Tag Archives for AARP Rhode Island

And No, We’re Not Talking Pong: New Survey Captures Attitudes and Habits of Older Gamers

Published on June 19, 2016 in Woonsocket Call

Although the millennial generation grew up being surrounded with interactive technology, spending thousands of hours playing video games, baby boomers are technologically plugged in, too. According to a new survey released in the beginning of June by AARP and the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), 41 million Americans, more than one of every three people over age 50, play video games on a regular basis.

According to Oscar Anderson, AARP Research, “The video game industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the U.S. economy with more than $23 billion in sales last year. Innovation present in this industry affects not only entertainment but also business, engineering, health, and education.”

Older Adults and Technology

The 93 page report, Video Games: Attitudes and Habits of Adults Age 50-Plus, found that three-quarters of gamers age 50-plus play weekly, with four in 10 playing daily. Among gamers age 60 and above, 43 percent play video games every day.

Researchers say that the top reason gamers say they play video games is to have fun (26% say this is an extremely important reason and 52% say it is very important). Maintaining mental sharpness also was cited by the survey respondent as an important reason for playing video games.

The researchers also found that a greater proportion of older gamers compared to younger gamers report playing video games weekly or more often (37% of 50-59 year olds compared to 43% of 60-plus say they play every day).

“With the explosion of dynamic, compelling, and diverse content and the growing popularity of online gaming, video games are now an experience shared across generations of Americans,” said Michael D. Gallagher, president and CEO of ESA, which represents the U.S. video game industry in a statement on June 2, 2016 with the release of the survey findings. “As Gen X turns 50 and Millennials raise tech-centric families, participation will only continue to expand just as games continue to evolve.”

The report prepared by GfK Public Affairs and Corporate Communications, explored the attitudes and habits of people age 50 also examining what how and what older gamers play. Older gamers most commonly play on laptops or computers (59 percent), followed closely by phones or mobile devices (57 percent) to play video games. They prefer video games that mimic traditional forms of play; card/tile games (46 percent) and puzzle/logic games (44 percent) are the most popular among older gamers.

Crossing Generational Lines

“Video games have come a long way since the days of Pong. Today’s online video games give people 50-plus fun ways to stay connected with their family and friends through online gaming communities across a variety of devices,” said Jo Ann Jenkins, CEO of AARP, in her statement. “Video games and apps are truly ageless, offering gamers of all ages—a grandfather as well as his granddaughter—the opportunity to share entertainment and social interactions with one another.”

The study found that Gamers age 50-plus are more likely to be women (40 percent) than men (35 percent). More of the female respondents reported playing games daily (45 percent) than their male counterparts (35 percent). Meanwhile, women (57%) are significantly more likely than men (43%) to say they play more today than they did five years ago.

Additionally, researchers say that card/tile games (46%) and puzzle/logic games (44%), followed distantly by trivia/word/ traditional board video games top the list of respondents’ three favorite types of video games.

In total, 22% of gamers have not made any video game related purchase in the past 6 months. Of the gamers who made purchases, 77% bought for themselves, while 52% bought for others.

Half of older gamers say that learning about new video games and gaming hardware came from sources other than internet websites, with one in six reporting their children and grandchildren influence their choice of games.

With the exception of those who are trained in their jobs, most people 50+ have learned most of that they know about computing from their children and their grandchildren,” said AARP Rhode Island State Director Kathleen Connell. “So, it should come as no surprise that plenty of people 50 and over have been exposed to, if not addicted to video games.

Promoting Brain Health and Other Bennies

“Recently, I observed a member playing the online Scrabble game ‘Words With Friends’ on her tablet while waiting for a meeting to start,” Connell added. “She was connected with a grandchild and loving it.

“We know that certain video games promote brain health, which is something we all are hoping to strengthen. And the so-called ‘passive-learning games’ are a way to connect people with useful information.  Just last month, AARP launched the Pop Up! Family Caregiver Game, which challenged players to learn more about valuable resources for family caregivers. Throughout June, you could download the free app and play daily with a chance to win prizes. It was a refreshing way to engage people, provide some fun and spread the word about our organization’s ongoing efforts to support caregivers.”

Researchers are telling us that playing video games can increases social interaction, enhance your mood and improves physical health, social and cognitive functioning. Some games can even improve hand-eye coordination.

AARP’s Video Game study findings indicate that older persons are becoming comfortable with newly emerging technologies. A growing number of baby boomers and seniors are now easily communicating with family and friends on Facebook and other social media, playing video games, streaming movies or even reading digital E-books.

