We’ve explored ways older adults might become creativity mavens in their later years. And how, for some elders, technology is igniting a fresh creative impulse in their neural networks. We’ve even suggested trying something new every day for a year. Still, busy professionals can fall prey to creative complacency.
Continue readingAway from Home Part 2: Retiring On the Road
Some adventuresome Boomers and those a shade ahead of them in years are choosing to take to the road: not simply to travel as “snowbirds” or full-time RV’ers enjoying the freedom of their golden years, but as purposefully engaged travelers seeking to give back in service.
Continue readingAway from Home Part 1: 6 Senior-Savvy Travel Tips
Smart Ways for Your Senior Clients to Travel Safely
As a follow-up to our 4-part Safe At Home series, it makes sense to explore smart ways for seniors (or anyone, of any age) to be safe away from home — even if that’s just a trip to the grocery store or mall.
Whether a senior is traveling locally or to a distant locale, here are six tips for safer excursions:
- Hug your purse. Too often women will absentmindedly leave their pocketbook in the child seat of a grocery cart and wander down the aisle. A lot of times, the pocketbook isn’t even closed! That’s just too tempting for some people, so why help a thief give in to temptation? Keep your pocketbook zipped or snapped shut, and keep it with you when you walk around the store. If the tote is too heavy to carry around, it’s time to lighten your load, rather than have an unscrupulous person do it for you. One alternative: a fanny pak, which stays snugly around your waist and leaves your arms and hands free for shopping.
- Watch your wallet. Men aren’t exempt from clever pickpockets. If you carry your wallet in a hip pocket, be sure to keep that pocket buttoned. Better: carry your wallet in a side or front pocket. That way it won’t fall out without you knowing it, or be easily accessible to someone else. There was a recent news story of a puppy, trained to fetch, that retrieved a wallet from the lawn outside a couple’s home — except it didn’t belong to them. It had fallen from the sanitation engineer’s pocket earlier in the day when he got out of his truck to right a trashcan. Fortunately the story had a happy ending, as the couple immediately contacted the grateful worker — who hadn’t yet realized his wallet was missing!
- Lock your hotel room door. Employees, hotel guests, delivery people, maintenance crews…all manner of people come and go in public venues such as hotels, at all hours. So just as with your purse or wallet, even if you only plan to walk 30 feet from your door, lock it and take your key or door card. It’s just smart — and safe. By the same token: always know where the emergency exits are located.
- Leave your expensive (or sentimental) jewelry at home. Unless you’re going to lock your jewels in the safe at the hotel or on the cruise ship, it’s smarter to bring inexpensive watches, earrings, necklaces, etc. on a trip. Not only will you keep from drawing unnecessary attention to yourself, you won’t worry about losing something irreplaceable.
- Leave nothing of value in your car. There are “watchers” in parking lots such as at the gym or mall who wait to see if you open your trunk to put valuables inside, then break in once you’re out of sight. This has happened to me, as well as to a friend — even though in her case, the purse was tucked under her driver’s seat and not visible. It was gone when she came out of the gym. If you have something of value that needs to stay in the car, place it in the trunk before you go to your next destination. And it goes without saying: lock all car doors!
- Consider senior travel insurance. Even those with pre-existing conditions are often eligible, as long as you inform your insurance carrier. This way no minor mishap or mix-up (such as forgetting to pack a needed medication) need ruin an otherwise fabulous trip.
Now you’re prepared for a smart, safe summer vacation that your reverse mortgage helped make possible. Remember the sunscreen!
Law of “Attractiveness”? Rethinking Aging and Beauty
“My mother always used to say, ‘The older you get, the better you get. Unless you’re a banana.'” ~ actress Betty White, 92
The Law of Attraction is old news. But what about the Law of Attractiveness? Though it’s not readily talked about, it definitely exists, and it definitely affects women “of a certain age.”
For reverse mortgage professionals and the seniors they serve, what follows may be a revelation. While the information can apply to men, in our culture aging and appearance is predominantly a female issue.
Self-described “wacky wise woman” and author Ariel Spilsbury, 70, cavorted with ceremonialist Elayne Doughty, 45, in a deliciously playful webinar about redefining reality and aging through the lens of beauty.
Here are some of the powerful points and practices the duo shared to help us reimagine aging — and to own our beauty:
- (Ariel): As you age, the energy that you are starts turning inward, so you have more energy to focus on what’s really important. You recognize life’s impermanence…so you’d better get on with it! We’re literally “reading between the lines”: wrinkles are a road map of your soul; honor them!
- (Elayne): Becoming dependent on face creams is trying to eradicate parts of yourself; negation, not love. Practice: Elayne changed her whole ritual around how she takes care of her skin. She now creates her own skin care serum with essential oils and applies it with love and gratitude, taking time to honor herself as a beautiful woman.
- (Ariel): What is the connection between beauty and shared power? When one feels beautiful, one is more likely to want to share power, because there is nothing to compete with. (Elayne): When you put people — or flowers — together, something magical happens: they enhance each other’s power. Allow yourself to commune (the energy of becoming one with); this nourishes you. Practice: Commune with beautiful flowers for a frequency and coherency boost. Take time each day for a “beauty bomb”.
