Senior Quarterly – January

Transcription

Senior
Wednesday, January 6, 2016 • Ohio Valley Publishing
Quarterly
A publication of: Gallipolis Daily Tribune • The Daily Sentinel • Point Pleasant Register
Meigs County Council on Aging buys new van
By Lindsay Kriz
[email protected]
POMEROY, Ohio — A
new van has joined the
fleet of those available at
the Meigs County Council on Aging for residents
60 and older.
The van, a 2014
Toyota Sienna, will
serve as a transport for
anyone who needs a ride
to the doctor’s office,
a hair appointment, or
any type of appointment
in the Ohio Valley area,
sometimes outside Meigs
County.
Beth Shaver, the executive director, said that
while the van was purchased with the council’s
own money about two
weeks ago, it is not in use
just yet, as it has to be
compliant with the Americans with Disabilities
Act, originally enacted by
Congress in 1990.
“Reliable transportation is extremely important because that (carries) precious cargo,” she
said. “The staff here have
done wonderful job maintaining them.”
Until now, the newest
vehicle to the fleet was a
2005 Ford Econovan purchased in 2004, with the
oldest in the fleet a 1999
Dodge Caravan. While
the newest vehicle is still
welcome, Shaver said
that the other vehicles
in the fleet are still reliable. Some features that
must be installed in the
wheelchair-accessible
van include a fire extinguisher and a biohazard
kit, among others. The
vans are all driven by
designated drivers with
special training.
Dan Dunham, who
does marketing for the
council, has designed a
new logo that will go on
all of the vans to revamp
the council’s image.
“We’re trying to start
to appeal to the baby
boomer generation,
which is a different
group,” Shaver said.
Shaver said she wants
the public to realize that
the goal of the council is
to keep people in their
own homes as long as
possible, as opposed to
immediately going to an
assisted living facility if
they’re initially not able
to do certain tasks like
they once were able.
“It’s very hard for most
people to make that first
phone call here saying, ‘I
need your help,’ if you’ve
been independent all
you life and never had
to have help cleaning or
See Van | 4
Lindsay Kriz | Daily Sentinel
The new van for the Meigs County Council on Aging is a 2014 Toyota Sienna that is wheelchairaccessible. Before the van can be used, it must be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The oldest van in the fleet is a 1999 Dodge Caravan. All vehicles are well-maintained, according to
Meigs County Council on Aging Executive Director Beth Shaver.
Gallipolis man donates
his 22nd gallon of blood
Dean Wright | Daily Tribune
Guy Guinther, of Gallipolis, provides his O positive red blood cells
to the American Red Cross.
By Dean Wright
[email protected]
Beth Sergent/Register
Some of the winners of this year’s Christmas Door Decorating Contest at the Twin Towers as created by Vada Nutter, pictured far
left, are Mikki Young, second place, Beulah Clark, first place, Lynn Hall, third place, Mark Griffith, runner up. Nutter also created
and donated decorations for the lobby, also pictured here.
Doors draw neighbors together
Beth Sergent
[email protected]
POINT PLEASANT, W.Va. —
Doors lead people to many places and for some residents at the
Twin Towers, this year doors led
to Christmas cheer.
The Twin Towers is a community comprised of mostly retired
people. There are 107 apartments in the complex on Second
Street, and this year around 30
doors leading to apartments
were elaborately decorated for
the holiday season by Vada Nutter, who lives on the sixth floor.
GALLIPOLIS — A
Gallipolis man donated
his 22nd gallon of blood
to the American Red
Cross for use in medical
emergencies and study
at St. Peters Episcopal
Church.
Guy Guinther, 82, has
been donating blood since
his mid-teens according
to his estimate. He is a
retired Kroger Co. district
meat supervisor.
“I guess the first time
I donated was when I
was 15 or 16 years old,”
Guinther said. “I lived up
at Syracuse at that time.
There was this fella and
his dad was in the hospital and his dad used a
lot of blood. He used to
come by the gas station
to get volunteers. So we
kids would go up there
to give blood. It was the
first time I gave blood.”
Guinther’s blood type
is O positive, the most
common blood type and
therefore one of the most
needed by hospitals and
emergency healthcare
providers. According to
him, he has been placed
on call lists for contact
when healthcare providers were in need of an
individual to donate on
short notice.
According to Guinther,
the American Red Cross
occasionally tells Guinther where his blood has
been taken and used.
“I appreciate them telling me,” he said. “Sometimes it’s used for people
or other times labs.
See donate | 2
Decorating brings holiday
cheer to Twin Towers
retirement community
Nutter said she started decorating the doors four years ago
when she first moved into the
complex and began with just
a few. However, each year her
decorating list has grown. No
two doors are done the same
and each door has a specially
designed, one-of-a-kind wreath
by “Vada’s Creation by Design”
which often times reflects the
personality of the resident.
Nutter doesn’t charge any
money to create the doors and
wreaths and also donates her
time putting up the displays,
along with help from who she
Beulah Clark, sitting, won first prize in the Christmas Door Decorating Contest at
the Twin Towers. The one-of-a-kind doors are created by Vada Nutter, pictured behind
Clark, who donates the material and time to decorate the doors. Also pictured, Lynn
Hall who assists in the decorating and won third place in the contest, as well as
Charlie Fielder who also had his door decorated.
calls “special elves” Lynn Hall,
Mikki Young, Patsy Shinn and
Susie Harmon. Residents are
given bags to place their decorations in to store for the year,
saving them for the next Christmas when the “elves” go to work
again at the Twin Towers.
“She makes a lot of residents
very happy,” Beulah Clark who
lives at the towers said. “I really
appreciate her kindness.”
Clark, who is originally from
Mason County but moved away
for a time to live in Columbus
where she was a paralegal,
had the door that won this
year’s first place prize. Her
door is decorated in garland,
gold fabric, with gold beads,
See Doors | 7
60630994
SENIOR QUARTERLY
2 Wednesday, January 6. 2016
Ohio Valley Publishing
‘Wreaths Across America’ honors veterans
Mindy Kearns
For Ohio Valley Publishing
POINT PLEASANT,
W.Va. — More than 80
wreaths were placed on
the graves of veterans
in three Point Pleasant
cemeteries in December
as National Wreaths
Across America Day was
observed.
According to Diana
Johnson, volunteer location coordinator, a ceremony was at the Medal
of Honor Park along Jackson Avenue. Immediately
following the service,
volunteers placed wreaths
at Lone Oak and Suncrest
cemeteries. In addition,
six wreaths were also
placed on the graves of
Revolutionary War veterans in Pioneer Cemetery.
Johnson said she
became interested in the
Wreaths Across America
project and, as a member
of the Col. Charles Lewis
Chapter NSDAR, got that
organization involved.
This was the fourth year
the local group had participated.
A total of 86 wreaths
were sponsored this year
for Point Pleasant, at a
cost of $15 each. Johnson
said more sponsorships
are always welcome and
are needed.
Graves for the wreaths
were placed upon were
chosen in a unique way.
Johnson said she walked
through Lone Oak
Cemetery and found 47
veteran headstones. She
marked the graves with
a small American flag so
volunteers, which include
members of a local Girl
Scout troop, would
know where to place the
wreaths. Johnson said as
far as she knows, all veterans at Lone Oak were
recognized.
She next walked
through Suncrest Cemetery, where she found
the graves of dozens of
veterans.
“I can’t believe the number of veterans buried in
Suncrest Cemetery,” she
said at the time.
Johnson said because
there weren’t enough
wreaths sponsored for
every veteran’s grave at
Suncrest, she began at the
front of the cemetery and
marked graves until she
ran out of wreaths.
While Johnson said
there has been more interest shown locally this
year, she can always use
more volunteers to lay the
wreaths. In the past, Boy
Scout troops and high
school cheerleaders, as
well as individuals, have
assisted.
Wreaths Across America was formed in 2007
as an extension of The
Arlington Wreath Project,
which began in 1992
when a Maine wreath
company owner donated
wreaths to decorate
the graves at Arlington
National Cemetery. In
2008, the U.S. Congress
voted unanimously to
designate Dec. 13 of each
year as “Wreaths Across
America Day.” The
wreath laying is now held
on the second or third
Saturday of December.
According to the
Wreaths Across America
website, in 2014 more
than 700,000 memorial
wreaths were laid at 1,000
locations in the U.S., as
well as overseas. Ceremonies were held at the Pearl
Harbor Memorial, Bunker
Hill, Valley Forge, and the
sites of the September
11 tragedies, among others. The goal of covering
Arlington National Cemetery was also accomplished last year with the
placement of 226,525
wreaths.
Mindy Kearns is a freelance writer
for Ohio Valley Publishing who lives
in Mason County.
Vinton County veterinarian wins conservation award
By Dean Wright
[email protected]
MCARTHUR, Ohio
— A Vinton County veterinarian recently won
an award from the Ohio
Department of Natural
Resources on Sept. 24 for
conservation excellence
in her continued support
of sustainable agricultural and environmental
efforts.