Most important research studies are now looking at gaming and brain functioning are are finding that regularly playing video and internet games just might positively impact your physical and cognitive health and well-being.

As to methodology of AARP’s Video Game study, the online survey took place between March 9 through March 17, 2016, with a nationally representative sample of 2,964 adults age 50 and older (gamers, n=1510; non-gamers, n=1454). For additional details about this newly released report, contact G. Oscar Anderson of AARP Research at GAnderson@aarp.org.

‘The Age of Disruption Tour’ Comes to Cranston

Published in Woonsocket Call on May 8, 2016
By Herb Weiss

Internationally- acclaimed aging expert Dr. Bill Thomas and musical guest Nate Silas Richardson come to the Ocean State to offer an entertaining and highly disruptive exploration of aging at the Park Theatre, 848 Park Ave., Cranston, RI 02910 —from 2:30 to 4:30 PM and 7:00 to 8:30 PM on Thursday May 19, 2016, as part of The Age of Disruption Tour.

Dr. Thomas says that his message is quite simple – transitioning into later life should not be spent in “frenzied disharmony.” To play “life’s most dangerous game” successfully “we need to reimagine and create clear and satisfying purpose to how we spend the rest of our lives,” he adds.

The Beginning

Over 25 years ago, Thomas, a 31-year-old physician who was less than two years out of family residency, took a job as medical director of a nursing facility with 80 severely disabled residents. Ultimately the Harvard-trained physician would put together a program in the facility in Upper New York that advocated a shifting away from the institutional model of care to one that is person-directed. .

Thomas recalled, “The place was depressing, with old people parked in wheelchairs like frogs on a log, bored with nothing to do, just waiting for death to finally reach them. It was horrible.”

So the young physician made unthinkable changes to care plans. He persuaded the facility and staff to get two dogs, four cats, several hens and rabbits, and 100 parakeets, along with hundreds of plants, a vegetable and flower garden, and a day-care site for staffers’ kids. At the time, there were laws prohibiting animals in nursing homes. They went ahead anyway.

Thomas’s unorthodox methods had astounding results. Dr. Atal Gawande detailed the impact in his 2014 best-selling book Being Mortal. The residents started caring for the plants and animals, and this restored their spirits and their interest in doing things. Many started taking better care of themselves, venturing out of their rooms and eating and interacting with people again. Prescription drug use was reduced 50 percent, particularly for drugs utilized to reduce anxiety and agitation. Medication costs plummeted, and so did the death rate.

Meanwhile, New York and other states changed the law to allow animals in old age homes and facilities. At some facilities, trucks were hired to take away the accumulations of wheelchairs that were no longer being used.

In 1991, Thomas and his wife Judith Meyers-Thomas co-founded a non-profit called The Eden Alternative to share what they had learned in New York. Today, The Eden Alternatives’ primary mission has expanded to provide education and training to care providers working in home care, community-based care like adult day programs, meals on wheels, senior centers, and, retirement communities, assisted living and nursing homes. “More than 30,000 people worldwide have participated in Eden education including all 50 states and 13 countries. There are currently more than 200 organizations who are members of the Eden Alternative registry,” he says, noting that 13 countries have organizations active in the Eden Alternative movement.

“The idea that care is about helping someone to grow – not just treating illness or injury — touches people in a fundamental way,” Thomas says. Traditional approaches to care tend to focus solely on the human body, while The Eden Alternative philosophy seeks to improve well-being for the whole person. This includes having a sense of purpose and a voice and choice regarding our own care. In 1991,

Since 1991, Thomas’ paradigm shift in care philosophy, to reduce loneliness, helplessness and boredom, has truly become an international movement

On the Road

Thomas formally stepped down as President of The Eden Alternative board in 2014 but is still deeply connected to the movement, notes Kavan Peterson, director of Thomas’ latest project, the 2016 Age of Disruption Tour. For instance, Thomas keynoted the 8th Eden International Conference on May 2 in Little Rock, Arkansas, he says.

The Age of Disruption Tour features Thomas’ signature “non-fiction theater” performance called “Aging: Life’s Most Dangerous Game.” Dr. Thomas has performed in 65 cities in 28 states since 2014, says Peterson. “We’ve had just over 20,000 tickets sold,” he says, noting that the 2016 tour will go to 35 cities, including five stops in Canada and stopovers in the United Kingdom next December.

