Boomers Retirement

Condo Trends.

2008-07-22T23:41:00.001-07:00

According to the article by M. Anthony Carr on Realty Times, the author said that Boomers are driving the trend of Less Is More.

He said that traditionally downsizing is not unusal for silver-haired generation. He added that in the 21st century, downsizing is speeding up since baby boomers are becoming enpty-nesters which tremendously changed their lifestyle.

"They are seriously considering the convenience of 'lock-and-go' versus a lifestyle tied to big homes," says Murray Lawson, to the Calgary Herald. The managing broker for Royal LePage Coast Capital Chatterton has been watching boomers seek out low-cost alternatives to the high rents and maintenance of the single-family dwelling lifestyle.

Carr stated that the downsizing of home mean that all the furnishings are going to have to be downsize as well. This trend got everyone involved inclding the Realtors as well as the furniture retail outlets. Condo buyers no longer can fit in king-sized bed for wall beds and smaller living room suits. No longer can they continued to have big comfy couch that looks perfect in the 240-foot living room in the traditional colonial. They are going to need a much small one in a 144-foot den in the luxury condo.

Moving consultant Jane Dewing in Calgary says it can actually be stressful, saying residents realize they "have to make conscious decisions to relinquish items they might have had for many years."

The article suggests that boomers downsize every 5 years and try to minimize the major downsizing at one time.

Read the whole article:

Theme Park For Boomers?

2008-05-06T21:57:00.000-07:00

Visitors look out over the 55 acre Hard Rock park built around a lake dominated by 70 foot replica of a Les Paul guitar Saturday, April 26, 2008, in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

(AP Photo/Mary Ann Chastain)

Now that we are retiring, we can travel far and away.... I still wish that it was built in California though.

Led Zeppelin, Moody Blues rides at new Hard Rock Park in SC

By BRUCE SMITH, Associated Press Writer Tue May 6, 12:47 PM ET

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. - The Led Zeppelin classic "Whole Lotta Love" throbs from the 1,200-watt sound system as the slick silver and white roller coaster nears the top of its serpentine track.

Lead singer Robert Plant shrieks, "Woman. You need. Loooooooove..." And as he does, riders scream as the car falls from a height of 155 feet, reaching speeds of 65 mph.

Welcome to Hard Rock Park, America's newest theme park and the first one built in the nation in a decade. Here the theme is not movies or fairy tales or water shows. It's that American invention, rock 'n' roll.

The $400 million park in the heart of South Carolina's $16 billion tourism industry had a soft opening in April that it called a "sound check." The grand opening is slated for June 2-3, with concerts by the Eagles and The Moody Blues.

As has Led Zeppelin, both groups have lent their names to key attractions at the 55-acre park built around a lake dominated by 70-foot replica of a Les Paul guitar.

The Eagles' "Life in the Fast Lane" roller coaster spins through what appears to be an abandoned saw mill as the hit song plays. "Nights in White Satin, The Trip" winds through the dark amid psychedelic lights and images set to the 1960s Moody Blue's hit.

Nearby looms a reproduction of the Statue of Liberty with sun glasses, and holding not a torch, but a Zippo cigarette lighter. Engraved on the pedestal is a quote from Neil Young: "Keep On Rockin' in the Free World." The park also hosts nightly fireworks shows choreographed to "Bohemian Rhapsody," and one of its eateries is called Alice's Restaurant, after the Arlo Guthrie song.

The park is the first foray by Hard Rock, best known for its cafes, into the amusement park business.

"We realized everybody had done movie parks," said Steven Goodwin, the park's chief executive officer. "Why do something everyone else has done in Orlando and Paramount parks around the country? We just thought rock 'n' roll was a natural."

Building a theme park around music guarantees an audience from children to seniors.

"Music is one of those things that connects emotionally with us," he said. "You hear a song and you immediately have a memory or a related emotional experience. That's what we're trying to create here."

"What younger kids have been exposed to is very eclectic because of the Internet and the iPod," said Jon Binkowski, the park's chief creative officer.

"Younger kids have been exposed to be the Beatles and the Rolling Stones and things like that."

The park is divided into areas such as British Invasion, which features the bus the Beatles used in the film "Magical Mystery Tour."

Among the other areas are Cool Country, Born in the USA and even Rock and Roll Heaven, where the names of 350 musicians playing in that big concert hall in the sky are engraved bricks and stone as a memorial.

Visitors can see swimmers and divers perform in a show called "Malibu Beach Party," play arcade games such as Whack-A-Boys-Band — similar to Whac-a-Mole — and catch live musical performances throughout the park.

All the while, rock music from different eras plays seamlessly through the park's elaborate sound system.

"You can layer rock 'n' roll over a theme park. It's just a natural," Binkowski said. "Music makes a connection that a movie doesn't. Movies continually have to tap back into music to get their flavor and their soul."

Hard Rock is the first new park built in the nation in a decade, according to the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions. There are about 400 amusement parks in the United States.

Hard Rock hopes to attract 30,000 visitors a day and about 3 million a year.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap_travel/20080506/ap_tr_ge/travel_brief_hard_rock_park;_ylt=AosJYLdpH8Lyp6mhHgcHBa2s0NUE

Baby Boomer Women: Secure Futures or Not?

2008-04-28T20:58:00.000-07:00

Baby Boomer Women: Secure Futures or Not?

A Summer/Fall 2007 collaborative study by the Harvard Generations Policy Program and the Global Generations Policy Institute

Edited By Paul Hodge
Chair, Global Generations Policy Institute
Director, Harvard Generations Policy Program
http://www.genpolicy.com

Baby Boomer Women: Secure Futures or Not? is a "first-of-its-kind" study.
With baby boomer women facing unique employment, financial, retirement, housing and health care challenges, this study provides answers on how baby boomer women and women of all ages may experience abundant, secure and fulfilling lives.

As a collaboration between the Harvard Generations Policy Program and the Global Generations Policy Institute (GGPI), Baby Boomer Women: Secure Futures or Not? comprises a series of "cutting edge" research articles. The expert authors, drawn from the academic, business and policy communities, examine a number of critical and often overlooked employment, financial, health care, housing and retirement challenges facing women. GGPI’s Chair Paul Hodge has observed:

"Baby Boomer Women: Secure Futures or Not? is a culmination of a year of rigorous collaborative work by and among our Harvard partners and our most gifted authors. This pro bono, groundbreaking, public service venture was conceived, funded and led by GGPI as part of its Women’s Abundance Leadership Initiative.

FREE DOWNLOAD HERE:

http://www.genpolicy.com/2006_journal/index_articles.html

REAL ESTATE THAT IS GREEN~

2008-03-11T02:09:00.001-07:00

REAL ESTATE

Earth movers
Pitching boomers housing that is green as their hair goes gray
By Stephanie I. Cohen
Last update: 3:33 p.m. EST Feb. 24, 2008

PRINCETON, N.J. (MarketWatch) -- Shea Homes, one of the nation's largest home builders, believes baby boomers are looking for communities that make an environmental difference.

