Retirement Wizardry: Where the Smart Money Meets Reverse Mortgage Magic



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As 10,000 baby boomers a day turn 65 (a phenomenon that began in 2011 and continues through 2029), retirement savings — or the lack thereof — continues to be grist for financial columnists nationwide. And while writers tout the importance of scrupulous saving — this chart shows the median net worth of a householder aged 65-69 to be just under $200,000 — what these actuarial tables fail to take into account is the noteworthy John Lennon lyric: “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.”

Someone still shy of retirement age may have had every intention of going grandly into a well-cushioned old age, saving and investing diligently — and been wiped out by a health crisis not covered by insurance, an economic downturn, or an act of nature (e.g., fire, flood, tornado).

Screen Shot 2017-06-27 at 1.49.25 PMYou probably know at least one person who fits this profile, if not half a dozen. They’ve saved sincerely, and life intervened. With Social Security becoming benefit negative by 2020, and more seniors being urged to wait until age 70 to apply for it, the need for the reverse mortgage option is growing.

Yet many older Americans are still reluctant to tap their home equity. Lack of understanding typically underpins such reticence. Granted, the HECM is complex. But many older adults may need to take a step back initially, to assess what aging in place means, whether they are best suited to doing so, and how to begin readying their lives and home for the next life stage.

The rest of this post directly addresses your prospects. You are welcome to post it on your own reverse mortgage website or blog, or use the material in emails and presentations, to help open the reverse mortgage conversation.

Aging in Place with Aplomb

For people who are healthy and want to remain in their own home as they grow older, a reverse mortgage can help make this a reality. The first step is determining whether aging in place is in your best interest.

Here are 7 guidelines a homeowner can use to decide whether they want to age in place, and if so, whether to explore a reverse mortgage. Aging in place can serve you well if:

  1. You have sufficient equity in your home to qualify for a reverse mortgage, also known as a HECM (Home Equity Conversion Mortgage);
  2. Your health is generally good, and you’re mobile;
  3. You have a network of local family, friends, and neighbors you can rely on;
  4. You drive — or public transportation is readily accessible;
  5. You live in a safe neighborhood;
  6. Your home can be modified to address changing needs;
  7. You’re outgoing, well connected, and able to reach out for social support.

A House That Adapts to Your Needs

Home modification is important, even — especially — if you’re healthy and active now. Our bodies and needs change over time. Someone who is spry in their 60s, 70s, and even 80s may be glad their house “ages with them” as they grow older.

A few simple home modifications can make a big difference. These features, elements of what’s known as “universal design,” can affordably retrofit your home for greater safety and peace of mind:

  • Grab bars, especially in the shower and bathtub;
  • Hand rails. People can slip at any age and take a tumble; as we age, this can result in a broken hip or worse;
  • Ramps. They can also be installed temporarily if someone needs to use a wheelchair for a short time, such as when recovering from surgery;
  • Door widening to accommodate wheelchairs, walkers, and four-pronged canes;
  • Low thresholds to avoid tripping, and to make it easier to navigate with assistive devices (walkers, canes, etc.);
  • Kitchen and bathroom modifications to make cabinets easier to reach, floors less slippery.

Your Purse-onal PERS 

You may be familiar with personal emergency response systems (PERS), which are usually sold as a pendant, bracelet or watch you can wear to summon help in an emergency. Now there’s a PERS equivalent for your finances.

SilverBills, a startup founded by an attorney and CPA whose mission is to help people age with dignity and security, makes it easy to pay bills accurately and on time. The digital service deducts payments from your existing bank account or from an escrow account that SilverBills establishes for you with an FDIC-insured bank; they do not have access to your bank account. You also have a dedicated, specially trained customer support representative — a skilled “business assistant” to help ensure you’re protected from financial fraud.

Do You Believe In Magic?

Fans of the Harry Potter books may not realize that Hogwarts’ headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, also knew something about smart retirement planning. (That’s what happens when you live to be 150.)

For those of us with somewhat shorter potential lifespans, Dumbledore says, “It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” Even saving $25 a week at 5-percent compound daily interest will grow to $41,302 in 20 years’ time, a nice adjunct to your HECM loan.

Take heart (and inspiration) from an extraordinary 18-year-old, who saved $85,000 working part-time jobs since age eight — while going to school and volunteering at a retirement home, where she started a Cyber Seniors program to help residents learn technology.