Dr. Patricia Speck, 76,
of McArthur, lives on
a 65 acre farm that she
maintains through what
many may consider to
be old-fashioned living.
Speck considers herself
a bit of a “pioneer” and
makes every attempt to
live off her land. According to her, she butchers
and eats her own meat
with aid from friends
while also attempting to
grow her own produce.
She does admit, however,
that she is better with
animals than plants.
Siverly Creek flows
through her property and
if one wishes to approach
the “backdoor” of her
land, it is not uncommon
to need to drive through
a few inches of water
over the creek. Speck has
taken to putting stones
through the creek to provide a navigable path for
visitors while attempting
to prevent disruption to
the natural flow of the
water as little as possible.
Speck was one of five
winners for the 2015
Conservation Farm
Family Awards at the
Farm Science Review in
London.
Speck has a little over
a dozen sheep, a horse,
a burro, two dogs, two
cattle, several chickens as
well as geese and ducks
and other animals roaming about her property.
She has made use of all
Dean Wright | Civitas Media
Dr. Patricia Speck overlooks a herd of sheep that she raises. According to her, she eats mostly from own livestock when making meat choices. She eats the eggs of freeranging poultry and drinks the milk from her own cattle.
of these animals in some
fashion at some point in
time. She says she may
consume two of her birds
per year while making
use of their eggs. She
said she would have no
problem eating lamb
everyday, but sometimes
changes it up for homegrown beef, turkey or
chicken. She also milks
and drinks said milk from
her own animals.
Speck originally was
from the Canton area
before her family moved
to California. For her
bachelor degree, she
attended Heidelberg University in Tiffin, Ohio,
attaining education in
biological sciences and
math. After, she attended
the University of California, Davis where she
attained her doctorate in
veterinary studies.
Speck said she used
to teach at a summer
program for sixth graders
and that was when she
To see a video of Dr. Speck receiving her conservation award and her
comments to those at the ceremony, go to www.rurallifetoday and
click on this article, then scroll down and click on the video.
Gallia County
Council on Aging
The Services listed below are available to our seniors.
Please contact us if we can be of assistance.
HOME CARE SERVICES - Personal Care, Nutrition, Homemaking, Errands,
Medical Appointment Escort. Contact: Catherine Gill
HOME DELIVERED MEALS - Serving All Townships of Gallia County. Frozen
Meals for Weekends, Hot Meals Mon-Fri. Contact: Tina Crews 740-446-7000
SENIOR CENTER MEALS - 12:00 pm Mon-Fri. Contact: Tina Crews 740-446-7000
ADULT DAY SERVICES HOURS: 9:30 am - 2:30 pm Monday-Friday
Clean Safe Environments • Activities Contact: Haley Waugh 740-446-7000
TRANSPORTATION SERVICES: Shopping, Senior Center Lunch Program,
Senior Center Activities Available Mon-Fri. 8:00 am - 4:00 pm. Contact: Sandra
Ross 740-446-7000
60629020
truly realized her love of
conservation and the natural world. From there,
she decided to become a
veterinarian. She bought
her property in Vinton
County in 1993 and has
lived there ever since.
Speck has worked with
the Vinton County Soil
and Water Conservation District for nearly
a decade and a half. She
has written articles and
worked with 4-H groups
in hopes of educating
youth in the relationships between animals
and soil health and the
importance of maintaining natural fertilizers to
aid in plant growth. She
has done a variety of soil
tests and enacted procedures with mixing natural manure in her fields
while also managing the
grazing of her animals to
keep fields “healthy” for
future use.
One of Speck’s deeply
held beliefs is that
Donate
From page 1
You just wonder maybe
how many people’s lives
you’ve saved. You never
know. I don’t know if
I’d really want to know
but it would be nice
to know that I helped
somebody. If you sit and
think about it, which
I’ve been doing a lot
recently, I might give a
pint of blood that saved
somebody’s life. Christ
Dr. Speck opens a gate into a region of her 65 acre property she
lets wild plants reclaim. The property is a mixture of meadow,
forest and transitional phases between the two that provides an
array of habitat for animals to claim.
agriculture is truly a
business built around
providing healthy food
and renewable resources
for families in the future.
She believes small farms
and communities are
the leaders and future
of sustainable agriculture and environmental
movements.
gave a lot of blood to
save mine.”
Guinther said he wishes to encourage more
people to give blood. He
said he has never needed
to have blood donated to
him but that he knows
there are always individuals who need blood.
“It might take you 30
or 45 minutes to give
blood,” Guinther said.
“It’s not hard to give
somebody something
that might save them.”
The average human
adult has 10 pints of
blood. Twenty-two gallons of blood equates
to 176 pints of blood.
That equates to roughly
17.6 full human bodies.
Medical professionals
say that individuals must
wait eight weeks before
donating blood again.
Some ask for 16 weeks if
the individual donating
has done a double red
blood cell donation.
For more details on
how to donate blood,
visit www.redcross.org.
Dean Wright can be reached at
(740) 446-2342, Ext. 2103.
(740) 446-2342, Ext. 2103.
SENIOR QUARTERLY
Wednesday, January 6, 2016 3
AAA8 Staff wearing purple for Elder Abuse Awareness.
Support elder abuse awareness
By Lorna Hart
[email protected]
OHIO VALLEY — The
Area Agency on Aging
8 and other community
organizations are working to raise awareness of
an emerging problem —
elder abuse.
Recognizing the significance of elder abuse as a
public health and human
rights issue promotes
a better understanding
of the many cultural,
social, economic and
demographic processes
affecting elder abuse and
neglect.
“No community is
immune from the issue
of abuse and neglect of
the elderly,” Buckeye
Hills AAA8 Director
Debra Huff said. “Ohio’s
Area Agencies on Aging
remain concerned that
for every case that gets
reported, five others go
unreported.”
Huff added that to
ensure safety for Ohio
seniors, their protection
must be a top priority.
Implementing changes to
the state adult protective
services law recommended by the ODJFS APS
Funding Work group
and providing sufficient
resources to ensure that
robust and responsive
adult protective services
are available in every
county for seniors in
need is among the ways
to ensure senior safety.
Elder abuse, neglect
and financial exploitation of the elderly are
growing problems. For
the first time in history,
people age 65 and older
now outnumber children
under age five. Each
day, more than 10,000
Americans turn 65. This
trend will continue for
the next 20 years. At
the same time that the
population is growing,
we know a large number
of older adults face abusive conditions.
Every year an estimated 5 million, or one in
10, older Americans are
victims of elder abuse,
neglect, or exploitation. In Ohio, more than
15,000 incidents are
reported statewide each
year. Policy Matters of
Ohio estimates the actual number of incidents
is between 75,000 and
214,000 each year.
Anyone can be a victim of elder abuse. It is
important to know the
signs and how to report
suspected cases.
Bruises, pressure
marks, broken bones,
abrasions, and burns
may be an indication of
physical abuse, neglect,
or mistreatment.
Unexplained withdrawal
See abuse | 8
Pictured at the ribbon cutting ceremony for the grand opening of Fruth Express Pharmacy in Pomeroy: Amber Findley, chief nursing officer; Juanita Curnette, FNP-BC; Keith Howell, director of operations for
Home Med Equiptment;Lynne Fruth, president of Fruth Pharmacy; Vinda Burnem, LPN; Tom Hawley, manager; Glen Washington, CEO of Pleasant Valley Hospital; Melinda Hall, physician practice coordinator;
John Galan, director of operations; Frances Babs Fruth, co- founder, Fruth Pharmacy; Tina Rees, chamber board member; Tim Weber, vice president of pharmacy; Tracy Call, director of marketing for PVH; Mike
Lieving, PVH board member; Tom Sutton, chamber board member,; Whitney Thore, chamber director; Sarah Rouch, marketing coordinator and chamber board mMember.
Fruth Express Care opens in Pomeroy
lhart@ civitasmedia.com
POMEROY, Ohio —
Pleasant Valley Hospital
Express Care at Fruth
Pharmacy in Pomeroy
has officially opened.
Members of Pleasant
Valley Hospital, Fruth
Pharmacy and Meigs
Chamber of Commerce
looked on as Glen
Washington, CEO of
PVH in Point Pleasant,
W.Va., and Fruth
Pharmacy co-founder
Frances Babs Fruth cut
the ribbon during a
special December 2015
grand opening event.
Representatives from
both PVC and Fruth outlined the positive aspects
of the new alliance,
citing the advantages
of having walk-in health
care services inside a
pharmacy.
Patients can receive
high-quality, timely and
affordable health care
seven days a week at
walk-in Express Care
clinics; no appointments
are necessary and all
insurances are accepted.
Preventative care services like sports physical exams and on-site
lab capabilities are also
available.
According to
Washington, the goal of
Express Care is to provide medical and pharmacy services in one
setting, giving patients
with minor illnesses a
quick, less expensive
and convenient access
to health care, and Fruth
seemed a perfect match.
