Retirement Planning 101

Posted by Eunice / Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012

Tips to Help You Prepare for Your Post-Work Future

By Lindsey Leake

So, you’ve finally hit 50. Maybe you’ve just sent your oldest child off to college, celebrated your 20th wedding anniversary or made an unexpected, but exciting, career change. You may have achieved some major midlife milestones, but retirement, still 15 years away, is likely the last thing on your mind. It shouldn’t be; life after work is closer than you think.

 

Yuri Arcurs/Shutterstock.com

Area Agencies on Aging:
A rich resource for all your questions on retirement and getting older

If you have questions related to retirement planning, Medicare, Social Security, adult housing options or any concerns related to getting older, but don’t know where to start, you’re not alone. Your local Area Agency on Aging can not only answer your questions and either provide or direct you to the services you may require but also further educate you about relevant resources, events, activities and classes that are specific to the area in which you live.

Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs) were established throughout the country in 1973, under the Older Americans Act, to respond to the needs of aging citizens in local communities. Today there are over 600 AAAs in the United States and 25 in the commonwealth of Virginia, seven of which serve the heavily populated Northern Virginia region. Above all, these organizations seek to empower aging local residents and assist them in every possible way to live independent, active and healthy lives.

Don’t be put off by the words “aging” or “older adults” and make the assumption that AAAs only cater to the elderly or those who’ve already retired. Many services provided by these community agencies are geared specifically toward adults in the 50-64 age range who’ll be retiring in the coming years. AAAs may also be of great use to adults of any age with disabilities and middle-aged adults seeking guidance in caring for their elderly parents. Additionally, AAA web and print publications, like Fairfax’s popular 50+ E-News mailing list and Golden Gazette newspaper, can keep you in the know about social gatherings, sporting events, advice columns, educational classes, healthcare tips and other news specific to residents over age 50 in your community.

“We’re part of Fairfax County government and part of Adult and Aging Services, so we have a part in all the services that are available in the county for older adults,” says Sharon Lynn, director of the Fairfax AAA. “One of our primary mandates is to provide information to the public.”

All local AAAs provide a wide variety of programs and resources including health insurance counseling, recreation, transportation, in-home care services, adult protective services, caregiver support, Meals on Wheels, assisted living, adult day care and more. While many AAAs are able to directly provide these services, the ones that don’t are willing and able to connect patrons with the right person or organization that can.

Senior Savings:
Funding Your Retirement

One of the most pressing concerns you may have with respect to retirement is how you’ll manage your finances once you’ve stopped working. Perhaps your job offers a cushy retirement package, but will that be enough for the long haul? What about Social Security? And your personal savings and other assets—how will they come into play? Even if you don’t plan on retiring for another five or 10 years, is the money you’ll be supported with in your late 60s and beyond something you should worry about now?

In short, yes. Gerald Cannizzaro, president of Retirement Planning Services Inc. (RPS) in Oakton, advises working adults of all ages to be mindful of the future and calculate their retirement finances early on.

“The overriding recommendation here would be you need to assess how much money you are actually going to have in retirement as early as you can, so that you can do something about it as soon as you can,” Cannizzaro says.

Taking the time now to analyze your current cash flow, as well as your projected cash flow in retirement, can go a long way to ensuring financial security in your later years. A number of websites, like RPS’s smarterdollars.com, offer free, downloadable spreadsheets and a wealth of other educational materials that can help you anticipate your financial retirement readiness.

Another thing to keep in mind during the years prior to your retirement is how much collective debt you owe. Will you still have lingering grad school loans or credit card debt 10 years from now? Can you really take out another auto loan? Is it even possible for you to fully pay off your home’s mortgage by the time you retire?

“One of the biggest and most important things that I would emphasize … is going into retirement without any debt,” Cannizzaro says, adding that outstanding debt translates to an outflow of your financial resources during retirement. “That is absolutely number one.”

Though he recognizes that in the current economy people may have more difficulty than usual paying off their debts, Cannizzaro recommends they make it a priority to settle their debts as early as possible. He also advises taking inflation into account. “The worst enemy of anyone in retirement [are] the long-term effects of inflation,” Cannizzaro warns. He illustrates, “That is, you cannot put your money in a CD [certificate of deposit savings account] and make two percent and figure you’re going to be able to live off of that for a 20- or 30-year period of time. Inflation will eat you alive.”

While you may not be able to anticipate every possible situation that could impact your retirement savings, the bottom line is that the sooner you start thinking about financing your golden years, the better.

