Is Retirement a Romantic fantasy of the past?

According to  the Allianz Generations Apart  Study, Boomers and Gen Xers agree there is a retirement crisis – but there are generational differences in how they’re responding.

An overwhelming number of Boomers and Gen Xers agree there is a retirement crisis (84% and 92%, respectively), and both groups reported being heavily impacted by the 2008 crash. And although both groups see themselves as being hit harder by the recession, both generations agree that it’s been much harder for Gen Xers to keep a job or plan for retirement.

Although these results may be disheartening, the good news is that both generations do believe it’s critically important for them to build their financial security in retirement (94% of Gen Xers and 95% of Boomers).

Major study findings:

• Romantic fantasy of the past – 82% of boomers and Generation Xers agree that a traditional retirement is a romantic fantasy of the past. More than eight in 10 (84%) from both generations said they feel that a retirement starting at age 65 spent “doing exactly what you want” is now unrealistic.
• Disadvantaged Gen Xers – Gen X respondents were much more hopeless about their ability to achieve retirement goals and about their overall financial situation than were their boomer counterparts. Although each generation feels their circumstances have been tougher to manage, Gen X respondents indicated stronger feelings about the extent to which they feel burdened and disadvantaged by their reality. More than two thirds (67%) of Gen Xers agreed with the idea that supposed targets for how much you need to retire are way out of reach versus less than half of boomers (49%).
• Warped reality – Despite clear concerns about their financial situations and prospect for a comfortable retirement, both generations are surprisingly relaxed about planning for their financial futures. An astounding percentage of boomers (65%) and Gen Xers (53%) said they "just have this feeling that everything’s going to work out."

Furthermore, the Allianz Life study of 2,000 Americans – including 1,000 baby boomers (ages 49–67) and 1,000 Gen Xers (ages 35–48) – found that Gen X respondents were much more hopeless about their ability to achieve retirement goals and about their overall financial situation than were their boomer counterparts. More than two thirds (67%) of Gen Xers agreed with the idea that supposed targets for how much you need to retire are way out of reach versus less than half of Boomers (49%).

Significantly more Gen X respondents also admitted to getting "bogged down with uncertainty when planning for retirement" (64% versus 43% of Boomers), believing it is "useless to plan for retirement when everything is so uncertain" (44% versus 31% of Boomers), and feeling that they will "never have enough money to stop working" (68% versus 43% of Boomers).

"It’s been widely reported that baby boomers are worried about their retirement, but the financial planning and retirement concerns of Generation X have gotten less attention," said Katie Libbe, Allianz Life vice president of Consumer Insights. "While our study confirms that many boomers still lack confidence about their future, it reveals alarming realities about the significant angst and pessimism Gen X feels regarding the current and future state of their finances. They’re the next generation that’s quickly approaching retirement and their hands–off approach to planning and preparation is alarming."

Gen X: The Disadvantaged Generation
Each generation in the study generally feels their circumstances have been tougher to manage. For example, both Gen Xers and Boomers think that their generation is burdened with more expenses (90% and 80% agreement, respectively), more uncertainty (86% and 72%) and more risk (78% and 64%) than their counterparts.

However, when it comes to jobs, money, and retirement, even baby Boomers agreed that Generation X has it much tougher in the following areas:

• Planning for retirement – 86% of Gen Xers and 65% of boomers agreed Gen X has it tougher
• Saving money – 89% of Gen Xers and 68% of boomers agreed it was hard for both
• Keeping a job – 85% of Gen Xers and 69% of boomers agreed
• Staying out of debt – 90% of Gen Xers and 72% of boomers agreed
• Getting a job – 85% of Gen Xers and 73% of boomers agreed

Study methodology
The Allianz Generations Apart Study, fielded by Larson Research and Strategy Consulting, was a nationwide online quantitative survey of 2,000 U.S. adults ages 35–67 with a minimum household income of $30,000. The sample was designed to achieve a 50/50 balance of men and women, and a 50/50 balance of boomers and Generation Xers. The margin of error is +/- 3%. For more information go here

Networking works

Over time you have built a very effective personal network and know you may wonder if you should use it to help you find work in your retirement. I think so, it means all the people you know, can help you achieve whatever goals you have set for yourself.

Increase your effectiveness in locating job opportunities by putting a team to work on your behalf.