“Fruth is a venerable
institution in the community,” he said. “Jack
Fruth was a founding
member of PHV and
served on the board for
many years, so it made
a lot of sense to partner with them for an
extended care facility. It
is a continuation of the
partnership between the
hospital and the Fruth
family.”
Lynn Fruth, president
and chief executive officer of Fruth Pharmacy,
echoed his sentiments,
saying Fruth was excited
to partner with PVH.
Chain Reaction!
When you put money in our
bank, you started a chain
reaction. We made an auto
loan. A local dealer sold a
car. A salesman received a
commission. His family
bought groceries. The clerk at the supermarket got
a paycheck. YOU made that happen!
Thanks for putting Community First!
OHIO VALLEY BANK
EQUAL HOUSING
See Pomeroy | 8
ID# 519902
A Better Way To Bank!
®
Member
FDIC
60629019
By Lorna Hart
SENIOR QUARTERLY
Rat terrier returns to elderly owner
By Dean Wright
[email protected]
GALLIPOLIS — An
elderly Gallipolis woman
had her rat terrier dog
returned to her Wednesday after believing all her
animals were stolen from
her home.
“I had a call from adult
protective services that
they had removed an
owner from (her) home,”
Laurie Cardillo, Gallia
Couty dog warden, said.
“They sent me down there
to get a mama dog and
three pups inside. I get
down there, a deputy and
I go, and Jasper was sitting on the front porch.”
Jasper, Nancy Seacrest’s
rat terrier, was the animal
that Cardillo discovered
on the porch. Cardillo
said she had to use a
catch pole to capture Jasper and carry him to the
truck as he was stressed
and not willing to be
handled. She put him in
the truck and then said
the dog escaped from her
in the process of trying to
kennel him.
“A week later, these
people over on Kemper
(Hollow Road) said they
caught a rat terrier in a
live trap and asked if I
could come and get him,”
Cardillo said. “I thought
that had to be Jasper, so I
went around and got him.”
Cardillo said she agreed
to hold Jasper until
Seacrest found a new
apartment.
See terrier | 8
Van
From page 1
getting meals fixed. If
you see physical capabilities declining, they call
here for help,” Shaver
said. “We’re just here to
help. Using our services
doesn’t mean you’re
incapacitated in any way.
We’re just here to help.”
Another main activity
of the vans is to deliver
Meals on Wheels, which
is special meals prepared
five days a week for those
60 and older who are
essentially home bound.
There are also meals that
are served in the cafeteria on site, including a
hot bar, a salad bar and a
separate senior hot meal,
which must be eaten on
site as per the rules of
the funding that allows
for the meals. Shaver
explained that this rule is
instilled so that anyone
who takes food home
doesn’t accidentally eat it
days later if it’s spoiled,
potentially chokes, or any
other hazards that may
occur from eating alone.
“It’s not a punishment, it’s a protection,”
Dean Wright | Sunday Times-Sentinel
Pictured is Jasper. Rat terriers are an American dog breed known for being a general farm animal and hunting dog. They are known for sharing a common ancestry with
feists. As their name suggests, they were often used for pest control while serving as family pets.
Shaver said.
According to John
Mattson, associate director, for anyone who
comes to eat meals on
campus, seniors 60 and
older are suggested to
give a donation of $3,
with costs for others at
$6 for the senior hot meal
and $5 for the salad or
hot bar. All money raised
goes to supplementing
the senior nutritional
programs. The council
has raises money with
baking and catering.
But while the vans
are for residents 60 and
older, Dunham wants
people to know there are
other services available
to the community, including a gym on site that is
$10 a month for seniors
60 and over and $20 a
month for anyone ages
18-59. Other services
include homemaker services, wherein someone
can come out and clean
for someone unable to,
laundry services and even
services regarding insurance and medicare.
In the long run, Shaver
and Mattson said that
one of the advantages of
providing these services
for seniors is the lower
cost to families.
“A person gets Meals
on Wheels five days a
week, has a homemaker
once a week for a couple
hours, and trips to the
doctor and pharmacy
(with the vans) is about
$5,000 a week, which is
paid from local levy dollars and programs,” Shaver said. “If you compare
that to keeping a person
in a nursing home for a
month, nursing home
care, we’re saying $5,000
for a year, with some
nursing homes, at the
very cheapest, are about
$5,000 for a month.”
“Every single one of
them is saving about
$50,000, $60,000 a year,”
Mattson said.
Shaver again emphasized how grateful the
council is to have a new
vehicle to help the community.
“We’re really happy
to have it, and we really
hope all passengers will
be happy to ride it,” she
said.
For any questions,
reach the council at
740-992-2161.
Reach Lindsay Kriz at
740-992-2155 EXT. 2555.
EVERY TUESDAY, SENIOR CITIZENS
55 YEARS AND OLDER
SAVE AN ADDITIONAL 5%
60629012
60381747
ON THAT DAY’S PURCHASES
(EVEN ON SALE ITEMS!!!)
4 reasons retirees
don’t need a nest egg
Conventional wisdom has its flaws for Middle America,
advisory firm president says
We are quickly coming
to a reckoning in this
country regarding the
well-being of retirees,
says Jeff Bucher, a
financial advisor who
helps working-class
Americans plan their
golden years.
“I suppose it’s
cliché for the head
of a financial firm to
say that he cares for
his community, but
we really do put our
money where our
mouth is,” says Bucher,
who, through his firm,
Citizen Advisory Group,
(www.citizenadvisory.
com), has contributed
to the local Boys &
Girls Club, the MakeA-Wish Foundation
and to development of
an Olympic training
center for wrestling at
Ohio State University,
his alma mater, where
he earned a wrestling
scholarship.
“My clients represent
the bulk of America:
honest, hard-working
and typically blue
collar or middle class.
Most of them weren’t
executives at Fortune
500 companies, and
many are stressed out
when they first come
to us because they’ve
been sold this idea of
needing x-amount for a
retirement nest egg.”
In reality, you don’t
need a hulking nest egg
to get by in retirement,
and you may be better
off without one, says
Bucher, who explains
why.
• Lifetime income
vs. nest egg; reconsider
what wealth means to
you. What’s preferable to
you: stockpiling money
throughout the entirety
of your earning years so
that you can have a large
nest egg for retirement,
or investing your money
wisely so that you can
both use it during
your younger years
and receive paychecks
during retirement?
“Two million dollars
in savings is not the
optimal perspective for
true wealth,” Bucher
says. “True wealth is
not serving money;
it’s having your money
serve you. I’m more
interested in offering
folks true wealth
via ethical financial
structures suited to
individual goals.”
• Obsession with a
nest egg prevents you
from doing things.
Consider the mentality
of an obsessive nestegger: Hoard your
hard-earned money your
entire life, decade after
decade, straight through
retirement. Don’t spend
anything on travel, or
a vacation home, or
anything else you may
enjoy, because you have
to protect the egg.
Life is short, and by
the end of it, these folks
haven’t done anything
but work and save
money.
“You don’t have to be a
millionaire to do so many
things for yourself, family
and community with
your money,” he says.
• Consider
supplementing a smaller
savings with a part-time
job — seriously. You
hear the scare tactics —
Grandma doesn’t want
to spend her golden
years greeting shoppers
at Walmart.
“That’s nonsense;
retirees are some of the
most talented people in
our country, working
as a greeter is not
their only option,” he
says. “Most of us have
something we’d like
to do that we couldn’t
during our earning
years. Retirement is the
perfect time to indulge
that passion! People are
better off staying active,
no matter who or how
old they are.”
Supplemental
income through a fun,
part-time job cuts the
income needed from a
retirement nest egg and
adds healthy activity.
Teach swimming at the
local YMCA, work at
a golf course or as an
usher at a sports venue.
Or start a small business
selling the crafts you’ve
developed a skill for
creating.
• Volunteering
actually saves retirees
money. When you’re at
a job, you don’t have
much opportunity to
spend money. You won’t
run up the electric bill
at home, nor go to the
movies, amusement
parks, shopping or use
much money getting
there. While working,
you’re too busy, and the
same is true when folks
volunteer somewhere.
Volunteering at the
hospital or elsewhere
gives retirees purpose,
engages their minds and
bodies, gives them the
happy knowledge that
they’re helping others,
and prevents them from
spending money on
entertainment to keep
from being bored!
SENIOR QUARTERLY
Workshop reduces fear of falling
Staff Report
JACKSON — Holzer Assisted Living-Jackson has partnered with Area
Agency on Aging to provide HAL-J
residents and public an eight session
workshop called “Matter of Balance”
The Matter of Balance workshop
is geared to help reduce the fear of
falling and increase activity in older
adults who have concerns about
falling.
“I feel this workshop is just one
step to educate our residents on ways
to stay safe and eliminate falls. Falls
are currently a hot topic, resulting
in an older Ohioan falling every two
minutes, an injury every five minutes
and at least three deaths each day,”
tated Jeri Long, executive director of
HAL-J. “Falls can be devastating to a
person’s independence and we want to
educate our residents and work hard
to prevent falls. We have had a really
good turnout. I hope to offer future
workshops at HAL-J to the residents
and community. We are planning to
host a Matter of Balance workshop for
Caregivers in the new year.”