The tour came about when he heard AARP CEO JoAnn Jenkins in 2014 declare her intentions to launch a “disrupt aging” movement aimed at inspiring people to embrace their age and open their eyes to the possibilities and opportunities that come with aging, notes Thomas. “I had recently been dabbling in harnessing the power of the arts — theater, music, live performance — as a tool for social change. I launched the Age of Disruption Tour with the support of AARP to champion the concept of disrupting aging at the local grassroots level. The movement has grown and expanded from there,” he says.

The 2016 tour expanded to include an afternoon educational workshop called “Disrupt Dementia.”

The purpose of the workshop is to directly challenge the tragedy narrative people associate with Alzheimer’s disease and provide an educational experience that opens the audience’s eyes to the possibility of living well with memory loss, says Peterson. You will find the workshop highly theatrical as well– there is a film, a live music concert, and even the workshop section is designed to reach people in an emotional level. “This is an important element to the show to provide an immersive experience for the attendees to open their hearts in order to open their minds to new ways of thinking about aging, he adds.”

Peterson says the Age of Disruption Tour, whose local tour stop is sponsored by PACE and AARP, has had a positive impact on the audience. One attendee said, “It was elegant, warm, and exquisitely-produced. Every single detail. The love was palpable.” Another noted: “Dr. Thomas’ tour not only created a platform to have these inspired conversations, but brought together music, theatre, and play to remind [us] that living life to the fullest is an ageless concept.”

The tour has also had a lasting impact on communities, says Peterson. “In Portland Oregon, the city’s Age Friendly initiative organized a year-long public outreach campaign called “What are Old People For” based on Dr. Thomas’ book of the same name. In other cities the events have helped boost local coalitions ranging from supporting Age Friendly City movements, the Village to Village Network, and, the Eden Alternative movements, book clubs and consciousness raising groups, he notes.

A Good Fit for AARP Rhode Island

“AARP enjoys working with Bill Thomas, for many reasons. Chief among them is his innovative and entertaining approach to getting people to think differently about age and aging,” observed AARP Rhode Island State Director Kathleen Connell. “Age is something that happens to all of us. But Bill always finds new ways to inspire people to look at age through a different, more positive and affirmative lens. Society is stubbornly negative about aging, equating it with decline. It’s a notion so pervasive that people have come to believe it. Turning that around is what the tour is all about and it’s a good fit with that AARP is doing to disrupt aging,” Connell says.

“An expression that is getting traction is ‘own your age,” Connell added. “Essentially, it means that people should forget about assumptions and prejudices assigned to age. Turning 50 does not make you old. Turning 60 does not mean you’ve peaked. Turning 70 doesn’t make you anything. Owning your age is about you and the life you have chosen to live – not what people think of when they think of a number, she notes.

Ticket Information: $15 per show $30 for both https://drbillthomas.org/local/

Retirement Survey Bleak for Ocean State

Published in Pawtucket Times on February 1, 2016

Here we go again. This month, America’s tiniest state gets outed as being the most unfavorable state to live out your retirement years. According to a new WalletHub study, “2016’s Best & Worse States to Retire,” when compared to all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, Rhode Island came in dead last when compared against 24 metrics falling in one of these three categories (Affordability, Quality of Life and Health Care).

WalletHub, an internet site that calls itself “a personal finance Web site, taps Florida as being the top state to live your retirement years, followed by Wyoming, South Dakota, South Carolina and Colorado. The in-depth analysis, geared to identifying the most retirement-friendly states, gives the Ocean States the distinct of being the worst place to live in your later years, followed by the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Connecticut and Vermont.

As to affordability, WalletHub looked at the adjusted cost of living, tax friendliness of a state, it’s taxation on pensions and Social Security income, and annual cost of in-home services. Rhode Island was ranked 51 (the worst) in affordability for retirees. In zeroing in on this specific variable, the state came in 41st in adjusted cost of living; 45th in annual cost of in-home services and 48th in taxpayer rankings.

For a state’s quality of life, WallettHub zeroed in on an array of variables including the number of theatres, museums, music venues, golf courses. The researchers also checked out crime rates, weather, the number people age 65 and older and whether the state’s labor is elderly friendly. A sampling of Rhode Island specific rankings for this variable include a ranking of 35th for Museums per Capita; 42nd for Theaters per Capita; and 48th for the number of golf courses per Capita; and 32nd in having employed residents age 65 and over.

As for health care, the study examined the number of family physicians, dentists, nurses, and health-care facilities per 100,000 residents, the ranking of the state’s public hospitals, the resident’s life expectancy and emotional health, even taking a look at the death rate for people age 65 and older. Rhode Island ranks 49th in number of family physicians per 100,000 Residents.