“People should be very concerned about their retirement and the income they’re going to have for retirement. And the earlier they become concerned about it, the better off they are … so they won’t have to try to make up for the money later on,” Cannizzarro says. “Even people in their 20s or 30s should be contributing to some sort of tax-deferred account … be saving and investing.”

Taking Charge of Your Health
What’s the difference between Medicare and Medicaid, anyway?

Once you’ve taken the first steps to managing the monetary aspects of your retirement, you’re likely left with another key concern about getting older: your health. Will Medicare cover all of your medical expenses if you become ill? Which Medicare plan should you sign up for and when? How will you be able to afford all of your prescriptions? What other healthcare options might be available to you? Fear not; the Virginia Insurance Counseling and Assistance Program (VICAP) has got you covered.

Each of Virginia’s Area Agencies on Aging boast trained VICAP counselors who can address all your senior and disability healthcare insurance questions free of charge.

“What we do is we provide basically A to Z, everything to do with a person’s needs and understanding of the [healthcare] options that are available in the local community,” says Howard Houghton, a Fairfax VICAP counselor. “Each state has various Medicare plans and they differ, so we have to know what our state provides.”

In most other states, programs like VICAP are called State Health Insurance Programs (SHIPs), but they all provide similar services.

“We help [insurance beneficiaries] work through the maze, so to speak, because it is a little difficult, and try to get them to a place where they’re comfortable and they know what they’re supposed to get out of the benefits of the plan that they’re in,” Houghton says. “And if they’re not in a good plan, we try to get them into a better plan … the whole idea is to get them in a plan that works [well] for them.”

One common misconception about retirement healthcare is that insurance programs Medicare and Medicaid are one and the same.

Prince William AAA Director Courtney Tierney thinks of their differences in simple terms. “The way I view it, Medicaid, we aid the financially poor. Medicare, we care for those who are disabled and older. One has to do with your finances, one does not.”

“You can be both, it’s called being duly eligible,” Tierney adds, “but Medicare doesn’t have anything to do with your finances. Medicaid has everything to do with your finances.”

Medicaid eligibility for low-income Virginians is determined through the Department of Social Services at the local level. Calculations are all based on federal poverty. Half of the money provided to Virginians through Medicaid comes from the federal government, while the other half comes from the state, which must match what the federal government dispenses. It’s ultimately up to the state to determine who benefits from Medicaid support.

Alternatively, the state has nothing to do with Medicare, which is an operation of the federal government and is likely already familiar to you in the form of payroll deductions. In simplest terms, eligibility for Medicare is decided by your age, with a few exceptions. You become a Medicare beneficiary when you hit 65, unless you suffer from a disability.

“We do have some older people now that don’t [have Medicare] because they never worked and maybe weren’t ever married,” Tierney points out. “But most of the time older people have Medicare.”

Still, Medicare doesn’t cover everything. “Medicare does not pay for long-term care … what we find is people think Medicare will pay for everything when they get older, and it doesn’t.”

In cases when Medicare’s coverage isn’t enough, many are forced to turn to long-term care insurance or pay for the expenses out of pocket to make up the difference. This is an instance when having sensibly saved and planned the financial aspects of your retirement will pay off.

“That’s a challenge for folks [who] don’t plan for their long-term care needs because we all hope we won’t have any,” Tierney says. “But the reality is, something can happen to anybody at any time. Strokes happen at any age, there are diseases that occur, accidents happen; things happen.”

But on the plus side, Medicare does cover a number of preventive medical examinations, ranging from mammograms to flu shots to wellness checkups that Tierney says too many people simply don’t take advantage of.

“Medicare will pay for a whole lot of stuff, and people don’t take advantage of it,” she says. “I think there’s a feeling that people don’t do it because they’re afraid it’s going to cost them. I think they’re just afraid of what they might find out … aren’t really aware of the resources that are available.”

If you do decide to speak with your local VICAP counselor to learn more about Medicare and Medicaid and what other healthcare options are best for you and your family during retirement, rest assured that you’ll be given impartial advice.

“There’s absolutely no affiliation with any private [insurance] company,” Sharon Lynn says. “This is totally unbiased information that [older adults] receive from the VICAP or SHIP programs.”

“We’re just educating [the public] really,” Houghton says, adding that dozens of presentations on retirement health insurance options are available throughout the year. “We don’t charge, of course. It’s a free service.”

Housing Options:
Downsize, move away, remodel or community living?

By the time you’ve paid off your mortgage, stopped working and the kids have long since moved out, you’ll be left to decide where you want to reside during your retirement. Should you stay in the home you’re in now that it’s finally paid off, and if so, should you leave it as is or remodel it to fit your changing needs? Should you downsize to a smaller home in the area or move down to the Florida beach house or out to the rustic country cabin you’ve always dreamed of?

