According to a recent New York Times article: “You may not need another reason to retire early, but I’ll give you one anyway: It could lengthen your life.” That’s the conclusion of the article based on various research regarding the relationship between early retirement and longevity. In “The Connection Between Retiring Early and Living Longer”, the author, Austin Frakt examines a number of studies which explore this issue. The article notes however that retiring early is not the only issue, but also what you do in retirement. “That retirement promotes health and prolongs life isn’t obvious. After all, work provides income and, for some, health insurance — both helpful for maintenance of
No one wants to face the prospect of being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Yet ignoring potential warning signs is a serious mistake. The Alzheimer’s Association has released the “10 Warning Signs of Alzheimer’s” which can help a person determine whether a he or she should be examined by a physician or stop being a worry wart. Here are the warning signs: Memory loss that disrupts daily life. Challenges in planning or solving problems. Difficulty completing familiar tasks. Confusion with time or place. Trouble understanding visual images and spatial relationships. New problems with words in speaking or writing. Misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps. Decreased or poor judgme
A recent Washington Post article highlights the potential perils and controversy surrounding the euthanasia of the mentally ill and cognitively impaired. “How many botched cases would it take to end euthanasia of the vulnerable?” chronicles the disturbing euthanasia of a 74 year old woman with dementia. Although the woman had executed a patient advocate, it was ambiguous and when she entered a nursing home, she was no longer able to express her wishes. Nonetheless, despite her lack of a clear intent, a physician concluded her suffering was unbearable and incurable and prepared a lethal injection. To ensure the patient’s compliance, the doctor gave her coffee spiked with a sedative, and, whe
Imagine purchasing a long term care insurance policy to protect against the cost of in-home, assisted living and nursing home costs and 20 years later, the insurance company has informed you of a significant premium increase. Now that you are in your late seventies and unable to purchase a new policy, you have really only two options: pay the higher premiums (if you can afford to) or cancel the policy. If you cancel the policy, how do you protect your estate if you should need long term care? A recent Wall Street Journal (“Millions Bought Insurance to Cover Retirement Health Costs. Now They Face an Awful Choice”) explains the impact on families facing these increases in long term insuranc
