Private Nursing Care Centers May Be Cutting Too Deep

November 16 update (original post -September 27) — Today the Times reported that congressional hearings are looking into charges that nursing homes. It reported that “Members of the House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee and the Senate Special Committee on Aging proposed measures to require nursing homes to disclose ownership and to require regulators to release information about poorly managed homes.”

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September 27 — The New York Times reported this week that investor-owned nursing homes tend to have fewer staff and experience more serious deficiencies and other problems than the national average. The article examined more than 1,200 nursing homes purchased in recent years by large investment groups. The acquired homes scored worse on 12 of 14 indicators used by regulators to assess the well-being of long-term residents.

One of the phenomenons reported is that private homes are more likely to reduce staff headcount, particularly of their nursing professionals. Investor-owned facilities have an average of 20 residents per clinical registered nurse, compared to 13 for the national average.

The active adults who tend to be Topretirements.com visitors might not be in the market for a nursing or continuing care facility for themselves – yet. But they well might be shopping for one for a parent or relative. If you are looking, keep these considerations in mind:
- Ask for the current ratio of residents to clinical registered nurses (the national average is 13)
- Ask to see records of serious health deficiencies found by nursing home inspectors. Compare those to national averages at the Department of Health and Human Services.
- Find out who owns the facility. If the ownership scheme is tangled web, be cautious. The Times reports that some investors have retreated to very complex ownership schemes to protect themselves against patient lawsuits.
- Use Medicare’s “Nursing Home Compare” Tool. The primary purpose of this tool is to provide detailed information about the past performance of every Medicare and Medicaid certified nursing home in the country.
- Use Medline Plus to help find a good facility near you.
- Visit the facility and ask for references. There is no substitute for your instincts and observations.

For further study: How to Persuade Your Elderly Relative It Might Be Time to Move

Traditional Towns Ring Bell for Many in Retirement

September 22 — When talking about retirement communities we can’t tell you how many times we’ve heard baby boomers comment about how much they admire the traditional kind of town. You know, one with a central downtown; the kind of place where you can walk or bike to just about everything. A place with sidewalks and front porches. A community for retirement that does NOT: require a car to drive everywhere for everything, or is filled with people of only one age or interest.

Traditional Town of Charleston SC

This type of town is being recreated by many developers. It even has a name – the “New Urbanism” – and an acronym – TND (Traditional Neighborhood Development). Jan Cullinane has just written a Featured Article in our Tips and Picks Section on this very topic. If this is your dream, her article has some great links and wonderful ideas how to pursue it. Check out: Yearning for a Traditional Town in Retirement – Check Out the New Urbanism

What to Do If You Retire Before Your Mortgage

September 19 — The Federal Reserve reports that almost 19% of families headed by someone 75 or older have a mortgage – up sharply from 10% in 2001. Today’s Wall Street Journal article provides some practical tips if you are in the situation of retiring before your mortgage does.

One of the common dilemmas that many people have is what to do if you have more savings than mortgage – should you pay it off quickly and forgo the home mortgage interest deduction? Jonathan Clements suggests that you take the plunge and use some of your savings in that case to reduce your mortgage. You will lose the deduction, but paying off is a better option because your loan rate is higher than your savings rate, and most interest you earn is taxable anyway. Clements cautioned about using 401k savings for this purpose, since you will have a tax penalty for taking out the money.

He also went through various scenarios including buying an annuity with money from your 401k to insure you will be able to make payments in future years. To do this properly you need to pay for the annuity directly from the 401k. Lastly, he laid out the situation where you still have a big mortgage and a long way to go to pay it off. Often the best strategy there is to sell your home and move to a smaller one to lower your monthly payments and insure your fiscal health. Of course your ability to sell your home in the current weak market comes into play, but assuming you purchase a new home quickly you will probably make up for whatever downside the market has now with a better deal on the new house. Wall Street Journal article on Retiring with a Mortgage.
When You Should Start Taking Social Security

Housing Slump Postpones Moves to Retirement Communities

September 15 – An inevitable but painful result of the slowing of the housing market is that many new retirees are having to postpone planned moves to a new retirement community. The stumbling block is of course their inability to sell their primary residence, typically most retirees’ biggest assets. A September 13 article in the Housing Bubble Blog recounts the woes in several important California markets. The article mentions the limbo-like situation this has created for Ken Gonzales and his wife, forcing them to postpone their plans to downsize to a retirement community. Unfortunately they cannot get their price for their four-bedroom house in Riverside’s Orangecrest community.

The same situation is playing out in the East as well. A good friend of ours and his wife have now been waiting 2 years to sell their beachfront house in Madison Connecticut. Their plan is to use the proceeds to build their dream house on a lot they have already purchased in South Carolina. They get offers, but no one responds to negotiation requests or comes close enough to their magic number.

This popular blog entry generated scads of blog postings from people who scoffed at the woes of other people quoted in the blog, generally blaming greed as the cause of their troubles.

Obviously, buyers who do not need to sell their primary residence in order to move are in the driver’s seat in this economy.

Retiring with the Good Life in Mexico

September 6 — Many people, particularly those living west of the Mississippi, have considered at one time or other retiring in Mexico. After all the cost of living is usually less than half what it is in the U.S. or Canada, the winter climate is warm, and the scenery and adventures are amazing.

Topretirements has just published a mini-guide about “What you need to know about retiring in Mexico” – . The guide lists some of the top places America’s retire to (like Lake Chapala), along with key facts about taxes, costs, and purchasing a home. There are also some references to help you find out more. Check it out in our Tips and Picks section.

Baby Boomers in Retirement: Check Out Your Library

September 4 — You have probably noticed that many people are hopped up about the marketing opportunities from baby boomers as they enter their next phase of life. Even an article in the prestigious Library Journal recently encouraged librarians to get in the act too.

According to the article, designing programs and trying to attract boomers to their doors will be a win-win for libraries and for boomers entering retirement. Libraries get engaged users and volunteers who can contribute enthusiasm, skills, programs – not to mention generous donations from this incredibly wealthy segment. For those of us winding down our primary working career, libraries have a lot to offer too. Obviously the research resources are first rate and the entertainment and education possibilities endless. But engaging oneself as a volunteer can be quite rewarding as well – giving an extra dimension to one’s life that won’t be found on the golf course.

Amy Ryan, director of the Hennepin County Library (HCL) in suburban Minneapolis, launched a program for seniors called 55+: “It’s about programs, yes, but it’s also about volunteerism and partnerships with other organizations.” Some libraries have developed new volunteer positions to attract talent from retiring baby boomers—running conversation circles, teaching computer classes, leading book talks.

Bottom line: When you go looking for your retirement community, one of your first questions should be: How good is the local library. If funding and resources are poor and libraries are important to you, look elsewhere. If the local library scene looks promising, get involved. You might make a big difference in your life, and those of others as well. Check out the Library Journal article on baby boomers, it might give you some good ideas.

Link:
Help! My Husband is Retiring