Nick Sanderson of Audley Retirement Villages urges pensioners to think about different options to long-term care.

With increasing life expectancy, those over 60 can look forward to spending longer in retirement than any generation preceding them. This is cause for celebration, but as the recent intense debate on long term care has shown, it poses many difficult questions for society. While this community is healthier and wealthier than ever before, for many there is real uncertainty around how to provide for their future, specifically related to different health needs and increased risk of dependency.

The Dilnot Commission on Funding of Care and Support attracted much needed attention to the way in which long term care is provided with it clear that in the future responsibility for funding later life care will fall on the individual.

Notwithstanding the lack of policy response, the Commissions recommendations were vital for the attention focussed on issues relating to ageing. However, the debate it generated was flawed because it considered only how we fund the existing model of care. This is an entirely broken model because it positions institutional care as the only way of providing for later life health needs. No one, whatever their age, wants to live in institutional care.

Instead of making recommendations on how to pay for the existing model of later life care, it is time both the government and the industry invested in improving the housing and care options available. These options need to reflect the lifestyles that older people want to have, and above all keep them independent and in control of their future. It requires innovation in the housing options available so for example, people could stay in control of their front door, while having the additional care needed come to them, as and when they need it.

At the same time, we have to raise awareness of the options available and improve how we provide support and education. This will ensure older people, just as at every other stage of their life, can make the informed decisions they need. Effectively, we will support older people to take control of their future rather than waiting for a crisis when the decisions about how their care needs are met, and hard-won financial assets used, will be taken by others.

The opportunity to achieve significant change in how we provide for later life relies on empowering those over 60 to take action about their future and how they want to live in later life. In part the solution rests on how this group use their largest asset, their home. They are the generation to be majority homeowners, estimated collectively to hold over one trillion pounds in equity yet too many live in relative poverty with their assets frozen within property.

If we improve the housing options available, more older people would consider living in housing designed specifically for their future needs rather than staying in properties that become only increasingly expensive and difficult to maintain. High-quality housing set in beautiful settings are just as much a right for older people as younger people. The difference is that if we support more older people to downsize, it would not only enable them to live a happier, healthier later life but also free up valuable housing stock and inject finance into the stagnating housing sector.

The government has to work with the financial services, housing and social care industries to transform how we consider later life. It requires a new way of thinking about the future that encourages candid, open conversations on peoples ambitions for retirement and how we best meet them. The answer relies on a step change in approach. If we get it right, it will mean a happier, more fulfilling older age not just for this current generation of over 60s but for us all.

By Nick Sanderson, chairman of the Association of Retirement Villages and chief executive of Audley Retirement Villages

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Retirement must be about independence

Sen. Snowe explains why leaving Congress

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

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Washington (CNN) -- When Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine rocked the political world with her announcement that she would not seek a fourth term in the Senate, she was forthright in expressing her frustration with "an atmosphere of polarization" in politics.

But for all her transparency, it was one of Snowe's Senate colleagues who perhaps best summed up her motivation for deciding to end her decades-long tenure on Capitol Hill.

"I think she lost hope," Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, told CNN.

Graham, who like Snowe had participated in bipartisan efforts to find compromise on hot-button issues, added, "You know, all of us need to believe there is a light at the end of the tunnel. If you lose that belief, why do you spend seven years of your life -- which in her case would have been her commitment -- to do something that there seems no hope."

Citing partisanship, Snowe makes surprising exit

Snowe is the latest in a string of centrist senators to announce that they will not seek re-election in the fall.

Late last year, Sen. Ben Nelson, a conservative Democrat from Nebraska, announced that he would not seek re-election in 2012. In a statement announcing his decision, Nelson called for "those who will follow in my footsteps to look for common ground and to work together in bipartisan ways to do what's best for the country, not just one political party."

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Snowe retirement blow to 'sensible center'

Q. Is a person at full retirement age collecting Social Security benefits allowed to continue to work and make an unlimited amount of money without jeopardizing his Social Security benefits? - RTS

A. You could be in luck, but you have to be very careful about how you calculate your "full retirement age" or you could be in trouble.

Your normal full retirement age is between 65 and 67 years old, depending on when you were born, said Margaret OMeara, a Red Bank-based certified financial planner.