Area Agency on Aging Community
Services Specialist Carla Cox is the
presenter of the program. The workshop includes a workbook, films, lecture and exercise.
“The residents have been really
engaged. I feel like they are gaining a
lot of useful information,” Long said.
Area Agency on Aging has several
other workshops available, which
include Be A Healthier You, and Powerful Tools for Caregivers. For more
information on these workshops, call
1-800-582-7277.
Holzer Assisted Living-Jackson
offers apartments complete with private baths and kitchenettes, an emergency call system, nursing care, incontinence care, personal care, therapy
services, hospices services, limited
skilled care, and much more. Unlike
many other Assisted Living Communities, Holzer Assisted Living employs
licensed nursing staff 24 hours per day
to provide health care and personal
assistance with bathing, dressing and
medication administration as needed.
A medical director and physician
are on staff to coordinate medical services and see residents as needed.
For more information on services
offered at Holzer Assisted LivingCourtesy photo
Jackson, call (740) 286-8785.
Participants take part in a recent Matter of Balance workshop at Holzer Assisted Living-Jackson.
AG warns of ‘grandparent scam’
Staff Report
CHARLESTON, W.Va.
— Attorney General
Patrick Morrisey urged
West Virginia seniors
to be on alert as the
so-called “Grandparent
Scam,” where someone
pretending to be a person’s grandchild calls and
begs for emergency cash,
has begun reoccurring
around the state.
“This scam originally
popped up in 2013 and is
making its way back into
the region this summer,”
Morrisey said. “Scammers take advantage of
the fact many people go
on vacation during the
summer and that teenagers and young adults
may be away from home
for long periods of time
for summer jobs. They
then prey on older family
members and try to bilk
them for money.”
The scam typically
begins with a frantic
phone call from someone
posing as a grandchild
who says he or she is in
trouble. In some cases,
the caller hands the
phone to someone else
who says he is an attorney or health care professional trying to help the
“family member,” but
needs to have money
transferred over immediately to cover legal, medical or other costs. Sometimes the scammers call
twice in a short time—
first as the grandchild in
distress and then either
as a law enforcement officer, medical provider or
family friend. Sometimes
the second caller says the
amount quoted earlier
was too low and asks for
more money.
“These scams prey
on the love elderly
West Virginians have
for their family, and
our willingness to do
anything we can to help
a loved one in distress,”
Morrisey said. “But
people need to remember
that wiring money is the
same as sending cash,
and consumers have
very little protections
if they wire money to
an individual. Typically
you cannot reverse the
transaction once it is
made, nor can you trace
the money or recover it
from a con artist.”
To avoid being
scammed, Morrisey recommended that consumers take the following
precautions:
Stay calm and don’t act
out of a sense of urgency.
Get contact information
from the caller, including
a name and a way to call
him or her back.
Call the typical number
for the loved one who is
supposedly in trouble to
see if he or she answers;
call other family members to find out where he
or she is.
Never give bank routing numbers or credit
card numbers to someone calling you over the
phone or reaching out to
you via email.
Be skeptical of anyone
who calls and asks you
to either wire transfer
money or use a pre-paid
debit card, regardless of
whether it is for a supposed overdue bill or
family emergency.
Do not wire money
unless you have verified
with a third party that
the child really is in trouble. Call the hospital or
jail using a number you
located yourself to verify
your loved one’s status.
“The Internet is an
amazing resource, but it
also provides would-be
scammers with a wealth
of information about
people, including phone
numbers, family members
and relationships,” Morrisey said. “Never post
on any social media site
when you or your loved
ones will be on vacation,
and always be suspicious
if a grandchild calls from
a far location and doesn’t
identify themselves by
name or uses the wrong
name for you, such as
grandma instead of ‘granny’ or ‘mammaw.’”
Morrisey said scammers sometimes randomly dial people until they
reach a senior citizen and
then let the senior “fill in
the blanks” by voluntarily
saying the grandchild’s
name.
“It is unfortunate that
we live in a time when
scammers will stop at
nothing to try to take
advantage of others, but
we all can protect ourselves by being savvy to
the tricks they use,” Morrisey said.
If you believe you have
been scammed in this
way, call the West Virginia Attorney General’s
Office Consumer Protection Division at 800-3688808 and file a report.
You also should contact
the money transfer company immediately to
report the fraud and file a
complaint. You can reach
the complaint department of MoneyGram at
1-800-MONEYGRAM
(1-800-666-3947) or
Western Union at
1-800-448-1492.
Consumers also should
file a complaint with
their local police department and report the scam
to the Federal Trade
Commission at www.ftc.
gov or by calling toll-free
1-877-FTC-HELP.
How to do what you really want for a living
they’d like to have during retirement. Lopez,
founder of ILG Financial,
LLC (www.theilg.com),
discusses an alternative
approach to the golden,
or distribution years.
• Remember, Social
Security is a welfare program. Before President
Roosevelt signed the
Social Security Act in
1935, seniors worked.
America was an agrarian
culture, and many who
were in their 60s and
70s usually continued
duties on the family farm,
albeit handling lighter
tasks. Social Security
is essentially a Socialist
idea. A response to the
Great Depression, its
purpose was to move out
older workers in favor
of employing younger
Americans, but times
have changed.
• You don’t have to
remain stuck in your
“earning” job. “The U.S.
government is the biggest
employer in the world,
and I work with many of
its employees,” he says.
“They usually have highstress jobs and usually
want to retire as early as
possible and, while leaning on their pension, start
working on their own
terms as government contractors.”
• Consider retiring
early and working the job
you’ve always wanted.
The model frequently followed by retired government workers can be replicated by millions of other
retirees. You don’t need
a $1.5 million nest egg
when you combine Social
Security with a smaller
withdrawal amount and a
fun job earning $20,000
a year. Retirees can be
creative in how they earn
this “fun money.”
“Let’s say your passion
is water skiing — why
not parlay this hobby into
a career?” Lopez says.
“You’ll likely have decades
of experience and plenty
of contacts. You might
work for a ski shop or
create a small business
giving lessons. Doing
something you love is a
great way to stay active as
an older person.”
• No pension? — Create your own. The days
of working 30 years for
a single company and
collecting a sizeable pension are mostly over. This
means retirees need to
get creative and rely on
other sources of income,
including IRAs and
strategies for annuities —
effectively creating their
own “pension.” Annuities
are contracts with insurance companies. The
contracts, which can be
funded with either a lump
sum or through regular
payments, are designed
as financial vehicles for
retirement purposes.
The money used to fund
the contract grows taxdeferred. Unlike other tax
advantaged retirement
programs, there are no
contribution limits on
annuities.
“Annuities provide
plenty of opportunity,” he
says. “Of course, creative
options also yield the risk
of complexity. You’ll want
to be sure to know what
you’re doing, or at least
consult with an accredited
professional.”
• Consider lifestyle
changes. Through the
distribution years, you
should consider moving
to a place where the cost
of living is cheaper than
major metropolitan areas.
Simply put, you’ll want
your money to go further.
Take a play from younger
folks who are cutting
their cable in favor of only
Wi-Fi access. Learn how
to cook delicious meals on
a budget. For many, learning how to make one’s
money work better for
them, rather than working
for their money, is a preferable lifestyle.
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What does it take to
be comfortable during
retirement?
Conventional wisdom
calls it the 4 percent rule
— withdrawing about that
amount from your nest
egg each year to live comfortably. And, for that, millions of Americans believe
they need to stick to a job
they don’t like during their
earning years.
“Unfortunately, the kind
of money retirees want
to spend each year for a
comfortable lifestyle tends
to be about $60,000,
which means someone’s
nest egg would have to be
$1.5 million for that rate
of withdrawal to sustain
for 25 years,” says financial advisor Dave Lopez,
a mathematics and computer science major who
applies his analytical mind
to solving retirement challenges.
“Of course, there are
additional sources of
income during retirement, such as social security, but the program may
not survive the coming
decades. And, there are
additional costs of retirement, including legacy
interests and the likelihood of needing longterm medical care.”
The fact is that millions of retirees simply
do not have or will not
have the kind of income
SENIOR QUARTERLY
Six fun jobs retirees may overlook
Ginny Grimsley
OHIO VALLEY —
What do school kids and
retirees have in common
during these dog days of
summer? For many, it’s
having lots of time and
not knowing what to do
with it.
“But that comparison
begins to breakdown
almost immediately,
because in a few short
weeks, kids go back to
school, but retirees have
an indefinite amount of
time to contend with,”
says financial advisor
Jeff Bucher, president of
Citizen Advisory Group
(www.citizenadvisory.
com), a firm that engages
its community with education and charity efforts.
“Worse still for retirees, many don’t know if
they can afford the time
they have left, which
may not be yielding a
satisfying lifestyle. After
all the technical details I
review with clients and
their finances, such as
protecting and growing
their money, I sometimes
offer a bit of unexpected
advice: consider your
employment options.”