Several pairs of eyes and ears will generate more job chances in a short time than you can think of alone. So it makes sense to set your own information network. This network, or grapevine, will have access to information you cannot get by yourself.

First, get rid of the notion that looking for work when you are retired is a no no. Approach people for their help, if they are your friends they will help you—this is a good way of weeding out your friends from those that are not your friends.

Maximize your network by starting from scratch to build your personal job network.

List friends, relatives, neighbours and business acquaintances that can help you find out about openings for your kind of work. These contacts will form the basic information network

• Keep in mind that you are going to ask them for information. You do not need to plead for a job or beg for sympathy. Further, you are not going to ask that your friends recommend you for the job. Let them think of this, themselves. What you want at present are leads 
• Decide exactly what kind or work you are seeking. After all, it would be absurd to ask others to help you find your kind of job when you don't even know what that job looks like. Write a description of the work you want to do.
• Prepare a short list of your own skills and accomplishments that tell what you can do. This list will also help your network to consider related jobs you could do as well
• Send a brief, friendly email to each person on your contact list. State simply that you are in the process of looking for an opportunity for some part time or full time work and you would appreciate learning of any suitable openings that come to his or her attention. With the email, send an attachment with a description of the kind of work you are seeking and summary of your qualifications. (Remember your friends know you but they may not know all of your qualifications)
• Offer to check back in a week or two. Thank them for any help
• Once the ideas begin coming in, email each contact a short note of appreciation or better yet contact them by telephone. Let people know that their efforts have been encouraging

Seniors better off than 30 years ago in Canada, who knew?

In an article in the Globe and Mail  commenting on the current Budget put out by our government, Margaret Wente said "Canadian senior citizens are among the most affluent people in the world. Fewer than 5 per cent of seniors live below the poverty line – one-third the rate of children who do. Since 1999, the median net worth of seniors has jumped 70 per cent. We are better off financially than our parents,..." 

 All this sounds great, but in BC The majority of seniors have an annual personal income of less than $40,000.  In addition Canadian seniors receive the largest share of their income from federal government programs. These include Old Age Security (OAS), the Spouse’s Allowance, the Canadian/Quebec Pension Plan (C/QPP), the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS), and other government plans. Women rely on the OAS benefit much more than men. The GIS provides additional financial security for seniors with low incomes. Senior women are more likely to have low incomes than senior men. This according to a report by Children’s, Women’s and Seniors’ Health, published 2002 and by the Office of  the Senior Advocate in 2014. But if we have groups that, in my mind, are politically motivated who are saying we are well off, and we have research that seems to says seniors are not that well off, who is telling the truth. I tend to believe the research.

According to a report by the Bank of Montreal Canadian seniors today have never been better off financially, and are four times richer than their parents were at the same age in the mid-1980s. The report is the second part of a study; the first part released in May found that Millennials - those aged 25-34 years, are on a somewhat firmer footing in terms of jobs, wealth and income than their parents were at the same age, but are juggling increased debt and higher housing costs.

"Many Canadians 65 years and older have benefited from strong equity, bond and real estate markets, rising participation in the workforce, and higher pension benefits," said Sal Guatieri, Senior Economist, BMO Capital Markets. "The financial position of young families has improved since the 1980s, but has greatly lagged seniors. Barring a high-paying job, most young people will be pressed to replicate the financial success of their grandparents and parents." This is a serious issue we are not addressing and we should be looking at how we can help the younger generation without taking away from the seniors. Generation Squeeze is a good start to look at this issue.

The report analysed a number of labour market and financial indicators affecting seniors - those 65 years and older, compared to the mid-1980s.

Jobs: Workforce participation has increased compared with three decades ago.
I wonder why so many seniors work, is it because we want to or because we have to work? A clue look at the unemployment rate 

• About twice as many seniors work today than three decades ago
• The employment rate for people 65 and over has doubled to 13%
• Meanwhile, overall labour force participation has increased, resulting in seniors having a somewhat harder time finding jobs because of more competition
• Unemployment among seniors has nearly doubled since the mid-1980s, although its much lower than for other age groups
• Incomes: More seniors are receiving a pay cheque

Adjusted for inflation, the median income of people 65 and older rose 40% to $23,700 in 2011 from $16,900 in 1984 (Still below the poverty line. Median income means that 50% of Canadians live below this level and 50% live above it. )

Seniors have increased their spending power faster than people aged 55-64 and 25-34 years.