To see your precise full retirement age, check your Social Security benefits statement (if you got one), look online at ssa.gov or call Social Security at (800) 772-1213.

"Loss of benefits can occur in the year in which the individual reaches normal retirement age, however, once a beneficiary is older than full retirement age, he or she will not lose benefits," OMeara said.

But thats when taxation of benefits becomes a concern. More on that in a moment.

If you plan to receive benefits prior to your full retirement age and you do plan to work, make sure you review your specific situation as the rules governing loss of benefits are complex and the penalties may be more onerous than you think, she said.

If you are younger than full retirement age, there is a limit to how much you can earn and still receive full Social Security benefits, said Alan Meckler, a certified financial planner with Cornerstone Financial Group in Succasunna.

If you are younger than full retirement age during all of 2012, $1 would be deducted from your benefits for each $2 you earned above $14,640, he said.

OMeara said if your income plus half of your Social Security benefits exceed $25,000 for an individual or $32,000 for married couples filing jointly, 50 percent of your Social Security income will be included in your gross income. If your income plus half of your Social Security benefits are $34,000 as an individual or $44,000 as a married couple, 85 percent of your Social Security income will be included in gross income, she said.

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Biz brain: social security benefits after retirement possible for ongoing worker?

In Friday's blog post, called "Averting retirement disaster," I described the risk-averse approach to retirement planning that Erin Botsford writes about in her book, "The Big Retirement Risk: Running Out of Money Before You Run Out of Time."

I'll reiterate: It's a must-read for those who are approaching retirement. If you don't want to subject your portfolio to the whims of the market and take a chance on having to postpone your golden years due to market mishaps, you need to adopt a defensive stance. But how can her philosophical investing approach be put into retirement-planning practice?

I asked Botsford if she would design a portfolio for a hypothetical married couple, age 55, with $500,000 between them in retirement accounts, plus a cash-balance plan worth $130,000. They want to retire at 62 and plan to continue saving 15 percent of their income in their respective workplace plans until then. They expect to have the house paid off by the time they retire. They will need a minimum of $4,000 a month to meet basic needs and would like an additional $2,000 a month to fund vacations, hobbies and dining out. They harbor no illusions about buying a second home or a boat.

How should they allocate their portfolio now, and then at age 62?

Botsford stipulates that each couple's circumstances are different, so this would not be a one-size-fits-all solution. But here's her advice for the hypothetical couple while they're in their mid-50s: Allocate 50 percent to short-term bonds, another 30 percent to intermediate-term bonds and 20 percent to blue-chip stocks at this point in time.

"This couple is close enough to retirement that they should not be taking any significant risks with their investments," Botsford says. "Since they have the ability to invest tax deferred into their 401(k)s and have a company match, it makes sense for them to continue to do so. However, investment options are often limited inside of 401(k) plans. They should consider short-, medium-term bond funds to get some return on their money without taking too much risk from a high-equity position."

If all goes according to plan, Botsford calculates that their retirement portfolio will be worth about $835,000 in seven years if they continue to contribute 15 percent of their salary, assuming a 4 percent annualized return.

The couple's after-tax needs are $48,000 per year, and Botsford projects that their Social Security benefits would amount to about $28,000, assuming a tax bracket of 15 percent.

"This leaves a shortfall of $20,000 to cover their needs," she says. "I like to use lifestyle investments to fund the needs category. These could be investments such as bonds, annuities, non-traded real estate investment trusts and a number of other similar investments. These are all income-producing investments that, as of today, we should be able to get an average income of 5 percent from. At their 15 percent tax bracket, it would take $470,000 invested in these types of products to produce the additional $20,000 needed.

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Investing for retirement security

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire -03/05/12)- According to a BMO Financial Group study, almost 40 per cent of Canadians made a 2011 contribution to their Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSP) before the February 29th deadline.

While the deadline to make a 2012 contribution may be a year away, it is never too early to think about retirement planning.

During the month of February, BMO released daily retirement tips from BMO Retirement Institute Head Tina Di Vito's new book 52 Ways To Wreck Your Retirement...And How To Rescue It.

