“Retirees may be forgiven for indulging in nostalgia, but all too often our thinking about retirement falls prey to that vice. Criticism of 401(k) plans is once again being voiced, and once again being read against the background assumption that in the good old days we had a better retirement system based on traditional defined-benefit pensions.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): In case you missed the recent media anguishing over the decline of defined-benefit plans and the alleged problems with defined-contributions—which lamentations we didn’t consider worthy to cover in a Clipping—you’d be better
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“Dementia more common in people who live near highways,” by Lois A. Bowers, McKnight’s Senior Living
“People who live near major state or interstate highways have a greater risk of developing dementia than those who live farther away, according to a study of 6.6 million people published Jan. 4 by The Lancet. … The researchers also looked into whether traffic exposure was related to the development of Parkinson’s disease or multiple sclerosis but found no link.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): A new field underwriting standard? Dementia more common in people who live near highways #goldencareagent
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“2017 health, disability and LTCI planner,” by Allison Bell, LifeHealthPRO
“The following 2017 planner was prepared to give you an idea of what’s coming up in Congress, federal agencies, public company reporting, health insurance regulation, data releases, and trade and professional groups that might affect agents, advisors and their clients.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): This is a useful planner to check so you don’t accidentally book yourself away on vacation during an important professional conference … as I did once. 2017 health, disability and LTCI planner #goldencareagent
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“Alzheimer’s Falls More Heavily on Women than on Men,” by Heather M. Snyder, Scientific American
“Alzheimer’s dementia disproportionately affects women in a variety of ways. Compared with men, 2.5 times as many women as men provide 24-hour care for an affected relative. Nearly 19 percent of these wives, sisters and daughters have had to quit work to do so. In addition, women make up nearly two-thirds of the more than 5 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s today. According to the Alzheimer’s Association 2016 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures, an estimated 3.3 million women aged 65 and older in the United States have the disease. To put that number in perspective, a woman in her sixties
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A.M. Best Reaffirms Mutual of Omaha’s Financial Rating
December 23, 2016 A.M. Best has affirmed Mutual of Omaha’s A+ (Superior) rating with a stable ratings outlook. The A+ rating is the second highest of 16 ratings issued by A.M. Best, which assesses overall financial strength and ability to meet ongoing obligations to policyholders. “The rating affirmations reflect Mutual of Omaha’s favorable reputation in its core Medicare supplement insurance market, as well as the company’s growing presence in its Group Benefits segment, its diversified distribution platforms and the organization’s strong risk-adjusted capitalization,” A.M. Best said in a press release announcing the rating, “A.M. Best believes that the company’s product
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“MedPAC: Medicare Advantage Payments Now Equal to Medicare Fee-for-Service,” by Tom Kornfield and Greg Berger, AHIP
“Medicare Advantage (MA) is improving quality for seniors. And while quality goes up, costs continue to go down for taxpayers. This was further demonstrated last week, when the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) announced average payments to MA plans are now equivalent to fee-for-service (also called ‘traditional’) Medicare costs.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): This column is from an AHIP-sponsored blog. MedPAC: Medicare Advantage Payments Now Equal to Medicare Fee-for-Service #goldencareagent
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“Reverse Mortgage Line of Credit Could Fund Long-Term Care,” by Jim Ludwick, Atlanta Journal Constitution
“Having as many resources as possible to cover long-term care needs is an important part of a holistic financial plan. A reverse mortgage line of credit can ensure you’ll have funds readily available at the time of need.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): Yeah, RMs are the salvation for private LTC financing, but only when Medicaid stops exempting up to $828,000 worth of home equity. When that happens—notice I say when, not if—people will start using RMs to pay for LTC at which point the world will wake up to a better idea—plan
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“Medicare Advantage Plans in 2017: Short-term Outlook is Stable,” by Gretchen Jacobson, Anthony Damico, Tricia Neuman, and Marsha Gold, Kaiser Family Foundation
“This spotlight analyzes publicly available data to review the Medicare Advantage plans offered in 2017, with information on including plan availability, premiums, out-of-pocket limits and other plan features: The average Medicare beneficiary will be able to choose from 19 plans in 2017, a number which has been relatively stable since 2012. The average beneficiary will be able to choose from plans offered by six firms; one-quarter of beneficiaries nationwide will have a choice of plans offered by three or fewer firms in 2017. If enrollees in Medicare Advantage prescription drug plans (MA-PDs) stay in the same plan between 2016 and
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“Six in Ten Older Adults Have Seen Friends Lose Financial Independence,” by Fidelity Investments, Advisor Magazine
“In fact, while only nine percent of older adults (aged 50-80) surveyed felt they’d ever lose the ability to manage their day-to-day finances, 60 percent admit having witnessed it happen to a friend or family member—and 40 percent actually helped manage their own parents’ finances.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): Denial still prevails. Six in Ten Older Adults Have Seen Friends Lose Financial Independence #goldencareagent
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US Holiday Telephone Solicitation Bans for the Month of January 2017
Please be aware of the following U.S. holiday telephone solicitation bans for the month of January. On Monday, January 2, 2017: Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Rhode Island, and Utah prohibit unsolicited marketing calls to residents in observance of New Year’s Day On Sunday, January 8, 2017: Louisiana prohibits unsolicited marketing calls to residents in observance of the Battle of New Orleans; however, state law already prohibits telephone solicitations on Sundays On Monday, January 16, 2017: Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Rhode Island, and Utah prohibit unsolicited marketing calls to residents in observance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day On Thursday, January 19,
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