Alternatively, would you prefer enjoy the upscale amenities of a luxury active adult community?

Downsizing to a smaller home is largely dependent on your personal finances and living preferences. Some retirees elect to stay in larger, multi-story homes because they can either afford to pay them off or simply prefer being able to relax in a bigger space. For others, who either can’t afford to stay where they are currently living, prefer a one-story home for mobility purposes or feel they won’t be able to make use of the space of a larger home, downsizing is a more feasible option.

“One thing you certainly can do in retirement is you can look at your cost of living. I mean, Northern Virginia is not a cheap area to live in,” Gerald Cannizzaro says. “The issue would be, would it be better for us and would it be OK for us to relocate in a lower cost of living area? That, I think, is a consideration, and of course maybe downsizing.”

One great housing option you may want to consider whether you’d like to stay local or move elsewhere, is selling your current home and renting another at a cheaper price.

“One thing that can be done by people in retirement in terms of looking at increasing their spendable retirement income is this, which is a growing trend: You don’t have to own your house when you retire,” Cannizzaro says. “It might be better for your lifestyle and your future income if you sell your home, invest the money and rent. It has a lot of advantages … [for] people who want an active lifestyle. Why shouldn’t they?”

“Renting is an option. What it does is it allows you to have shelter, it allows you to relocate in a place that you may really like a whole lot better but can’t afford a home in and basically pay for that shelter just out of the earnings out of the invested money [from selling your home],” Cannizzaro adds.

Even if you’re active and fully mobile now, chances are in 20 years or so, when you’re well into you’re retirement, you might not be. An important thing to consider when moving, or especially if you’re remodeling your current home, is a revolutionary building movement called universal design. Keeping the idea of accessibility and safety for people of all ages in mind, universal design concepts are more frequently being used in homes, buildings and other public facilities. These design elements include things like wide doorways, ramps, ground-floor bathrooms and secure grab bars in showers and tubs.

“We want people to be able to go wherever they want or need to go,” AAA’s Courtney Tierney says, adding that more public buildings are becoming universally accessible, but homes are not always as “visitable.”

Local organizations like Project Mend-A-House in Manassas are great resources for making sure your current or future home will always be safe and accessible for you. Lastly, for those ages 55 and older who’d like to live active, social retired lives in a planned community, an active adult community may be the best housing option. A Home Owners Association manages all such communities, and many housing facilities offer amenities including clubhouses, swimming pools, fitness centers and planned activities, often with a country club feel. Premier active adult retirement communities in Northern Virginia include Regency at Dominion Valley in Haymarket, Leisure World of Virginia in Leesburg and Heritage Hunt Golf & Country Club in Gainesville, named “Best Active Adult Community in the Country” by the National Council on Senior Housing.

Oldsters Having Fun:
Who says your best years are behind you?

When thinking about how you’ll spend your free time when you’re retired, push the stereotype that you’ll be resigned to 4 p.m. dinners and bingo-filled days out of your head. Who says you should have less fun in retirement than you do now? It’s 2012, and retirees are now living more active lives than ever.

Senior centers are great for fun, social, healthy and educational activities in your local community, and Northern Virginia is home to dozens of them. They offer everything from iPad classes, book clubs and fitness facilities to acting workshops, parties, art classes and exciting trips.

“There’s lots of recreation available to folks through senior centers,” Sharon Lynn says. “There’s all kinds of help out there, and we’re sort of the resource for that … we also have a couple of programs that are really geared toward helping people stay independent in the community.”

Adventurous, travel-loving retirees should take advantage of the many tours and trips specifically designed for seniors.

“We have a tour program called the Bluebird Tour Program that’s for well and independent folks [over 55],” Tierney says. “They just have a ball. They go on day trips together; sometimes it’s a three-week tour someplace … they travel, and they enjoy each other’s company.”

Upcoming spring and summer Bluebird trips include Spring on the Grand Strand in Myrtle Beach, S.C., Old Cape Cod in Falmouth, Mass., Parade of Ships in Baltimore, Md., and “Legally Blonde The Musical” in Winchester. Other Northern Virginia localities, like Arlington’s Department of Parks and Recreation, also offer myriad local and out-of-town senior trips.

You’ll finally have plenty of time for yourself during retirement, which is why many retirees also have the time, and desire, to donate their time to helping others. There are endless, engaging volunteer opportunities throughout NoVA. Programs like Volunteer Loudoun and Fairfax County’s Volunteer Solutions can help you find ways to give back that suit your preferences.

