Tag Archives for retirement

Quality of Life Amenities Make Providence a Great Retirement Mecca

Published in Woonsocket Call on August 30, 2015

Today’s retirement age is not set in stone at 65 years old for aging baby boomers, the milestone age where their parents and grandparents retired from the workforce.  Retirement Confidence Studies are finding that retiring in your mid-sixties is not a sure bet for many. According to WalletHub, a leading personal finance website, one such study, the Employee Benefit Research Institute’s 2014 Retirement Confidence Survey, found that  23 percent of workers expected to retire at age 65, but only 11 percent actually were able to.

The latest EBRI survey, released last April, said that many respondents blamed the nation’s poor economy for the continuing need to work in their later years. Others pointed to “inadequate finances” as another key reason for not retiring.  For 51 percent of workers and 31 percent of retirees, their accumulated debt kept them at their jobs.

WalletHub adds, the Report on the Economic Well-being of US Households in 2014 prepared by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, says that 24 percent of the survey respondents are not at all confident at having enough money to finance a comfortable retirement.  The government report also noted that 50 percent cited cost of living and daily expenses as obstacles for putting money into their retirement egg nest.

WalletHub calls for a strategy to slide into a more comfortable retirement for those whose nest egg is small, just relocate to a City to “stretch your dollar without sacrificing your lifestyle.”Sars by Relocation

WalletHub decided to pinpoint the most cost efficient and retirement-friendly places in the country because of the research studies indicating that feelings of financial insecurity have an impact on how retirees make decisions to save for retirement, says WalletHub Spokesperson, Jill Gonzalez.

For the second year in a row, WalletHub, conducted an in-depth analysis of the Best and Worst Cities to Retire.  Like last year, the financial website compared the affordability, quality of life, health care and availability of recreational activities in the 150 largest U.S. cities.  The compiled data included 24 metrics, ranging from the cost of living to public hospital rankings to the percentage of the population aged 65 and older.

“Our methodology makes the difference. It’s extremely well-researched and the metrics are developed in conjunction with academic experts that span several fields,” says Gonzalez.res

WalletHub’s 2015 Best and Worst Cities to Retire ranks Rhode Island’s Capitol City almost dead last as the worst place to retire. But, the City of Providence did place better than two of his cities, Jersey City and New Jersey.  

Some of the metrics compiled from this survey include: Adjusted Cost of Living (122); Annual Cost of In-Home Services (140); Elderly Friendly Labor Market (80); Number of Adult Volunteer Activities per Capita (23); Percent of the Population Aged 65 and Older (132); Emotional health (144); Violent Crime Rate (78); and number of Home Care Facilities per capita (129).

Gonzalez noted that like 2014, in this years’ survey WalletHub compared the retirement-friendliness of the 150 most populated largest U.S. Cities (excluding the surrounding metro areas) across four key dimensions: Affordability; Activities; Quality of Life; and health Care.  Twenty four relevant metrics were complied, ranging from the cost of living to the percentage of the elderly population to the availability of recreational activities.

“Every year we strive to improve our methodology by taking into account consumer feedback and industry trends,” adds Gonzalez.

It’s no surprise that when a financial web site publishes rankings, older industrial cities in the Northeast are at a disadvantage,” said AARP Rhode Island State Director Kathleen Connell.

“Some of the indicators where Providence comes up short are discouraging. However, many of the city’s greatest attributes – its arts and culture environment, community esources associated with world-class institutes of higher learning, proximity to Narragansett Bay and convenient travel distances to Boston and New York are but a few of the reasons people stay after retirement.

“There should be no confusing Providence with the state as a whole as a retirement choice. Granted, Rhode Island is more expensive than the sunbelt and in states where the housing market collapse has resulted in more affordable housing alternatives. And energy costs will always be higher in our region. That said, many downsizing retirees who value quality of life find a way to make it work. Others can’t, and we need to find ways to make retiring here more affordable. Eliminating the state tax on Social Security benefits was a step in the right direction, albeit in real dollars not a game changer for many retirees with limited resources. Affordable senior housing is a big issue and one of those challenges that requires urgent attention,” Connell added.

“The WalletHub analysis is useful insofar as it raises awareness and compels people to think more about retirement – and that includes both retirees as well as policymakers.”

“Although the WalletHub’s study is well conducted and well-respected in the financial sector, you have to look deeper into each of the categories when it comes to Providence,” says Edward M. Mazze, Distinguished University Professor of Business Administration, at the University of Rhode Island.  “There are some unique factors that make Providence a better place to retire than one would guess from the survey,” he adds.