So save what you can, be smart about managing your finances, and keep your wand handy. With equity in your home and a positive aging in place profile, the HECM option can transform money concerns into real retirement magic.

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Decluttering Our Later Lives



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In a humorous Ziggy cartoon, a man and his dog dig for buried treasure, the man dreaming of gold, and the dog, of course, dreaming of “dog gold”: a chest full of bones. Each uncovers the other’s yearning and, disappointed, re-buries the “treasure”.

downsizingOne man’s (or dog’s) junk is another’s treasure, indeed. And downsizing into a smaller home, perhaps with a HECM for Purchase, is an ideal opportunity for an individual or couple to share the wealth, by relieving themselves of possessions that weigh them down. If a senior has clothes, furniture, appliances, sports equipment, or any number of items they haven’t used in years and know they’re unlikely to use again, it might be a great idea to hold a garage sale, or donate the items to charity, and lighten their load.

One experienced loan officer who has watched many reverse mortgage clients right-size and eliminate clutter says, “When you skinny down, you relieve stress — and find it much easier to maintain your house. The IRS may also give you a tax write-off on donations.”

Simplifying at the time of relocation is a great way for seniors to skip procrastinating about all the clutter, and make the move easier and more enjoyable. But for some, simplifying may not be that simple.

Keeping It Clear Is An Ongoing Commitment

A new magazine from the publishers of Better Homes and Gardens, The Magnolia Journal, offers inspiration for life and home. It features HGTV “Fixer Upper” stars Chip and Joanna Gaines from Waco, Texas, who remodel older homes with a “wow” factor that’s entertaining as well as practical. And they know a few things about decluttering.

In the inaugural issue of the magazine, Joanna writes about “The Complexity of Living A Simple Life,” noting with humor that while she likes a clean, orderly house, sometimes she can’t open the drawers in her living room hutch because they “are so jam-packed with ‘necessities’ that I can’t get to any of them. If this isn’t irony, I’m not sure what is.” She admits the same is true of her jewelry drawer and closet.

Paring down takes commitment, and it’s not a one-time event: clutter is insidious, and can creep back into a senior’s new home as easily as failing to discard daily junk mail or buying extras when you shop because Costco makes it easy to stock up on essential household goods.

Just as someone who enjoys gardening will regularly prune the yard to keep the flowers looking their best, pruning our lives is an ongoing process — one that may be challenging for an older person if they’ve accumulated a lifetime of “stuff” that feels overwhelming to sort through. Professional organizers can help a senior declutter for a fee, and unpaid assistants may be just as effective (they’re known as children and grandkids).

If you know an elder who’d like to downsize, declutter and simplify, suggest it as a positive pre-relocation step. There’ll be less to pack, move, and unpack — and more breathing room in their new lives without extra baggage that they no longer need.

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What are your thoughts on seniors decluttering? Please leave your input in the Comments section below, and share this post on social media using the Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn icons at the top of this page. Thank you!

What the Hack Is Going On? Digital Protection for Older Adults



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Ideas for Safer Senior Tech

couple-techI’ve written about how my formerly “Luddite” dad (his term) learned to use a computer at 89, becoming adept enough to hire a plumber based on Yelp reviews and purchase a new bathroom mirror from Amazon. But while he’s become digitally savvy, and is wise to scams, such as the IRS “back taxes” phone call, he fell for the kind of fake email that can trip us up at any age: a message purporting to be from his Internet provider, indicating a problem with his account and asking for his password to reset it.

He sent them his password, and a nightmare ensued — not in terms of financial loss, fortunately, but in getting him to agree to switch his email to a different provider — and inform everyone he emails with not to use his old address, still active on his iPhone. It took a lot of explaining until he fully grasped the digital damage scammers could wreak on everyone with whom he communicated.

Getting the Digital Knack 

Digital safety joins the ranks of areas in which seniors need to be vigilant about protecting their assets. So far, we’ve covered financial fraud, identity theft, property protection and safe travel tips.

Now GroovyTek is making technology both easier and safer for seniors, by providing in-home training sessions “anchored in respect and patience,” with vetted, bonded trainers who are experienced in working with older tech novices. Co-founder Matt Munro describes the company as “like personal trainers for fitness, applied to technology”. Each hour-long training session is aimed towards helping an older adult become stronger (i.e., more familiar and comfortable) using their smartphone, tablet or computer. At this time GroovyTek operates in-person only in Colorado and Arizona, so they provided a wealth of tech protection guidance in a recent webinar.

