One of the best ways to save money is to stay healthy.  But sometimes overdoing exercise can land you at the doctor.  Orthopedic surgeons are seeing a wave of exercise-related injuries among baby boomers — a phenomenon referred to as “boomeritis.”

While staying active promotes health, at age 50 and older the body is less forgiving. Injuries can occur when people push beyond the body’s capability. Typical problems include tendinitis, bursitis, stress fractures and tendon tears (such as rotator cuff injuries).

Mayo Clinic Women’s HealthSource offers these tips to help avoid boomeritis:

Doctor approval: A doctor can offer advice when a person is considering a new sport or activity. In general, it’s wise to start slowly and increase gradually.

Warm-ups: A warm-up prepares a body for activity by getting the blood flowing, raising muscle temperature and increasing the heart rate. Moderate activities, such as walking on a treadmill or cycling in a low gear, are good warm-ups. Cold muscles are more prone to injury.

Stretching: Past age 40, joints, tissues and muscles may not be as flexible as they once were. Stretching after exercise, when muscles are warm, can help prevent injury and may improve performance.

Cross-training:Alternating different types of activities works various muscle groups, which helps muscles adapt to new activities. A balanced fitness program should include cardio work, strength training and flexibility exercises, such as yoga, and exercises such as Pilates that target the core muscles.

Consistency: Compressing hours of heavy activity into the weekend sets the stage for injury. A better approach is aiming for 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily.

Listening to the body: Boomers may not be able to tolerate the same sports or participate as long or as intensely as they could when they were younger. Significant stiffness or strain indicates too much intensity.

Avoiding overdoing: A rest period or a rest day after an intense workout can help avoid injury. A good rule is to increase activity by no more than 10 percent each week, for example, adding one mile a week to reach a 10-mile-per-week walking regimen.

If you are looking for an exercise program geared to older persons, try your local seniors center (they usually offer programs for people 55+), your local YMCA or gym that offers a program like Silver Sneakers.  Check you health insurance plan to see if it offers a discount for fitness programs.

And, staying healthy can save you money on all types of insurance from health insurance to life insurance and long-term care insurance.

Figuring out the right retirement investment strategy in this market is no easy task. So, many investment advisers are suggesting “a bucket approach” to retirement savings.

Christine Benz, Director of Personal Finance for Morningstar, recently told attendees at the American Society of Aging conference that the flight to bonds could be putting some retirees at further risk in retirement.  

“Retirees and pre-retirees burned by 2008 bear market appear to be fighting the last war.” she said.  She said there has been a massive stampede into bonds and bond funds over the past year ($330 billion in 2009). 

So, while Investors seem to be saying they’d prefer a small but knowable gain over the uncertainty of stocks, that’s a problem.  Unfortunately, the near-term prospects for bonds aren’t particularly bright, given the potential for higher interest rates. Given longevity, she recommends, most retirees need at least some stock in their portfolios.

So how do you do that with the experience of 2008 still fresh in your mind? 

She suggests a “bucket approach” to thinking about your retirement portfolio: 

• Bucket 1: Covers living expenses for years 1-5 of retirement; consists entirely of highly liquid investments such as CDs, money market funds, and short-term bond funds.
• Bucket 2: Covers years 6-15 of retirement; consists of high-quality intermediate-term bond funds and balanced funds.
• Bucket 3: Covers years 16-25+ of retirement; consists primarily of stocks, both domestic and international. 

 This way you’ve got ready-case to handle your current living expenses, but you are also planning for “retirement” that could last 20-30 years. 

She also recommended that near-retirees and retirees be proactive and inoculate their finances against three threats: 

Threat 1: Inflation

Solution: TIPS (treasury inflation-protected securities); stocks with “moats” (a stock that has a significant competitive advantage – Morningstar article on moats

Threat 2: Higher taxes

Solution: Roth IRAs, municipal bonds, and take maximum advantage of tax-sheltered options. 

Threat 3: Longevity (a good kind of threat…)

Solution:  Stocks as a component of all retiree portfolios, fixed annuities (but payouts are currently low), long-term care insurance 

It is broad advice and you need to determine what works best for your individual situation. 

 But thinking forward – rather than fighting the last fight – is advice worth heading.