Mazze explains that economists who list, through national surveys, the best retirement places generally emphasize three criteria, specifically the cost of living, income, property and sales taxes and state/inheritance taxes. “When considering only these criteria, Providence and most cities will not rank high,” he says.

According to Rhode Island’s widely acclaimed economist, the state has made significant improvements in changing the income tax rates, raising the bottom on estate taxes and removing some social security benefits from state taxes which makes Providence a “great place to retire from a quality of life standpoint.”

For those retirees who want to live in a city that has four seasons, is strategically located near other major cities like Boston and New York, and want an active life-style, Providence meets the criteria,” he says.

Providence’s downtown area is also a site of parades, festivals and celebrations, says Mazze, adding that after enjoying these activities, retirees can dine at world-class restaurants.  You might also add to your list the close access to over 100 beaches and 400 miles of coastline, bike and nature trails and historic sites.

While WalletHub’s survey may not show Providence as a top place to retire, the quality of life factors would ratchet up Providence into a higher rating.

Supreme Court Jumps into Age Discrimination Debate

Published in Pawtucket Times on March 25, 2002

In 1983, my 70-year-old father expressed his concerns about job hunting in his senior years.

Like many at his age, he was not considering retirement but was seeking a new professional challenge. He began to put out feelers for new employment while still being employed by a Dallas, Texas-based retail chain after m ore than 40 years of service.

They won’t hire me if they find out my age,” my father staid, adding that he believed that job experience gleaned from years of employment is not valued by many in corporate America.

Sadly, my father’s fears of age discrimination expressed to me years ago is still documented today by the federal government.

Last year, more than 20 percent of the 80,840 discrimination complaints filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against private-sector employers were related to age discrimination.

Last week, the Supreme Court jumped into the age discrimination debate and will determine whether seniors have the same legal rights as other types of discrimination claim suits do.

Layoffs at the Florida Power Corporation during a series of reorganizations led to the termination of Wanda Adams and 116 older workers.

More than 70 precent of these persons were at least 40 years old or older. A lawsuit, Adams vs. Florida Power Corp. was filed, claiming the Florida-based corporation discriminated against older workers based on their age in violation of the Federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act.

Under the 1967 federal statute, older workers must not be treated differently than younger workers because of their age.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta affirmed the trial court’s decision that older workers could challenge their termination by proving that their employer’s action had a discriminatory motive or intent (disparate treatment) rather than a disproportionate impact (disparate impact) on older workers.  AARP believes that this court ruling would make age bias suits tougher to prove, giving employers a greater ability to trim their payrolls of older workers.

Now the U.S. Supreme Court is posed to consider a hot judicial issue, especially one that will impact millions of employed aging baby boomers.

AARP, a Washington, DC-based aging advocacy group that represents more than 35 million members, has filed a “friend of the court brief” showing that its support of disproportionate impact, for use in proving age discrimination suits.

The nonprofit group says that the U.S. Supreme Court has already ruled that these types of suits are allowed under the 1964 Civil Rights Act, to prove discrimination based on an employee’s gender, religion or race.

AARP official Laurie McCann states that if the U.S. Supreme Court supports AARP’s legal position, then older workers can win suits by not having to show employer’s intent to discriminate.

“Older employees will always find it hard to prove intent, because it’s difficult to get inside the employer’s head to get evidence as to what they are thinking.”

McCann says oral arguments were heard on March 20, and the justices ruling should be expected to the end of June.

“We will explore  the possibility of a legislative fix,” she adds, “to allow older workers to prove age bias if they’ll company’s practices and policies has a disproportionate impact on older workers.”

Adds AARP State Director Kathleen Connell, “Once unemployed older workers face sharply limited employment opportunities, re-employment after job loss declines dramatically at older ages.

“Older workers have a fundamental right to work in an environment free of age discrimination,” she says. “Age discrimination can be blatant or subtle and can include such practices as refusing to hire or promote older workers, encouraging their retirement, targeting them in reductions in force, curtailing their employee benefits on liming their training opportunities job responsibilities and duties.”

If the U.S. Supreme Court rules to make age bias suits tougher to prove, then aging baby boomers will continue to face the same concerns of my father’s generation – that age discrimination runs rampant throughout corporate America.

When reviewing the merits of the Adams case, it is hope that the justices will see the wisdom of giving older workers the same legal clout as women, minorities, gays and religious persons. Courts have allowed these groups to legally challenge racial, sexual or religious discrimination on the grounds that an employer’s actions had a disproportionate impact on them.

It’s time to protect older workers, too. It’s only fair.