This month, Shea announced the opening of Victoria Gardens, an "active lifestyle," or retirement, development in Florida sandwiched between Orlando and Daytona Beach. The homes were advertised as having a carbon footprint that is 20% to 30% less than that of a "typical household."

Billed as eco-friendly and energy-wise, the homes feature solar attic fans, green-fiber recycled insulation, motion-sensor triggered lighting, energy-efficient windows and appliances, and garages outfitted with electric-vehicle charging stations. Shea says it has focused on small, incremental green features that will collective add up to energy savings.

Housing developments that target baby boomers may be the next big push for the green housing market and statistics indicate this could be a good marriage. "There is no doubt that the green trend is going to accelerate more and more," said Rick Andreen, president of Shea Homes Active Lifestyle Communities division, in a recent interview.

Victoria Gardens marks Shea's debut in the Florida retirement market though the company is building similar homes in northern and southern California, Arizona, and Washington. The energy-efficient features are considered standard in these homes. Other retirement communities from Texas to Maine are taking similar steps and adding green features to existing homes. An Army retirement community in San Antonio recently announced plans to install solar hot water systems in the community's 180 homes. Sea Coast Management Company, which manages retirement communities in Maine, is offering existing residents incentives to install solar hot water heaters and offering a Toyota Prius and/or a free solar hot water system to new customers purchasing a home.

Baby boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, grew up alongside the environmental movement of the 1960s and '70s. "These guys were at Woodstock," said Matthew Kahn, a professor at UCLA's Institute of the Environment. "This is the birth cohort that was at the environmental movement's summer of love."

In 2005, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated there were approximately 78.2 million baby boomers in America. A December 2007 survey by AARP found that roughly half of all boomers see themselves as environmental stewards, or "green boomers."

Besides being a large swath of the population, boomers are overwhelmingly homeowners. Boomers are also far more affluent than earlier generations of retirees, making it more likely that they will consider paying a premium for environmentally friendly housing features.

Read the whole article:

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/pitching-boomers-homes-green-their/story.aspx?guid=%7B9DEC1029%2D8E09%2D4160%2DABDB%2D639EC0EFA55C%7D&dist=morenews

First baby boomer gets first Social Security payment

2008-02-13T22:17:00.000-08:00

"Over the next two decades, nearly 80 million baby boomers -- about
10,000 per day -- will become eligible for Social Security."

First baby boomer gets first Social Security payment

VERO BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- The nation's first baby boomer received her
first Social Security retirement benefit today, marking another
milestone for the post-World War II generation.

Kathleen Casey-Kirschling, 62, was born one second after midnight on
Jan. 1, 1946. The retired teacher who lives in Earleville, Md., and
Vero Beach applied for her benefits online, and received her payment
by direct deposit.

Federal officials at a Vero Beach event to debut a public service
announcement lauded Casey-Kirschling's decision to receive her
benefits by direct deposit. A video featuring Casey-Kirschling was
scheduled to appear on the Social Security Web site later today.

"Kathy is a trendsetter for her generation," said Jim Courtney,
Social Security's deputy commissioner for communications.

Over the next two decades, nearly 80 million baby boomers -- about
10,000 per day -- will become eligible for Social Security.

If no changes are made, the Social Security trust fund is projected
to deplete its reserves in 2041 and will begin paying out more in
benefits that it collects in payroll taxes in 2017.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/retirement/2008-02-12-boomer-soci...

US braces for baby boom retirement wave

2007-12-25T23:54:00.000-08:00

Yes, as 1 January 2008 is approaching fast, the big news is baby boomers are getting ready for filling up the applications for retirement. There are many opinions of how it will impact the economy.

US braces for baby boom retirement wave

by Rob Lever
Mon Dec 24, 10:40 PM ET

The first of the vast US baby boom generation goes into retirement in January, setting off a demographic tidal wave with wide-ranging economic, political and social implications.

Kathleen Casey-Kirschling, born on January 1, 1946, is acknowledged as the nation's first baby boomer and the first to apply for social security benefits, for which she will be eligible in 2008.

The New Jersey grandmother is the first of an estimated 80 million Americans born between 1946 and 1964, a generation that led a social revolution in the 1960s and changed the fabric of most facets of society.

The cost for government-funded social security and medical care for the boomers leaves a funding gap of between 40 and 76 trillion dollars for next 75 years, according to various estimates.

"America is facing a demographic juggernaut," says Brent Green, a marketing consultant and author, in his "Boomers" blog.

"An unprecedented number will soon be entering the retirement stage of life. One-third of the population will be over 50 by 2010. One in five will be over 65 by 2010."

Leonard Steinhorn, an American University professor and author of "The Greater Generation: In Defense of the Baby Boom Legacy," says the generation often wrongly maligned as latte-sipping Yuppies has transformed most of American society.

He wrote that boomers have led or sustained most of "the great citizen movements that have advanced American values and freedoms -- the environmental movement, the consumer movement, the women's movement, the civil rights movement, the diversity movement, the human rights movement, the openness in government movement."

He told AFP he expects this transformation to continue as boomers age. "It's not going to be a generation that's going to go off to the golf courses and do nothing."

He said boomers will push politics to a more progressive bent even though that has not yet happened because the more conservative over-60 generation still carries much weight in the electorate.

"Once younger voters begin to replace them, the socially conservative vote will dwindle," he said.

The generation is a ripe target for marketing of everything from travel to real estate to computer games for keeping minds fit.

"In the whole way we think about aging and the way companies develop products, we have traditionally been a country of the young," said David Baxter, senior vice president at Age Wave, a California-based research and consulting company focused on the over-50 population.

"If you look at the hottest products, companies think the youth market is the most important."

Baxter said marketers are still using "the myth that older consumers are stuck in their brands and not very interesting consumers. But it's the mature consumer who has all the money."

Americans aged 50 and over have a collective one trillion dollars in disposable income and control 67 percent of the US wealth, according to the over-50 social networking website Eons.

Members of the baby boom generation are big users of technology and the Internet. A Pew Internet Life Project report showed two-thirds of those between 50 and 58 had Internet access as of 2004, similar to the number of 28- to 39-year-olds.

Many are gravitating to social networking sites, especially those geared to their generation with names like TeeBeeDee and BoomerCafe.

About half of Americans will buy new homes after retirement, and many will continue to work in some capacity or become involved in social activism.

Michael Falcon, head of the retirement group at Merrill Lynch, says the nation must prepare for a "new model" for retirement.

"Multiple generations report cycling in and out of work and pursuing a new career in later life as the retirement ideal," he said in a 2006 report. "Companies need to be aware of this new concept of retirement."

A Merrill Lynch survey found 71 percent of adults surveyed plan to work in some capacity after their formal "retirement."

Carol Orsborn, a public relations executive who writes a "Boomer Blog," said the generation appears to be pursuing its dreams rather than dropping out to a quiet retirement.