WallettHub analyst, Jill Gonzalez, says that for Rhode Island to become a mecca for retirees, state lawmakers must reconsider how they tax Social Security and pensions. The state’s current tax policy “is not at “all friendly toward retirees,” she adds.

According to Gonzalez, the state’s cost of living index is also high at 122 while the national index is 100. This means that if the cost of goods and services nationwide is $100, the Rhode Island retirees will pay $122. Annual costs to pay for home care are nearly $54,000 per year in Rhode Island and state policy makers must find a way to reduce this key community-based service.
Statewide Reactions to Web site Survey

These surveys aggregate data that does not encourage retirement here,” observes AARP Rhode Island State Director Kathleen Connell. “They do not fully measure quality of life or how the proximity to Boston and New York City make Rhode Island attractive to many retirees. But you often hear people talk about retiring in states where lower taxes and deflated housings prices suggest that retirement income will go dramatically farther.

“The tax issue is a reality driven by the state’s so-called ‘structural deficits’ that have resulted in cities and towns raising property and excise taxes. Meanwhile, hikes in fees and new surcharges have added to the tax burden. Legislative leaders face a great challenge in reversing this trend.

“Many people in their 40s and 50s who want to retire in Rhode Island can save more wisely for retirement and find a way to make it work. Anyone entering retirement now with little savings and expecting to rely primarily on Social Security is faced with difficult decisions.

“So, clearly the survey means different things to different people. Few would disagree that Rhode Island is a great place to retire – maybe one of the best places in the nation. If you can afford it.”

Edward Mazze, Distinguished University Professor of Business Administration, says, “I cannot disagree with the quantitative findings in the study. Behind the numbers are two critical factors that have an impact on retiring in Rhode Island – first, the Rhode Island economy has barely grown in the last eight years – second, the negative reputation of the state with government leaders going to jail, high property taxes, poor school systems and unfunded public pension and health programs.”

Mazze calls on the Rhode Island General Assembly to raise the state estate tax level to the same level as the federal estate tax level and exempt social security benefits from state taxes no matter what the income level. “The legislature has to reduce sales taxes and fees, be more transparent in its operations so that individuals trust government actions and fund the social services that retirees need,” he says.

But even with these negative findings retirees should Rhode Island as place to live because of its strategic location, transportation facilities and cultural and recreational activities. However, he acknowledges that “with the high cost of living in Rhode Island and fewer part-time job opportunities for retirees it is difficult to promote the state as a place to retire.”

Ernie Almonte, Rhode Island’s former auditor and partner at RSM US, LLP, a company that performs audit, tax and consulting services, says the changes in how the state taxes Social Security made by lawmakers last year was a good first step. But the former candidate for State Treasurer urges Governor Gina Raimondo and House and Senate Leadership to take a look at the state’s estate tax in the upcoming session. “I believe last year’s changes made by lawmakers was a move in the right direction but we cannot forget the legislative change to the estate cliff effect. “This certainly is a deciding factor for retirees looking to a place to settle down in their retirement years,” he adds.

Almonte also encourages state lawmakers to sit down with the Rhode Island Society of CPA’s to discuss tax policy. “Having a robust discussion on the role of tax policy to pay for necessary services and investments balanced by the ability to pay and the need to pay would be quite helpful to the long run,” he says.
House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello sees the business climate and economic outlook improving as he works to make the state’s tax structure more competitive with neighboring states. He says that the WallettHub survey did not take into account the repeal of state income tax for most Social Security recipients. The State offers retirees “a great quality of life with easy access to our beaches and we have excellent cultural attractions, restaurants, hospitals and universities, he says.

As she has said over her first year, Governor Gina Raimondo is “laser focused” on improving the quality of life for all Rhode Islanders, says deputy press secretary Katie O’Hanlon. “We’ve made a lot of progress over the past year, including eliminating state taxes on Social Security benefits for low and middle-income seniors and increasing funding for Meals on Wheels. However, we can always find ways to improve, says O’Hanlon.

It’s time for the Rhode Island General Assembly to get serious with enacting legislative proposals to attract retirees, more important to keep them from leaving for other retirement havens. Why not do a thorough review of tax policies of WalletHub’s best five places to retire and seek out best tax practices of other states? In the upcoming legislative session, Governor Raimondo and House and Senate leadership might consider reaching out to AARP Rhode Island and aging groups, along with the Rhode Island Society of CPAs, to organize a tax summit, seeking creative ways to tweak the state’s tax code to retain and attract retirees.

This WebHub study can be found at  http://www.wallethub.com/edu/best-and-worst-states-to-retire/18592/.