Resiliency

One of the things I've learned is that one should never underestimate the profound resiliency of the human spirit, nor how swiftly things can change for the better, often overnight. I have a friend who I have talked about here who has been told he had Vascular Dementia and that there is nothing that can be done. He tells me that he may have perhaps 10 more years left, but the disease will get worse over time. He is not, at this time depressed and is in good spirits. We have had 3 other friends die from Alzheimer's but while I feel sad for my friend, he is feeling positive and he is still full of life and resiliency. l love the human spirit.

For those of you who don't know Vascular Dementia is a general term describing problems with reasoning, planning, judgment, memory and other thought processes caused by brain damage from impaired blood flow to your brain. You can develop vascular dementia after a stroke blocks an artery in your brain, which is what happened to my friend. He had a stroke which we all thought was minor, but it has lead to his current problem. I was curious and I did some research on what my friend can expect. 

This information below was developed by Dr. Barry Reisberg of New York University who developed a seven-stage system as a framework to understand the progression of this disease.
The rate of progression of the disease varies and my friend is not in Stage 2. 

Stage 1– No Impairment
During this stage, there are no detectable memory problems. Forgetfulness can be brought on for a number of reasons including normal ageing, head injuries, vitamin deficiencies, medication side-effects, depression. Some of the causes are reversible that is why it is important for individuals to see their doctor to rule out other causes.
Stage 2-- Mild Decline
At this stage, the individual may still do well on memory tests and people close to the individual may not notice any significant changes. The individual is still able to function in his or her day-to-day life. Also, at this stage, memory loss can’t be easily differentiated from normal age-related forgetfulness. The individual is still able to work and live independently. He or she will likely be the first to notice changes that no one else can identify, including the physician.

Stage 3: Continued Mild Decline
People in this stage will begin to notice changes in their loved one. The individual will have difficulty on cognitive tests, and doctors will be able to detect a decline in functioning. Performance in demanding situations may weaken, and the individual may be unable to learn new skills.

Stage 4: Moderate Decline
During this stage, signs and symptoms of dementia become obvious. Thinking and reasoning issues become clearer, and new issues appear. Individuals in this stage often withdraw from participation in activities they previously enjoyed, like conversing with family.

Stage 5: Moderately Severe Decline
During this stage, individuals begin to need help with normal day to day activities. Individuals in this stage are able to bathe and go to the bathroom and are typically still able to recognize family members. They are also still able to recall their history, especially details about their youth.

Symptoms of Stage 5:
People in stage five may experience significant confusion. They often have an inability to recall simple details like their own phone number. They have difficulty dressing appropriately and require assistance in choosing the right clothes for the right season. They may have difficulty with remembering the time of day and identifying which season they are in. The person can also easily get lost since they may not remember their address or how to get home.

Stage 6: Severe Decline
Individuals in the sixth stage of Alzheimer’s disease need constant supervision, and if family members are not able to provide care, they will require professional caregivers. Individuals in this stage will require assistance and/or reminders with many of the activities of daily living (bathing, toileting, and dressing). They may also experience incontinence of bowel and bladder.

Stage 7: Very Severe Decline
This is the final stage of the disease, in which individuals are nearing the end. They eventually lose their ability to respond to environmental cues or communicate with others, and while they may utter words or phrases, they won’t have much meaning; they require assistance with all activities of daily living. In the final stage of the illness, individuals lose their ability to swallow. Individuals now require full-time, around the clock assistance with daily personal care. They have increasing difficulties communicating and they experience changes in physical abilities (walking, sitting, and eventually swallowing).

Are you ready to retire? Part 2

As you prepare your plan, think about what you will be doing through all three stages of retirement, not just the first stage. Imagining your retirement lifestyle also increases your desire to retire, while preparing you mentally for the changes retiring will mean to you. Develop a personalized spending estimate based on your interests and planned activities. You are in control and you decide on the lifestyle you want in retirement, including where you will live, and what you will do. Remember that after the first ten or so years of retirement you will start to slow down and your spending will decrease. Most of us spend less as we age because we are less active For most of us, the first stage of retirement ends at about age 75. So our spending declines for a few years. The problem is that as we age, we may experience more medical expenses and may need long-term care, which is expensive and needs to be planned for while you are young.

Inflation is a reality in our economy and it averages about 3-4% a year. This means that your savings or investments will reduce by this amount unless you have invested wisely. Don’t forget to include inflation in your spending and earnings estimates. Everything we spend money on in retirement will increase in price over time because of inflation.

