The Funding Uncertainty of Social Security

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Social Security benefits, which are funded through 2 trusts, may not be available for much longer. The US Social Security Administrations funding trusts are known as the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) Trust Fund and the Disability Insurance (DI) Trust Fund. In their annual report to Congress, the Board of Trustees has published some startling details about projected insolvency for the Social Security Program. As reported, short term results indicate that beginning in 2020 and all subsequent years after; the program cost will exceed non-interest income. Because the OASI Trust has no authority to borrow money, asset spending will have to occur to cover the costs of social security benefits and deplete the reserves of both OASI and DI trusts. Considering each trust separately, the funds for the OASI Trust will be exhausted by the year 2034 and the DI Trust by 2052.

If you are 50 years of age or older and have worked, you have been participating in the funding of the Social Security Program for decades expecting protection against economic hardships that sometimes happen in retirement; protection promised to you by the federal government. The current actuarial status means that without significant changes to the OASI Trust, funding for your scheduled benefits is at risk of being reduced or possibly not there at all by 2034. It is a stunning admission by the Trustees of the unsustainability of a federally managed program handling your retirement money.

Many economists have likened social security to a Ponzi scheme, and now that the bulk of the population (baby boomers) are receiving benefits with fewer and fewer participants in younger generations paying into the system the entire program is in jeopardy. Increasing numbers of retirees, increasing longevity, and a shrinking workforce leaves the yearly intake of monies (receipts) and accrued interest less than the outlays to cover scheduled benefits. The law of large numbers works well until the pool of paying participants shrinks.

The current report suggests at the time of depletion of the combined trust reserves the Social Security Administration will be unable to pay scheduled benefits in full and on time in 2035. There is a suggestion in this report that it will suffice to pay between 77 to 80 percent of scheduled social security benefits. Legislative action is required to stop reserve depletion and preserve full payment of scheduled benefits to retiring and already retired Americans who have faithfully paid into the system. There is not a lot of time to get the fix in place because of the scale of the monies involved. Future beneficiaries may have a benefit reduction as a possible strategy to help shore up the program. Raising the rate of payroll taxes that both workers and employers have to pay is also a potential strategy. All of these proposed solutions are not likely to make voters happy since the essence of the fix is for the American taxpayer to receive less and pay more. Currently, the political gridlock in Congress does not give much hope that the social security benefit funding problem it will be quickly resolved.

In the event the OASI Trust becomes insolvent how will that affect your retirement plan? Very soon the federal government will have to take action and make significant changes so that Social Security Administration can continue benefit payments in full. Knowing that the government historically privatizes gains and socializes losses the brunt of the financial burden may well fall to individual Americans.

We help families prepare for retirement and the possibility of needing long term care. If we can be of assistance, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our office and schedule a consultation.

Everything You Need to Know About Silver Alerts

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Individuals who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia are prone to wandering. This is often caused by the decline in cognitive functioning and symptoms such as restlessness and confusion that are associated with this decline. The more these diseases progress, the more likely it is that the senior will wander. This wandering causes additional stress on family and caregivers. It is important to take measures to keep these individuals safe. There are many ways that caregivers can help to keep seniors with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia safe, as well as national and local Senior Alert programs.

Silver Alert

The Silver Alert program was modeled after the Amber Alert program for missing children. A Silver Alert informs the public, media outlets, and law enforcement agencies when an adult goes missing. One criterion for a Silver Alert is age. Usually, missing persons age 60 or older, will trigger a Silver Alert. Another criteria that may constitute a Silver Alert is having a cognitive impairment. This would include seniors with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia, as well as those with mental retardation or other impairments caused by illness or trauma. Finally, people with physical disabilities who go missing are eligible for a Silver Alert.

The purpose and goal of a Silver Alert is to protect and keep the aforementioned individuals safe. During a Silver Alert, law enforcement agencies will alert the public with information that is vital or necessary in helping to find the missing individual. This may include a picture, vehicle description, last known location, and illness or impairment. It is important to report a missing senior as quickly as possible because statistics show that they have a higher chance of suffering an injury or even death as more time passes.

