Promising Effort to Curb Elder Financial Abuse...

How lawyers will get trained to spot and report potential dangers Financial abuse of the elderly has been called “the crime of the 21st Century” by Kiplinger’s. And as many as one in 20 older adults in America may be victims, according to a new study in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. Can anything be done to prevent this growing disgrace?  Maybe. I’m optimistic about a new effort aimed at getting lawyers to spot and report financial fraud targeting older Americans — scams that have ensnared Mickey Rooney, Brooke Astor and millions of lesser-known people. Why the EIFFE Initiative Has Potential The nonprofit Investor Protection Trust and its sister organization, the Investor Protection Institute have joined up with the American Bar Association (ABA) to launch the Elder Investment Fraud and Financial Exploitation (EIFFE) Prevention Program Legal. “We want to turn the tide and see fewer victims — instead of seeing elder abuse increasing, as it is now,” says Don Blandin, President and CEO of the Investor Protection Trust and the chief architect of the EIFFE program. The EIFFE program has potential, I think, because lawyers can be among the first to spot potential trouble. “We knew that a lot of attorneys — not just elder law attorneys — are helping seniors with estate plans and wills and powers of attorney, so they would be in a position to spot someone who could potentially be at risk of financial exploitation,” says Blandin. Lawyers Want to Get Involved One encouraging sign: lawyers surveyed by the three groups behind EIFFE said they want to help. Nine of 10 practicing attorneys among the 674 surveyed said they’d be willing to participate in a continuing legal education program “about detecting, preventing and redressing”...

How to Lose 1,000 Square Feet — and Keep It Off...

This writer found joy downsizing to a small apartment and offers five tips Five years ago, when I sold my 1,700-square-foot condo in St. Louis County, Mo., in preparation for a move to a small apartment in San Francisco, Calif., I knew I had to get rid of at least two-thirds of my stuff. That required touching every single thing I owned. I sold, donated or gave away everything from a crystal chandelier to a recliner I’d bought six months earlier to a package of powdered onion soup from the pantry. The man who painted my condo prior to the sale bought the pub table and chairs from my kitchen, so I gave him the concrete elephant statue from my deck. I pared down my Christmas decorations from five boxes to one. I found good homes at a university, a prison and a senior center for 46 boxes of books. And once and for all, I got rid of my collections of paper bags, plastic bags and cardboard boxes. What did I bring to California? My grandmother’s golden oak rocking chair, her dresser and her cedar chest. My mother’s living room lamps and her black sequin beanie. My father’s jewelry box and his Navy duffel bag, to hold jumper cables in my car. My son’s grade school art projects. And my Mickey Mouse Club membership certificate. OK, I admit I am a sentimental sort. If you are making plans to run away from the life you’ve always lived, if you are downsizing or if you are just weary of living with the same old stuff, here are five tips from someone living small and loving it: Don’t leave your past behind A fresh start does not require erasing who...

Convincing an Interviewer You Want to Downshift...

To snag a position with less stress, take these three steps If you’re nearing retirement, you might be thinking about finding a less demanding job with a better work-life balance: One with fewer hours, less responsibility or reduced travel demands. But when you’re ready to apply for a less-stress job for less pay, how do you communicate that effectively to potential employers? More to the point, how do you do so without seeming like you’ve lost your competitive drive? It’s a challenging situation. We are taught to approach the career ladder as a forward climb — one that leads progressively upwards to positions of greater status, pay and responsibility. But when you reverse direction and want to take a step downwards, employers tend to react with skepticism. They worry that downshifting is code for “tired and checked out.” (It doesn’t help that a Gallup survey last year found that workers in their 50s and 60s are America’s least engaged.) And they fear that if you accept a lesser role than the one you just had, you’ll be bored and leave when a better opportunity arises. Given these concerns, the key to convincing an employer to let you downshift is to do three things: Reformat your job search materials — resumé, LinkedIn Profile and cover letter — to be in alignment with your desired job. Target employers and industries that are receptive to midlife career changers and flexible work schedules. Prepare yourself to effectively address the employer’s concerns during the interview process. Now, let’s take a closer look at each of these “must-do” strategies: Reformat Your Job Search Materials If you want employers to take your request to downshift seriously, you need to edit your resumé and LinkedIn profile so...

Social Security: Best Ways to Max Out Your Benefit...

A ‘Get What’s Yours’ author says claiming as early as you can is ‘crazy’ You think taxes are complicated? Try figuring out the best time and best way to claim your Social Security benefits. Laurence J. Kotlikoff, co-author of Get What’s Yours: The Secrets to Maxing Out Your Social Security says: “There are 2,728 rules in Social Security’s handbook and maybe another 500,000 — it’s impossible to count them.” Hence the instructive 324-page book he just published along with financial writer Phillip Moeller and PBS NewsHour business and economics correspondent Paul Solman, to help people make wise Social Security claiming decisions. How Much We Expect From Social Security “At the beginning of this project, my coauthors thought I was far too angry about Social Security. They didn’t get my anger because they didn’t know the rules,” Kotlikoff told me. “By the end, they were saying tougher things than I would.” Although Kotlikoff is a Boston University economics professor, his book is anything but academic. After all, according to a Bankrate.com survey to be released tomorrow, 27 percent of Americans expect Social Security to account for at least half of their retirement income. I recently interviewed Kotlikoff for his advice on how to get the biggest Social Security benefit allowable. “There’s no perfect rule for everyone. You need to be strategic about your options,” he said. Highlights of our conversation: Next Avenue: Why is it so hard for people to figure out when and how they should claim Social Security? Kotlikoff: The bureaucrats and politicians over the years have made this the most complicated social insurance system you can imagine. Everything you say about Social Security has to come with a ‘but’ or an ‘if’ or five ‘buts’ or ‘ifs.’...