You may wish to print and distribute these tips to your reverse mortgage clients and prospects that use digital devices. Or email it to them, and follow up to see if you can answer any questions — about technology, or HECMs.

7 Steps to Foil Hackers

  • Use strong passwords. Strings such as 12345, the word “password,” or QWERTY (the top 6 letters on a keyboard) can be accessed almost instantly by hackers, as can your birthday or your children’s birthdays. However, Pa&&word! will take a year to crack. And a sentence, such as, “I have 2 kids” is virtually impossible to crack, because there are too many permutations. (NOTE: These two examples should NOT be used as passwords!)
  • Don’t share your passwords. And DO NOT write them down on post-it notes or in a notebook — that defeats the purpose.
  • Be mindful of what you post on social media. First, set your privacy settings high. Second, don’t over-share. Don’t broadcast exactly where you’re going to be at a certain time, or when you go on vacation. It seems obvious, but this is an invitation to burglars and identity thieves. And never share your Social Security number, bank accounts, birthdays, home address or phone numbers on social media or any other public forums.
  • Use a secure network. Don’t do banking or share other sensitive information on public access WiFi, such as a library or coffee shop Internet connection. Hackers can easily grab your information from an open network (i.e., one that is not password-protected) without ever touching your computer or your phone!
  • Don’t open suspicious emails. The subject line might read, “Dear Sir” or “We have been unable to verify your PayPal account.” Even if the email purports to be from your bank or from Google, be wary. Why would your bank or email provider be sending you an unsolicited email? Why would they ask you to confirm your account information? They already have it. If you do open an email that appears to be from a person or business you know, check the Sender’s address, and DO NOT click on any links within the message, or divulge any personal information. Your real email provider, bank, Internet service, etc. will not ask you for personal information via email. This is just like someone calling on the phone to tell you you’ve won a sweepstakes, and asking for your bank account information to deposit the check. It’s a scam. Think of it this way: If you wouldn’t open the door to a stranger, don’t “open the door” through a click.
  • Don’t click on pop-ups, even if they say you need to (e.g., “Your computer is slow. Click here to clean it now.”). You may unleash a virus or otherwise create a problem that will require a tech expert to fix.
  • Protect your identity. It’s too easy for people to steal it and pretend to be you. Do not use your full name, date of birth, home address, or any other personal data as your email address, or in passwords. On social sites, do not list your home address.

If you do get hacked, call your credit card companies ASAP, change all your passwords, and file a police report to “time-stamp” when you reported the incident to financial institutions, which protects you in the event someone attempts to utilize your accounts.

With these basic Internet security steps in place, seniors (and everyone else) can enjoy staying active and connected in the digital age.
Download a PDF of this article here.

Ibasho: Creating Communities by Elders for Elders



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How Elder Living is Evolving Part 2

“The paradigm of creating dependence for elders is so ingrained,” says Emi Kiyota, PhD, even those who work in the field may need to be shocked into awareness.

For environmental gerontologist and organizational culture change specialist Kiyota, the wake-up call was witnessing the way her beloved grandmother was treated in a Japanese nursing home: “sitting in the room, waiting for something to happen.” Kiyota realized, “We’re not giving elders an opportunity to contribute: to share their wisdom in a very natural way, where they are encouraged to be a part of the solution for an aging society, rather than us thinking we have to create it all for them.”

From this purposeful fire, Ibasho arose like the proverbial phoenix. Ibasho means “a place where one feels at home being oneself,” where elders belong, to live in safety, comfort, and dignity, valued as a person of full history and experience, says Kiyota. We have two main fears as we age: social isolation, and loss of respect. By viewing elders as resources rather than liabilities, they can become change agents of their own communities.

Sustainable, Replicable Resources

reverse mortgage newsIbasho operates by 8 guiding principles that promote the value of socially integrating elders, and demonstrates the multi-generational social, economic, and environmental benefits of such a community in traditional, developing, and modern societies. They partner with local organizations and communities worldwide to design and create socially integrated and sustainable communities that value their elders.

“We are transforming the model to independence and interdependence, which is a global desire of elders, regardless of culture or area,” says Kiyota. One of her goals: to have a global network of Ibasho Cafés, where people look forward to being “old enough to get into this club.” (Like the Young@Heart Chorus, which requires aspiring members be at least 73 to join.)