Many people who take
his advice often do so
more for overall happi-
ness than money, he says.
Work gives us structure,
purpose and a social
network. Bucher reviews
many fun options that
retirees often find appealing.
• Golf course: This is
a popular option since
so many retirees love
golf. And, if you are a
morning person, work at
a golf course is perfectly
suited for you. Some
popular jobs available at
a golf course for retirees
include golf shop staff,
ranger, starters and golf
course maintenance.
• Retail: A smiling face
and a pleasant disposition
Putting retirement
plans to the test
Financial planner touts sound architecture of well-designed retirement
OHIO VALLEY —
Although often anxious
about the economic
sturdiness of their retirement plans, many people
remain in the dark about
just how sound – or
unsound – their financial
futures might be.
“Too many people try
to go it alone, without
professional assistance,”
says Travis Chance, a certified financial planner.
“Most people have worries about their retirement and whether they
will have enough money,
but a Society of Actuaries
study showed that just
52 percent of pre-retirees
and 44 percent of retirees
consult a planner.”
Chance is a big proponent of testing a
retirement plan to make
sure it’s sound. To do
it right, though, means
being thorough, he says.
Often, testing is based
on just projected income,
but that doesn’t go far
enough because it doesn’t
take into account realworld fluctuations that
affect investment returns
or the amount of money
needed to live.
“You will never have
static returns and static
withdrawals,” Chance
says.
He said one thing he
likes to do is look for
pressure points, gauging
how well a retirement
plan will stand up to the
scenarios it might face
over time.
• Skilled Nursing
• In Home
Assessments
• Perinatal Care
• Homemaking
Services
• Respite Services
• Daily Living
Services
• Minor Home
Modifications
• Private Duty
• Registered Nurses
“It’s almost like the way
an engineer or an architect will look for pressure
points for an office building or a bridge,” Chance
says. “You want to make
sure that the plan you
choose should have the
ability to withstand the
forces it might encounter.”
Plenty of factors can
knock a dent in retirement plans, such as
health care costs, inflation and long-term care.
And one of the reasons
retirement planning
leaves so many people
fretting is that predicting the future is an iffy
proposition.
Here are three basic
dynamics that impact
everyone’s retirement
planning:
• Available money.
This is the base to start
with. A monthly pension
is one source of income,
though fewer people have
those these days. Social
Security remains a significant portion of retirement funding for many
people, although Social
Security alone won’t
meet too many people’s
needs, Chance says. Savings is the other factor,
and could be the crucial
one. “The more you have
been able to stash away
over the years in an IRA,
a 401k or another retirement account, the better
your financial picture will
look,” Chance says.
• The income you
require. Theoretically,
retirement opens up lots
of possibilities for how
to spend that extra free
• Licensed Practical
Nurses
• Certified Nurse
Aides
• Home Health Aides
• Community CPR
• Educational
Services
• Home Health Care
Training
• Physical Therapy
• Occupational
Therapy
time. But not all retirements are equal. Do you
want to maintain your
current lifestyle? Do you
hope to travel? Likely,
you won’t be content sitting home, relegated to
watching sit-com reruns
because you barely have
enough money to pay
bills and buy groceries.
The question retirees
must face is whether
the combination of a
pension, Social Security
and savings withdrawals
will give them what they
need. That’s where the
help of a financial advisor
comes in handy, Chance
says. For example, he
says, a common mistake
is to make decisions
about Social Security
planning and nest-egg
withdrawals independently of each other.
“That can cause issues,”
Chance says. “But if you
take them into account
together and make decisions accordingly, you
can maximize how much
you have to spend on a
monthly basis.”
• How long will
you live? This is the
retirement-planning wild
card. It’s an unknowable factor, but one that
plays a major role. “One
thing we do know is that
life expectancies have
been growing, and many
people underestimate
how long they will live,”
Chance says. “People
need to expect they could
live 20 years, 30 years
or even longer in retirement, and plan accordingly.”
146 3rd Ave • Gallipolis
740-446-3808
501 Washington Street
South Point
740-377-9095
Visit our website at:
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60629017
Brittany Thomas
has earned many retirees
positions as greeters at
places like Wal-Mart, but
there are other stores that
may better fit your personality. That may include
cosmetics at Macy’s or the
shoe department at Dick’s
Sporting Goods. Think
about where you like to
shop.
• Sporting venue: If
you love sports, consider being an usher at a
venue. Ushers assist fans
to their seats and help
answer any questions the
fans may have. You might
have to walk up and
down steps, so if that’s
difficult for you to do find
out beforehand whether
the job involves steps.
The job may have perks,
such as free tickets.
• Tour guide: A tour
guide’s job is to introduce
people to places that
they are unfamiliar with,
which may include wineries, museums and a city’s
historical locations.
• Theme park / zoo: If
you want to brag about
your job to your grandkids, look into the local
zoo or theme park. Some
of the most popular jobs
for retirees at these parks
include ticket takers,
working at a merchandise
stand or helping assist
guests at an information
booth.
• Your current or former job. This one may
throw you for a loop,
but it could be perfect.
You’ll likely maintain the
same salary as the rest
of your earning years; it’s
something you already
know and are good at;
and, many people derived
much satisfaction from
their profession. You
may find new freedom
in knowing that this job
is more optional than
before, which may engender a sense of freedom
and, perhaps, an outsidethe-box mentality.
Retirement essentials
‘Boomers’ should follow
By Carl Edwards
Wow, what an amazing market ride over the
last few years!
Running on tracks laid
by an unprecedented
Federal Reserve monetary easing program,
the market has once
again run to new alltime highs and appears
to still have some steam.
Or does it?
While no one really
knows the answer to
this, it is important to
remember history as
a guide, and to think
about the future — your
future. It wasn’t all
that long ago that the
world’s financial system
was shaken to its core,
leaving many retirees
running for shelter from
the Ebola-like symptoms
displayed by world
financial systems. Fear
over which institution
or country would next
display the almost certain deadly symptoms
ran rampant.
I am certainly not
echoing the calls of the
past and screaming it’s
time to get your guns
and gold. I am, however,
pointing out to consumers the recent and vivid
reminders of the importance to get back to the
basics with your finan-
cial planning this New
Year. If we fail to remember the past, we repeat
it. You have worked too
hard preparing for this
time in your life.
Let’s review three vital
elements you should
implement in your
retirement plan this new
year.
• Get your annual
financial check-up. How
can we possibly forget
to do this? Annual
check-ups are the No. 1
preventative care tool
at our disposal. While
many individuals should
be meeting more regularly with their financial
advisor, everyone should
have at least the minimum of an annual visit.
Problems creep up and
this is often the best way
to catch them before it is
too late.
• Don’t forget to
diversify. Are you working with a broker who
always wants to sell
you mutual funds full of
stocks and bonds? Does
your annuity guy think
every dime you have
should be stuffed into
insurance products? The
reality is they are probably both wrong. Find
an advisor this year who
knows the benefits of
each of these products,
but who also knows the
value of how they work
together. Diversification is important and
it may include each of
these products along
with other assets such
as individual stocks and
bonds, Certificates of
Deposit (structured and
fixed), Business Development Companies,
Real Estate Investment
Trusts, precious metals,
and numerous other
investments.
• Rebalance, Rebalance, Rebalance. With
the great equity run up
we have encountered
since the lows of March
2009, it is vital to
remember that we must
continue to evaluate our
investment portfolios.
While equity portfolios
have risen significantly
since that time, other
areas of our portfolio
may not have fared so
well, leaving our risk
levels in need of adjustment. It is often a good
idea to capture some of
those hard-earned gains.
You never know — the
next major pullback
could be just around the
corner. Be prudent, not
greedy!
Carl Edwards is a chartered
ﬁnancial consultant and owner of
C.E. Wealth Group.
Who controls your retirement funds?
You or the government?
Qualified money for retirement has strings attached
Ginny Grimsley
OHIO VALLEY —
People make a mistake
when they feel as
though they’ve lost control of their qualified
retirement plans – they
never had control in the
first place, says retirement advisor Mark
Cardoza.
“Qualified retirement
funds – whether we’re
talking about an IRA,
401(k), Contributory
or Defined Benefit Pension Plan, or a Roth
IRA – has so many hazards, pitfalls and strings
attached to the government that it’s simply
misguided to think one
has ‘control’ over that
money,” says Mark
Cardoza, author of the
book “Positioning 4
Retirement.” (www.
positioning4retirement.
com).
“However, the more
you know about this
money the more control
you can get back – and
the more money you
can keep.”
Cardoza sheds light
on qualified retirement
funding so retirees and
pre-retirees can have
greater say in their
golden years.
• Identify the type
of qualified plan you
may have through your
employer – 401(k), IRA,
etc. – or your options
for a retirement plan if
you are self-employed.
Plans are assigned these
numbers based on the
tax code they follow.
The employee has the
right to participate in
the plan based on the
guidelines established
by the organization and
the U.S. government to
receive tax advantages.