"If we were hippies in the 1960s and 1970s and yuppies in the 1980s and 1990s, what are we now?" she wrote.

"At an age where expectations that our generation pull back, instead of 're-tiring' we are 're-upping' for another tour of duty in life. We are changing careers, finally getting around to taking risks with our dreams, advancing into new psychological and spiritual terrain, not only new to us as individuals, but for society as a whole. We are, in fact, Re-uppies."

On the economic side, some fear the "silver tsunami" will drain the country of its wealth, but Baxter says the United States has some advantages.

"It's true that everything in our society is built on the idea of continued growth, it's kind of a giant Ponzi scheme with every generation prior to this one having given birth to a larger generation," he said.

The problems are even more acute in some European countries and Japan which face a similar demographic time bomb. But Baxter said "the US is cushioned to some extent by a more liberal immigration policy" and because "there is more flexibility in our workforce. It's illegal to have mandatory reitirement and that's not the case in most countries."

Copyright © 2007 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AFP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Agence France Presse.

by Rob Lever
Mon Dec 24, 10:40 PM ET

The first of the vast US baby boom generation goes into retirement in January, setting off a demographic tidal wave with wide-ranging economic, political and social implications.

Kathleen Casey-Kirschling, born on January 1, 1946, is acknowledged as the nation's first baby boomer and the first to apply for social security benefits, for which she will be eligible in 2008.

The New Jersey grandmother is the first of an estimated 80 million Americans born between 1946 and 1964, a generation that led a social revolution in the 1960s and changed the fabric of most facets of society.

The cost for government-funded social security and medical care for the boomers leaves a funding gap of between 40 and 76 trillion dollars for next 75 years, according to various estimates.

"America is facing a demographic juggernaut," says Brent Green, a marketing consultant and author, in his "Boomers" blog.

"An unprecedented number will soon be entering the retirement stage of life. One-third of the population will be over 50 by 2010. One in five will be over 65 by 2010."

Leonard Steinhorn, an American University professor and author of "The Greater Generation: In Defense of the Baby Boom Legacy," says the generation often wrongly maligned as latte-sipping Yuppies has transformed most of American society.

He wrote that boomers have led or sustained most of "the great citizen movements that have advanced American values and freedoms -- the environmental movement, the consumer movement, the women's movement, the civil rights movement, the diversity movement, the human rights movement, the openness in government movement."

He told AFP he expects this transformation to continue as boomers age. "It's not going to be a generation that's going to go off to the golf courses and do nothing."

He said boomers will push politics to a more progressive bent even though that has not yet happened because the more conservative over-60 generation still carries much weight in the electorate.

"Once younger voters begin to replace them, the socially conservative vote will dwindle," he said.

The generation is a ripe target for marketing of everything from travel to real estate to computer games for keeping minds fit.

"In the whole way we think about aging and the way companies develop products, we have traditionally been a country of the young," said David Baxter, senior vice president at Age Wave, a California-based research and consulting company focused on the over-50 population.

"If you look at the hottest products, companies think the youth market is the most important."

Baxter said marketers are still using "the myth that older consumers are stuck in their brands and not very interesting consumers. But it's the mature consumer who has all the money."

Americans aged 50 and over have a collective one trillion dollars in disposable income and control 67 percent of the US wealth, according to the over-50 social networking website Eons.

Members of the baby boom generation are big users of technology and the Internet. A Pew Internet Life Project report showed two-thirds of those between 50 and 58 had Internet access as of 2004, similar to the number of 28- to 39-year-olds.

Many are gravitating to social networking sites, especially those geared to their generation with names like TeeBeeDee and BoomerCafe.

About half of Americans will buy new homes after retirement, and many will continue to work in some capacity or become involved in social activism.

Michael Falcon, head of the retirement group at Merrill Lynch, says the nation must prepare for a "new model" for retirement.

"Multiple generations report cycling in and out of work and pursuing a new career in later life as the retirement ideal," he said in a 2006 report. "Companies need to be aware of this new concept of retirement."

A Merrill Lynch survey found 71 percent of adults surveyed plan to work in some capacity after their formal "retirement."

Carol Orsborn, a public relations executive who writes a "Boomer Blog," said the generation appears to be pursuing its dreams rather than dropping out to a quiet retirement.

"If we were hippies in the 1960s and 1970s and yuppies in the 1980s and 1990s, what are we now?" she wrote.

"At an age where expectations that our generation pull back, instead of 're-tiring' we are 're-upping' for another tour of duty in life. We are changing careers, finally getting around to taking risks with our dreams, advancing into new psychological and spiritual terrain, not only new to us as individuals, but for society as a whole. We are, in fact, Re-uppies."

On the economic side, some fear the "silver tsunami" will drain the country of its wealth, but Baxter says the United States has some advantages.

"It's true that everything in our society is built on the idea of continued growth, it's kind of a giant Ponzi scheme with every generation prior to this one having given birth to a larger generation," he said.

The problems are even more acute in some European countries and Japan which face a similar demographic time bomb. But Baxter said "the US is cushioned to some extent by a more liberal immigration policy" and because "there is more flexibility in our workforce. It's illegal to have mandatory reitirement and that's not the case in most countries."

Copyright © 2007 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AFP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Agence France Presse.

Copyright © 2007 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071225/bs_afp/lifestyleusdemographicselderly&printer=1;_ylt=Apg.wOA2d39XaPWLeFTaL8moOrgF

13 Worst Places To Retire..

2007-12-21T10:42:00.000-08:00

Dont quote me - this is the article from AOL Money site. It is a part of the 'RETIRE IN STYLE' series.

Worst Places to Retire
13 Places Seniors May Not Find So Warm and Welcoming
By CAROL VINZANT

As boomers start to retire, more cities will be rolling out the red carpet trying to attract this new demographic. City planners hope these retirees will come with bundles of money to spend, but no kids to educate. Get ready for the sales pitch and keep in mind that such promises as year-round sun, a serene natural setting, or a thriving senior community can all have their downsides.

Clearwater City, Florida: Too Many Fellow Seniors

Austin, Texas: Hard Time Getting a Doctor who Takes Medicare

Anchorage, Alaska: Fewest Fellow Seniors

Bridgeport, Connecticut: Highest Taxes

Washington, DC: Most Poor Seniors

Rhode Island: Least Older Men

Provo, Utah: Most Youthful Population

Queens, New York: Violence and the Boulevard of Death

Connecticut: Deficient Nursing Homes

Your Kids’ House

Green Valley, Arizona: Trouble in a Sheltered Community

Corpus Christi, Texas: Hottest Feeling City

Riverside, California: Declining Property Values

http://money.aol.com/special/canvas/_a/worst-places-to-retire/20071203122009990001

Flight attendant retires after 50 years

2007-11-29T10:13:00.000-08:00

Flight attendant retires after 50 years

By MARK NIESSE, Associated

Press Writer

HONOLULU - When Patti Smart was hired as an Aloha Airlines stewardess
50 years ago, it was a different job for a different time.

