Children helping seniors out

 I have written a number of times about my friends and family using their assets to help out their children. Today with inflation increasing it is becoming more and more difficult for many seniors to make ends meet. So many children may be willing or in a position to help their parents make ends meet. So let's take a look at what a child could do to support a senior who needs help.

Today as more and more Boomers are reaching retirement age, which should be something that they look forward to after years of hard work for some this is a big concern. Recent polls have found that more than half of Americans are behind on their retirement savings goals, and twenty percent are unsure of their retirement savings status.

In addition, with life expectancy rates increasing and financial stress due to the coronavirus pandemic taking a toll on the economic environment, the potential of running out of money during retirement is higher now than before COVID. A recent study found that one in five Millennials spends approximately $18,000 per year to help financially support their ageing parents.

If you have a parent or a relative who is out of work or retiring here are some ways you may be able to help without putting your financial future in jeopardy.

Before having any discussion with your loved ones, come to terms with what you’re comfortable doing for them. You may decide that you’d like to invite your loved ones to live with you, or that you’re willing to help pay a specific bill each month, or maybe you’ve decided to loan them a substantial sum of money. Then, be clear about how you are and aren’t willing to aid and create ground rules to avoid confusion or future disagreements.

Encourage them to see a financial advisor who can assist in sorting through their finances, create a plan to manage debt, and ensure that their immediate and long-term financial needs can be met. In addition, they can work with you to help alleviate any of the financial stress that you may have taken on in the process of helping your loved ones.

If you’re not able or willing to provide financial support to your loved ones, consider other ways in which you can help ease their burdens. Non-financial support can come in many forms, including help with budgeting, accompanying them to appointments, helping run errands, providing a meal once a week, cleaning the house, or tending to yard work and minor house repairs. Over time, this type of help may be more beneficial to your loved ones than simply writing a check.

No matter how you decide to help in their time of need, do not put their financial needs above your own. Otherwise, you’ll find yourself in the very same position once your retirement rolls around. Continue saving for your retirement and consult a financial advisor for yourself before making any decisions regarding your loved ones. Tap into other resources for your loved ones, including community organizations and other family members, to avoid stretching yourself thin.

Do ;you have a hobby?

 In a great post by "Sightings over Sixty," Tom asked the question and went on to talk about all of the positives of having a hobby. It was a great question and a great post. Hobbies are good for you they tell us. My problem is that I have never had a hobby that I was good at doing. When I worked I had no time. I worked, coached at school and at home.  I worked hard at home maintenance chores and had little time for hobbies. 

I tried hard to develop a hobby that required skills, I took a woodworking course to learn how to make things out of wood, but when the course was over, I did not continue in that direction. I took a weightlifting course, with the same result, while I was in the course I did well, but when the course ended I stopped weightlifting. My wife even signed us up for dancing class, and again while we were in the class we enjoyed it but when it was done, we did not continue.

Five years before I retired I took up Golf but did not take lessons. Over the years I surprised myself and I continue to Golf. I go once a week from about April to October and I enjoy it. I may have to amend my earlier statement, I do have a hobby. I golf or rather I walk the course with good friends, tell stories and enjoy the company while trying to hit a little ball with a big stick less than 100 times over eighteen holes. To date, I have only succeeded a few times. I think my saving grace for golf, is that I have never had the desire to take lessons, so I know that I will never be more than a mediocre golfer and I realized that I am fine with that, and I also realized that I did in fact have a hobby.

CONSERVING ENERGY

This is flu season, so along with COVID, we have to worry about the flu so one suggestion is that we conserve energy. This can be done easily according to the Oregon Health and Science University Occupational Therapy group. They suggest asking some questions before you start any task and then schedule what you need to do and pace yourself during the day

Before beginning a task, determine:

1.   WHY is it necessary?

2.   WHAT is the purpose?

3.   WHEN should it be done?

4.   WHERE should it be done?

5.   HOW should it be done?

SCHEDULING: Plan ahead to schedule daily tasks, rests, and appointments according to your abilities. Spread things out throughout the day, week, month, etc.

·    Spread heavy and light physical tasks throughout the day, considering what the best time is for you.

·    Prioritize tasks according to your needs and desires.

o   When do you want or need to do for yourself that is realistic within your present abilities?

·    Delegate responsibilities and determine what you need help with, who can help you and a date and time you will be receiving help.

 PACING: Balance work and rest. Include rest periods during and between activities.

·         Avoid rushing.

·         Allow more time to complete a task.

·         Know your limits.

·         Pain is no gain – listen to your body.

·         Analyze demands of the task:

o   Are they physical, cognitive or emotional?

o   Balance and vary each type of task throughout the day

o   Include rest periods

o   Schedule high demand tasks for your peak performance time of day

 

SIMPLIFYING: Analyze each task and determine the easiest way to do it

·         Avoid unnecessary motions

·         Avoid unnecessary details

·         Sit instead of stand

·         Use two hands instead of one

·         Slide instead of lifting

·         Use modern equipment

 

ORGANIZING: Set up your environment to avoid unnecessary steps.

·         Have things in easy reach

·         Have chairs to sit on

·         Keep things in the same place each time to avoid search time

·         Avoid unnecessary clutter

Once you are into the habit of following the above steps then you can begin to take steps to control your stress. Here are some ideas on how that can be done

STRESS MANAGEMENT: The above-mentioned techniques will help you decrease your stress through increased energy efficiency, knowing your strengths and limitations and sharing this with others, and avoiding over-fatigue which ultimately leads to increased stress.

