December 2009 - Posts
The New York Times, December 25th, 2009WITH 2010 a few days away, there are several tax matters
that wealthy investors need to consider next year. The two at the top
of the list are whether they should convert their taxable retirement account to a tax-free
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The New York Times, December 29th, 2009In almost every room people were sleeping, but not like babies. This
was not the carefree sleep that would restore them to rise and shine
for another day. It was the sleep before — and sometimes until — death.In
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The New York Times, December 28th, 2009Millions of Americans are paying a high price for a safe place to put
their money: extremely low interest rates on savings accounts and
certificates of deposit.The elderly and others on fixed incomes have been
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US Center for Disease Control, December 19th, 2009U.S. life expectancy reached nearly 78 years (77.9), and the
age-adjusted death rate dropped to 760.3 deaths per 100,000 population,
both records, according to the latest mortality statistics from the
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US News & World Report, December 16th, 2009Buy a house, pay the monthly mortgage,
watch your home's value grow, and eventually sell it and fund your
retirement dreams. It seemed to be the natural order of things until
the bubble burst. For older
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The Wall Street Journal, December 21st, 2009It's much more fun than a pawnshop; the cash is only so-so but comes in handyThe
1950s were big for Tupperware parties. The 1970s were hot for Mary Kay
cosmetics. As this decade hobbles to a close, a new kind
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The Los Angeles Times, December 20th, 2009The recent conviction of a Long Island woman who stole the home of a
93-year-old retired barber suffering from Alzheimer's disease should
serve as a warning to the friends and relatives of elderly people about
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Time Magazine, December 16th, 2009A bald man with a gray beard and tired eyes is sitting in his
oversize Washington office, talking about the economy. He doesn't have
a commanding presence. He isn't a mesmerizing speaker. He has none of
the look-at-me
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Washington Post, December 17th, 2009The Federal Reserve said Wednesday that it will shut down some of the
emergency triage measures it put in place at the height of the
financial crisis but will leave interest rates near zero out of
continuing concern
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The New York Times, December 14th, 2009Children aren’t the only ones whiling away hours on the Internet;
people of retirement age now spend even more time online than
youngsters.More Americans than ever across all demographic groups are looking
at
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Reuters, December 18th, 2009U.S. homes lost $489 billion in value during
the first 11 months of 2009, significantly less than the $3.6 trillion
lost during 2008, according to analysis of recent Zillow Real Estate
Market Reports.
Furthermore, 48
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CNN Money, December 16th, 2009Question: I'm changing jobs and would like to roll over my
$150,000 401(k) into an IRA account. Since I already have other IRAs in
individual mutual funds, I would like to put those funds as well as my
new IRA rollover
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Yahoo News, December 15th, 2009Despite evidence that older workers are delaying retirement and staying
in the workforce longer, employers remain deeply concerned and anxious
about the impact of the knowledge drain – the loss of skilled
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Newsweek, December 14th, 2009Your 401(k) is back! Unless, that is, you actually are going to need it
soon. That seems to be the takeaway message from recent studies from
investment firms like Fidelity Investments and Vanguard Investments
showing that
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Reuters, December 14th, 2009Americans may live significantly longer in the future than current
U.S. government projections, and that could mean sharply higher costs
than anticipated for Medicare and other programs, researchers reported
on Monday.
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AP Newswire, December 15th, 2009Federal agents arrested 26 suspects in three states Tuesday, including a doctor and nurses, in a major crackdown on Medicare fraud totaling $61 million in separate scams.
Arrests in Miami, Brooklyn and
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The New York Times, December 16th, 2009Would-be borrowers still find most home mortgages tough to get in
this semifrozen credit environment. A major exception is reverse
mortgages for homeowners over age 62. These mortgages represented a
growing market
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The New York Times, December 14th, 2009Is it better to walk a human or to walk a dog?
New research from the University of Missouri has found that people
who walk dogs are more consistent about regular exercise and show more
improvement in fitness than
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The New York Times, December 12th, 2009During a phone call with my elderly mother a couple of years ago,
she announced that when her time comes she’d like to die suddenly, in
her sleep. No pain, no fuss.
That plan didn’t work for me, and I told her
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The New York Times, December 11th, 2009San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua — Today, like every day, begins with a
smoothie: a blend of pineapple, melon, banana, passion fruit, papaya,
yogurt, nuts and pitaya, a Central American delicacy responsible for
the
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Time Magazine, December 8th, 2009Tucked deep inside the Senate health reform bill — beginning on page
1,926 — is a plan for a new federal insurance program. Average premiums
could be as high as $180 per month and could be automatically deducted
from
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Frost Illustrated, December 9th, 2009Long-term care issues have been everywhere in the news lately— from
stories of people needing these services to how the government is
responding. But there is also a lot of conflicting, and even mistaken,
information.
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The New York Times, December 8th, 2009Over the next several weeks, members of Congress will be confronted
with one scary story after another about what will happen if they try
to cut health care costs.Tax the costliest health insurance
plans? Workers
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Yahoo News, November 28th, 2009For many seniors, the
holiday season can trigger melancholy as they think about lost loved ones,
struggle with health issues or worry about money problems, according to
the American Geriatrics Society.
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Newsweek, December 7th, 2009Baby boomers who embraced communes back when they were hippies may end
up back where they started: in small, cooperative group homes. This new
model of elder housing is emerging as a more personal—and, often, more
affordable—alternative
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Yahoo Finance, November 27th, 2009It is important as we debate health insurance reform that we also
protect those consumers who are making an effort to plan for the costs
of their own long-term care in advance. In recent years, long-term care
insurance
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Yahoo NewsThis is a fantastic time to buy the home to which you’ll retire,
whether you’re a month or a decade from saying sayonara to the office.
That’s because home prices in some sought-after retirement havens have
plunged about 50% since the market
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CNN, December 7th, 2009Debra Guenterberg doesn't have to go to a horror movie to get
spooked. She says she's been living a nightmare for the past 13 years. The
Wisconsin woman says she's been stalked by two phantoms. Two men stole
her name and her
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The New York Times, December 4th, 2009WHEN I stock up on ibuprofen (my painkiller of choice), I typically buy a 500-count bottle of a store brand like Kirkland or Rite Aid. After all, ibuprofen is ibuprofen. Each pill costs me about 3 cents — or only
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The New York Times, December 4th, 2009Under the health care bills currently being debated in Congress,
more than 30 million uninsured Americans would gain coverage. To help
offset the costs, the Senate legislation would reduce Medicare spending
on
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National Public Radio, December 3rd, 2009McAllen, a Texas border town, was thrust into the national spotlight after a New Yorker article
by surgeon Atul Gawande showed in June that it had the highest Medicare
spending per beneficiary next to fraud-plagued
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USA Today, December 3rd, 2009Scaring seniors about losing their
Medicare benefits is deceptive and irresponsible, but it's a political
winner. Both parties have played the game shamelessly over the years.
This time, it's Republicans who are doing it,
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Dallas Morning News, December 1st, 2009We are 75
and 69. Our financial situation is good. We live in a "senior citizen
environment" and have a $100,000 mortgage on a $200,000 home. Our
payment is less than $600 a month. We know people are jumping on
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Kipplinger, November 22nd, 2009It sounds like a cruel joke. After a lifetime in the workforce, you call it quits at 62 to claim
Social Security benefits and begin a long and satisfying retirement.
Then, the worst economic calamity since the Great
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Yahoo News, November 27th, 2009These strategies will help you make the most of your benefits.There
is no perfect time to apply for Social Security. You can claim early
and take a smaller monthly payment for a longer period of time. Or you
can claim
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