She rubbed elbows with Frank Sinatra, performed in-flight fashion
shows and danced in smoke-filled aisles aboard cramped DC-3s seating
two dozen passengers.

Smart, nicknamed the "Queen of Aloha," retires Friday after more than
a half-century on the job she started when she was 18 years old.

A lot has changed since the old days, when people dressed up in hats
and bow ties to fly on propeller-powered planes across the Pacific.

"You're supposed to have the same niceness, the same warmth, the same
caring. But it's faster now," Smart said. "In the older days, the
flights were longer so you had more time to be intimate with
passengers and you got to be very good friends with them."

Smart has the third most years in the sky among the 55,000 flight
attendants represented by the Association of Flight Attendants. The
most senior flight attendant in the nation started her job in 1950.

Smart was paid $170 per month for 85 hours of work after she was
hired on Jan. 28, 1957.

Today, as the airline's most senior flight attendant (they're not
called stewardesses anymore), she makes $43.50 per hour catering to
first-class passengers on flights between Orange County, Calif., and
Honolulu.

Hearing Smart reminisce over times gone by makes her job sound more
like fun than work. She laughs when remembering affable celebrities,
prankster pilots and a box-like cart that sheltered passengers from
the rain as they disembarked.

The job has grown on her so much that she's reluctant to leave.

"There will be sparks flying from my feet as they drag me down the
runway," she said.

One time, she got into a tight spot when her skirt flew out the
window.

As she was serving pineapple juice to passengers, she spilled it all
over her uniform. She changed into a pair of pants and washed out her
skirt in the lavatory. When she tried to air-dry the skirt by letting
it flap in the breeze from the cockpit window, one of the pilots
snatched it and let it fly out the window.

"I wanted to kill those two," she said. "I wanted to get their two
heads together and whack them. They were laughing and laughing."

Top 25 Cities and Regions for Retirement Jobs

2007-11-16T23:23:00.000-08:00

Hot off the press: By Robert Powell, MarketWatch
Last Update: 9:25 PM ET Nov 14, 2007

BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- Most people don't get to have their cake and eat it too. Case in point: we know the best employers for workers over age 50. And we also know the best places to which Americans can retire. But where in America are the best 25 places for retirement jobs?

Here's is the list of the top cities and regions for retirement jobs:

Northeast
Harrisburg/Lancaster, Pa.
Nashua/Manchester, N.H.

Mid- Atlantic/Southeast
Bethesda, Md.
Leesburg/Winchester, Va.
Fayetteville, Ark.
Raleigh/Durham, N.C.
Washington D.C. region
Tampa/Saint Petersburg, Fla.
Sarasota, Fla.

Central/Midwest
Louisville, Ky.
Columbus, Ohio
Knoxville, Tenn.
Indianapolis, Ind.

Southwest/Mountain
San Antonio, Texas
Phoenix, Ariz.
Las Vegas, Nev.
Greeley, Colo.

Upper Midwest/Great Plains
Madison, Wis.
Ann Arbor, Mich.
Minneapolis/St. Paul
Kansas City, Mo.

Northwest/West Coast
Seattle/Bellevue, Wash.
Medford, Ore.
Spokane, Wash.
Sacramento, Calif.

==================================

The problems for some semi-retirees and retirees; they can not move to those places since they need to move to be near their children or families.
JM

==================================

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/top-25-cities-those-seeking/story.aspx?guid=%7BC52C26BB%2D26A3%2D4FE1%2D8479%2DA881AB449B04%7D

Problmes In Life.

2007-11-08T14:32:00.002-08:00

The serious problems in life, however, are never fully solved....

The meaning and purpose of a problem seem to lie not

in its solution, but in our working at it incessantly.

(C.G. Jung, Stages of Life, CW 8, § 771

The Emergence of Positive Psychology

2007-11-08T14:32:00.001-08:00

The Emergence of Positive Psychology: The Building of a Field of Dreams
Shane J. Lopez, PhD
University of Kansas

"Build it and they will come. Build it and they will come."
A similar eerie directive echoed in Ray Consella's mind in the popular movie,
"Field of Dreams." An epiphany occurred when Consella realized that the building of a baseball field in rural Iowa would open a metaphysical door to his past and his future.

Dr. Martin Seligman experienced a similar epiphany that occurred in his garden and was brought about by the profound words of a child, his daughter Nikki. In a 1999 speech, Dr. Seligman recounted the experience that changed his view of parenting and psychology and he concluded the following:

Raising Nikki would be about taking the strength that she had just shown--I call it seeing into the soul--naming it, nurturing it, reinforcing it, helping her to lead her life around it and let it buffer against the weaknesses and the vicissitudes. The most important thing, the most general thing I learned, was that psychology was half-baked, literally half-baked. We had baked the part about mental illness; we had baked the part about repair of damage...The other side's unbaked, the side of strength, the side of what we're good at.

Positive psychology is the other side. It is the scientific pursuit of optimal human functioning and the building of a field focusing on human strength and virtue. It builds on the bench science and research methods that shed light on the "dark side" of human functioning, and it opens the door to understanding prevention and health promotion. Dr. Seligman (1998) noted:

http://www.apa.org/apags/profdev/pospsyc.html

Transform Your Life

2007-11-08T13:59:00.000-08:00

Transform your Life - by Pastor Will Bowen

Your thoughts create your world and your words indicate your thoughts. When you eliminate complaining from your life will you enjoy happier relationships, better health and greater prosperity. This simple program helps you set a trap for your own negativity and redirect your mind towards a more positive and rewarding life.

http://acomplaintfreeworld.org/

How it Works?

Scientists believe it takes 21 days to form a new habit and complaining is habitual for most of us.

Read More:
http://acomplaintfreeworld.org/howitworks.html

Did You Hear?

2007-10-25T04:20:00.000-07:00

First US Baby Boomer Files For Social Security Benefits
Tuesday, October 16, 2007

WASHINGTON — Kathleen Casey-Kirschling filed for early retirement Monday, becoming the first baby boomer to start collecting Social Security.

Born one second after midnight in January 1946, the retired teacher leads the way for as many as 80 million individuals who will qualify for the retirement payout. Casey-Kirschling was born one second after midnight on Jan. 1, 1946, and will receive her first Social Security check in February 2008 as the first wave of baby boomers turns 62 next year and becomes eligible for early retirement benefits.

Social Security Commissioner Michael Astrue said the agency is bracing for some 80 million Americans to apply for retirement benefits over the next two decades. "We are already feeling enormous pressure from baby boomers being in their peak disability years and now we're preparing for so many of them to file for retirement," Astrue said at a press conference with Casey-Kirschling.

The system also includes benefits for disabled workers. Part of that preparation is to encourage boomers to apply for benefits online at www.socialsecurity.gov/onlineservices. Astrue said the roughly 40 minutes it takes to apply from home is more convenient and less time-consuming than traveling to the local Social Security office.