Prevent Wandering

The best case is to avoid the Silver Alert altogether by taking measures to prevent wandering in seniors who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Being vigilant in ensuring that the senior is not alone is one major way to prevent wandering. It is very important that caregivers are always present and may mean that the person needs more than one caregiver. If wandering has occurred, keep a log of the duration and all events surrounding the wandering to identify patterns associated with the wandering. Establish routines and keep the environment calm to reduce stress for the individual. It can also be helpful to provide entertainment and outings that can reduce frustration and weariness for the senior. Environmental security measures are also necessary. Labeling common rooms in case of disorientation may help to prevent wandering. Secure windows and doors to keep the individual safe. If wandering is a problem, alarm systems can be installed to alert the caregiver if an individual is attempting to leave alone.

If a senior with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia shows the potential for wandering, be sure to keep recent photos and records of appearance. Have the person keep multiple forms of identification on them, including something that is wearable and a part of their everyday routine. Tracking devices are also available to help keep track of the person’s location. It may also be helpful to alert trusted neighbors of possible wandering. These neighbors can alert the caregiver if they see the individual out of the home.

The most important thing to remember is that many senior adults who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease and dementia will have the potential to wander as the disease progresses. Silver Alerts are helpful and caregivers should become familiar with the system in their area. However, the best course of action is always prevention. So, caregivers and families should educate themselves on how they can be vigilant in preventing wandering.

If you have any questions about how to protect a family member or somebody close to you both physically and financially please contact our office for a consultation.

Seniors Continue to Embrace Technology

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Technology is providing seniors with a multitude of applications to improve their health, lifestyle, safety, and entertainment. While the younger generations may think these older Americans are the equivalent of technology dinosaurs, the truth is mid-life, and older Americans are becoming more digitally connected than ever before. The largest tech participating group of these seniors is generally more affluent and has higher degrees of education than their counterparts. Seniors with more limited incomes and lower levels of educational attainment are the most notably absent group in the digital divide between younger and older technology users.

Smartphone ownership and its associated application (app) usage, social media, and online gaming continue to increase at a rapid pace with a full 91 percent of technology users 50 or more saying they use personal technology devices to stay in touch with family and friends. Texting by seniors (86%) has become as pervasive as email (87%). Smartphones are also a handy tool for planning optimal routes to and from locations as well as receiving up to the minute traffic information. Simply put, older Americans now leverage smartphone use in much the same ways that its younger counterparts do and in some ways, seniors (aged 60 – 69) are leading the charge in smartphone use to manage their medical care. Online banking and money management are becoming more prevalent with senior users as they become educated about and employ privacy mechanisms to protect their identity and assets in an online and cloud storage world.

Online learning is prevalent in the senior demographic. An AARP survey shows 23 percent of older adults embrace online learning by taking classes for certificates, obtaining degrees, and how to Do It Yourself (DIY) tutorials. This percent of seniors in online learning is likely to continue its increase as mental agility and longevity become increasingly important due to the alarming rise of dementia disease in the aging population. While there is no direct evidence linking online learning to the staving off of dementia, it cannot hurt a senior to continue with lifelong learning as it may provide a sense of control and well being during their good years.

The use of virtual reality in VE, virtual environment, is also on the rise for seniors. The growth rate is currently about 4 percent a year with 13 percent of adults aged 50 or more engaging in the technology. Nearly 90 percent of all virtual reality headsets are smart and mobile phone based. The ease of porting a smartphone into a headset which operates as the screen makes virtual reality a compelling tool for aging seniors. While it provides immersive realities for gaming entertainment, it also can give extensive exploration opportunities for those seniors with limited mobility. Imagine a senior who cannot walk being able to experience a tour of the ancient Greek site the Acropolis, enjoying a virtual scuba dive in the Great Barrier Reef, or taking part in a guided tour through a faraway museum without ever leaving their home, wheelchair, or bed. The mental stimulation and joy it can bring are just beginning to be tapped for the senior market. Virtual reality (VR) is projected to impact the gaming industry more profoundly than any other industry, and gamers include the senior market in a balanced way comparative to different age groups.

technology

Wearable technology is gaining popularity among the senior market. They include products like smartwatches, smart jewelry, fitness trackers, even smart clothing. While being worn, they provide intelligent assistance that can augment memory, intellect, communication, creativity, and physical abilities and senses. They also come replete with challenges such as interface interferences, power requirements, network resources, and privacy concerns. Wearable fitness trackers are becoming commonplace in assisted living, and nursing facilities as the technology will alert medical staff when a patient’s vitals are outside of their norm even if that worker is engaged in other tasks.