Here is the full list of 52 tips, one for each week until next year's deadline:

To view the full tips, please visit http://newsroom.bmo.com/, or purchase a copy of the book 52 Ways To Wreck Your Retirement...And How To Rescue It by Tina Di Vito.

For more information on retirement: http://www.bmo.com/retirement.

Get the latest BMO press releases via Twitter by following @BMOmedia.

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BMO: Save Your Retirement This Year by Following 52 Simple Tips

INDIANAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

The retirement business of the OneAmerica companies enjoyed their most successful year in every major sales category once again smashing records set in 2010 for 401(k) sales, employer-sponsored not-for-profit sales, total assets and plan participants. OneAmerica also had its best year of retaining retirement business and renewal growth a measure of the growth of assets within retirement plans already with the companies.

2011 was a year of cementing our leadership position within the retirement plan marketplace, said Bill Yoerger, president of retirement business for the OneAmerica companies. While the growth of our retirement business has been substantial these past few years, we are also executing on the promises we are making to customers to provide exceptional local and customized service and support in meeting the needs of their plan participants.

The OneAmerica companies achieved 51 percent year-over-year growth in overall retirement sales including a 67 percent increase in 401(k) sales. They ended the year with a record 95 percent retention rate on existing business including 98.6 percent retention on their large block of tax-exempt health care business. OneAmerica also achieved 20 percent growth on existing plans and ended 2011 with more assets under management and plan participants than at any other time in the 130-year-plus history of the enterprise.

We continue to be excited not just that we are growing, but how we are growing, added Yoerger. We serve four markets from smaller to larger plans, as well as for-profit and not-for-profit businesses. Our growth is consistent and balanced across all these core markets.

OneAmerica added additional talent in sales, service and marketing in 2011, expanded the distribution of its open-architecture trust solution to registered reps, launched a multiple employer plan and continued winning national accolades for its custom plan participant communications program. American United Life Insurance Company (AUL), a OneAmerica company, was named the number one 401(k) provider in five key satisfaction categories according to the Boston Research Group's 2011 Defined Contribution Plan (DCP) Sponsor Satisfaction and Loyalty Study.

About OneAmerica

OneAmerica Financial Partners, Inc., is headquartered in Indianapolis, IN. The companies of OneAmerica can trace their solid foundations back more than 130 years in the insurance and financial services marketplace.

OneAmericas nationwide network of companies offers a variety of products to serve the financial needs of their policyholders and other clients. These products include retirement plan products and services; individual life insurance, annuities, long-term care solutions and employee benefit plan products. The goal of OneAmerica is to blend the strengths of each company to achieve greater collective results.

The products of the OneAmerica companies are distributed through a network of employees, agents, brokers and other distribution sources that are committed to increasing value to our policyholders by helping them prepare to meet their financial goals.

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OneAmerica Retirement Sales up 51 Percent in 2011

WASHINGTON - Even in a flailing economy, many Texans in Congress have seen their personal net worth swell - and 17 of the state's 34 representatives on Capitol Hill have emerged from the recession with money in the millions.

"It's to be expected that members of Congress would see their holdings recover more quickly than ordinary Americans," says Cal Jillson, a political scientist at Southern Methodist University. "They arrive in Congress better educated and wealthier than their constituents - and with established careers."

The median change was a 25 percent gain in delegation members' net worth over the latest four-year period - a far better performance than the 11 percent loss in value suffered by financial holdings tracked by Standard and Poor's 500 Index.

Of the U.S. senators and Congress members who represent the greater Houston area, 8 of 11 showed increases in personal wealth.

The exceptions are Republican Sen.Kay Bailey Hutchison, whose net worth dropped by 33 percent since the end of 2006 to an estimated $5.2 million at the end of 2010; U.S. Rep. Pete Olson, R-Sugar Land, whose net worth dropped 21 percent to $1.4 million; and U.S. Rep. Gene Green, a Houston Democrat who slipped 20 percent from $656,004 to an estimated $522,503.

Four Houston-area House members made the millionaire's cut: Republican Michael McCaul, with an estimated $380 million; Democrat Al Green, with an estimated $4.5 million; Republican Ron Paul, with an estimated $3.6 million; and Olson.

