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The Savvy Senior: How the Coronavirus Relief Law Helps Retirement Savers and Retirees
By Jim Miller
Dear Savvy Senior,
What can you tell me about the retirement account changes that Congress recently passed in response to the coronavirus crisis?
Seeking Answers
Dear Seeking,
Tucked into the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act, that President Trump signed into law in late March were a series of changes that can help retirement savers in need of cash, as well as help preserve the retirement savings accounts of current retirees while the stock market is down. Here’s a rundown to how three provisions in the CARES Act might help you, or someone you know.
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The Savvy Senior: Social Security Offers Lump Sum Payouts to Retirees
By Jim MillerDear Savvy Senior,
In light of the stock market crashing, I’ve heard that Social Security offers a lump-sum payment to new retirees who need some extra cash. I have not yet filed for my retirement benefits and would like to investigate this option. What can you tell me?
Seeking Cash
Dear Seeking,
There is indeed a little-known Social Security claiming strategy that’s been around for many years that can provide retirees a lump-sum benefit, but you need to be past your full retirement age to be eligible, and there are financial drawbacks you need to be aware of too.
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Dave Hughes: It’s Time to Rethink What Makes a Good Place to Retire
This article first appeared at Retire Fabulously, reprinted with permission.
By Dave Hughes, Retire Fabulously
There are many factors that compete for your attention when it comes to deciding where you want to retire. You probably consider the climate, recreational amenities, cost of living, safety, and tax rates. Being close to your family and friends may be the most important factor for you.
Even if you’re pretty sure you want to continue living where you are, please keep reading.
There’s one consideration that I believe most people either underestimate or don’t think about at all. That is the quality of healthcare in the area where you choose to enjoy your retirement.
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Dave Hughes: Give Your Loved Ones Something to Remember
By Dave Hughes, Retire Fabulously
If you are like most of us, you probably don’t think much about how you will be remembered by your loved ones after you’re gone. But trust me – you will be missed and remembered more than you will ever know.Think about your loved ones who have already passed. Don’t you miss them? And don’t you wish you had more to remember them by? Wouldn’t it be nice to know a little more about their lives? Wouldn’t you love to hear more of their stories or have a better way of remembering them?
In the future, people will feel that way about you, too. So why not create something for them to remember you by? After all, nobody knows your life better than you.
There are many ways you can choose to document your life for others.
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One Thing or Another: The Old Normal
By Mark McNeaseIt’s always One Thing or Another… a lighthearted look at aging, life, and the absurdities of it all.
I believe we will look back on this time, perhaps calling it The Great Pandemic of 2020, or something equally grand to match a cataclysm of such scale, and view it as a before-and-after moment in our lives. We have those throughout our journeys on Earth, when the paths we’re on are disturbed by eruptions or implosions, or deaths that leave us without parts of ourselves: a parent abandons us to the whims of human existence, a loved one says goodbye for the last time, or doesn’t manage to say anything at all before a final breath.
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One Thing or Another: The Old Normal
By Mark McNeaseIt’s always One Thing or Another… a lighthearted look at aging, life, and the absurdities of it all.
I believe we will look back on this time, perhaps calling it The Great Pandemic of 2020, or something equally grand to match a cataclysm of such scale, and view it as a before-and-after moment in our lives. We have those throughout our journeys on Earth, when the paths we’re on are disturbed by eruptions or implosions, or deaths that leave us without parts of ourselves: a parent abandons us to the whims of human existence, a loved one says goodbye for the last time, or doesn’t manage to say anything at all before a final breath.
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The Savvy Senior: Medicare Expands Telehealth Services to Help Keep Seniors Safe at Home
By Jim Miller
Dear Savvy Senior,
Does Medicare cover telehealth services? My 71-year-old mother has chronic type 2 diabetes but is very concerned about going to the doctor for fear of exposing herself to coronavirus. What can you tell us?
Avoiding the Doctor
Dear Avoiding,
Yes! Due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Medicare recently announced that it will be expanding coverage for telehealth services to help keep vulnerable seniors safe at home. Here’s what you and your mom should know.
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Lee Lynch’s Amazon Trail: A Giant
By Lee Lynch
Phyllis Lyon “We lost a giant today,” tweeted California State Sen. Scott Weiner, who is chairman of the LGBTQ caucus. A giant is exactly what the ninety-five-year-old Phyllis Lyon was, along with her partner Del Martin, who died at age eighty-seven in 2008.
My friend the sailor broke the news to me. She e-mailed, Del and Phyllis made a difference in my life. Yours too? No finer compliment could be given.