Worldwide, corporations are very interested in wearable technologies, particularly as it relates to medical issues. Some seniors who would not qualify for implant surgery because of pre-existing health conditions might be able to use a wearable pacemaker rather than having a surgical implant procedure. Other techniques for nonsurgical intervention include smart patches and electronic tattoos that can regulate dysfunctional systems in the body. For those seniors who can tolerate implant surgeries, new and innovative ideas for microdevice implants are bringing forward the concept of the transhuman. Transhuman is defined as a standard biological human being who is augmented by implants that might provide improved intelligence, awareness, strength, or durability. Even in the absence of a serious health issue, implants may soon be able to enhance the medical monitoring of seniors in their daily lives. Think of it as a highly accurate fitness tracker implant. These implants in “transhumans” may be able to observe developing physiological and psychological trends and predict adequate responses to health changes in aging adults.

Finally, the video game industry is one of the fastest growing sectors in the US economy. Annual sales in the gaming vertical of “techenomics” have reached $23 billion and are projected to continue to increase. While some of the games seniors are playing online are in the hopes of keeping memory and brain function in good working order, 38 percent of adults aged 50 or more are video gamers purely for entertainment purposes. While these games may provide entertainment and human connection (in situ or online), they also may share cognitive, and brain benefits, as well as the senior, adapts to ever-changing game scenarios, updated versions, and expansions of online games.

It is projected that seniors will continue to increase their exposure to and use of technologies at many levels. Development to meet the demands of senior needs coupled with their purchasing power will drive the technology industry for decades to come in ways that are not even imagined yet. For now, aging Americans are embracing technology and the benefits it brings to their lives.

If you have any questions or need help planning for you or a loved one, please contact us today for a consultation.

Health Care Powers of Attorney for ALS Patients

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A strong power of attorney is indeed powerful for a condition like Alzheimer’s. But it may come as a surprise to learn that a good “basic” advance-directive document needs considerable supplementation when it comes to a dreadful illness like ALS – Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Ordinarily, if a patient becomes unable to communicate their health-care choices, a good advance directive gives the patient’s agent a lot of power to shape the health-care plan as the patient would want: The power to keep the patient at home if possible; or, if not, to select a long-term health-care facility; to authorize pain-relieving drugs; to accept or decline surgery as the patient would wish; and to accept or reject blood transfusions, dialysis, antibiotics, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, breathing and feeding tubes – and possibly to decide when all that treatment should stop and the patient be allowed to die a natural death.

Many, if not most or all, of us would decline mechanical devices like breathing and feeding tubes if that aggressive treatment would merely prolong the dying process. Yet people suffering from ALS might benefit from the temporary use of precisely those treatments, as long as the treatment is accompanied by education and support in a conservative treatment plan specifically crafted for their condition.

ALS patients must be supported by the care that is centered on creating more autonomy and the ability to communicate. There are conservative treatments available to assist in the breathing and coughing problems that ALS patients need assistance with, to avoid lung complications and preserve the quality of life for as long as possible. These conservative treatments should be used before the drastic choice of tracheostomy, which could condemn the patient to institutionalization for the rest of that person’s life. With less-drastic treatment, the patient might remain at home and preserve a measure of familiar comfort and autonomy.

Likewise, education must be offered to create the ability to communicate by means other than speech. This education, if done timely while the patient still has some ability to move, could ensure that he or she remains communicative even when speech is eventually lost. This would avoid the terribly lonely, frightening, and despair-inducing “locked-in” condition, in which the patient retains all his or her cognitive faculties but is helpless to communicate at all.