“People have capacity, they have resources,” says Kiyota. With the first Ibasho Café completed in Japan, she has grants to replicate the model in the Philippines and Nepal.

Ibasho in America?

The conversation stateside might be:

  • How can we extend Ibasho principles into existing communities, with elders who want to remain in their own homes as they age, perhaps with the help of a reverse mortgage?
  • How can elders age in place and obtain the services they need, without feeling isolated?
  • If someone lives in a community setting, how can we provide the environment and engagement that everyone would like to have?
  • How can we shift social perception to include elders, reimagining the paradigm of “having it done for you,” while respecting and supporting what elders can and want to do?

Says Kiyota, “The next step for Ibasho is to transform affordable housing communities to be much more livable. We have to sit down and ask elders what they really need and want.”

Beyond Assisted Living

Dr. Keren Brown Wilson’s prescription for the future of aging echoes Kiyota’s. Wilson essentially created the concept of assisted living forty years ago as a graduate student in gerontology, when her mother, a nursing home resident at 65 due to a stroke, asked, “Why don’t you do something to help people like me?” Wilson interpreted her words to mean, “Figure out a better way to deliver long-term care.” She has devoted her career to developing ways for low-income elders to participate with purpose.

Wilson’s vision began with reframing the type of environment that would support an older person who needed substantial care every day. She envisioned a person-centered residential environment with a variable level of service as needs changed. And as the aging population explodes, the need for such models escalates exponentially.

The Silver Tsunami Touches All

By 2050, 80 percent of the world’s aging population will live in developing countries. However, healthcare systems are typically focused on child and maternal health.

“The aging pyramid is now a rectangle. How do we support people regardless of age, and regardless of income? It’s a grassroots effort, and we need infrastructure,” says Wilson. She created the The JFRF Foundation to empower communities in resource-constrained areas to “identify, strengthen and develop assets to support underserved older adults through a multi-generational, sustainable network of resources.” 

Wilson recommends we focus on:

  • Affordable housing with services. Help local communities create settings where people can organize themselves, using joint purchasing power to reduce the cost of a “unit of service” to stretch their dollars (e.g., the Village model). This may be an area where a reverse mortgage can help.
  • Modifying successful models. Adapt the “promotora model” from child and maternal health (lay training to educate others) for older adults, to ensure people who need more attention have their needs met.
  • Build capacity. Encourage elders to use their skills and knowledge (similar to Ibasho), and take an intergenerational approach of mutual support for vulnerable individuals of all ages.

She says, “We must become champions for change who build trust within the local community.”

Planning -Or Procrastinating?



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Recently, a HECM client contacted ReverseFocus.com with a crucial question: is his new wife covered under HUD’s Non-Borrowing Spouse (NBS) provision if he passes away first? He’d saved this blog post that touched on the topic, explaining he hadn’t called sooner because he was trying to find someone local who could answer the inquiry knowledgeably. Finally, at wit’s end, he got in touch with Reverse Focus.

This scenario points up the importance of planning ahead.

Procrastinate at your own risk

Procrastination is rampant within families when it comes to planning for long-term care and the distribution of assets at death, says elder law attorney Bill Fralin, principal of ChronicCareAdvocacy.com, a customized program that combines legal representation, asset protection, care coordination, and advocacy for seniors. In addition to feeling overwhelming, this kind of planning is emotionally difficult. But failing to plan can take a far greater toll, something the HECM holder described above recognized and wanted to rectify while there was time.

From planning for long-term care to estate planning to planning for business and life transition, it’s important to face the future without fear — or rather, as the popular expression goes, to feel the fear and do it anyway. With groundbreaking books such as Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant? and Death Cafes, where people gather to discuss the inevitable over dinner, we’ve entered a time when acknowledging our mortality is more acceptable than ever before — even if nobody looks forward to the event.

Simple cases rarely are

Just as most of us hope to pass peacefully in our sleep, people hope their end of life will be easy for their families to manage, even if they fail to plan. Unfortunately, neither situation is typical, notes Fralin. “The more likely reality is that you and/or your spouse will suffer a period of medical need prior to your death, requiring long-term care and possibly resulting in a period of incapacity. Failing to plan for this reality can be very expensive.

“By not having advance medical directives and durable powers of attorney in place, any period of incapacity would result in the need for your family members to go to court to obtain guardianship over your person and conservatorship over your finances. In addition to being time-consuming, the cost of the proceeding can easily run into thousands of dollars.