Because Casey-Kirschling is retiring early, her monthly benefit is reduced to 75 percent of what she would have received had she waited for full retirement at age 66. The age of full retirement for Social Security is gradually rising from 65 for those born before 1938 to 67 for people born after 1959 under a 1983 law that was enacted to shore up the pension program's finances.

By Donna Smith & FoxNews.com

The first wave of 3.2 million baby boomers turns 62 next year — 365 an hour.

About 49% of the men and 53% of the women are projected to choose early retirement and begin drawing monthly Social Security checks representing 75% of the benefit they'd be entitled to receive if they waited four more years to retire.

In 2011, they'll turn 65 and be eligible for Medicare. In 2012, those who didn't take early retirement benefits will turn 66 and qualify for their full share. "Once it starts to happen, and it's going to start in January, you're going to see millions of baby boomers starting to take it," says Casey-Kirschling, a retired seventh-grade teacher and nutrition consultant.

USATODAY.com

Buy Retirement Home Now, Move in Later

2007-08-17T13:25:00.000-07:00

Daily Real Estate News - August 13, 2007

Buy Retirement Home Now, Move in Later
With prices in many areas at a low ebb, it might make good financial sense for Baby Boomers to buy their retirement homes now, even if they're still years away from actually moving. They can find renters who will pay the bills until they're ready to live there.

Here’s some advice for people who are considering this strategy:

Shop carefully. It's best to buy a home that can be rented for a rate that, after tax considerations, will cover the mortgage, real estate taxes, and insurance.

Study up on housing trends. Ask the local or state planning department for demographic and economic data. The information can reveal facts that will influence whether or not to buy. For example, big companies going out of business or military base closings can be bad news.

Don’t forget maintenance. Consider who’ll take care of the house in the owner’s absence. Property managers charge 6 percent to 15 percent of the monthly rent. Family members may be willing to do the job for free, but they could be ill equipped to do the job if the don't have any experience.

Consider financing. Boomers with sufficient equity in their current homes can tap it to either buy their retirement home outright or secure a much lower mortgage rate compared with a loan at the rate often offered to buyers of investment property.

Source: The Washington Post, Belly L. Kass, Esq. (08/11/07)

Luxury Residential Oxean Liner.

2007-07-29T12:46:00.000-07:00

This is an article from Realtown.com

Prudential Douglas Elliman Is Sales Agent for Residential Ocean Liner
200 Luxury Ocean Residences Offered in $1 Billion Deal
July 27th, 2007 - 12:03 am

NEW YORK -- Orphalese Holdings, the parent company of The Orphalese, the world’s largest luxury residential ocean liner of her class, has announced an exclusive partnership with Prudential Douglas Elliman, the largest residential real estate firm in New York City, to be the luxury cruise ship’s worldwide sales agent.

Donald V. Allen, CEO, Orphalese Cruise Lines, said, “Prudential Douglas Elliman is the ideal partner to actualize our dream of offering an ocean-based lifestyle on-board The Orphalese. They identify with the representative Orphalese market and clearly have the proven experience and track record of selling luxurious residences to premiere clientele.”

“Prudential Douglas Elliman is proud to announce its exclusive sales partnership with The Orphalese, marking one of the firm's largest real estate deals, as well as the first of its kind for us,” said Howard M. Lorber, chairman, Prudential Douglas Elliman. “We know that our widespread network of agents combined with The Orphalese’s distinctive itinerary and extraordinary residences and amenities offers an unparalleled opportunity for our upscale clientele. Also due to intelligent design engineering and resultant operating efficiencies onboard The Orphalese, we will be able to offer the strongest cost of ownership profile in the ocean residence market today.”

Sales and marketing efforts will begin in the Hamptons, the affluent summer enclave on the East End of Long Island, where the residential ocean liner will have its debut at the season’s most talked about events and galas, including the Southampton Hospital Gala, Hampton Classic, and Art for Life benefit.

The stunning redesigned East Coast Orphalese Sales Team office is located at Prudential Douglas Elliman’s offices at 575 Madison Avenue in New York City.

About The Orphalese
Capturing the imagination of the public as a unique ocean-based lifestyle experience, The Orphalese will be the most exciting place to be. The Orphalese is the first residential ocean liner to offer 200 permanent ocean residences, ranging in size from 1,000 square feet to 4,000 square feet, as well as 265 suites for luxury cruise passengers. Leveraging the combined resources of the world's best business, luxury real estate and design talent, the residential ocean liner will be equipped with the finest amenities available anywhere in the world. Spending an average of 200 days in various ports around the world, the residential ocean liner will give owners and guests the opportunity to visit the globe's most exclusive events and explore the cultural and historic offerings of each country

http://www.realtown.com/articles/prudential-douglas-elliman-is-sales-agent-for-residential-ocean-liner

Orphalese Cruise Line Official Web Site.
http://www.theorphalese.com/

The Best Places to Live if You're 50+

2007-07-27T14:55:00.000-07:00

The Best Places to Live if You're 50+
Looking for a great place to retire?

AARP's membership magazine has revealed it's annual ranking of the top five places to live for people older than 50. The selections are based on criteria that make a community livable, such as mass-transit systems so residents can drive less, expanded sidewalks to encourage walking, better health care, and a wide range of mixed use housing, according to the magazine.This year's top picks are:

Atlanta: "A sophisticated metropolis with southern charm, Atlanta offers abundant volunteer and cultural opportunities. Retirees also appreciate the wide range of housing options."

Beacon Hill in Boston: "This historically genteel part of Boston is full of culture and great restaurants. The Beacon Hill Village provides concierge style access to a network of support services for aging residents including transportation, health care and entertainment."

Chandler, Ariz.: "Gracious desert living combined with an activist twist that encourages residents to get involved with the spirit of the town. A city climate and plenty of parks and open space provide ample recreation opportunities."

Milwaukee: "An example of urban renewal at its best, Milwaukee features picturesque river walks and affordable water-front living.

Portland, Ore.: "European charm meets environmental nirvana in this environmentally progressive city. 50-plus residents love the miles of safe bike lanes and the revitalized Pearl District."

AARP also named four cities to watch: Austin, Texas; Burlington, Vt.; Mankato, Minn., and Traverse City, Mich.

Source: AARP The Magazine

The rich are bullish on real estate

2007-06-18T13:08:00.000-07:00

CNNMoney.com
The rich are bullish on real estate
Monday June 18, 12:58 pm ET
By Les Christie, CNNMoney.com staff writer

The very rich are different from you and me: they don't seem to be too worried about the current housing slump. At least that's what a new study released Monday found.
More than half of affluent homeowners expect their property value to appreciate at least somewhat during the next year, according to the Coldwell Banker Previews International Luxury Survey. A tenth of them expect significant gains.

The study polled 301 homeowners with million-dollar homes (two million dollars in California) and more than a million dollars in investable assets.