The growing cost of retiree health care is a very real issue for millions of today’s retirees.  If you haven’t thought about health care costs in retirement, two new studies should give you some food for thought…and action.

Health care costs in retirement 

Fidelity Investments estimates that a 65 year old couple today will need $250,000 to pay for medical expenses during their lifetime, not including long-term care expenses.  By any standard, that’s a big number and pretty much matches up with the many other retiree health care expense projections. 

The Fidelity study of retirees  found that health care costs average $535 a month, or about one-fifth of an average couple’s total monthly expenses of $2,842. Among those surveyed, 11 percent said their health care costs are $1,000 a month or higher. 

Almost half (47%) are paying more each month for insurance premiums and out-of-pocket health care costs than they had anticipated in retirement. 

Fewer retirees will be able to count on retiree health insurance benefits from their employers.  And, as some know, even if you have it now, doesn’t mean it won’t change in years to come.  So segregating some retirement funds for health care costs is smart planning.  How much depends on your health and the amount of risk you cover through insurance. 

The cost of health care in retirement is 4.2% higher than Fidelity 2009 survey, and 56% higher than when they began in 2002. 

Worried About health Care Costs 

So it’s no wonder that 44% of U.S. adults are worried about health care costs.  A new survey from Harris Interactive and HealthDay found high concern among older adults.

How worried, if at all, are you about having to pay more for your healthcare and/or health insurance?

Harris Interactive, March 25, 2010

Preparing for Retiree Health Care Costs

So, what can you do to prepare for retiree health care costs?  

*Understand what Medicare covers and what it does not, the deductibles, co-pays.  Calculate the costs including your part B premium. http://www.medicare.gov

* Consider supplemental coverage and Part D or Medicare Advantage to help you cover what Medicare doesn’t.  http://www.laihealth.com

* If you choose to purchase insurance, shop and compare. It can save you hundreds of dollars– not just in premiums but in co-pays and deductibles if you find the plan that is matched to your health care needs. 

*Consider how you will pay for long-term care if you need it–whether you’ll pay for it out of your savings, purchase long-term care insurance to cover some or all of the costs or impoverish yourself and rely on government programs (Medicaid). 

* Health care reform will provide some relief on prescription drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries. 

But most importantly, sit down and figure out the potential costs and how much of a bite it will take out of your budget.  It’s a guess, to be sure.  And you probably won’t match the “average” costs sited by the research.  But you will walk away with a more realistic view of what promises to be one of your biggest expenses in retirement.

What does the health care reform bill mean for Medicare beneficiaries?   

There’s some good news for those with heavy prescription drug bills and some things to think about for those using Medicare Advantage plans.   

Here are some of the highlights for those covered (or soon to be covered) by Medicare: 

The “doughnut hole” – It’s been the nemesis for those with heavy prescription drug bill and Part D coverage.  The doughnut hole is the coverage gap in which seniors must pay the full cost of their prescription drugs- $2380 – $4550 in 2010.  Beginning in 2011, the bill gradually closes the gap until it disappears in 2020.

 $250 rebate gap coverage– In 2010 only, for those who hit the “doughnut hole” there will be a one-time $250 rebate. No details yet on how that will work, but we will cover it in MomentumToday as soon as the announcement is made. 

Brand Name Drug discounts – Beginning in 2011, brand name drug prices will be discounted 50% during the part D coverage gap.  The discount will be increased until 2020, until the benefit reaches 75% of the cost.

Medicare benefits — More preventative services will be part of standard Medicare coverage including cancer screening and a once-a year wellness exam. 

Medicare Advantage plans – The law reduces payments to Medicare Advantage plans beginning in 2011.  So insurance companies will face two choices:  higher premiums or a reduction in benefits for these plans which combine hospital, doctor and drug coverage. 

At MomentumToday, we’ll be highlighting how these changes impact the insurance decisions of Medicare beneficiaries going forward.  We’ll also be digging into the legislation to see what else might impact your budget and planning in the years ahead.   

If you are new to Medicare, you’ll want to carefully weigh whether Medicare Advantage or Medicare supplement and Part D is the right choice for your health care needs.  While we don’t know exactly what changes are ahead for Medicare Advantage plans, it’s important to understand the trends and pressure on the insurers and how that could impact your coverage in the future. 