- (Ariel): What detracts from shared power? Comparison and competition, and seeing ourselves as “less than”: projecting disowned parts of ourselves onto others. Practice: Embrace anyone you’re in judgment or comparison with. If you can’t let them shine in their beauty and magnificence it’s because you can’t allow yourself to shine. Loving competition into dissolution has a de-wrinkling effect!
- (Elayne): We are like Nature: Nature simply exists to be beautiful. Beauty is as diverse as everything in Nature. And while the dormant phase is not necessarily beautiful, it’s part of the process: e.g., roses before they bloom. The alchemy of bringing all stages together germinates beauty from within. Practice: Own the entire cycle of beauty. Redefine what it means to age, to be a crone, to be beautiful at any age. That’s the whole point of taking beauty back inside.
- (Ariel): Use Light Body Magic Sizing Spray to magically “resize” yourself. Practice: Buy some Magic Sizing Spray and start loving yourself just the way and the size you are.
- (Elayne): To transmute the “Beauty Queen”/Beauty Contest mentality, she created crowns of flowers for herself and Ariel that they placed on one another’s heads. Practice: Crown a woman you’ve had comparison issues with, as the beautiful goddess she is. Crowning another means, I let go of needing to be the best, of the whole paradigm that only one can be the winner. When we let go of this notion we transform our perception. In your mind, crown everyone you know as the beauty they are. Beauty is not fixed: it’s the aliveness, the life force, coming through us.
- (Ariel): How do we become REAL? From The Velveteen Rabbit:
“What is REAL?” asked the Rabbit. “Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?”
“Real isn’t how you are made,” said the Skin Horse. “It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.”
“Does it happen all at once, like being wound up, or bit by bit?”
“It doesn’t happen all at once. You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t often happen to people who break easily, or who have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.”
(Ariel): “Perhaps we are our own children, and the rabbits we love for a long, long time are ourselves. That very realness is what makes someone love you even more. Start to discern what is real, and what you have been enculturated to believe is real.”
- (Elayne): The archetypal challenge for us all is to really look at our lives and see how we’re still trying to get the love or approval we seek. The more you let go, the more real you become.
- (Ariel and Elayne): Practice: Break the projection of outward beauty by playing with it. Play is that place where we meet the creativity and spontaneity of the moment.
Beauty is a feeling, and what’s real is a feeling. So feel into the realness of your radiance, whether you’re wearing your role as a reverse mortgage expert or simply being the beautiful woman or man that you are. Let’s turn habits into rabbits, and exchange superficial behaviors and beliefs for real appreciation of our innate beauty!
If you try any of the Practices described here, or share them with your reverse mortgage prospects and clients, please share your experiences below for the benefit of others.
Navigating Rapid HECM Changes
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The pace of change to the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM or reverse mortgage) program has rapidly accelerated in recent years. First we had several principal limit factor reductions, the introduction and subsequent removal of the HECM Saver program, the elimination of the Standard HECM products, two-tiered FHA insurance premiums and first year distribution limts. Recently HUD enacted a new policy for Non Borrowing Spouses (NBS) with new PLF tables which goes into effect this August 4th which should be shortly followed by a finalized Financial Assessment measuring a borrower’s financial capacity. How does one keep pace?
First FHA can and will make policy changes quickly as they see fit via mortgagee letter due to their new authority in the Reverse Mortgage Stabilization Act of 2013. The lengthly rule-making process no longer applies allowing for swift and sudden program modifications. Such rapid tweaks to the program can be beneficial in addressing issues as they arise but also create frustration and confusion for both lenders and the consumer alike. One could say the only constant for the HECM program is change itself.
Policy changes may present unique opportunities. For instance, while imperfect, the Non-Borrowing Spouse policy may allow for many to revisit previous loan prospects who walked away due to their concern of the younger spouse being able to remain in the home after the older borrower passes away. It also will garner positive press amongst consumer advocacy groups and financial professionals. Similarily the Financial Assessment while increasing origination efforts and underwriting will be received similarly. Perhaps our industry tagline should read “this is not your grandparent’s reverse mortgage”.
Not suprisingly many of these changes have not been openly embraced by many reverse mortgage professionals. Collectively we want strong consumer protections but not at the expense of further narrowing our potential market with borrowers having to pass through the filter of numerous regulations and underwriting standards. Unfortunately further restrictions seem to arrive during a down market where we can ill afford further reductions in volume. What remains is how we will both prepare and respond in the coming months as these new policies take effect.
How do you anticipate preparing or even leveraging your business in light of these recent changes? What advantages and disadvantages do you anticipate? Please share your ideas in the comment section below.
A Year for Change (Part 2): Growing In Gratitude
What if gratitude became the focus of your life for a year? This world-bridging wisdom can serve as both template and platform from which to approach your HECM service — and your life.