“Another cost of procrastination is that the cost of long-term care insurance goes up as you age — the sweet spot is your early to mid- sixties. Medicare only offers temporary assistance with rehabilitative and skilled nursing care, and is not likely to be a reasonable resource for long-term care needs. Therefore, for many middle-class Americans, Medicaid has become the primary source for payment of long-term care needs. What, then, are the costs of procrastination in planning for long-term care?” 

Why worry? It will probably never happen

While Fralin’s counsel can create a frisson of foreboding, as anyone who’s lived awhile knows, the future is a great unknown, and worry (which tends to create procrastination) just wastes time and energy. According to a Cornell University survey, a primary regret of older people’s lives was spending so much time worrying. James Huang, 87, shared, “I ask myself, What possible difference did it make that I kept my mind on every little thing that might go wrong? When I realized that it made no difference at all, I experienced a freedom that’s hard to describe. My life lesson is this: Turn yourself from frittering away the day worrying about what comes next and let everything else that you love and enjoy move in.”

Ironically, worry itself can lead to long-term health consequences, such as cardiovascular disease.

So encourage your reverse mortgage prospects and clients to plan ahead, and to allow the future to unfold as it will. Planning rather than procrastinating means they’ll have one less item to worry about, freeing up enormous emotional energy for life, love, and anticipation for what’s ahead.

What Elders Can Teach Us in These Disruptive Times



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Elder Wisdom for today

We’re living in highly disruptive times. That’s a given. That our elders are key to elevating how we live in these disruptive times may be less obvious. But behind the scenes — and often front and center — the senior population is demonstrating our path forward. Asking your reverse mortgage clients and prospects about their interests and background could lead to some very interesting conversations. Here are a few role models who might serve as talking points:

World-changing wisdom

Deep ecologist Joanna Macy, 87, brings a lifetime of commitment to her world-changing work. The Buddhist scholar, teacher, and author of Coming Back to Life, Active Hope, and World As Lover, World As Self (among many other books) helps people transform denial, despair and grief in the face of the social and ecological challenges of our time. She has been a respected voice in the movements for peace, justice, and ecology for more than five decades, and in 2015 created Work That Reconnects, a groundbreaking theoretical framework for personal and social change, and a workshop methodology for its application.

Macy refers to this time on Earth as The Great Turning, and has had a tremendous impact in educating and empowering people globally to awaken and step up for positive change. Now an elder in the fullest sense, Macy shows no signs of slowing down.

reverse mortgage newsAbuzz for charity

On a smaller but no less significant scale, 94-year-old Jean Bishop, known as the Bee Lady, is the queen bee of fundraising. Bishop has been raising money for charity for 25 years, dressed as, yes, a giant bumblebee (although a comparatively small one, as humans go). Over the years she has raised 112,000 pounds ($139,000).

Evincing the same joie de vivre that characterizes 98-year-old yoga teacher and ballroom dancer Täo Porchon-Lynch, Bishop says, “I didn’t want to put the costume on at first, but when I did it went down like a bomb. Of course, being 94, it does take it out of me a bit, but I won’t let it stop me.”

No failures, experiments

Thomas Edison said, “I have not failed; I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” This is the wisdom a trio of British centenarians embraces that, along with an ability to look ahead — and a sense of humor — keeps them mentally limber.

Two of my favorite pieces of advice come from 101-year-old Cliff Crozier: “Time spent on reconnaissance is seldom wasted. Be as independent as you can, but don’t be reluctant to ask for help when you think you need it.”

Crozier bakes his own bread and cakes from scratch. He says, “I don’t have many failures. If I’m making a cake and it fails, it becomes a pudding.”

Five takeaways

These elders, and many more like them, demonstrate some of the keys to healthy aging:

  • Live in the present.
  • View setbacks as experiments in life’s laboratory.
  • (En)lighten up!
  • See how you can serve others.
  • Honor the aging process by being willing to ask for assistance.

Purpose, Connection, Expansion and Love



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Closing the Gap / Part 2

What is “work”? More than anything, for elders, it means a sense of purpose and connection: feeling useful in a social environment. We don’t stop wanting to make a contribution simply because we’re older, as seniors themselves make clear in this compelling 7-minute video, A Sense of Purpose.

reverse mortgage newsThe need to feel needed

Created by high school students (no generation gap here!), the video describes how a forward-thinking small business owner hired elders in a nearby senior living facility to knit handbags for her company. The seniors were so enthusiastic about the opportunity to contribute and earn income from home, they even named themselves: The Purlettes. As the Dalai Lama pointed out, “We all need to be needed… Selflessness and joy are intertwined. The more we are one with the rest of humanity, the better we feel.” The business owner paid her contributors on a piece rate basis, rather than hourly, in order to meet their needs.