Provided your physical health is in check, why not consider joining a senior sports team during retirement? You’re never too old to enjoy the rush of competition and camaraderie among your teammates. Home to Northern Virginia Senior Softball, United States Tennis Association senior leagues and a number of Masters swim teams, the region is a haven for aging sports enthusiasts.

In the end, retirement is your time—your time to savor relationships with family and friends, engage in your existing passions and discover new ones, and finish that life’s to-do list you made when you were a teenager.

It may not be time for you to retire just yet, but that time may be just around the corner. And with careful thought and preparation, it’s likely to be a healthy, financially secure and thoroughly enjoyable chapter of your life.

 

 

Area Agencies on Aging

Alexandria Office of Aging & Adult Services
Serves City of Alexandria
2525 Mount Vernon Ave., Unit 5, Alexandria, VA 22301; 703-746-5999

Arlington Agency on Aging
Serves Arlington County
2100 Washington Blvd., 4th Floor, Arlington, VA 22204; 703-228-1700

Fairfax Area Agency on Aging
Serves Fairfax County and Cities of Fairfax and Falls Church
12011 Government Center Parkway, Suite 708, Fairfax, VA 22035; 703-324-7948

Loudoun County Area Agency on Aging
Serves Loudoun County
215 Depot Court SE, 2nd Floor, Leesburg, VA 20175; 703-777-0257

Prince William Area Agency on Aging
Serves Prince William County and Cities of Manassas and Manassas Park
5 County Complex, Suite 240, Woodbridge, VA 22192; 703-792-6374

Rappahannock Area Agency on Aging Inc.
Serves Caroline, King George, Spotsylvania and Stafford Counties and the City of Fredericksburg
171 Warrenton Road, Fredericksburg, VA 22405; 540-371-3375

Rappahannock-Rapidan Community Services Board and Area Agency on Aging
Serves Culpeper, Fauquier, Madison, Orange and Rappahannock Counties
15361 Bradford Road, P.O. Box 1568, Culpeper, VA 22701; 540-825-3100

 

(May 2012)

 

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Achieving True Happiness in Retirement

Posted by The Editorial Desk / Thursday, March 19th, 2009

Area Seniors Share Tips

By Natalie Kaar

If you think that retirement from work means retiring from truly living life, think again. Recently, I had the sincere pleasure of discovering the fact that retirement can actually mean quite the opposite. How did I do this? I got it straight from nearly 20 retirees themselves, seniors ranging in age from the upper 60s to the upper 90s who reside at the following area retirement communities: Alexander Heights, a just over 2-year-old community in Fredericksburg, featuring luxury apartments for seniors aged 62 and up; Ashby Ponds, an Erickson full-service retirement community, which opened in Ashburn just last September; The Jefferson, an elegant full-service Sunrise Senior Living community located in the heart of Ballston; Potomac Place, a charming residential and assisted-living community in Woodbridge; and The Virginian, a scenic continuing-care retirement community nestled in Fairfax.

In fact, what I’ve learned is that with the blessing of good health, proper planning and some solid advice from current retirees—detailed on the following pages—retirement can be seen as an exciting new beginning, or as Betty Lindquist, a retired nurse, active volunteer and resident of The Jefferson explained, retirement can equal “the continuity of a wonderful life.”

After all, to begin with, as many seniors declared, the perks of retirement are numerous. The biggie was often described in one word: freedom, or the ability to do what you want when you want to do it. For some, like former office manager Peggy Komar of Alexander Heights, or former telephone company supervisor Wesley Hignett of Potomac Place, such freedom includes the luxury of sleeping in. And, for many, including Komar and Hignett, freedom also equals the opportunity to spend more time with family. For others, it’s also the chance to travel to places they’ve always dreamed of going; such is the case for Shirley Mackey, former social worker, and her husband John, a retired Marine, of Alexander Heights. What’s more, many others pointed to the chance to meet and share experiences with people from all different backgrounds as a prime source of pleasure.

Yet, these perks only begin to explain what keeps folks truly happy in retirement according to seniors in the know. When I asked some of these fascinating retirees—everyone from a former editorial assistant and convention planner (Kay Watson, who lives at The Jefferson with her husband Don) to a former general manager of Woodward & Lothrop and Burberry stores (Bill Sharpe, who lives at Ashby Ponds with his wife Mary) to a retired public relations executive (Charlotte Lusk of The Virginian), a former supervisor for labor standards (Leona Bogdanski of Potomac Place) and over a dozen others—to share a few key tips for achieving happiness in retirement, some of the advice they had to offer was priceless.