·         Set realistic goals

·         Live in the present, not the past or future

·         Think about what you can do not what you are unable to do

·         Accept what cannot be changed

·         Practice good posture and breathing techniques

·         Eat nutritionally

·         Learn from your success AND your mistakes

·         Listen to your body

·         Save time and energy for fun

·         As questions.

o   Take control of your illness. Don't let it control you.

Gender Pay Gap

The following was published by the American Association of University Women and it is entitled the Simple Truth about the Gender Pay Gap. I have talked in the past about how it is unfair and not economically sound to continue to have women paid less then men. The information below supports this

Over half a century after pay discrimination became illegal in the United States, a persistent pay gap between men and women continues to hurt our nation’s workers and our national economy.

The typical woman in America earns $45,097, while the typical man makes $55,291.

Women of color often fare even worse. Compared to white, non-Hispanic men:

Black women make 62 cents on the dollar.

Hispanic women make 54 cents on the dollar.

Asian women make 89 cents on the dollar.

Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander women make 61 cents on the dollar. *

American Indians or Alaska Natives make 57 cents on the dollar. *

(*AIAN and NHPI numbers are from American Community Survey (ACS) data; the other reported racial groups are from Current Population Survey (CPS) data.)

The pay gap increases over the course of a woman’s career and is widest for women ages 55-64. This likely reflects the long-term effects of direct and indirect discrimination, which compound over time.

 Women’s retirement income is only 70% of men’s, suggesting that the pay gap affects women’s economic security now and in the long term.me.

What Contributes to the Gender Pay Gap?

Women do not make less money simply because they choose different careers than men or choose to become mothers. Rather, the undervaluing of women’s work, implicit bias against working mothers and direct race and gender bias diminish women’s salaries. Some employer practices can make disparities even worse. These factors contribute to the pay gap:

Occupational segregation: Women and men still tend to concentrate in different jobs and fields. And jobs traditionally associated with men generally pay better than traditionally female-dominated jobs. These jobs do not pay less because they require fewer skills; they pay less because women do them. Further evidence that women’s work is undervalued: when an influx of women enters a previously male-dominated profession, wages for the occupation as a whole decrease.

Motherhood penalty: Mothers who work full-time are typically paid 69% as much as fathers. Mothers receive lower salaries than fathers and other women—even if the mother never left the workforce. Many working mothers experience bias in pay because of gendered norms and expectations about their roles. And many workplaces are still built on a model that assumes a worker is not a primary caretaker. Lack of paid family, medical and sick leave contribute to the problem.

Gender and race discrimination bias: Direct discrimination and bias against women remain culprits in the pay gap. And the intersectional impact of race and gender biases contributes to the larger overall pay gap for women of color.

Lack of pay transparency: Certain workplace practices can exacerbate pay disparities, including the failure to be transparent with salary information, retaliation for wage disclosure, and the use of prior salary history in setting pay. The pay gap is smaller for workers in sectors where pay transparency is mandated: For example, federal government workers experience a 13% pay gap between men and women; in the private, for-profit sector, that number jumps to 29%.

What is the Impact of the Gender Pay Gap?

Women are the sole or co breadwinner in approximately two thirds of American families. So, when women bring home less than they have rightfully earned, it hurts women, their families, and the economy as a whole.

Women also have less money to pay off educational debt, which contributes to the fact that they hold two-thirds or approximately $929 billion of the nation’s $1.46 trillion student debt. The debt they hold is also made worse by the fact that women overall receive less educational assistance income than men.

This disproportionate debt burden can force women to put off saving for retirement, buying a home, or starting a business.

When underpaid throughout their careers, women are more likely to face financial insecurity in retirement, making women’s retirement years more precarious. The pay gap also acts as a drag on America’s economic growth. According to Institute for Women’s Policy Research’s (IWPR) original analysis of 2016 data, paying women equally would have added $512.6 billion to the national income. IWPR has also determined that closing the gender wage gap would reduce poverty in families with a working woman by half.

What Can We Do to Close the Gender Pay Gap?

 Congress should pass the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would update and strengthen the Equal Pay Act of 1963; the Pay Equity for All Act, which would prohibit employers from using salary history to set pay; and the Fair Pay Act, which would require employers to provide equal pay for jobs of equivalent value to help reduce the impact of occupational segregation.

 Congress should pass the Family and Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act, which would create a national paid family and medical leave insurance program for all workers and the Healthy Families Act, which would guarantee paid sick leave. Congress and institutions should also find ways to invest in affordable childcare.

 Policymakers should also protect and expand Pell grants for low-income students, champion tuition- and debt-free options for students, support income-driven repayment options and allow for expanded public interest loan forgiveness programs.

 The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has indicated it will stop collecting pay data from employers. Implemented by the Obama Administration, the pay data collection identifies trends in pay disparities based on sex, race and ethnicity. The EEOC should not roll back this program; it must properly collect and sufficiently analyze data on pay disparities.

 More states need new and stronger pay equity laws and enforcement. As of October 2019, 42 states considered bills to help narrow the gender pay gap; 11 states passed laws. In 2018, 40 states and Washington, D.C. considered pay equity legislation, and six states enacted new laws.

 Employers should conduct regular pay audits, post salary ranges for jobs, eliminate the use of salary history to set wages and prohibit retaliation against employees for discussing, disclosing, or inquiring about their wages.

 Individuals can help to negotiate their own financial futures by taking an AAUW Work Smart salary negotiation course in-person or online.