All Things Long Term Care

According to a new estimate, the average couple retiring this year will need $240,000 to cover their medical expenses throughout retirement. The estimate is up 4.0 percent from last year, when the amount was $230,000. In 2011, expenses fell by $20,000 due to changes in Medicare that lowered the cost of prescription drugs for many seniors. But, according to Brad Kimler of Fidelity Investments, people approaching retirement should expect that the cost of healthcare will continue to rise, as medical inflation is growing faster than salary and cost of living. Medical expenses have risen an average of 6.0 percent per year and are up from $160,000 in 2002. Read more »

According to a Gallup poll measuring emotional health and well being, Americans reported a higher level of emotional happiness in April than any month since tracking began in 2008. The survey, which asks Americans to report whether they felt enjoyment, sadness, worry, anger, or happiness the day before, has been gradually improving since last September, when it hit a three-year low. For example, 68.9 percent of respondents said they did not experience a lot of worry the previous day, which is up from 66.1 percent in September. The number of participants who said they didn’t feel a lot of stress has also risen, up more than two percentage points since September. Read more »

For the most part, science has concentrated on understanding how the brain adapts and changes during age-related cognitive decline. But, more recently, research has proven that some of the cognitive decline once thought of as unavoidable can, in fact, be avoided. A study from Sweden recently published in the journal Trends in Cognitive Sciences says that staying physically, socially, and mentally active in old age is more important to preserving brain function than past habits and experiences. Higher education and a demanding career is no guarantee against memory loss but staying engaged and active in old age can keep the brain youthful. Read more »

According to new research from the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research, 40 percent of Americans over the age of 50 postponed their retirement following the most recent recession. Brooke Helppie McFall, an economist at the Institute for Social Research, said the typical household lost five percent of its total wealth during the recession and, in order to make up for their loss, the average person would need to work an additional five years. But despite losses in stock and housing wealth as well as savings and retirement accounts, few Americans planned to work long enough to cover the total amount of their losses. Among those postponing retirement, the average person planned to work an additional 1.6 years. Read more »

A new study from Stanford University School of Medicine suggests that chronic anxiety could lead to a higher risk of developing cancer. The research took hairless mice and exposed them to both stressful situations and UV rays meant to mimic the effect of getting too much sun. Though all the mice developed skin cancer, the anxious mice, determined by their response to being placed under stress, had more tumors and also developed invasive forms of cancer. The research suggests that consistent anxiety can wear down the immune system leaving it more vulnerable to disease. The study was the first of its kind to find a biological link between high anxiety and cancer threat. More here. Read more »