I remember when I first retired, I sat down with my accountant and he talked about the fact that most of us in most retirement do not plan for medical expenses and long-term care because their timing and amount are unpredictable. My accountant talked to me about many of his clients who underestimated these costs and overestimated what government programs will pay for which resulted in some very nervous clients.

Think about the three pillars of retirement that we have in Canada and may have in other countries. All Canadians are entitled to receive Old Age Security, (OAS) and if you do not have any other income you may be eligible for the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) (The amount will reduce if you have a high income). If you worked in Canada you are probably going to collect Canada Pension (CPP) (This is based on years worked and the amount of money you paid in each year) Many Canadians may receive a company pension of some sort, or they may invest in Registered Retirement Savings Plans, or Tax-Free Savings Accounts to supplement their guaranteed income (OAS, GIS and CPP). This provides all Canadians with a level of financial security because they will have that income that is guaranteed no matter how long they live.

Do you have a spending strategy for your investments? You need to establish a spending policy. Most people don’t. They “wing it.”  I, like thousands of other Canadians, had to sit down with my planner to decide how I wanted to take out of my Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF). I took out 8 percent based on my estimates of my lifespan and the rate of return I expect in my investments. Surveys indicate most people believe they can spend 7% or more of their retirement portfolio each year without the risk of running out of money. But the consensus among financial planners and economists is that the maximum safe spending rate is about 4%. My advisor was certainly strong in pushing me to stay safe and take out only 4%. We will see if she was right or if I run out of money

As part of your plan, you need to make your will, complete a power of attorney, in BC you should complete a Representation agreement or an advanced directive. You may also consider completing an advanced care plan or an advanced directive.

Retirement readiness

Age shouldn’t determine if you retire. You need to be willing and ready to leave. What I mean by that is retirement willingness is a state of mind. When you are ready, you are happy to leave your workplace, colleagues, the structure work gives you, the sense of purpose and the activities associated with work. You are able and willing to spend your time on other projects not related to work.

Today many Boomers don't just retire, many find a way to transition into retirement. Over months or years, they reduce working hours or increase vacation time. My brother is doing this now, he is ready to retire but he is slowly reducing the amount of time he has at work. For the past year, he has been taking one day off a week, and in the next few months he will transition to working only three days a week

I retired on a whim, my wife had medical issues and when she was better, she made a decision to retired from her work. She had been thinking about this idea for a year while she recovered from her medical problem. When she told me, she was retiring I gave my notice the next day so we could retire together.   My move to retirement was not thought out and I went back to work for six years before I finally fully retired.

The experts suggest that when you’re about three for four years from retirement, you should plan for your retirement and create a contingency that you might retire before you intend because of health or layoffs.

One question to ask when you are planning is what is your average life expectancy? You can go online or talk to older family members or your doctor to give yourself an idea of how long you will live. Your plan will be very different if your life expectancy is 10 years than if it is 35 years. If you retire at 65 you may live another 20 years, if you retire at 55 you may live another 30 years or more, depending on family history and your health.  We underestimate our average life expectancy, so give yourself the benefit of the doubt and assume longer not a shorter life expectancy.

Retirement planners may also ask if you’re married, how long will you live together? The reason they ask is that income and expenses will change after one spouse passes away and you should plan for this reality. However, you should also consider this question because many more Boomers are getting divorced after retirement and you may have to plan for that reality

A bit of humour

My thanks to the people at “Postscript” for these gems

·       Crushing pop cans is soda pressing

·       The problem with political jokes is that they sometimes get elected

·       People are making apocalypse jokes like there is no tomorrow

·       Autocorrect made me say things I didn’t Nintendo

·       If ignorance is bliss than I know some people who should be happier than they seem

·       I danced like no one was watching. My court date is pending.

·       Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again

·       Puns ab out communism are not funny unless everyone gets them

·       If cats could text you back, they wouldn’t.

·       I ordered a chicken and an egg on the Internet just to see which one comes first

·       I ate a dictionary and got thesaurus throat.

·       I can tell if people are judgmental just by looking at them.

·       Despite the high cost of living it remains popular

·       WELL, TO BE FRANK, I’d have to change my name

·       A book hit my head and I have only my shelf to blame

·       The cook was a good cook, as cooks go, and as cooks go, she went.

·       In baiting a mousetrap with cheese, always leave room for the mouse.

·       Think about how many blameless lives are brightened by the blazing indiscretions of other people.

·       A little inaccuracy sometimes saves a ton of explanation.

·       Every reformation must have its victims. You can’t expect the fatted calf to share the enthusiasm of the angels over the prodigal’s return.

·       Never be a pioneer. It was the Early Christians that got the hungriest lion.

·       I hate posterity—it’s so fond of having the last word.