However, outdated Department of Labor laws that require employers to pay an hourly wage took away a “golden” opportunity for senior income and purpose. The seniors themselves were vociferous about the derailment: “This is the new manufacturing model. We’re seniors, not machines. We can’t be doing this eight hours a day.” In seeking to “protect” workers, the federal government destroyed a model that gave the elders purpose, connection, joy, and income.

There is no separate law for senior employment that addresses their unique needs. One 95-year-old Purlette said the message she’d send to the Labor Department would be, “Open your eyes. What you have done is a serious injustice. You have taken discretionary income away from a huge number of people, just to follow a narrow law that does not apply to us.”

Act Up

Mirroring nonagenarians Betty White and Norman Lear, who are still plying their trade with aplomb, a group of long-retired Broadway entertainers living in a New York retirement community find purpose — and a great deal of hilarity — diving into a production of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Still Dreaming, the award-winning film about this elder troupe of troopers, explores the powers of creativity, and how engaging in art-making can deeply enrich our lives at any age.

Closing the gap requires us all to realize, as reverse mortgage professionals do, the truth that older people are just younger people with accrued wisdom — and a few more wrinkles to show for it. By adapting to their needs, just as we do with babies and children, we enliven elder lives with the deep connection, purpose and expansion they crave.

Bringing the world to them

Another heartwarming example: a 67-year-old man and his 58-year-old bride (seniors themselves, according to AARP) chose to wed at the groom’s 92-year-old mother’s residence — which happens to be a care community. The couple said they wanted his mother to be part of their wedding day, so they brought the ceremony to her.

The site’s executive director, staff and residents wanted to make sure the day was “unforgettable” for the happy couple. Residents baked the cake for the reception, and the local hospice chaplain officiated. This small effort to be inclusive of an elder’s needs had a positive ripple effect on numerous people connected with the event.

We’re becoming increasingly adept at using our existing technology to help seniors stay engaged. Television, for instance. Many seniors, especially those who live alone, have the TV on 24/7 for companionship, but it’s a passive form of entertainment.

Now a device called Any TV Companion transforms TV into true connection. Any TV Companion hooks up to the set, where a caregiver or family member can download the mobile app. After that, the television becomes interactive: family members can communicate with and keep tabs on their loved one across the miles via the TV. Bonus: like other elder care technology, the device sends an alert to the caregiver’s smartphone if it detects a medical issue.

With creative and caring people involved in elder lifestyle solutions, the so-called generation gap vanishes. Instead of being pasture-ized (i.e., put out to pasture), mature adults are being integrated into the tribe, where they belong.

Medication or Meditation?



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How Mental (St)illness Saves Senior Brains

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) can affect up to 20 percent of the population at any one time — and half of these people will progress to full-on dementia, according to an article in Prevention magazine. That’s a scary statistic. But while medication can do little to slow the progression, there’s a way to positively impact mental health with no dangerous side effects: meditation.

Yogis and proponents of complementary medicine have long espoused the benefits of meditation for quieting the mind, and in the West, more people have begun meditating in recent decades. Meditation teachers often focus on busy professionals, who barely pause in their frenetic climb up the ladder long enough to enjoy a leisurely meal, let alone meditate.

Using the mind to heal the mind

reverse mortgage newsBut in China, people of all ages — especially elders — start their day with flowing movement meditations known as tai chi and qigong, often in the local park. Chinese residents by the millions practice these ancient healing arts for stilling the mind and strengthening the body.

It might behoove seniors stateside, as well as their loved ones, caregivers, and others who work with them, such as reverse mortgage professionals, to take a deeper look at meditation. According to new research, this mental stillness practice may help slow, or even prevent, dementia.

One study took forty adults ranging in age from 55 to 85, taught half the group mindfulness meditation (a type of Buddhist meditation that promotes jettisoning worry and being in the present moment) and kept the other half as a control group (i.e., non-meditating). The meditators attended weekly two-hour meetings in which they learned mindfulness techniques such as proper awareness and breathing for deep relaxation. They also practiced mindfulness meditation for half an hour at home daily, and attended one daylong retreat.

