Longevity & Aging

No doubt about it: at some point we’re neither semi-retired, findependent or fully retired. We’re out there in a retirement community or retirement home, and maybe for a few years near the end of this incarnation, some time to reflect on it all in a nursing home. Our Longevity & Aging category features our own unique blog posts, as well as blog feeds from Mark Venning’s ChangeRangers.com and other experts.

Why Baby Boomers should stay on top of Medical Device Recalls

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By Cher Zevala

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

Today, there are nearly 80 million Americans over age 65 — and that number is expected to double within the next 30 years.

Such an increase in the number of older adults, many of whom have more active lifestyles than previous generations, along with advances in technology, means that the medical device market has grown exponentially along with the population. More people than ever before are relying on medical devices, such as artificial joints, cardiac devices, and other advances to stay healthy and active longer than they otherwise might have.

With the expansion of the medical device market among older adults, though, there is also some concern. Although the overall number of medical device recalls is down almost 30 per cent since 2014, recalls are still something to be concerned about. Class I recalls, in which there is a high risk of the device causing serious injury or death, are thankfully the rarest, but the most common type of recall, Class II, still carries some risk. A Class II recall is issued when a device has a chance of causing a serious health problem or injury, but can be fixed. Class III recalls are only for those devices that have no chance of causing injury or death, and are also quite rare.

Of course, judging by some of the headlines and television commercials that we see all the time, it seems like medical device recalls are quite common — and that anyone who has ever used certain devices, some of which are very common among Baby Boomers, is not only at risk of imminent death, but also entitled to significant compensation. There are certainly cases in which compensation is warranted, but before it gets to that point, it’s important for individuals to stay abreast of recalls to protect themselves.

The Trouble with Recalls

In most cases, recalls are issued voluntarily by medical device manufacturers; rarely does the FDA order a company to issue a recall. When the decision to recall is made, the company needs to notify affected individuals. This isn’t always as easy as it sounds.

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Money strategies for the sandwich generation

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By Scott Evans

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

If you’re busy raising kids and supporting your parents too, you’re not alone. Statistics Canada reports that over 700,000 Canadians aged 45 to 64 are splitting their time and money caring for their children and parents. If you belong to this sandwich generation, it can be a difficult balancing act.

Everyone’s circumstances are different and your priorities will reflect that. Maybe you have a young family, a mortgage and parents nearby who require occasional assistance. You might be saving for your children’s education, paying down debt and setting aside a few hours each week to help your parents.

Or, perhaps you’re close to being debt-free, but have parents living far away with little saved and have just had an adult child move back in. You’ll likely be directing some of your income to parental care and asking your child to chip in at home.

Whatever your situation is, planning ahead can go a long way to easing emotional and financial strain.

Helping out your parents

Understanding your parents’ needs and resources is the first step to managing a sandwich situation. Here are some topics to explore with them:

Financial inventory

Gain an understanding of your parents’ assets, income sources, living expenses and debts. If they have pension income, substantial home equity and are otherwise debt-free, the options might be quite different than if you have to support them financially. Also, know where important documents are kept so you can access them if necessary.

Living arrangements

Some people look forward to downsizing when they retire, while others want to stay put. Either way, there are ways to unlock home equity to fund living and care expenses, or invest for income. Continue Reading…

Looking under the hood of a Guaranteed Universal Life Policy

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By Jessica Walter

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

Though it can be morbid and upsetting to think about, it’s important that seniors have life insurance in place so that their families don’t have to worry.

Despite this, 54% of Americans say they are unlikely to purchase life insurance. As well as this, according to research organization LIMRA, 51% of all households say they would rely on life insurance payouts to pay bills and maintain their lifestyle, in the event of the main breadwinner passing away. That’s why it’s so important to choose a life insurance policy that works for you, and brings you the best benefits and flexibility.

Understanding the different types of available insurance policies is vital, as it could make a big difference to the amount you pay in premiums, as well as how much the family will receive in the event of a death.

What Is a Guaranteed Universal Life Policy?

A guaranteed universal life policy is one of the best ways for seniors to get coverage for life, for the lowest possible cost. Whether you qualify will depend on your health, and your age. The main positive of a GUL plan is its ability to meet a wide range of budgets.

This type of plan is similar to a whole life insurance policy, but is made more affordable by gaining cash value in the initial years. This value is then used to offset an increase in premiums in the future. This is in contrast to a whole life insurance policy, which would continue to gain cash value, but requires higher premiums to be paid. A guaranteed life insurance policy is one of the most popular around, and will meet the needs of the majority of healthy people, but it isn’t the only insurance policy available.

The Benefits of a Guaranteed Universal Life Insurance Policy

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A cure for the Retirement Blues

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Whaaaat? Is it possible that this whole retirement thing can be a letdown once you finally get there — that some people may experience the Retirement Blues?

My latest MoneySense Retired Money column looks at the problem of having too much free time in your golden post-employment years, which you can find by clicking this highlighted headline: Retiring frees up 2,000 extra hours a year.

In the piece, I describe at least one senior who felt in retrospect that he retired too early: he had a great pension so money wasn’t a problem but he soon realized he had started to miss the many benefits of work. In short, he had a mild — or not so mild — case of the Retirement Blues.

As you’ll see, the column references an RBC program called Your Future by Design (See www.retirementdesigners.ca).

The 2,000 hours is the result of a simple calculation: 50 weeks multiplied by 40 hours a week equals the amount of “found” leisure time freed up by no longer working full-time. The 2,000 hours figure was referenced in a survey by the Royal Bank last year. Those with long commutes can add a few more hundred hours a year of “found” time.

Keep in mind that if you don’t work at all in retirement you’ll have a lot more than just those 2,000 hours a year to fill. Subtracting 3,000 hours for sleep, you’ll have a total of 5,840 waking hours every year. So if you live 30 more years after retiring, that’s 175,000 waking hours to be occupied.

Little wonder that 73% surveyed by RBC aren’t sure what they’ll do with all that time. We spend more time planning vacations (29%) or weddings (19%) than on retirement!

5 top retirement activities, plus a sixth that should be considered

RBC finds the top five activities for replacing work are health & fitness, travel, hobbies, volunteering and relaxing at home,  but I suggest in the column that many recent retirees may discover they want a sixth activity: work, if only on a part-time basis.

Imagine that: doing a little more of what you may have done too much of during your primary career, but enjoying it for its own sake, its networking properties and social stimulation. And, incidentally, adding a little to your retirement nest egg while you’re at it.

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Business owners need to step up Wealth transfer plans for next generation

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Here’s my latest High Net Worth blog for the Financial Post, titled Only 40% of new business owners have transition in place, says new report.

The latest in a series of global surveys by RBC Wealth Management and Scorpio Partnership finds that while more than a third of business owners in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom  have a full formal plan in place to pass their wealth on to their heirs, one in five have not even started to plan.

RBC surveyed 384 high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals in the three countries, with average investible wealth of US$6.4 million. While 51% of business owners have a will in place, a startling 22% have not yet started any sort of wealth transfer preparations; which means “the majority of business owners are relatively unprepared to pass on their financial legacy,” the report says.

One of the experts I consulted was business transition and valuation expert Ian R. Campbell, who  recently wrote a Hub blog about Donald Trump’s business transition plans for his high-profile family members. It was also the basis for an earlier Financial Post column by me headlined Donald Trump is upping the ante in the Wealth Transfer game.

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