First, the most popular advice:
Keep busy, try lots of activities and have lots of hobbies. In other words, keep your mind and body active. Realize that you have time and use it. Potomac Place resident E.F. Covin, a former post office and insurance worker says he keeps busy bowling, fishing—and chasing girls. Meanwhile, one his neighbors, Charlotte Mulcahy, a former government worker, enjoys painting and sewing. Other seniors I spoke with, such as Lusk, spend time enjoying the wonder of the outdoors and reading good books, or, like Watson, adore stamp collecting. And, then there are those like Sharpe, the former retail GM mentioned earlier—twice retired before finally leaving the industry in 2001—who spends a lot of time in the gym. He told me he logs about 45 minutes to an hour daily in the fitness center at Ashby Ponds.

Socialize with others. Take a cue from Lindquist; the president of the gardening club and regular visitor to those with Alzheimer’s or recovering from surgery at The Jefferson also enjoys such social activities as “Manicures & Martinis” events on Mondays and Wednesday night “Meet Your Neighbor” socials. Or make like one of her neighbors, such as Glory Sabatier, a former 30-year volunteer at Arlington Hospital, who enjoys playing bingo and other games with fellow residents. Then again, you could follow the example of the Watsons, who interact with their neighbors through activities like the embroidery club and computer club, which Don started.

Socializing is undoubtedly easy at retirement communities, where group activities abound. Gayna Dunsmore lives with her husband Emmett at the new Ashby Ponds community. The former grocery clerk and current volunteer at Ronald McDonald House remarked, “We’ve met so many friends already, and we’re just getting started.”

Get as close to your family as possible. Senior after senior recommended moving close to those one loves most. However, as Dale Anderson who lives at Alexander Heights with his wife Dot advised, it’s also important to remember that it’s not all about you. He cautions: Don’t interfere with your kids’ lives too much.

Don’t wait too long to think about retirement and joining a retirement community. Join one while you can still make your own decisions and enjoy all of the fun and opportunities for socialization that a retirement community provides. Recommended just about as often as moving close to family, keeping busy and socializing, was the importance of not putting off retirement decisions for too long. After all, many of the retirees I talked with had learned from friends’ mistakes.

Give of yourself; give back to others for the life you’ve had. Take it from former ESL teacher Geraldine “Gerry” Guess of Ashby Ponds, who recalled taking a college course on the pursuit of happiness during which she discovered that research points to thinking of others/giving back as the most important factor to achieving happiness.

For additional information on the subject, Guess recommends the book “Authentic Happiness: Using the New Positive Psychology to Realize Your Potential for Lasting Fulfillment,” by Martin Seligman.

Other important tips:
» Keep in mind that things will continue to change; go with the flow a bit. As for not being willing to change: “That’s not what life’s about.” –Bobby Lewis, Alexander Heights

» Save up enough money so that you will be able to do what you want when you want to do it. –The Andersons, Alexander Heights

» Realize that entering a retirement community can actually save you money and prevent you from spending all of your time taking care of chores. –Guess, Ashby Ponds

» “Accept what you’ve got and do what you can with it.” –Covin, Potomac Place

» Maintain a good attitude. –Hignett, Potomac Place

» Do your best to maintain or improve your health. “Don’t get sick.” –William Walsh, Potomac Place

» Relax and enjoy your surroundings. –Bogdanski, Potomac Place

» Have regular meals; maintain some kind of routine, some kind of predictability. –Shirley Mackey, Alexander Heights

» Accept the fact that you will live in a retirement community eventually … live by the rules, participate. –Sabatier, The Jefferson

» Find a place where you really want to live, a place that feels like home and allows you to easily meet people. –Lynn Thompson, Alexander Heights

» Nourish your faith. –Hignett, Potomac Place

» And, finally, it’s important to want to retire, versus being forced to retire. –Dale Anderson, Alexander Heights

Now, hear this…
Is your hearing keeping you in isolation? Hearing issues should not prevent you from enjoying time with your family and friends. According to Carol Hudner, an audiologist at Otolaryngology Associates, if you’re concerned about your hearing, you may want to take a quick test by answering the following questions:

» Do people seem to mumble or speak in a softer voice than they used to?

» Do you feel tired or irritable after a long conversation?

» Do you often need to turn up the volume on the TV or radio?

» Do you have trouble hearing your doorbell or telephone ring?

» Is it hard to follow a conversation when you are in a crowded restaurant?

» Do family members suggest you get your hearing tested?

If you answered “yes” to any of the questions above, you should consider a hearing evaluation. To schedule one at Otolaryngology Associates, call 703-968-9087 for the Centreville office; 703-573-7606 for the Fairfax office; and 703-834-2907 for the Reston office.

(March 2009)

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