Those practicing mindfulness meditation reported feeling less lonely. Loneliness has been linked to an increased risk of heart disease, depression and Alzheimer’s disease. Meditation also reduced the seniors’ levels of inflammatory proteins.

In a similar study, researchers had a group of adults aged 55 to 90, all with mild cognitive impairment, do a guided meditation for fifteen to thirty minutes a day for eight weeks, as well attend weekly mindfulness check-ins. Eight weeks later, MRIs revealed slowed shrinkage of the hippocampus (the part of the brain responsible for memory that usually shrinks with dementia). Participants also showed overall improvement in cognition and well being.

Caring for the Caregivers

In a complementary study aimed at caregivers, researchers recruited 45 men and women who were caring for a family member with dementia and divided the participants into two groups. One group learned a 12-minute yoga practice called Kirtan Kriya that includes an ancient chanting meditation, which they performed every day at the same time for eight weeks. The other group was asked to relax in a quiet place with their eyes closed while listening to music on a relaxation CD, also for 12 minutes daily for eight weeks.

After eight weeks of daily chanting, the meditation group showed clear reductions in levels of various proteins linked to inflammation. This is important, as “Caregivers often don’t have the time, energy or contacts that could bring them a little relief from the stress of taking care of a loved one with dementia, so practicing a brief form of yogic meditation, which is easy to learn, is a useful tool,” notes Dr. Helen Lavretsky, senior author of the study and a professor of psychiatry at UCLA.

Now that Alzheimer’s Disease can be detected early via the cerebrospinal fluid, it makes more sense than ever for seniors whose brains indicate an inflammatory process to take steps to slow or reverse the decline. Meditation, not medication, is a health boost on every level. Sometimes a subtle shift makes all the difference.

This Treehouse Isn’t Just for Kids!



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The Housing Shift: Part 2

One of the truly exciting aspects of aging in community today is the ingenuity behind some of the communities being developed. For instance, while senior living options such as Avanti offer an onsite program that encourages residents and kids to mingle and expand one another’s worldview, Treehouse catapults intergenerational living into a unique, visionary direction. 

reverse mortgage newsThe first such mission-driven community, now a decade old, opened in western Massachusetts to support families who are fostering and adopting children from the public foster care system. Offering affordable rentals as well as homes for purchase (good news for HECM loan originators), the community was carefully designed to ensure families and seniors are interspersed around Treehouse Circle, with the Community Center serving as a central gathering space. This inventive model has been so successful it’s now being replicated in California.

Resident Mary Steele, 82, who raised her own granddaughter from age 10, says living at Treehouse “gives me a sense of belonging and satisfaction. Parents need as much support as the kids. This place is ideal because I can continue to make a contribution. I also didn’t want to live with people all the same age.”

Needing to Be Needed

Creative communities such as Treehouse address the deeper issue around senior housing: being of use. It’s crucial to survive and thrive at any age, the more so as we move into elderhood. In a recent New York Times Op-Ed, the Dalai Lama writes, “In one shocking experiment, researchers found that senior citizens who didn’t feel useful to others were nearly three times as likely to die prematurely as those who did feel useful. This speaks to a broader human truth: We all need to be needed… Selflessness and joy are intertwined. The more we are one with the rest of humanity, the better we feel.

“We should start each day by consciously asking ourselves, ‘What can I do today to appreciate the gifts that others offer me?’ We need to make sure that global brotherhood and oneness with others are not just abstract ideas that we profess, but personal commitments that we mindfully put into practice.

“Each of us has the responsibility to make this a habit. But those in positions of responsibility have a special opportunity to expand inclusion and build societies that truly need everyone.”

Designing With Aging in Mind

Visionary city planners worldwide are rethinking how to make cities more livable and navigable for residents as they grow older. Intergenerational, sustainable communities are cropping up around the globe, from Kanazawa in Japan to Miss Sargfabrik in Austria. But as expected, the cost of change (and housing) isn’t cheap: homes in Atlanta’s evolving Mado community range from $300,000 to $1 million, though low-income housing options are in the planning stage.

Yet getting around cities with challenging terrain, such as hilly San Francisco, can be difficult as residents age. Bay Area nonprofit Institute on Aging brokered a three-way partnership with ride service leader Lyft and Whistlestop, a senior shuttle-van service, to provide more extensive, wheelchair accessible service to seniors.