By managing your qualified and non-qualified
money properly, you can
save on taxes. Often,
the employer will match
the employee’s contribution and will receive a
tax advantage as well.
From there, one needs
a solid understanding
of qualified and nonqualified money, which
is based on your retirement plan.
• A qualified plan
refers to an account
that meets certain IRS
guidelines in order to
be considered a retirement account. It is also
referred to as “qualified
money” or a “qualified
fund.” Qualified funds
can be in the form
of securities, such as
stocks, bonds, mutual
funds, CDs and annuities. The money placed
in a qualified plan has
special tax considerations. Each plan has
elements that differentiate one from the other,
such as distribution
restrictions and limiting plan sponsors. The
money that goes into
a qualified retirement
fund has not been taxed
and is referred to as
“pre-tax dollars.” The
pre-tax dollars grow
tax-deferred, meaning
until you take a distribution, you do not
pay income taxes. The
money is taxed based
on the individual’s tax
bracket and tax rules at
See CONTROL | 8
SENIOR QUARTERLY
Hidden fees can upend retirement goals
Toni Tantlinger
OHIO VALLEY — Saving enough money for
retirement can be a tricky
proposition even under
the best circumstances.
But when some of
those dollars are being
siphoned away by hidden
– and perhaps unnecessary – fees, then the path
to a secure retirement
becomes even more difficult to navigate.
Even small fees can
have a major impact
over time, which is why
people need to be aware
of what they are being
charged, and whether
other options exist that
make for a better and
smarter investment,
says Casey B. Weade,
a retirement-planning
professional and author
of the book “The Purpose-Based Retirement”
(www.purposebasedretirement.com).
“Probably 99 percent of
people have no clue what
they are really paying in
fees and expenses,” he
says. “They are bleeding
out their life savings.”
Weade says those
hidden fees, which are
abundant in the financial
industry, are his No. 1
frustration with the profession.
“There are a couple
of products that consistently illustrate the
problem with hidden fees
– mutual funds and variable annuities,” he says.
“Many people believe
their retirement advisor
only makes money when
something is bought
or sold. But that’s not
always the case.
“With mutual funds,
for example, some fees
are disclosed in the prospectus for the funds, but
often there are additional
ongoing fees that are not
consistently or adequately disclosed.”
Some of those mutual
fund fees and costs
include:
• Stated Expenses:
o Loads. Different
classes of mutual funds
have different types of
loads or charges that are
similar to commissions
in that they compensate
the financial professional
for selling the fund to
you. Some are front-end
and you are charged at
the time you make your
initial investment. That
charge usually is about
5 percent. Others are
back-end, meaning you
are assessed the charge if
you sell the mutual fund,
usually within a specified
timeframe.
o Expense ratios. Other
than loads, this is the
only cost many retirees
and pre-retirees are
aware of, Weade says.
The expense ratio is used
to pay distribution costs,
administration fees, management fees and marketing costs. The expense
ratio can be 1 percent or
more, depending on the
mutual fund. According
to the Investment Company Institute, the average expense ratio in an
equity mutual fund is 1.4
percent per year.
o Advisory fees. In
addition to the internal
costs of owning a mutual
fund, you may be paying a management fee
to your advisor, Weade
says. This fee can range
anywhere form 0.25 percent up to 2.5 percent.
Even if you aren’t aware
of it, you should be able
to determine how much
this one is costing you
because it is required to
be disclosed on investor
documents.
• Unstated Expenses:
o Soft dollar costs.
One of the most difficult
mutual fund expenses
to uncover is soft dollar
costs, Weade says. Often,
mutual fund managers
are provided software,
education, research or
other services by brokerage firms. In exchange
for these benefits, the
brokerage house gets the
brokerage business and
may charge a higher commission for the trading
of stocks within the fund.
That commission is paid
by the investor.
5 overlooked variables to consider
or long unemployment stretch
Toni Tantlinger
OHIO VALLEY — It
wasn’t long ago that
most Americans had a
secure three-legged stool
on which to rest their
retirement concerns – a
well-funded Social Security system, substantial
corporate pensions with
retiree health benefits and,
ideally, a strong personal
savings rate.
Nowadays, however,
pensions aren’t what
they used to be; they’ve
been largely replaced by
employer-sponsored plans
such as a 401(k), 403(b)
or 457, the reliability of
which is yet to be proven.
Social Security, which was
never meant to be a sole
income provider during
retirement, is often said
to be vulnerable for future
generations.
Alarmingly, only 53
percent of the civilian
workforce contributes to
or participates in a retirement plan, according to
the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics, with subsets like
the private industry at just
48 percent. And, according
to the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies,
36 percent of baby boomers plan to rely on Social
Security as their primary
source of income.
“All is not lost; however,
whether you’re retired,
soon-to-be retired or planning on it a few decades in
advance, your best move
is to do something about
it now,” says Marc Sarner,
president of Wake Up
Financial and Insurance
Services Inc. (www.wakeupretirement.net).
While there are many
clear factors to consider
Doors
From page 1
angels and dolls and a
gold-accented wreath
that Nutter said had a
Victorian influence.
Coming in second
place was the door and
wreath done for Young
which had crosses as
part of its theme and
then Hall’s came in
third place with a theme
Nutter called “Country
Victorian.” Walking up
and down the hallways at
the towers, other doors
when planning for retirement – such as when
to draw Social Security
benefits and the possibility of long-term medical
care – Sarner summarizes
five variables you may be
overlooking.
• You may need a
housing plan – or two.
Between 2005 and 2007,
U.S. home values spiked
drastically in value, but
shortly thereafter plummeted. Fluctuations in
the housing market could
impact your retirement
income strategy. Your
home may not provide the
backup retirement income
you have anticipated,
Sarner says. Looking
ahead, the rate of house
appreciation is likely to
revert closer to the longterm norms (pre-2006) of
0.75 to 1 percent per year
over the rate of inflation
– not double-digit annual
increases, according to the
Urban Land Institute.
• Consider the potential
impact of inflation. Inflation can be experienced a
little differently when you
retire because you’ll likely
spend money proportionately on different things.
For retirees, the tendency
is to spend money on
things that experience a
higher rate of inflation.
For instance, health care,
which has an inflation rate
of about 8 percent – is currently two to three times
greater than the overall
inflation rate.
• Reconsider your
goals. The distribution
of retirement income differs from accumulation
because, once retired,
you may no longer have
the timeline to help you
recover from the impact of
a down market. You can’t
appear with themes
related to candy canes,
winter wonderlands and
more.
Nutter was not part
of the judging which
included the top three
doors with winners getting a potholder and
cookie mixes, as well
as runners-up Mark
Griffith, Kathy Stover,
Betty Dunlap and Bill
Barger getting a box of
cookies.
In addition to making
the Twin Towers a happy
place to be a Christmas,
it makes it a social place
to be with neighbors
control what the markets
will do, or when they will
do it, Sarner says. The
occurrence of a market
downturn, such as in the
first few years of retirement, can have an impact
on how long retirement
assets may last. One helpful strategy is to combine
growth opportunity with
reliable income sources.
• Understand taxes in
retirement. Many preretirees think that when
they retire their taxes
will be less because they
are no longer working.
However, many of my
clients pay more taxes in
retirement then while they
were working. Shocking?
It’s true. The house is paid
off, you have no dependents and have less write
offs. Throw in your pension and Social Security
income, plus RMD income
from IRAs and 401ks, and
now you have a real taxation problem. Proper planning can help elevate this
future tax liability.
• Find your distribution
strategy. Saving for retirement is like standing at
the foot of a tall mountain
and beginning the slow,
steady climb towards your
retirement savings goal.
If you’re not prepared
for a long and controlled
descent, you could run out
of an adequate supply of
rope to make your journey safely. A distribution
strategy is all about how
to descend the mountain
as steadily, carefully and
securely as possible.
“These are summary
explanations of lengthy
considerations,” Sarner
says. “Be sure to carefully
review the many aspects
of these retirement
variables.”
connecting over doors
and wreaths and a spirit
of giving.
“This is my gift to the
residents,” Nutter said of
her donations of materials and time.
Still, Nutter wants to
do more and in addition
to more doors, hopes to
next year create a winter
wonderland outside on
the first floor patio of the
Twin Towers. She needs
donations of Christmas
lights to create this space
for residents who can’t
get out to see other light
displays. By creating an
outside winter wonder-
o Tax Impact. Mutual
funds are pass-through
entities, meaning you pay
tax on every transaction
inside the mutual fund
whether you benefited or
not. The average tax cost
ratio for stock mutual
funds is 1 percent to 1.2
percent per year, according to a Forbes magazine
article.
o Trading Commissions. Potentially one of
the largest undisclosed
expenses inside a mutual
fund is trading commissions. “Every time
something is bought or
sold within a mutual
fund there is a commission charged and, believe
it or not, these costs
legally do not need to be
disclosed,” Weade says.
A Wall Street Journal
article noted that a 2009
study of thousands of
U.S. equity mutual funds
showed that the trading
costs investors, on average, 1.44 percent.