Continue readingGiving LTC Some TLC: Planning for Long-term Care
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Do your reverse mortgage prospects and clients have a plan for the unexpected?
According to a recent survey of 449 financial advisors, even prudent seniors overlook a critical component of retirement planning. When the experts were asked, “What’s the biggest threat to the financial security of retirees?” the number one answer was “healthcare expenses.”
Yet these advisors were not focused on medical expenses, but on the cost of non-medical long-term care. It’s vital that seniors prepare for such contingencies.
Why do 75-80 percent of Americans lack a plan for long-term care (LTC)? In a recent Life Planning Network webinar, Allen Hamm, author of Long-Term Care Planning, said there are two main reasons:
- Lack of awareness: Half the population does not understand the risks of living into old age, and the need for assistance that will likely arise;
- Lack of trust: long-term care insurance is expensive, and having the insurance industry lead the conversation is a backwards approach.
Older adults also don’t believe (or don’t want to believe) they’ll need help. Not too long ago, people retired and died within ten years. Now we’re living a “whole new generation in retirement,” says Hamm.
While many people believe Medicare will cover LTC, it’s false comfort: Medicare only reimburses for hospitalization up to 100 days, which is considered short-term care.
Long-term care, by contrast, usually involves activities of daily living (ADL) and can continue indefinitely. Hamm cites the five most common situations in which a senior might need LTC:
- Alzheimer’s and memory care
- Parkinson’s Disease
- Strokes, which can leave people in need of assistance with ADL
- Heart and circulatory conditions, especially if combined with diabetes (which can create memory issues)
- Frailty due to longevity
LTC takes its greatest toll on women, who have traditionally been the family caregivers. Explains Hamm, “Because women outlive men by an average of seven years, and men tend to marry women a few years younger, men intuitively know their spouses will take care of them. But who will take care of their wives?
“When the husband dies and the wife needs assistance, she usually ends up moving to assisted living or into a nursing home.”
There are four basic ways to pay for LTC:
- Family support: a spouse, child or other relative may choose to quit their job or reduce their hours in order to care for the parent/relative
- Medicaid (MediCal in California)
- Personal assets
- LTC insurance
Reverse mortgage (a component of personal assets) can be a viable way of meeting LTC needs, as long as it is thought through carefully, Hamm says. For instance, if the senior is going to remain in their home, what home modifications might be necessary to “age-proof” the house and make it viable for both senior and eventual caregiver?
Another option is an LTC rider on a regular insurance policy. This form of “hybrid insurance” enables the policyholder to draw on the rider if they need it later in life; if they pass away early, the rider pays the beneficiaries.
Though there is no “perfect age” at which to sign up for LTC insurance, a good time to opt in is between 50 and 60, says Hamm, since this is a time of life when:
- We can prioritize our level of risk
- Health is normally still good enough to qualify for coverage
- The premium is usually still affordable (i.e., LTC makes sense as an economic value)
- Someone’s risk tolerance is typically more conservative than when they were younger.
As with all later life decisions, the best course of action is for young seniors, or those not yet seniors, to familiarize themselves with all the options available. While life is more fun lived on the bright side, planning for the unexpected is smart. It’s easier to relax and enjoy retirement when you know that whatever happens in the remaining ten, 20, 30 or more years of life, you’re covered.
Safe at Home (Part 4): Behind the Wheel
It’s one of the toughest decisions an elder can make — probably harder than deciding whether or not to get a reverse mortgage, often more challenging than facing a serious health concern. Driving symbolizes maturity, independence, and freedom, and many seniors will not surrender the keys without a fight.
Continue readingA Year for Change (Part 1): Dare It!
In an earlier post, we spoke about how turning 80 can be more fearsome than skydiving. But there is a cure for the fear of aging: trying something new (and sometimes far-fetched!) often — such as once a day for an entire year.
Continue readingBREAKING: New PLFs Released
More money for older HECM borrowers, substantially less when younger non-borrowing spouse present
Today HUD released new PLFs (Principal Limit Factors) which now include a table for younger co-borrowers. Jerry Wagner, the President & owner of IBIS Software which provides origination software and information for both HUD and HECM Lenders released a very helpful comparison chart (see downloads below) which helps identify the impact of the new lending ratios.
Here is a summary of the changes:
- HUD made the changes via Mortgagee Letter 2014-12
- Younger primary borrowers will see a modest increase in their PLFs until the Expected Rate reaches 5.37% and higher (see inset below).
- Older borrower will see a substantial increase in proceeds until the Expected Rate nears 7% and higher
- The new Principal Limit Factors go into effect for FHA case numbers assigned on or after August 4th, 2014
- Borrowers who have not closed their loans and have FHA case numbers prior to August 4th may opt to use the new PLFs (see ML 2014-14 for requirements)
- The table for younger non-borrowing spouses (18-61 years old) only applies if at least one borrower meets the minimum HECM age requirement of 62. Proceeds will be based on the age of the youngest spouse.
DOWNLOADS:
NEW 2014 PLF Table PLF Change Analysis (IBIS Software) Mortgagee Letter 2014-14