“The story needs to be, what can we do to keep people living independently,” says Stephen Johnston, co-founder of Aging2.0. “We need to do a better job of incorporating older people into our lives.”

“Towns are frightened by density,” says Michael Glynn, vice president with National Development in Boston, who has built walkable communities primarily for older homeowners. “But if you build in the right, walkable location, it could do a lot of good for an 85-year-old.”

The Song Remains the Same



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The He(art) of Elder (Eng)agement

In November we featured “Oldchella,” the humorously nicknamed, star-studded ensemble that rocked southern California for two consecutive weekends, featuring musical legends who defined an era: the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Neil Young, The Who. Besides their iconic status, the participants in Desert Trip had one other trait in common: each was at least 70 years old.

Yet the joke is on those who minimize the importance and impact that mature voices can have on those who sing — and on those who hear them sing.

Young@Heart Chorus requires members be in their 70s — 73, to be exact. One hopeful’s interest was piqued when he was a mere 72, so he was politely asked to reapply in a year. Now 80 and a six-year Young@Heart Chorus veteran, John Reinhart has soloed Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror,” and says he’s never been happier. “When I retired, I told my wife we’d better get a casket; I’ll be gone in six months. The Young@Heart Chorus came along at the right time for me.”

Getting Their Groove On

Making music, whether with one’s voice or another instrument, has repeatedly been demonstrated to be beneficial for mental health. In a recent controlled trial of 200 British adults over 60, those who participated in weekly singing groups for three months had improved mental health (decreased anxiety and depression) compared with those who didn’t sing. These health effects were sustained over a period of at least three months after the weekly singing ended.

By contrast, the benefits of playing a musical instrument did not tend to endure once the playing ceased — unless the participants had played over an extended period of their lives, which may explain why lifelong musicians such as the septuagenarian stars in Oldchella are still jamming with the same gusto as performers a third their age.

Singing the Dying Across the Threshold 

Singing can also be highly beneficial for those who are preparing to transition out of this life. At the turn of the millennium, Kate Munger, who had sung to a dear friend as he lay dying a decade earlier, was inspired to create Threshold Choir to bring comfort to the dying. Hearing is the last sense to go, so even someone in a comatose state may receive benefit. Today, there are more than 150 Threshold Choirs throughout the US, Canada, Europe and Australia.

Each choir is composed of a small group of singers (primarily women, though the choirs are open to all) from the local community, who gather at a person’s bedside and sing in calm, a cappella voices for about twenty minutes. These committed volunteers rehearse weekly for the privilege of singing to the dying; most have been Threshold Choir members for many years, and are often well past midlife themselves.

Art for the Heart

Have you ever noticed that the word “heart” contains “art”? That may not be a coincidence, as a research-focused arts blog surveyed the literature and found “the most compelling evidence of the value of the arts revolves around reverse mortgage newsimproving the lives of older adults.” Confirming the data already discussed, the evidence for (eng)aging with the arts benefits elders in the following ways:

  • Singing improves mental health and subjective wellbeing (i.e., perceived quality of life)
  • Playing a musical instrument has myriad positive effects, including dementia risk reduction
  • Dance classes bolster cognition and motor skills, and lessen the likelihood of developing dementia
  • Visual arts practice generates increases in social engagement, psychological health and self-esteem.

To Be of Use

Finally, art serves the deeper purpose of keeping seniors (eng)aged. And what that looks like may be very different from the more conventional arts just described. Retired social worker Lynn Rayburn, 91, is “convinced her mind would have long ago floated ‘into outer space’ if not for the mental stimulation and social interaction” of Senior Center Without Walls, a Bay Area-based non-profit that aims to ameliorate elder loneliness and social isolation. For Rayburn, who lives alone and is confined to a wheelchair, the telephone classes, such as Sing-Along Broadway, are a lifeline. Rayburn “participates in classes daily, and facilitates five classes as a volunteer, including a session that encourages callers to talk about things they’re grateful for and another that allows them to participate in philosophical debates.” She refers to Senior Center Without Walls as her “art form” and avows, “I couldn’t handle life without being needed.”

As noted last week, January 31st is National Inspire Your Heart with Art Day, a superb moment to encourage the elders in your HECM sphere to (eng)age with whatever form of the arts calls to them for expression, even (especially) if it’s something beyond what we typically think of or refer to as “art”. Creativity in all its forms is ageless, and like wine, can improve over time..