Once you know about
the fees and charges
attached to mutual
funds, you may be able
to negotiate to lower
some of them, Weade
says. “I regularly audit
investors’ portfolios and
find expenses in excess
of 3 percent annually,” he
says.
But he also often recommends “separately
managed accounts” as
an alternative to mutual
funds because there are
no loads and there is
more transparency. Separately managed accounts
are somewhat similar to
mutual funds, but can be
tailored specifically to
the individual needs of
the investor.
“Regardless of the
investment, it is vitally
important to understand
how valuable it is to
avoid hidden fees and
charges that can add up
and prove costly, especially over decades,”
Weade says. “You want
to keep as many of your
hard-earned dollars in
your account and working for you as possible.”
How is a woman’s retirement
plan like a smartphone?
Financial expert offers nestegg tips
Financial strategist Donna
M. Phelan, author of “Women,
Money and Prosperity: A Sister’s
Perspective on How to Retire
Well,” (www.donnamphelan.com)
relates the story of Wanda Strong
— one of four sisters — one married, one widowed, one divorced
and one who never married.
Finding herself suddenly single
with two kids to support and less
than 15 years to retirement, Wanda
had to make a choice: she could
either succumb to the numbing fear
about her financial future, or she
could embrace new strategies for
prosperity. She chose the latter.
“Many women feel an unspoken
fear about money and retirement
because they sense they are not
prepared and don’t know what to
do about it,” Phelan said. “What’s
worse — they don’t talk about it!”
Women may indeed be behind,
due to a lifetime of lower earnings, leaving the workforce for
childcare and eldercare, working
in jobs that don’t offer retirement
plans and their own longevity,
according to the U.S. Census and
Social Security Administration.
Phelan provides “ahs” — awareness, hope and strategies: awareness
of women’s own financial situation,
hope that it’s never too late (or
too early) to start planning, and
real life strategies that are easy
and practical for women of any
age or current financial situation.
1. Create Stackable Income
Streams to Empower Retirement Security (SISTERS).
Women need to stack several
income streams to cover their retirement spending needs because one,
such as Social Security, may not
be enough. And others, such as
alimony, child support or a primary
earner’s income, may disappear.
2. Get as inspired to learn
about money as you are about
your new smartphone!
“Women often say that they
can’t understand money concepts
because they are too complex to
learn,” Phelan says. “But they
land, residents only have
to travel to the first floor
to take in the lights which
will also be outside as the
patio faces Main Street,
allowing a passerby to
see them as well. The
project will be an addition
to efforts to bring more
lights and Christmas
decorations to downtown
Point Pleasant.
In addition to doors,
Nutter also decorated
the lobby of the Twin
Towers with what she
calls a “3D effect” of a
dog house and candy
canes, Santa, wreaths
and more.
want to learn about their smartphone — by far, a much more
complex, highly advanced piece
of technology that is constantly
changing –- because they want to
stay in touch with their kids.”
“But think of the similarities between your smartphone and money:
• Both have their own language.
• Both give you tremendous options for freedom.
• Both have a broad
range of applications.
• Both take time and
willingness to learn.
• Both can, at times, feel frustrating and overwhelming.
• Both are within your intelligence and offer great potential
rewards for mastering them.
• Only one requires that you ask
the advice of someone embarrassingly younger than you how to use it!”
3. Join the conversation,
start a SISTERS Club.
Wanda calls her 3 sisters and
a few friends together to brainstorm new retirement strategies
for stackable income streams.
They could:
• Meet with a financial advisor and develop a written plan.
• Learn how to create
income from investments.
• Embrace non-traditional
living arrangements, such as
renting out empty bedrooms,
or getting a roommate.
• Consider working a little longer, or part-time in retirement.
• Start a business.
• Pool their talents,
ideas and resources.
A SISTERS Club, like a book
club, is a safe environment where
women can come together to share
knowledge and experiences, generate ideas, and create investments
and business ventures that will provide on-going retirement income. It
is a community of women helping
women, and helping themselves to
improve their retirement planning
success. So join the conversation!
“When I was the
owner of Victoria’s Prom
and Bridal, I got to
see the joy on a bride’s
face when I created a
Christmas Wedding
with six-foot tall Christmas Cane arches that
I made,” Nutter said.
“Now, it gives me great
joy to see the faces of
the senior citizens as
they sit in the lobby or
take a stroll through the
different floors to see
one-of-a-kind Christmas
decor and wreaths. It
takes a lot of creating
and designing, time, and
labor, but it is worth it to
see their faces light up at
the holiday season.”
Nutter says the key
to staying young and
healthy is motivation
and staying busy which
she has done by creating
something special for
others to enjoy during
the holiday season.
To donate Christmas
lights for next year’s
winter wonderland patio
project, call the Twin
Towers at 304-675-6679
or drop them off during
normal business hours.
Reach Beth Sergent at bsergent@
civitasmedia.com or on Twitter @
BSergentWrites.
SENIOR QUARTERLY
Preparation key to reducing tax burden in retirement
Terrier
Ginny Grimsley
From page 4
OHIO VALLEY — Retirement
should represent an opportunity
to enjoy life after decades of hard
work and saving.
But it doesn’t always turn
out that way, even with people
who saved wisely, says Gary
Marriage Jr., CEO of Nature
Coast Financial Advisors (www.
naturecoastfinancial.com).
Maybe it’s because of worries
that those savings won’t last. Or
maybe it’s just an inability to adjust
after years in the labor force.
“I see so many people on a daily
basis who have built up this great
retirement, but they’re not using
it,” Marriage says. “They’re not
having fun. And I’m telling them
let’s take some of that money and
let you guys enjoy it. Go see the
grandkids. Go on those vacations.
That’s what retirement is all
about. It’s about having fun.”
But the first step is to get in a
position to do that, Marriage says.
One of the biggest challenges
for people is to make sure their
retirement plans aren’t subject to
excessive taxes, he says.
“There’s no way to guarantee
you will never pay taxes, and I
wouldn’t say taxes are such a
bad thing either,” Marriage says.
“Taxes do help our country’s
infrastructure and pay for
our teachers, firefighters, law
enforcement officers and military.”
That said, there’s no reason
to pay more than necessary, and
there are steps people can take
that will help ease the tax burden
on their retirement savings.
• Indexed universal life
insurance. People usually
view a life insurance policy as
something that just pays money
to your survivors after you die.
But an indexed life insurance
plan is structured so that
interest accumulates and, more
importantly, you can borrow from
it without paying a tax penalty. So
after years of paying the premium,
you can start to use the policy as
a source of tax-free income. “This
can be a tremendous asset for
many pre-retirees and retirees to
grow and protect their business,
retirement and estates,” Marriage
says. “Another great feature these
plans offer is they don’t have all
the restrictions that most IRAs and
other qualified accounts have.”
• Converting an IRA or 401k to
a Roth IRA. Millions of Americans
are saving for retirement through
traditional IRAs or 401k plans,
which allow you to defer taxes
on the portion of your income
invested in those plans. And that’s
great, Marriage says. But those
plans do have tax implications
when it comes time to withdraw
money and, when you reach age
70½, the federal government will
require that you start making
withdrawals. Depending on how
long you live, you could be paying
taxes on annual withdrawals for
20 years or more. One solution,
Marriage says, is to convert the
money to a Roth IRA. That entails
withdrawing the money several
years early, even though you aren’t
required to do so, paying the tax
on that sum, and returning the
balance to the Roth IRA. Once
all the money is converted to the
Roth IRA, any future withdrawals
are tax free.
There are other strategies
for retirement savings as well,
Marriage says, which is why it’s
important that people find an
advisor they can trust to help
them work out the best plan.
“It still all boils down to what
kind of retirement you want and
what you are going to do in those
retirement years,” Marriage says.
“You want to make sure you have
a solid and safe financial future.
And then don’t forget to enjoy
that future.”
“Any dog we have
like that is usually for
a senior citizen. To
(assist them), what I’ve
been doing to make
sure that their dog is
registered with their
tag, I sponsor a tag to
make sure that I know
they have registration.
I just go ahead and pay
for it so I know they
have a tag,” Cardillo
said. “(Seacrest) saw
(Jasper) and had no
clue that we had her
dog. The mama dog and
three pups vanished.
Someone had gone in
and taken the mama
and three pups right
out of the inside of her
home. The reason they
didn’t take Jasper was
because (the suspected
thieves) couldn’t get
their hands on him.
When she saw him,
she was very emotional
because she wasn’t
expecting to get any of
her dogs back.
“She was a very
sweet lady,” Cardillo
said about Seacrest. “I
guessed Jasper to be
about four years old. He
was maybe 10 pounds.
The way he came in
here (the shelter) versus the way he left, you
wouldn’t think he was
the same dog. He was
very calm. We (shelter
workers) kinda hated
to see him go. We sorta
got attached to him.”
According to Cardillo, she first encountered Jasper around
Aug. 5 and encountered
him again in the live
trap on Aug. 15.