For those already covered by Medicare, beginning in the fall of 2010 shopping for 2011 Part D and Medicare Advantage plans will be important so that you can assess plan changes and see if you have the right Medicare insurance plan going forward.

 Good news–we’re feeling much more confident about our retirement prospects.

 Bad news–  workers are not doing any better –in fact worse– at being financially prepared for retirement. 

 More than half of workers surveyed reported savings and investments of less than $25,000, according to the new Retirement Confidence Survey from the Employee Benefit Research Institute.

And, I’ll bet a lot of them say — not to worry – I still have time.  Or, I’ll just work longer.

But then the unexpected happens.

So, we see a big gap between expectation and reality about the age at which we’ll retire. 

 9% of workers say they plan to retire before age 60, yet 31% of retirees report they retired that early.  In 2010, EBRI found that 41% left the work force earlier than planned.  Why? health problems or disability(54%), changes at their company (26%) such as downsizing or closure, or taking care of a spouse or other family member (19%).  Just 5% cited a positive reason for leaving early.

What are workers worried about in retirement:

  * 51% are worried about medical expenses,

  * 61% are worried about long-term care expenses and

  * 35% are not confident they are doing a good job of preparing for retirement.

If you are confident and prepared -give yourself a pat on the back and keep at it. It hasn’t been easy, especially this past 18 months.

If you aren’t prepared, remember that you don’t always get to pick the time when you stop working. sometime it picks you.  While you are still working is the right time to create a long-term care plan and decide if long-term care insurance is the right way to help shoulder some of your potential long-term care costs.  Take the time now to understand how Medicare works and what it covers and does not cover, and what it costs or what your retiree health benefits will cost. 

It’s important information in figuring out your expenses in retirement.  Less than half of workers say they have tried to calculate how much money they will need in retirement. 

So if you’re feeling better about the prospects of retirement, take the next step and start planning today for your income, medical and long-term care needs in retirement.

One of the things we accumulate as we age is a health history. 

It’s probably still in bulky paper files in our doctor’s office. And  in our own files at home. Not easy to access or navigate. 

Each of our family members and extended family members probably has the same.  And our ability to share health history is limited.  Often what we “know”  about Aunt Betty’s or Grampa’s health may not be especially accurate.  Yet, that family health history may hold some very important information for our health care practitioner.

Have you ever found yourself at a loss when your doctor asks about health conditions of family members – such as sibling who you don’t see often? Or stuggled to find an aging relative’s health data for a new doctor or be able to share it with family members who may help with care. 

And, when considering some types of insurance, such as health insurance and  long-term care insurance, knowing health history of family members can make for a more informed choice about risk and how much insurance coverage to purchase. 

Now it’s easy to create a family health history online with a tool from the U.S. Surgeon General.  You can gather data from your immediate as well as extended family. 

The Surgeon General’s “My Family Health Portrait” is an internet-based tool.  The tool is easy to access on the web and simple to fill out. It assembles your information and makes a “pedigree” family tree that you can download. It is private–it does not keep your information. It gives you a health history that you can share with family members or send to your health care practitioner.

It should only take about 15 to 20 minutes to build a basic family health history. Individuals with larger families will spend more time entering in their information. Then you have the option of sharing it with other family members, if you wish. They may help provide information you didn’t know. And relatives can start with your information and create their own history. You will also probably want to provide your health history to your health care practitioner. You and your health care practitioner should review it together before making it part of your medical record.

The technology used is Microsoft’s Health Vault.  The tool does not keep a government record of the information.  You should carefully review the privacy statement before you use the tool.

While the coming of electronic health records will improve our ability to access health records, this kind of tool helps us pull together a family health portrait that can be of use today and to future generations. I know in my family a lot of health information that gets passed down is sketchy at best; inaccurate at worst.  And as I accompany aging family members to their doctor’s appointments, it’s comforting to know that I have information in one, easy to access place.

Your family history includes health information about you and your close relatives. Family history is an important risk factor for problems like heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer. A risk factor is anything that increases your chance of getting a disease. The reason a family history can help predict risk is that families share their genes, as well as other factors that affect health, like environment, lifestyles and habits.

Having a family member with a disease raises your risk, but it does not mean that you will definitely get it. Realizing that you are at risk gives you a chance to reduce that risk by following a healthier lifestyle and getting tested as needed.