McCaul's holdings make him the second wealthiest member of Congress, in large part due to the financial status of his wife, Linda Mays McCaul, who received money transfers from her father, Clear Channel Communications Chairman Lowry Mays. McCaul's estimated net worth grew from almost $47 million in 2007 to $380 million in 2010.

Data from center

"A lot of members are wealthy to start with and wealthy people are more likely to have a financial adviser looking over their assets to ensure that they take advantage of opportunities," says Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics and who has tracked tracks lawmakers' finances.

Past studies by Georgia State scholar Alan Ziobrowski found lawmakers' portfolios often outperform constituents' holdings.

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Many Texas congressional leaders got richer during the recession

Long-serving Proteas all-rounder Jacques Kallis [ Images ] has announced that he will make a special donation to the Yuvraj Singh [ Images ] Foundation.

Kallis made the announcement as Cricket South Africa [ Images ] (CSA) declared that Kallis is to be honoured at a special T20 international between India [ Images ] and South Africa at the Bidvest Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg on March 30.

"I would also like to announce that I will be making a personal donation to the Yuvraj Singh Foundation. As we all know Yuvraj is going through a difficult time at the moment battling a serious illness and I went through a similar experience when my own father died of cancer at a relatively young age," Kallis said.

"I am sure the entire Proteas' squad and indeed the Cricket South Africa family joins me in wishing him a speedy recovery."

"This match is a follow-up to last year's successful T20 match at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban," said Cricket South Africa (CSA) chief executive Gerald Majola, adding that agreement had been reached with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to make this an annual fixture.

"We want to make this a Jacques Kallis evening in which we acknowledge his huge contribution to the Proteas and South African cricket generally as player, role model and mentor," Majola said.

The inaugural match in January 2011 was a glittering affair preceded by a Bollywood concert featuring Shahrukh Khan [ Images ], Anil Kapoor [ Images ], Priyanka Chopra [ Images ] and Shahid Kapur [ Images ].

It brought to an end a year of festivities to celebrate the arrival of the first Indian indentured labourers to South Africa 150 years earlier.

Kallis said he felt humbled and honoured to be given this tribute.

"It is something I really appreciate. Cricket South Africa has given me wonderful opportunities to live the dream I have had from the moment I picked up a cricket bat for the first time."

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Kallis to make personal donation to Yuvraj Singh Foundation

By

IrishCentral Staff Writer

Published Monday, March 5, 2012, 8:47 AM

Updated Monday, March 5, 2012, 8:56 AM

Lindsay Lohan hosting "Saturday Night Live"

Photo by Google Images

The 'Mean Girls' actress - who has endured several stints in rehab and a string of legal problems in recent years - kicked off the show by referring to her stint under house arrest in the opening monologue.

She joked: "Wait, so the alarm goes off if I leave the stage?"

'Bridesmaids' actress Kristen Wiig also mocked the guest host, giving her a hug that turned into a body search for illicit substances, quipping "she's clean" at the end.

In another sketch, she donned a bandana to play a prisoner trying to scare three boys of a life of crime, and made reference to her arrest last year for stealing a necklace.

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Lindsay Lohan poked fun at her troubled personal life when she hosted 'Saturday Night Live'

Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel insists he still has room for improvement despite enjoying arguably his best season at the club.

The Slovakia centre-back has put in numerous commanding performances and has also weighed in with four goals this season, more than doubling his tally from the previous four years. But the 27-year-old believes there is still plenty more to come from him as he looks to build on his recent run of good form.

"For the last few months I have been pleased with my performances," he said. "There is no reason for it. I have just tried to do my best and not put too much pressure on myself. It helps that the team is doing well too. When the team is playing at a high level, it gives everybody confidence to reach their levels.

"Experience has a lot to do with it. As you get older you learn how to deal with success and failure and I feel a lot more confident in my ability to make the right decisions. In the last 18 months a lot has changed and I think everybody agrees that it has changed for the better.

"Nobody is complete. You see players older than me trying to get better and that inspires you. You see people like Bellars (Craig Bellamy); ones who give everything every day.

"He has been very successful for a long time but he still wants to be the best. You have to have that attitude. I am 27 now and I think I can still improve."

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Skrtel happy with personal improvement