"These are very successful people and they still think that real estate is a good investment," said Jim Gillespie, Coldwell Banker's chief executive.

The results run counter to most industry watchers' predictions for a continued slump in the overall market. Some forecasts see home prices dropping about 8 percent for the two-year period through the end of 2008.

Part of wealthy home owners' optimism, according to Gillespie, is that the luxury market has held up nationwide during the recent slump.

It may also confirm a basic contrarian investing impulse found among many of the wealthy: the best time to buy is when others are selling. 40 percent polled say they may buy a second home this year.

Looking ahead, 36 percent of the affluent expect the price of their homes to increase significantly over the next five years and 58 percent expect at least some gain, according to the survey.

Women are even more optimistic, with 61 percent expecting some price increase during the next 12 months compared with 50 percent for men.

The wealthy also appear to want more space; 61 percent of those moving this year plan to buy a bigger house.

Gillespie pointed out, with some amazement, that almost half want to make the move because of the way their space is designed. "They're living in multi-million-dollar homes and they don't like their floor plans?" he asked.

Their new spaces are likely to include many features that were once very rare in American homes.

"What constitutes a luxury amenity is evolving," said Gillespie. "High-end kitchens and entertainment rooms now are givens."

The survey found that 72 percent of the rich already have designer kitchens, 63 percent maintain formal landscaped gardens and 34 percent have wine cellars. Some 72 percent of their houses boast rooms devoted to entertainment. 30 percent of those report having rooms with theater-type seating.

The number one next must-have amenity, according to the study, is heated floors. 23 percent of wealthy homeowners already have them, and another 21 percent are considering their addition.

Other desirable add-ons include tennis courts (19 percent), kitchens in the master suites (16 percent) and putting greens or small golf courses on the property (16 percent).

Many of the arriviste amenities - boat docks, gyms, indoor pools - have to do with sports activities and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Retiring in style

The survey also questioned the wealthy about they want to spend their retirement. Chief among them were travel with 87 percent of females and 84 percent of males wanting to indulge in foreign travel and 77 percent and 71 percent planning on domestic trips.

Spending time with families was big for both sexes (64 percent men and 63 percent women) and the majority hoped to remain physically active pursuing sports (65 percent of men and 76 percent of women).

A significant proportion can't seem to picture themselves out of harness: 19 percent of men and 16 percent of women plan to start a new business after they retire.

Some 54 percent of men and 67 percent of women said their main activity in retirement is to just enjoy life.

With the luxurious homes they already own, that shouldn't prove too difficult

http://biz.yahoo.com/cnnm/070618/061507_the_wealthy_bullish_on_real_estate.html?.v=2

Top 20 paying jobs for over 50

2007-06-15T01:38:00.000-07:00

Ok, you are retiring .. so what are you reading this for?
Well, because you are too young to retire folks!

Top 20 paying jobs for over 50

1) Nonprofit Executive
Median Pay: $63,500

2) Patient Representative
Median Pay: $41,800

3) Celebrant/Religious Leader
Median Pay: $48,300

4) Financial Adviser
Median Pay: $66,800

5) Public School Teacher
Median Pay: $47,500

6) Appraiser (Residential Real Estate)
Median Pay: $42,000

7) College Professor
Median Pay: $40,200

8) Day Care Center Teacher
Median Pay: $26,400

9) IRA Specialist
Median Pay: $38,700

10) Labor Relations Manager
Median Pay: $100,700

11) Leasing Consultant
Median Pay: $27,100

12) Lobbyist
Median Pay: $93,100

13) Medical Records Coding Technician
Median Pay: $38,800

14) Pension Administrator
Median Pay: $48,100

15) Religious Educator
Median Pay: $51,700

16) Department Retail Sales Manager
Median Pay: $32,900

17) Retail Sales Staff
Median Pay: $25,400

18) Staff Nurse (RN)
Median Pay: $59,800

19) Tax Accountant II
Median Pay: $59,500

20) Tutor
Median Pay: $25,100

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/moneymag/0703/gallery.bestjobs_50plus.moneymag/

Working Longer: Boomers Staying On

2007-06-12T08:55:00.000-07:00

Working Longer: Boomers Staying On
Tuesday June 12, 9:29 am ET
By Stephen Ohlemacher, Associated Press Writer
Baby Boomers Expect to Work Longer, Studies Say -- Good Thing Since Many Can't Afford to Quit

WASHINGTON (AP) -- As the baby boomers begin to ease into their 60s, most expect to delay retirement longer than their parents or grandparents.
That's good, because many can't afford to stop working anytime soon.

Two new reports portray aging boomers as better educated, with higher incomes and longer life expectancies than the generations that preceded them. They also have fewer children and are less likely to be married, leaving them with fewer options if they need help in their old age.

"That one child they had will be very valuable," said William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank.

Frey is releasing a report Tuesday that says higher rates of divorce and separation could result in greater financial hardship for aging baby boomers. In 1980, about two-thirds of Americans age 55 to 64 lived in married-couple households. That percentage fell to less than 58 percent in 2005.

Americans had been retiring at ever-younger ages since the growth of private pensions and Social Security began more than 50 years ago. However, the retirement trend appears to be reversing.

In 1950, nearly half of men 65 and older were still in the labor force, according to the Census Bureau. That percentage bottomed out in the 1980s at less than 16 percent. It has since edged up to about 19 percent, and experts believe it will increase even more as the oldest baby boomers reach 65.

Women work in much larger numbers earlier in life, but among those 65 and older, their participation in the labor force has remained steady at about 10 percent since 1950.

There are about 78 million baby boomers, those born from 1946 to 1964. The oldest will turn 62 next year, the age at which they become eligible for Social Security benefits.

Some will continue working by choice -- a government survey shows that most U.S. workers nearing retirement age want to gradually reduce their workload rather than abruptly stop.

Others will have to stay on the job as fewer companies offer health insurance to retirees and an alarming number of private pensions fail.

William Zinke had plenty of resources to retire when he reached his early 60s. He didn't want to stop working but did want to get away from the hectic pace of New York, where he ran a human resources firm. So Zinke moved his firm to Boulder, Colo., where the pace is more relaxed. Seventeen years later, at age 80, he continues to put in full work days.

"I've had a very good life," Zinke said. "I'm proud of what I've accomplished, but I'm not done."

Zinke said he is fortunate to own his business and to be able to set his work schedule. He has formed a nonprofit organization, the Center for Productive Longevity, that is working to encourage other employers to help older workers with flexible schedules and other accommodations.

"We need to change the way we think about retirement," Zinke said.

There are more than 37 million Americans 65 and older, a number that is expected to nearly double by 2030, according to the Census Bureau.

"I think there will be significant accommodations and incentives to get people to stay and work longer, and not lose that human capital," said Richard Suzman of the National Institute on Aging, a government research agency.