7 Secrets to Get Good Customer Service by Phone...

Agents are now better trained, if you can get past phone purgatory Over the past few months, I’ve had to make more than my usual share of calls to customer-service centers. The calls dealt with issues mundane (trying to learn what happened to an undelivered online order); frustrating (seeking help setting up a new printer) and serious (trying to assist my daughter in signing up for health insurance). I’ve spent hours trying to get these issues resolved and here’s what I discovered: Once I reached customer-service agents, almost all were polite and patient, knowledgeable and helpful. But… it’s become increasingly difficult to reach live ones. Making It Hard to Find the Number Many companies seem to have made it deliberately hard to find the appropriate number to call. Phone numbers are conspicuously absent from monthly bills and useful contact information rarely appears on websites of manufacturers, retailers and service providers. When I did manage to find the right number to call, I typically had to wait at least 30 minutes to speak with someone. And that was often just the first step in a series of transfers to other people who could allegedly help me. Sometimes they could. But often, my call was transferred to another person or disconnected, forcing me to start all over. After speaking to four customer-service experts, I learned that my experiences were not uncommon. They Don’t Want to Talk to You “There’s no question a lot of companies don’t really want to talk to you,” says Chris DeRose, co-author of Judgment on the Front Line: How Smart Companies Win By Trusting Their People. “It’s no accident that you have difficulty finding a number to call. Many companies promote FAQs and email queries aggressively and...

The Good News About Elder Care Benefits at Work...

A new survey finds they’re more prevalent, but small employers lag New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast’s new memoir about caring for her aging parents includes a drawing of her sitting on a couch between them. The caption, with an arrow pointing to Chast’s head, says: “You Are Here: Suck It Up.” Today’s reality is that many Americans care for aging family members — more than two in five of us, according to our research at the Families and Work Institute. And it’s a reality that employers are beginning to pay attention to — with a growing number now providing help for employees who feel that they just have to “suck it up” in managing this care and their careers. More Employers Offering Elder Care Help Families and Work Institute’s recently-released 2014 National Study of Employers  — funded by the Society for Human Resource Management — found that more employers are offering several forms of elder care supports than in the past, but smaller employers lag behind their larger counterparts. Among the findings from the survey of 1,051 for-profit and nonprofit employers, which looked at changes in the workplace since 2008:   43 percent of employers report they offer Elder Care Resource and Referral (help in finding resources and information about elder care), up from 31 percent in 2008. Far more employers now offer Dependent Care Assistance Plans for elder care (the ability to set aside money from each paycheck before taxes to pay for elder care expenses) than in 2008. Currently, 41 percent do; in 2008, 23 percent did. Just 7 percent of employers offer access to respite care — short-term care given to a family member by another caregiver so the primary caregiver can rest or take time...

Retiring in the Next 5 Years: A Financial To-Do List...

Take these 10 steps now and you’ll be ready to roll into retirement As we run through our daily to-do lists — go to work, attend meetings, battle traffic, get home, spend time with the family, eat dinner, sleep, repeat — retirement might seem like a lifetime away. The clutter and work of the everyday often makes us forget that soon we’ll be quieting down, moving at a slower pace and enjoying all those things we’ve been working towards over the past decades. With that in mind, I have found it helpful to develop a to-do list for those planning to retire in the next five years. This to-do list doesn’t involve finishing up projects or returning phone calls. It’s designed to ensure that when you retire, you’ll see continued financial stability and success and never have to look back. Everyone’s list may look a little different, of course, but below are a few things that should get you moving in the right direction: 1. Pencil out your retirement budget and start adjusting your finances accordingly. When we daydream about our retirements, we like to think about breathtaking vacations and adventures we may not have had time for while working. But you need to take time to consider not only the fun expenses, but the monthly bills and day-to-day expenses you expect to face. To that end, make sure you have an accurate, up-to-date financial plan. Once you stop working, you’re going to have to adjust to a retirement budget that could be tighter than the one you live on now. This could mean a big financial adjustment requiring changes in your lifestyle and some critical money decisions. The sooner you start preparing for them, the better. 2. Determine...

How to Find a Legit Work-From-Home Job...

5 tips to help you earn money without leaving the house A 56-year-old woman I know (she prefers not to be named) works from home about 30 hours a week, handling editing, proofreading and administrative duties for a consulting firm. This flexible work arrangement has proven to be a gift during a very difficult time. “My husband was diagnosed with a terminal illness,” she says. “I have no idea how I could have been his full-time caregiver and still shown up at an office. Instead I work at any hour of the day, any day of the week, so I can fulfill my job obligations and still be available for my husband’s needs.” Work-from-home jobs can be a great way to earn money full-time or part-time (perhaps in retirement) on a flexible schedule. But, as Next Avenue has written, there are plenty of scammers luring people who want to work from home. Be wary of ads that tout “high income for little work,” “no experience necessary” or other suspicious claims of instant riches for little effort. To find legitimate, quality at-home assignments, follow these five tips: 1. Focus on telecommuting-friendly jobs.  Tasks that require minimal supervision and can be completed using a phone or computer are best suited for virtual assignments. Some examples of work you can easily do on a remote basis: Telephone-based jobs, such as customer service agents, financial product sales and telemarketing. Computer-based jobs, such as web designer, translator, medical transcriptionist, researcher, blogger and online instructor. 2. Sell yourself locally. The number of people looking for work-from-home jobs is far greater than the number of advertised positions. So to get work-from-home assignments, you may need to drum up opportunities on your own, rather than answering ads. The...