The earliest historical record of rat terriers is often regarded
to have been found on
the flagship of Henry
VIII, an English king.
Supposedly, the ship
was sunk in 1545 and
recovered in 1982.
Records suggest the
dog’s ancestors were
brought over on British
migrant ships to help
control pest problems
because of the breed’s
speed and tenacity for
chasing small game.
(740) 446-2342, Ext. 2103.
Retirement checklist leads couple to Elkins
By Mandi Cardosi
Associated Press
CHARLESTON, W.Va.
— Picture the perfect
retirement destination.
For a lot of retirees,
it’s heading south to
enjoy some warm weather, or one of the coasts
to take in the rolling
ocean breeze coming in
off of the water — but
what about retiring to
West Virginia?
For one couple, the
perfect place to settle
into retirement was
Elkins. The small town
is perfect in the eyes of
Becky Ashburn and Dick
Shelton — complete
with 32 of the 33 things
they listed on their ideal
retirement city checklist.
The couple traveled
all over the country to
find the perfect retire-
Pomeroy
From page 3
“Fruth is invested in
the community,” she
said. “One of the first
thing families look for
when deciding to move
into the area is easy
access to health care. We
hare happy to partner
with PVH to provide
Controls
From page 6
the time of withdrawal.
The general assumption
is that the tax bracket
will be lower when the
individual has retired.
• Not paying tax
on the income you
earn and allowing it to
grow with the funds
that you would have
paid in taxes causes
you to be taxed on
a greater portion of
money. This allows
the U.S. government
to be a partner in your
retirement plan. Uncle
Sam then has control
over when and how you
can spend these funds.
By choosing a qualified
plan, you are giving
Uncle Sam the ability to
mandate and establish
rules, regulations and
guidelines that can
change frequently
and in favor of the
government. Uncle
ment destination, and
had no idea it would be
in the Mountain State
until they came up short
in many other places.
Neither Ashburn nor
Shelton is from West
Virginia, but the couple
says their new friends
and neighbors have welcomed them with open
arms.
The 3.4-square-mile
town in Randolph County is home to a little
more than 7,000 residents. A familiar sight
is native people leaving
the town, but now the
population has increased
by two.
Ashburn said before
settling on settling in
West Virginia, she and
her husband traveled all
over the country to find
the perfect small town.
She said before Elkins,
the pair happened upon
a town in Nebraska that
had 15 out of 33 things
on their checklist.
“When we (went) to
these towns, we found
a lot of small towns in
America are dying,”
Ashburn said. “It’s kind
of scary how small town
America looks.”
Ashburn said after
coming up short in other
parts of the country, she
asked her husband if he
remembered the small
town they once visited
in West Virginia. She
said they went through
the town several decades
earlier.
Now, 25 years later,
checklist in hand, the
couple drove through
Elkins.
While going through,
Ashburn began to hear
herself saying, “check,
check, check.”
“Elkins has 32 of the
33 things we were looking for,” Ashburn said to
her husband.
Some of those 32
things — a YMCA,
senior citizens center,
local community bank,
community hospital,
grocery store, Episcopal
Church, public library,
elementary school.
Ashburn is a retired
office worker with the
University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Ashburn is originally
from Kentucky, and her
husband is from Virginia,
so the pair was searching for a small town that
reminded them of home.
“I wanted it to rain,”
she added. “In North
Carolina they have
droughts a lot; I wanted
it to snow,” Ashburn said
of her ideal town. “I had
very high expectations.”
After moving, Ashburn said she discovered
Elkins actually has about
32.5 of the things on
her town wish list, with
the only thing she didn’t
check off being public
transit. She said she can
actually ride a bus in
Elkins, although it’s not
free, around town.
Although small towns
in West Virginia aren’t
necessarily thriving,
Ashburn said she was
surprised to find out a
lot of her neighbors are
accomplished, retired
and with jobs.
“We’ve met the most
amazing people in
Elkins,” the retired uni-
versity worker said.
Ashburn said a woman
a few houses from her
worked for the BBC in
London, and another
man played at the Kennedy Center.
“There are artists all
over the place here,” she
said. “Almost everybody
here does something.”
Ashburn said her
husband wanted a view
of mountains, and they
have just that with the
“astonishing view” from
their living room window, she said.
“West Virginia is the
country’s best kept
secret,” she said. “This
is the best small town in
America.
“And I should know
— we visited 53 of them
on our way across the
country.”
convenient medical services. Patients can come
here for everything from
minor illnesses to sport
physicals to flu shots,
with times that suit
today’s busy lifestyles.”
She went on to add
that it is great to be able
to provide local care,
and by doing so, frees up
emergency room resources for true emergencies.
The PVH Express Care
clinic occupies a newly
renovated space adjacent to the pharmacy.
The health care team
includes certified nurse
practitioners who specialize in family health
care and treat patients
for any non-life-threatening, urgent illness or
injury. Some examples
are sports injuries, colds
and flu, strep throat,
and minor wounds and
abrasions.
Sometimes patients
may not know the seriousness of their illness
when they arrive at the
clinic; if care is needed
beyond the scope of
the facility, resources
are available to transport them and ensure
they receive proper
treatment.
PVH certified nurse
practitioners can also
provide patients with
direct access to highly
specialized physicians at
Pleasant Valley Hospital,
Cabell Huntington
Hospital and Marshall
Health.
After visiting the
Express Care clinic, the
full-service pharmacy
offers patients the opportunity of filling their
prescriptions at the same
location as the clinic.
There are now two
Express Clinics in the
area, in Pomeroy and
Point Pleasant, with
more clinics planned
elsewhere.
“This is what we are
striving for,” Washington
said. “We hope our move
into Pomeroy will help
serve the needs of the
community by providing
heath care and pharmacy
needs in one location.”
Abuse
brought to adult
protective services.
Oftentimes, the problem
is paired with declining health, isolation,
Alzheimer’s disease or
dementia, or drug and
alcohol dependency.
Some behaviors associated with self-neglect are
hoarding to the extent
that the safety of the
individual is threatened
or compromised, failure
to provide adequate food
and nutrition for oneself
or refusal to take essential medications or seek
medical treatment for
serious illness.
Sudden changes in
financial situations may
be the result of exploitation. Loss of resources
may be the result of emotional manipulation or
schemes to take advantage of older persons
vulnerabilities. Financial
exploitation may lead
to other forms of abuse;
a loss of resources may
put the individual in a
position of being unable
to afford food, medicines
or assistance needed in
activities of daily living.
Embarrassment at being
taken advantage of may
lead to depression and
withdrawal.
If you have reasonable
cause to suspect elder
abuse, contact your
county Adult Protective
Service office 24 hours a
day, seven days a week.
Other agencies to report
abuse include Ohio
Elder Abuse hot line at
866-635-3748 or 1-800677-1116. If you suspect
elder abuse or neglect in
a nursing home, call the
Nursing Home Abuse/
Long Term Care hot line
at 1-800-342-0533.
Raising awareness of
elder abuse and neglect
is a challenge and no
effort is too small. For
resources for caring
for elders, visit www.
areaagency8.org or call
1-800-331-2644.
Sam also has the ability
to change the special
tax considerations. He
is in your pocket and
has majority control.
The only control that
individuals have is how
and where the funds
are placed in order
for them to grow. But
Uncle Sam still oversees
the placement of money
with guidelines and
regulations.
• Non-qualified plans
are those that are not
eligible for tax-deferral
benefits, which mean
deducted contributions for non-qualified
plans are taxed when
income is recognized.
This generally refers to
when employees must
pay income taxes on
benefits associated with
their employment.
Depending on circumstances, a strategy combining both categories
of money can be most
beneficial. For example,
those who receive
employer matching
contributions toward a
qualified plan, can opt
to put additional contributions in a Roth or a
non-qualified retirement
plan instead of contributing above the matching limit. This strategy
lessens the taxability
during retirement, providing the individual
the opportunity to
manage their qualified
funds, yielding a lower
tax rate when retired.
“Qualified money
is controlled by the
U.S. government with
guidelines, mandates,
laws, and rules that
can and do change to
meet the needs of the
country,” Cardoza says.
“It’s important to understand that large corporations drive congress
and have influence in
developing these mandates, guidelines, laws
and rules. But there
are strategies available
for optimizing navigation in this arbitrary
landscape.”
From page 3
from normal activities, a
sudden change in alertness and unusual depression may be indicators of
emotional abuse.
Behavior such as belittling, threats, and other
uses of power and control
by caregivers or family
members are indicators
of verbal or emotional
abuse. Strained or tense
relationships, frequent
arguments between the
caregiver and elderly person are also signs.
Bedsores, unattended
medical needs, poor
hygiene and unusual
weight loss are indicators of possible neglect.
Sexual abuse is often difficult to spot, but there
are indicators such as
bruising around breasts
and genital areas.
Self-neglect is one
of the most frequently
reported concerns
Lorna Hart can be reached at
740-992-2155 EXT. 2551

Senior Quarterly – January

Transcription

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