisis. More than four in 10 expressed concerns about giving the optimal dose. About four in 10 faced difficulties in controlling the pain of the care recipient.

Finally, 51 percent of the survey respondents assisted with canes, walkers, and other mobility devices while over a third (37 percent) dealt with wound care.

The researchers conclude that “uncomplicated world of ‘informal’ caregiving” no longer applies” to the nation’s caregivers. “In the current health care environment, it is presumed that every home is a potential hospital and every service that the person needs can be provided by an unpaid family member, with only occasional visits by a primary care provider, nurse or therapist,” say the researchers,” they say.

AARP’s Home Alone Revised Report is a must read for Congress and state lawmakers who can easily address the challenges caregivers face when providing medically complex care by crafting policies and programs that will provide support and resources to the nation’s growing number of caregivers.

This caregiving issue might be a good one for the U.S. Senate Special Committee Aging to study.

A Final Note…

AARP gathered the study’s data through a nationally representative, population-based, online survey of 2,089 family caregivers. This study employed an oversampling of multicultural groups, taking a closer look at difficult tasks, and putting greater attention on available resources and outcomes. The study’s sampling strategy ensured multicultural representation and investigated generational differences. Additionally, the researchers also explored certain topics in greater depth, including special diets, incontinence, pain, and the impact of social isolation on the caregiver.

The AARP Home Alone Study is a special report from the Founders of the Home Alone Alliance℠ (AARP, United Hospital Fund, Family Caregiver Alliance and UC Davis-Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing). With funding from The John A. Hartford Foundation to the AARP Foundation, the study took an in-depth look at the specific medical/nursing tasks that family caregivers are doing.

To read the full report, go to: https://www.AARP.org/ppi/info-2018/home-alone-family-caregivers-providing-complex-chronic-care.html.

Note: Updated April 22, 2018…

New AARP Study Takes a Close Look at America’s Grandparents

Published in the Woonsocket Call on April 14, 2019

AARP’s newest research study, highlighting the latest trends, gives us a peek into the world of grandparenting, a role that millions of Americans now take on in their later years. This number has steadily grown, from 56 million in 2001 to a whopping 70 million today.

The youngest grandparent is about 38 years old, with 50 being the average age of becoming a first-time grandparent, notes Brittne Nelson-Kakulla, AARP Research’s Senior Research. For those with children, by age 65, 96 percent of Americans are grandparents, she says.

“Today’s grandparents are an economic force that cannot be ignored,” said Alison Bryant, senior vice president of research, AARP, in an April 8 statement with the release of this 40-page report. “They are living longer, working longer, shattering stereotypes and supporting their grandchildren in a variety of ways, including financially and culturally. Nearly all grandparents are providing some sort of financial support, helping to ease the costs of raising kids,” notes Bryant.

Grandparents Pump Billion’s into Nation’s Economy

According to AARP’s study, 70 million grandparents can have a major impact on the nation’s economy. Grandparents spend money on their grandchildren, an average of $2,562 annually, this equaling approximately $179 billion dollars per year. Those dollars are spent supporting their grandchildren in a variety of ways, from helping to pay day-to-day expenses (meals, groceries, etc.) allowances, vacations, and school/college tuition costs.

The study found that grandparents have, on average, four to five grandchildren, down from six to seven in 2011. The number of grandparents in the workforce has increased in the past seven years, with 40 percent of grandparents currently employed up from 24 percent in 2011.

Grandparents enjoy the positive aspects of grandparenting such as supporting dreams and sharing roots, history and culture, and experiences, says the AARP study, but they face financial challenges, too. Thirteen percent of grandparent’s struggle with the financial expectations of being a grandparent, including the cost of education, traveling to see the grandchildren.

Seven percent of grandparents have taken on debt to help their grandchildren pay for college and one in four of those grandparents have even cosigned private student loans for their grandchildren and/or incurred credit card debt that has not yet been paid back in full.

Over the decades, the role of grandparenting has remained consistent, observes the AARP study. Grandchildren continue to refer to grandparents as “grandma” or “grandpa” (70 percent to 60 percent respectively). But, one in twenty of the grandparent respondents prefer to be called by their first name.

Serving as a Source of Wisdom

Eighty one percent of the grandparent respondents say they play a key role in their grandchildren’s life. Over half say that they serve as a “moral compass” to the grandchildren on variety of issues ranging from education, morals to values. But they say that discussing topics on sexuality and politics are way “out of their comfort zone.”

Grandparents also see the importance of teaching gender equality and rising the be strong, independent woman, too, says the AARP study.

Thirty four percent of the grandparents say they have grandchildren of mixed or difference races or ethnicities. Nearly all of the respondents believe it is important that these grandchildren know about the heritage they share. Seven in ten make an effort to help their grandchildren learn about the heritage they do not share, says Nelson-Kakulla.

Sixty eight percent say that distance is the biggest obstacle that keeps them from getting enough one-on-one time with their grandchildren. Fifty two percent of the survey respondents have at least one grandchild who lives or 200 miles away, while 29 percent live over 50 miles from the closest grandchild, up from 19 percent in 2011. Like distance, busy full-or part-time work schedules keep grandparents as well as schedules of their children and grandchildren keep them from connecting.

Grandparents are turning away from making phone calls to maintain contact with their grandchildren, turning to new technologies like email, Facebook, Video Chat and Texting to bridge the mileage gap. Forty seven percent “like” the idea of group texting messages to chat with their grandchildren and 67 percent “like” the idea of using online video chatting to keep in touch.

Finally, 89 percent of the grandparent respondents say their relationship with their grandchildren is good for their well-being and 67 percent believe this role makes them more sociable. Sixty six percent say having grandchildren makes them more active, too.

AARP’s 21-minute online survey of 2,654 grandparents ages 38 and was conducted between August 20 and September 4, 2018.by Hotspex, Inc.

For a copy of AARP’s 2018 Grandparents Today National Survey, contact Brittne Nelson- Kakulla, Senior Research Advisor, AARP Research, at bkakulla@aarp.org.