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In this issue: Health Medicine Mind Personal Finance Retirement Housing Caregiving Work		Health: Unintended Consequence for Dialysis Patients as Drug Rule Changes: A shift by the federal government in how it pays for drugs for dialysis patients may have had an unintended and potentially dire consequence, researchers say. The New York Times, May 11. Pot Belly Boosts Risk of Sudden Cardiac Death: Carrying weight in your midsection adds to obesity's dangers. HealthDay, May 9. 4 Things That Can Hurt Your Quality of Life: Awareness of these common health issues is an important step toward aging well. US News and World Report, May 9. Can Testosterone Therapy Help Obese Men Lose Weight? It may really be that feeling stronger promotes more physical activity, experts note. HealthDay, May 9. Few Seniors Getting Medicare Wellness Visits; Few Doctors Offering Them: Survey says majority of doctors not prepared to meet demand for Medicare wellness visits; boomers stretching ability to serve Medicare needs. SeniorJournal.com, May 8. Medicine: New Cautions About Long-Term Use of Bone Drugs: The Food and Drug Administration published an analysis that suggested caution against long-term use of the drugs, but fell short of issuing specific recommendations. The New York Times, May 9. Mind: Depression in middle age linked to dementia: People who have symptoms of depression in middle age may be at increased risk of dementia decades later, a new study suggests. Health.com, May 8. Living alone with Alzheimer's tough choice for all: Some 800,000 people with Alzheimer's, roughly 1 in 7 Americans with the disease, live alone in their communities, according to surprising new data from the Alzheimer's Association. Associated Press, May 7. Personal Finance: How to Track Down Financial Assistance Programs for Seniors: Millions of seniors in the U.S. are missing out on more than $20 billion in aid that could help pay for food, medicine and utilities, simply because they don't know it's there. KFOR, May 12. Retiree Health-Care Costs Surge: Talk about sticker shock: Even with Medicare benefits, a 65-year-old couple retiring in 2012 will spend at least $240,000 in health-care costs during their retirement WSJ, May 11. Top Discounts For Seniors: In 2010, the average life expectancy was 78.7 years, and nearly a quarter of retirees said that finances were the biggest retirement challenge. Whether you've already retired, or are nearing it, the loss of income that comes with many retirements underscores the need to prioritize spending and find opportunities to save on everyday purchases. Investopedia, May 8. Should Retirees Move Everything to Fixed-Income? For many people retirement triggers the idea of switching everything to fixed-income investments. Bonds and money market investments seem like the safest options when it comes to protecting a retirement account from market drops. However, automatically moving all your money to more conservative investments may not be the best option if you want your money to last. US News and World Report, May 8. Retirement: Practice retirement before leaping into leisure: Try this on for size. Instead of working to age 62 or 70 and then retiring, and instead of cycling in and out of retirement, try working and retiring—at the same time. MarketWatch, May 11. Retirement planning 101 – seven questions you need to answer: Retirement planning isn't easy. Nearly half of Americans don't feel financially prepared to live to age 75. But the process is a lot less burdensome if you break the task down into simpler parts. Here are seven questions to ask as you plan for your long-term financial security in retirement. The Christian Science Monitor, May 10. Your retirement health-care tab will run $240,000: Mistakes to avoid with your retirement health costs. MarketWatch, May 9. 7 Threats To Your Retirement: Saving for our retirement becomes more and more challenging each day. Longer life expectancies, fewer traditional pensions, and volatile investment markets are the most obvious challenges. US News and World Report, May 9. Retirement Planning – Couples' Edition: Does your spouse or partner know how much money you have in your retirement accounts? Have you discussed your expectations for retirement—when, where, and what—with your partner? Have you worked together to determine how to reach your retirement goals? US News and World Report, May 8. The New Ideal Retirement Age – 67: The age the typical worker expects to retire is no longer 65. US News and World Report, May 8. Health care costs worry workers nearing retirement: Health care costs are a top retirement fear, and that's even though many older workers vastly underestimate how much they'll have to pay. USA Today, May 7. Housing: Retirement Homes for Less: Most people wouldn't dream of buying a house or a car without negotiating the price. Yet many families don't realize they can bargain for what can be an even bigger-ticket item: a retirement residence. WSJ, May 11. Caregiving: Talking to Mom About Alzheimer's and Her Money: One in eight Americans age 65 and over and 43 percent of individuals 85 and over have Alzheimer's disease. But financial advisers and accountants, when asked about their experiences with clients who have memory loss, invariably raise the same concern: Elderly parents and adult children alike are too slow to seek or provide help in the early stages of decline. SmartMoney, May 7. Work: Working Late, by Choice or Not: Report after report has made abundantly clear that job growth is weak, but there's one wide swath of the population where employment growth is going gangbusters: older Americans. The New York Times, May 9. Boomer retirements drive down jobless rate: Last month's drop in unemployment to 8.1% from 8.2% resulted from a shrinking labor force, suggesting that many discouraged workers gave up job searches. But analyses show growing Baby Boomer retirements were behind most of the decline in the labor force. USA Today, May 7.
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