The agency is releasing a compilation of data Tuesday from the national Health and Retirement Study, an ongoing survey of older people by researchers at the University of Michigan.

The data paint a picture of aging baby boomers facing longer, more active lives, coupled with rising costs for health care and other services.

"People are living longer, and the extra years of life, which I think have been one of the crowning achievements of the last century, have to be financed somehow," Suzman said.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070612/retiring_boomers.html?.v=1

Workers giving retirement the boot

2007-05-30T14:19:00.000-07:00

Workers giving retirement the boot
By Jonathan Peterson, Times Staff Writer
May 30, 2007

Every morning, a trusty alarm in his own head wakes up John Feyk before 5. Less than an hour later, he is stepping into the white commuter van that drives him 20 miles to Aerospace Corp. in El Segundo.

He has worked there for almost half a century.

"It does get to be more of a strain getting up at 5 in the morning," said Feyk, 79. But retirement, he added, is something he has given little thought to over the years.

"I didn't decide not to retire at 65," said Feyk, a chemical engineer who lives in Rancho Palos Verdes. "You have to decide to retire."

A growing portion of the U.S. workforce seems to agree. After falling for more than 100 years, the retirement age chosen by working Americans is edging up once again, and the trend could have broad consequences for households and the economy.

In the mid-1980s, just 18% of people in their late 60s still had jobs, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said. That figure is now up to 29%, and experts believe the level will continue to rise as people confront the prospect of a lengthy and expensive old age with limited retirement benefits. More than 1 in 4 baby boomers — the huge generation born from 1946 to 1964 — plan never to retire, a recent survey by the National Assn. of Realtors shows.

Many will not achieve that goal. Health problems and workplace pressures such as cutbacks force many workers into retirement earlier than they expect. And employers that have a choice often prefer the young, viewing older workers as costly and resistant to new technologies.

Despite that, more older Americans are pulling paychecks, a shift that is increasingly noticeable among people in their late 60s.

The trend "is really quite dramatic, considering what was going on for so long before that," said Sara Rix, a strategic policy advisor at the AARP Public Policy Institute.

For many years, society made it increasingly easy to stop working. Social Security retirement benefits were repeatedly enhanced after World War II. The advent of Medicare in 1965 helped pay the medical bills. Large employers typically offered pensions that guaranteed set payments for life.

Today's workers face a more hazardous landscape. Traditional pensions are increasingly rare. Companies are cutting back retiree healthcare benefits.

Even the bulwark of Social Security is quietly retrenching. The traditional age of 65 to qualify for full retirement benefits is gradually moving upward — workers born in 1960 and after will have to wait until they are 67 to get their full amount. In the coming years, more Social Security benefits will be subject to income tax, and higher premiums for Medicare Part B (which covers certain medical services) will further erode benefits.

These growing financial pressures may hit baby boomers particularly hard. As much as 80% of this group expects to work during what would normally be their retirement years, according to polling by AARP. Meanwhile, legal barriers to work for older people are largely a thing of the past. In 1986, the government outlawed mandatory retirement for most jobs.

"I'm not sure when I would want to retire at this point," said Claudine Welsh, 60, a Corona resident who works for a benefits administrator. She is thinking about taking on a second job and expects to work for at least seven more years. "Basically, it's because of money."

Welsh, who is single, has no private pension, and her 401(k) balance is $10,000. Home equity is key to her future economic security — she co-owns two houses with relatives. Beyond that, she views work as an important part of life and talks about one day opening up a coffee shop with her older sister.

Otherwise, "what are you going to do with all that time?" she asked.

And there could be a lot of that. For a married couple of 65-year-olds, the odds are 83.7% that at least one spouse will survive to age 85, according to the Society of Actuaries. Chances that one will live to 90 are 63%, and chances that one will reach 95 are 35.7%.

Ten years ago, the typical age of retirement for all U.S. workers was 60, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute. Recently, it has risen to 62 overall, a shift that researchers believe may be partly tied to the increasing reliance on 401(k) plans and the decline of traditional pensions that guaranteed monthly payments for life.

The trend could potentially have a big effect on society, putting more money in the pockets of the elderly and even giving the economy a boost, as more workers continue paying income taxes in their golden years. Research by analysts at the Urban Institute suggests that if all workers added one year to their careers, it could markedly reduce the projected shortfall in Social Security.

"It's a direction we have to go in," said Alicia H. Munnell, director of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. "You can let your 401(k) plan build up some more. You can reduce the period that you have to live off your assets."

The economy's long-term shift toward knowledge-based jobs and away from physical labor is another force that might be increasing the rolls of older workers. Already, older employees with higher levels of education seem to be playing a major role in the trend, and some say the psychological rewards rather than money are what motivate them.

"It's interesting work," said Feyk, who has worked at Aerospace Corp. for most of the last 45 years. "It's new challenges."

Feyk helps oversee classified work of contractors on military space and missile systems. "The things that we do, the projects that we look at, have never been done before." Still, it is unclear how far the trend toward working later in life will go. Society is much richer than the days when people worked almost until death, and early retirement continues to hold some of its allure.

Older employees can find themselves scrambling between different jobs, as companies rise and fall and long-term relationships between employer and employee become rarer.

When Jules Lippert's business of selling prebuilt homes went bust in the 1980s, he loaded a van with antiques and spent the next 16 years selling his wares at trade shows around the United States.

Finally wearying of the road, he tried to shift his business to EBay. A couple of years ago, he took up his neighbor's offer to train interviewers for market research.

Now 76, Lippert still works as many as 35 hours a week: "As long as I'm in good health, I see no reason to retire," said the suburban Philadelphia resident. "I would sit around and vegetate."

At the same time, money "is important," said the grandfather of seven. "My wife and I could exist on our combined Social Security plus our IRA, but it would not leave a lot of room for extras."

Employers will play a big role in deciding whether baby boomers' visions of an industrious old age turn out to be fantasy.

Some companies rely on the institutional memory and experience of longtime employees.

"We encourage people to stay with the company," Aerospace spokesman David L. Jonta said. "We have a lot of people that do, and we value that expertise."

Hospitals and other employers struggling with labor shortages are also known to court older employees by offering flexible schedules and extra leeway for time off.

Still, such companies "quite frankly are ahead of the curve," said Deborah R. Russell, director of workforce issues at AARP.

After interviewing 400 employers, researchers at Boston College recently concluded that many companies were only "lukewarm" about accommodating older workers who might be willing to stay on the job a few extra years.

Which doesn't make a lot of sense to Feyk.

"Somehow we're going to have to get people over 65 into productive work, because there aren't going to be enough of the young people to support them," he said.

He is not the only member of his family who feels that way. Feyk's wife, he noted, recently got a job as a church organist in San Pedro. "She's getting her W-2 right now," he said, adding: "She's just a young thing. She's only 75."

*

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
jonathan.peterson@latimes.com

*

(INFOBOX BELOW)

Staying on the payroll

The trend: Americans are now typically retiring at age 62, compared with age 60 in 1997, reversing decades of decline in the retirement age.