I responded: Oh, this hurts. They certainly made a difference for me. I was able to read their creation, “The Ladder,” from age fifteen on. They were role models as a couple and in their activism. Thanks for breaking it to me.”
Yes, with my hair slicked back by my father’s Vitalis, in the hand me downs from a boy across the court, hoping to someday own a pinky ring, and waiting to reach an age when I could frequent the rough and tumble gay bars downtown, my girlfriend Suzy and I spotted the magazine founded by Phyllis and Del.
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Dave Hughes: Stay-At-Home Orders May Provide Preview of Retirement for Some
By Dave Hughes, Retire Fabulously
This article was written on April 2, 2020, about three months into the global COVID-19 pandemic. In the United States, most state governors have issued stay-at-home orders. Everyone except essential workers is urged to stay home and only venture forth to procure necessities, maintaining a distance of at least six feet from others. Soon, we will be asked to wear face masks. Some people already are.
First, I would like to express my most sincere gratitude for those who must go to work, often placing themselves in danger: those in the medical professions, grocery store employees, delivery drivers, etc. You are heroes!
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Cathy’s Wealth of Health: Staying Healthy with a Rainbow of Foods
By Cathy McNease, Herbalist
I know of no better food advice for a long healthy life than to strive towards eating a rainbow of fruits and vegetables every day. Each color provides a power pack of nutrients to stave off chronic diseases and promote vitality. The USDA recently provided a new icon to represent a healthy diet, thanks to the work of Michelle Obama in attempting to raise food consciousness and tackle the childhood obesity epidemic. The image is a plate with ½ being devoted to fruits and vegetables, ¼ for proteins (lean meats, beans, eggs) and ¼ for grains (with the suggestion that at least ½ of the grains are whole grains). Off to the side is a small circle representing reduced fat dairy products (a glass of low fat milk or a container of yogurt). The brilliance is in its simplicity. Whether you are a child or a senior, you can understand the guidance. (Go to www.choosemyplate.gov for more dietary guidelines.) Most of us, even the healthiest of eaters, need to eat more fruits and vegetables. Reminding yourself of the rainbow helps move you towards that goal. -
The Savvy Senior: How to Get Help from Social Security During the Coronavirus Pandemic
By Jim Miller
Dear Savvy Senior,
I’ve heard that the Social Security Administration has closed all their offices because of the coronavirus pandemic. How are they accommodating people while they’re closed down?
Recently Retired
Dear Recently,
Yes, that’s correct. The Social Security Administration has closed its 1,200 field offices throughout the country to protect benefit recipients and workers from the coronavirus pandemic. Their offices have been closed since March 17. How long they will be closed is unclear. It will depend on the course of the pandemic.
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The Savvy Senior: How to Protect Your Elderly Parents from Coronavirus
By Jim MillerDear Savvy Senior,
I’m concerned about my 80-year-old mother who’s at high risk for coronavirus. She lives on her own about 100 miles from me, and I’ve been keeping close tabs on her since this whole pandemic started. What tips can you offer long-distance family members?
Concerned Daughter
Dear Concerned,
Because the elderly and people with chronic medical conditions are the most vulnerable to the new coronavirus, following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guideline of social distancing and staying home is critically important.
Here are some additional tips and recommendations from the CDC and public health specialists that can help keep your elderly mother safe and healthy while she’s hunkering down at home until the pandemic passes.
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One Thing or Another: An Economy to Die For
By Mark McNeaseIt’s always One Thing or Another… a lighthearted look at aging, life, and the absurdities of it all.
Have a grandparent to spare? Now’s your chance to volunteer one in sacrifice to the economy. All positions available!
Who needs old people, really? What do they do besides eat, talk about how hard it is to get old, drive RVs across the country, and bother people with questions about the simplest techie things? Think of all the good use they could be put to as frontline workers in the apocalypse.
That’s the thinking in certain conservative circles these days. The Lieutenant Governor of Texas, Dan Patrick, started the doomsday ball rolling when he said he’d be willing to work to save the economy for his grandchildren. I wasn’t aware he hadn’t worked before, or that he wasn’t getting paid while he sat around saying these things, but that’s another matter. The idea caught fire, especially among wealthy pundits and Republicans who have never been, and will never be, essential workers … like grocery store clerks, nurses, police officers, and baristas. Something tells me they know they won’t actually have to risk their lives for their grandchildren, but it sounds heroic. Things that sound heroic but have no chance of happening are favorites with men who fancy themselves soldiers, having avoided any real wars. It’s cool to say you’ll take a bullet, especially for future generations, when the gun’s empty.