Headlines
Op-Ed The rise of unretirement
We are living longer, something to celebrate. The average life expectancy was about 62 years in 1935 when President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act, and it’s now nearly 79 years. And, as in many things, the baby boomers…
Medicare open enrollment begins Wednesday
Mark Wallyn knows when the leaves start falling, it’s time for him to check whether his drug prices are rising. For Wallyn, 62, of Wadsworth, and thousands of other older or disabled adults, now’s the time to review options for…
Old McDonald had a farm and a hamburger joint – but no employees
The simple family farmer in the folk song “Old McDonald’s Farm” tended alone to his animals; he didn’t hire any farm workers. Much has changed since the era of Old McDonald, yet today’s farming corporations often claim they don’t “employ”…
Consumers should beware of changes in Medicare plans
SAN ANTONIO — Most seniors stay with the same Medicare plans year after year without shopping around for the best deals, experts say. The volume of health-plan marketing materials arriving in the mail each fall can be overwhelming and the…
Cybersecurity Awareness Month Reminds Us to Practice Better Security Habits
It’s October, and that means it is Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security, this is the 10 th anniversary of this awareness month, and I don’t think we’ve ever needed it more. Since Cybersecurity Awareness Month…
Lackluster savings tarnishing seniors’ golden years
Retiree dreams of lengthy vacations, days on the golf course and indulging the grandkids may be dust. Most retirees haven’t saved enough even to maintain their pre-retirement lifestyle, according to a new study from Interest.com based on Census Bureau data.…
Social Security and You: More File and Suspend Clarifications
It sometimes seems like almost everyone pushing retirement age today thinks he or she wants to employ the “file and suspend” strategy to maximize his or her Social Security benefits. Not a single day goes by when I don’t get…
More critical-access hospital closings likely
Amid ongoing federal scrutiny of the extra funding paid small hospitals to serve remote areas, the number of critical-access hospitals in the U.S. continued to fall over the past year, according to Modern Healthcare magazine’s annual review of CMS data…
Social Security and You: Offsets explained
There are some provisions of Social Security law that impact only a small portion of the population, but they cause more confusion than just about any other Social Security rule. I have explained these provisions many times in this column.…
America’s oldest workers: Why we refuse to retire!
For these seniors, the best retirement is not to retire. From a 102-year-old Wal-Mart worker to an activist park ranger, these workers have stayed on the job well into their golden years. At 102 years old, Loren Wade is one…