A wonderfully supportive resource is a Caregiver’s Guide provided by the Muscular Dystrophy Association, available here.

It’s loaded with information about ALS symptoms and side-symptoms; respiratory, nutritional, and emotional issues; simple solutions to build the communication skills crucial to avoid “locking in”; financial and legal issues; end-of-life issues; and many other educational resources.

For a brief video about conservative therapies to assist with breathing and coughing, published by the Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, see here.

A document that is custom-drafted for ALS patients should also specify that the patient must be consulted every six months to review the patient’s condition and how it may affect the patient’s health-care choices. The patient’s wishes can change, depending on the person’s progress.

Knowledge is power. And power of attorney documents for ALS patients should ideally reflect the education that is so important to preserve those peoples’ quality of life for as long as possible.

If you have a loved one who has been diagnosed with ALS and would like to discuss your family’s options please contact us and let’s start a conversation.

How to Prevent Financial Elder Abuse

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elder abuse

Elder financial abuse has been a growing problem in the past decade. The financial exploitation of older or vulnerable adults can take many different forms. This portion of the population can be exploited by strangers of professionals who deal with their assets and even trusted family members and friends. It is a problem to which a solution has been difficult to find because many exploited people are ashamed that they were able to be taken advantage of and therein do not report the crimes. Unfortunately, this type of abuse not only affects the finances of the victim but also their mental and physical well-being. Let’s take a look at the types of financial elder abuse and some measures that can be and are being taken to prevent this type of abuse.

Types of Financial Elder Abuse

The first type of financial elder abuse is committed by strangers. This often includes phone scams. The grandparent scam is one tactic that strangers use for financial exploitation of seniors. In this scam, the senior is called and told his or her grandson is in jail and needs money immediately. Many seniors fall prey to this scam because they want to help their grandchild.

Charity scams are another common phone scam. The scammer calls and asks for money for what seems to be a very good cause in order to get money from the senior. Disasters are often used in this type of scam.

Home repair con artists are another way vulnerable adults succumb to financial abuse. They promise to provide a service and ask for payment up front. Then they never return to provide the service.

Financial elder abuse can also be committed by “professionals”. These predators often use lending schemes to pressure elders into taking inappropriate loans or reverse mortgages that do not benefit the senior. Email scams concerning false bank accounts are used to siphon money from vulnerable adults. Investment schemes are also used to manipulate seniors into believing they will get unrealistic returns on certain investments. Identity theft is another way that these so-called professionals take advantage of senior adults. They use the identity of the senior to fraudulently open credit card accounts. Medicare scams are some of the costliest scams by professionals.

Finally, financial elder abuse is commonly committed by family members and close friends. These scams can take many forms. Some caretakers will begin small, keeping the change from running errands. Often the Power of Attorney will use the power given by the individual to control the finances as an opportunity to steal the elder’s money and use it for his or her own purposes. Family or close friends also commit financial elder abuse when they use ATM cards or steal checks to gain access to money from the vulnerable adult. There are many variations on these types of abuse.

Protecting Our Elders

One way to help stop financial elder abuse is to let our elderly loved ones know that there is no reason to be ashamed to report possible financial abuse. These thieves and scammers are smart and know how to play the game to take advantage of people. Another way is to stay on top of accounts and work with law enforcement and banking officials to keep track of accounts and to report anything that looks suspicious. It is important for family members and friends to have checks and balances when taking control of someone else’s money and assets. Have more than one person who looks at account information and possibly shares control. Recently the Senior Safe Act was signed into law. This is a step by the federal government to help protect elders from financial abuse. Under the Act, banks, credit unions, investment advisers, broker-dealers, insurance companies, and insurance agencies are protected from being sued for reporting suspected fraud, but their employees must be trained to understand the warning signs. It empowers financial service representatives to identify warning signs and help keep vulnerable adults from becoming victims of financial abuse. There is no easy answer, but it is hopeful that awareness will help financial elder abuse decline.

If you have a loved one you think have experienced financial elder abuse, or would like to create a plan to help protect them from future issues, please contact us and let’s start a conversation.