Wealth: Older Canadians are wealthier, driven by rising stock, bond and housing markets
Median net worth of households headed by someone aged 65 and older rose more than four-fold (312%) to $460,700 in 2012 from $111,693 in 1984 (in constant 2012 dollars)
So having wealth in your house means what you can borrow against the value and go into debt or pay more property taxes--having wealth in a house does not make you better off than you were it means that you have some means of meeting day to day expenses if you go into more debt.

Canadian equity returns, including dividends and after inflation, rose more than twice as fast in the past three decades than in the similar period before the mid-1980s Great if you invested wisely and you were not wiped out in the 2008 financial crisis. However most seniors who were invested lost up to 40% of their returns and are just know back to their 2008 levels.

Today, the typical senior is nearly nine times richer than the typical millennial, a wealth gap between similar age groups that has more than doubled since 1984. 

Housing: More seniors own a house
The home ownership rate for seniors is at 70.8% for 2012 compared to 61.2% in 1984
This implies strong demand for renovations, with seniors spending more on maintenance than other age groups
Growing number of households headed by a senior have a mortgage (12.1% in 2012 vs 8.3% in 1984)
 We and the bank own the house and we pay the mortgage off with less income as the value of our investment returns fall because of low interest rates, bad investments or poor planning
Debt: More seniors have debt, but small amount compared to assets
The share of seniors with some type of loan has increased from 42.5% in 2012 to 26.1% in 1984.
Amount of debt held by a senior is small at $18,000 in 2012, a fraction of total assets ($479,000) and less than annual income.
 So Boomers continue to work, pay property taxes, and contribute to the economy while retired and the debt they are incurring is probably helping their children make ends meet or helping them buy their first home.

Moderate Exercise Correlates with Lower Risk of Heart Failure

Researchers say more than an hour of moderate or half an hour of vigorous exercise per day may lower your risk of heart failure by 46 percent. Heart failure is a common, disabling disease that accounts for about 2 percent of total healthcare costs in industrialized countries. 

Risk of death within five years of diagnosis is 30 percent to 50 percent. Swedish researchers studied 39,805 people 20-90 years old who didn't have heart failure when the study began in 1997. Researchers assessed their total and leisure time activity at the beginning of the study and followed them to see how this was related to their subsequent risk of developing heart failure. They found that the more active a person, the lower their risk for heart failure.

The group with the highest leisure time activity (more than one hour of moderate or half an hour of vigorous physical activity a day) had a 46 percent lower risk of developing heart failure. Physical activity was equally beneficial for men and women. Those who developed heart failure were older, male, had lower levels of education, a higher body mass index and waist-hip ratio, and a history of heart attack, diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. "You do not need to run a marathon to gain the benefits of physical activity - even quite low levels of activity can give you positive effects. Physical activity lowers many heart disease risk factors, which in turn lowers the risk of developing heart failure as well as other heart diseases."

The expected result emerges from the study results noted below, joining the mountain of evidence linking exercise and long term health. In human studies it is challenging to prove causation, but the evidence for regular moderate exercise to cause enhanced healthy longevity in animal studies is extensive, although unlike the practice of calorie restriction it apparently doesn't extend maximum life spans.


Read More https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2014/09/moderate-exercise-correlates-with-lower-risk-of-heart-failure.php 

Packing for a trip

Packing for travelling is an art that I have not yet mastered. I usually over pack even though I think I am not.  I found an interesting site One Bag Packing which helped me a great deal when it came to packing for my trips.  Here is some information that I found useful and hope you do as well. Visit the site it is useful for all travellers.

If there's a "trick" to travelling light, it's the understanding and proper use of a packing list (albeit a different type of list than those you have likely seen). Apart from that, however, there's no single specific secret. Travelling light is a skill comprised of a very large number of very small considerations. Taken individually, many of these might seem relatively unimportant (or unnecessarily meticulous); collectively, however, this selection of small sanities makes it possible to journey for extended periods of time carrying no more than will fit in a surprisingly small bag

I strongly suggest starting with Using A Packing List, because that will yield the most benefit in the least amount of time. Once you've begun to develop your own personal list, continue as and where your interests lead you; you needn't learn everything immediately.

Looking for luggage tips? You'll find much on that topic under the What To Pack It In menu. Appreciate, however, that merely acquiring a new bag, no matter how "perfect", will no more turn you into a one-bag traveller than a superb violin will turn you into a concert soloist!