“Less than 25 percent of Americans expected to save enough to retire comfortably,” by Kathleen Steele Galvin, McKnight’s Senior Living    Quote: “Less than a fourth of Americans expect to save the $1.1 million estimated to be necessary to retire comfortably, according to the 2022 Schroders U.S. Retirement Survey. Fifty-six percent of those surveyed said they expect to have less than $500,000 saved by the time they retire, including 36% who anticipate having less than $250,000. The major concerns facing retirees and those nearing retirement are inflation that lessens the value of their assets (65%), higher-than-expected healthcare costs (64%) and a
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“Inflation jumps 8.5% in a year for nursing goods and services, tripling the number of residents at risk of displacement,” by Danielle Brown, McKnight’s LTC News   Quote: “Rising inflation and increased labor costs are multiplying the risk of closure for skilled nursing facilities across the country, according to a new analysis released Wednesday by CliftonLarsenAllen and the American Health Care Association. … Economists expect even more increases through the end of the year, and possibly into 2023, which is more bad news for providers. Nursing homes rely almost entirely on fixed-rate government payments. ‘Increasing costs will put more nursing homes
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“Long-Term Care Epiphany,” by Stephen A. Moses, Broker World   Quote: “Maybe long term care is not the overwhelming challenge it has always been considered to be. Maybe all we have to do is reconceptualize the issue, remove the perverse incentives that discourage long term care planning, and enforce long term care responsibility on the front end instead of rewarding irresponsibility on the back end as now.”     LTC Comment, Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform: Read my new prescription for long-term care reform and let me know what you think at smoses@centerltc.com.      
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“BREAKING NEWS: CMS updates Medicaid eligibility standards,” by Lois A. Bowers, McKnight’s Senior Living   Quote: “The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced updated standards for Medicaid eligibility for long-term services and supports on Thursday afternoon. According to the Social Security Act, the community spouse’s minimum monthly maintenance needs allowance and the community spouse monthly housing allowance amounts must be adjusted annually to be effective July 1. Effective July 1, the minimum monthly maintenance needs allowance will be $2,288.75 in all states except Alaska and Hawaii. In Alaska, it will be $2,861.25, and in Hawaii, it will be $2,632.50. … For
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“Social Security Trust Funds Doing Better Than Last Year: Trustees Report,” by Melanie Waddell, ThinkAdvisor    Quote: “In its 2022 Annual Report to Congress, the Trustees announced: The asset reserves of the combined OASI and DI Trust Funds declined by $56 billion in 2021 to a total of $2.852 trillion. The total annual cost of the program is projected to exceed total annual income in 2022 and remain higher throughout the 75-year projection period. Total cost began to be higher than total income in 2021. Social Security’s cost has exceeded its non-interest income since 2010. The year when the combined trust
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” Is Slowed Walking a Sign Dementia Is Near?,” HealthDay    Quote: “If you’re a senior and walking to the mailbox takes longer than it used to, new research suggests you might want to ask your doctor to check your thinking skills. The study included nearly 17,000 adults over 65 and found those who walk about 5% slower or more each year and also had memory declines were the most likely to develop dementia.”   LTC Comment, Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform: Hustle!         Subscribe to GoldenCare News  
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  “How To Self-Insure For Long-Term Care Health Expenses (2022),” by David John Marotta, Forbes   Quote: “Each of us must make the decision either to self-insure for our long-term care or get long-term care insurance. Periodically, insurance salespeople have set up billboards suggesting that if your financial advisor does not recommend long-term care insurance you should sue them. However, we are not fans of long-term care insurance. … With 90% of people requiring 3 or less years of nursing home care, budgeting as though you will need three years of nursing home care should help ensure that you will
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  “Legacy Lessons Part 2: More Wisdom from Leaders in the Aging Field,” by Ken Dychtwald, Generations   Quote: “Last week we published the first half of excerpts from Ken Dychtwald’s 12 Legacy interviews. What follows here the second half.”   LTC Comment, Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform: More age old wisdom from the aging Hall of Fame.         Subscribe to GoldenCare News  
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  “The Double-Edged Sword of Long-Term Care for Women,” Nasdaq   Quote: “Since there has been increased focus over the last decade on helping women specifically with their financial goals, Shawn Britt, technical director for the advanced consulting group at Nationwide Retirement Institute, examined in a blog post from Nationwide what has changed with the state of long-term care, and what changes have occurred that could affect women planning for retirement. … For more news, information, and strategy, visit the Retirement Income Channel.”   LTC Comment, Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform: Congratulations to Center-premium-member Shawn Britt for this important
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  “Reckoning with the growing demand for long-term care,” by Rainer Kotschy and David Bloom, VoxEU   Quote: “Existing healthcare structures are not designed to meet recipients’ long-term care needs and are ill-equipped for the looming surge in demand. Some countries have implemented social long-term care insurance to facilitate their citizens’ access to adequate care. However, even those systems face considerable challenges in light of population ageing, thus requiring extensive policy reform. Japan, for example, introduced a Long-term Care Insurance Program in 2000; by 2011, LTC expenditures had doubled from four to eight trillion yen, with government projections forecasting a
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