So rather than carry my file of papers with notes written in the margins the next time my doctor refers me to a specialist, I’m looking forward to bringing in a print out that captures not only my health history, but my family’s health history, too.  I just need to figure out how to nudge some of the less tech savvy family members into sharing their health information, too.

Resources:

My Family Health Portrait  – we based tool to gather family health history

Compiling Your Medical Health History – Mayo Clinic article

Longevity Alliance Retirement Risk

 The closer you get to retirement, the more you see how big a bite healthcare cost can take out of your retirement savings.  So how do you plan and what are the biggest risks in figuring out your healthcare costs from age 65?

 A new research report from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College tackled these questions and came up with some recommendations. 

First, let’s take a look at what you can know and plan for in retiree health care:  Medicare Part B, Medicare supplement and Medicare Part D, Medicare Advantage or retiree health insurance premiums; co-payments for what insurance does not cover; and services that are not covered such as dental, eye glasses, hearing aids.

So where is the risk?  Co-payments for Medicare-covered services and payments for non-covered services, including long-term care costs.   Long-term care costs are the BIG potential risk.

So here are the facts on long-term care.

* It’s generally not covered by Medicare ( a maximum of 100 days)

* About one-third of people turning 65 in 2010 will need at least 3 months in a nursing home

* 24% of those people will need more than a year of long-term care

* 9%  will need more than five years of long-term care 

 Of course what you can’t know is which one will you be.  And there’s the risk. 

The research took data and applied various chronic diseases to the impact of health care spending after age 65.  Here’s what they found: 

At age 65, a typical married couple free of chronic diseases can expect to spend $197,000 on remaining lifetime health care costs.  There’s a 5% chance that number could exceed $311,000.  Those costs do not include long-term care.

Include long-term care costs in the calculations, the typical costs increases to $260,000 with a 5% chance that the costs will be more than $570,000.  Most of us don’t have that kind of money set aside for health care costs in retirement. 

So what do you do?   Here are three questions the report recommends you ask yourself as you ready for retirement: 

1. What risk are you prepared to accept of having your assets substantially depleted by health care costs? 

2  Given your current health and family history, are you above or below the average risk of incurring exceptionally high healthcare costs? 

3. Should you insurance against health care costs by purchasing long-term care insurance? 

If you take the step to look at long-term care insurance, Longevity Alliance recommends that you consider whether you want insurance to cover potentially all your long-term care costs or whether you are willing to share –paying some of the costs yourself and having an insurance policy that will pay a portion.  That strategy can lead to more affordable long-term care insurance rates.

Resources:

What is the distribution of lifetime health care costs from age 65? Center for REtriement Research at Boston College

Longevity Alliance – Insurance products and solutions to make a longer life better

Long-term Care Quote — online quotes for long-term care insurance

 After two weeks of watching the Olympics, are you ready to pick up the pace of your exercise program?  Or start a program to improve your overall health?

There is new evidence that you don’t need to train at an Olympian’s pace – just by adding walking to your daily routine or light weight lifting, you can increase longevity and improve your body and mind. 

A recent New York Times article highlights some of the recent research that starting an exercise routine at any age can help fight cancer, osteoporosis, heart disease, diabetes and dementia. It’s worth a read if you’ve been putting off physical activity because of your age.  “Physical inactivity is one of the strongest predictors of unsuccessful aging for older adults and is perhaps the root cause of many unnecessary and premature admission to long-term care,” according to two geriatricians in a recent article in the Archives of Internal medicine. 

One of the new studies points to positive impact on preventing or delaying loss of cognitive functions.  Here’s an interesting program on the aging brain – what it does best and not so well – from NPR. 

And, there are financial rewards for being healthier, as well.  You may also benefit from lower health care expenses and less need to hire people to assist you in doing everyday activities. 

If you don’t know where to get started, try your local senior center.  They frequently have low impact exercise programs that can be a great place to start.  And always, check with your doctor before you start a new exercise regimen, especially if you have been inactive.

So if you missed your “get excercising” New Year’s Resolution, it’s not too late to get started. Or you got off course becuase of the winter snow and cold, get started now.  The health benefits, no matter what your age, of just a bit of routine physical activity should be enough to get you moving.