What's behind it: As employers scale back pensions and health benefits for retirees, many people cannot afford to retire. Others simply choose to work, saying they would be bored otherwise.

The consequences: By staying in the workforce, older employees generate more spendable income — buoying the economy and contributing additional income taxes. Social Security could also be helped as workers pay into the system for additional years.

Los Angeles Times

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-fi-retire30may30,1,4144111,full.story?ctrack=1&cset=true

ENVIRONMENT – MORE THAN JOBS – OCCUPYING MINDS OF TODAY’S COLLEGE-BOUND STUDENTS

2007-05-17T23:32:00.000-07:00

Today, Key Educational Resources released the results of a survey of 400 incoming college freshman on their attitudes, lifestyle and outlook for the future. The survey provides a unique comparison of how attitudes of this year's college-bound freshman differ from those of their boomer parents.

Some highlights include:

• Students are more concerned about the environment and healthcare than their boomer parents

• Overall, this generation is less optimistic that their futures will be bright compared to their parents

• Today's students devote far more energy and time to the college selection process than their boomer parents

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ENVIRONMENT – MORE THAN JOBS – OCCUPYING MINDS OF TODAY’S COLLEGE-BOUND STUDENTS

CLASS OF 2011 MORE CONSUMED BY COLLEGE SELECTION/APPLICATION PROCESS THAN THEIR BOOMER PARENTS.

CLEVELAND, Ohio – May 16, 2007 – What’s on the mind of the college class of 2011? Making ends meet financially, keeping up with their workload and getting good grades. What did their boomer parents worry about? Surprisingly, making ends meet, grades and their workload. But that’s where the similarity ends.

In a recently completed survey by Key Education Resources, a division of KeyBank, some stark differences emerged in how college-bound students view the world and their place in it. Key asked students planning to attend college this fall how they felt about everything from their futures to which social issues most concern them. Parents of those students were also asked to look back to when they were heading off to college and provide their thoughts.

Of the more than 400 members of the college class of 2011 polled, 18 percent of students said that their number one social concern is the environment while their parents were much more concerned about the job market as they entered college. Twenty-nine percent of parents said it was their top concern, whereas only 11 percent of students today ranked it number one.

The amount of time and energy spent on the college selection and application process has also mushroomed in a generation.

Thirty-six percent of today’s students report spending a lot of time on the process, or that it’s all consuming. Only 12 percent of their parents felt that way about their college planning process. Also, 53 percent of parents said their moms and dads didn’t help them at all in the process, whereas only 9 percent of today’s students said their parents provided no help. But both groups (25-percent) agreed that “making ends meet financially” was their biggest concern upon entering college.

“Clearly, many students and parents feel overwhelmed by the college selection and financing process,” said Rick Vonk, president of Key Education Resources. “But even with all of the information to consider, there’s a way to simplify the process.”

Vonk recommends focusing on three main areas.

Choose appropriate curriculum and get good grades

· The more college preparatory courses you take and the better grades you get, the better the odds you’ll be accepted by your school of choice and land a scholarship.

Decide what you want in a school and let that drive the selection process

· The best college for you is one that suits your specific needs and not necessarily one that lands on some particular ranking or carries a certain prestige. Important criteria to consider – a school’s location and size, the curriculum, campus life, and whether to attend a private, public, or community college. There are many web tools available to help you start the process.

Shop around for the best way to pay for school

· A sound strategy is to apply for scholarships and grants (free money) first. Then look to fill the gap between what your school costs and what you have in hand (grants, scholarships, work study, money from savings, or gifts, or from a campus job) with federal or private loans. Each will offer different borrower benefits and repayment plans that may be more or less attractive to you.

The survey also found students today are less optimistic than their parents were about having bright futures (42 percent vs. 63 percent), yet they still believe they will be able to accomplish their dreams. They are also slightly more likely to choose a job they’re passionate about over one that simply pays well (91 percent vs. 86 percent).

When it comes to the most important people in their lives – mothers and fathers were at the top of the list for both generations, but we’ve seen a rise in the importance of siblings and a decline in the importance of significant others over the years. Today’s students said their siblings are the most important people in their lives, while parents said their significant other was the most important person in their life when entering college.

What hasn’t changed from one generation to the next is what would give students the greatest fulfillment in their lives after graduation. Building a strong family, service to others, and marriage topped the list for both groups.

For more information on the survey or tips on how to save for college, visit https://www.Key.com/collegebound/.

About Key Education Resources

Key Education Resources, the education financing arm of KeyBank, is one of the largest education loan providers in the U.S. In business for more than 50 years, Key Education Resources provides federal education loans, private loans, monthly payment plans and education consolidation loans for students and families in K-12, undergraduate, graduate and professional education institutions. For more information, visit https://www.Key.com/collegebound/.

About KeyCorp

Cleveland-based KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) is one of the nation’s largest bank-based financial services companies, with assets of approximately $93 billion. Key companies provide investment management, retail and commercial banking, consumer finance, and investment banking products and services to individuals and companies throughout the United States and, for certain businesses, internationally. For more information, visit https://www.Key.com/.

# # #

Note to Editors: For up-to-date company information, media contacts and facts and figures about Key lines of business, visit our Media Newsroom at Key.com/newsroom.

Where the Millionaires Live

2007-05-05T13:33:00.000-07:00

Where the Millionaires Live
The number of U.S. millionaire households has risen to a record high
of 9.3 million as of mid-2006, up 5 percent from 2005, according to
TNS Global's annual Affluent Market Research Program.

The millionaires' mean net worth, not including their primary
residence, is $2,167,167 with investable assets of $1,442,841. Their
median age is 58 and 45 percent are retired.

Forty-six percent of millionaire households own investment real
estate such as a second home, third home, rental properties, and
undeveloped land. Thirty-four percent have a first mortgage on these
residences and 25 percent have second mortgages on these additional
residences.

The TNS study identified 10 counties with the highest number of
millionaire residents.

Los Angeles County with 268,136
Cook County, Ill., 171,118
Orange County, Calif., 116,157
Maricopa County, Ariz., 113,414
San Diego County, Calif., 102,138
Harris County, Texas, 99,504
Nassau County, N.Y., 79,704
Santa Clara County, Calif., 74,824
Palm Beach County, Fla., 71,221
King County, Ore., 68,390

Source: Associated Press (05/01/07)

U.S. Arthritis Numbers, Costs Soaring

2007-04-29T12:04:00.000-07:00

U.S. Arthritis Numbers, Costs Soaring

By Janice Billingsley
HealthDay Reporter
Fri Apr 27, 7:02 PM ET

FRIDAY, April 27 (HealthDay News) -- As America's baby boomers move into late middle age, arthritis and other rheumatic conditions are taking up an ever larger chunk of health-care spending, a federal study warns.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report, which spans the six years from 1997 to 2003, detected a 25 percent jump in the number of adult Americans with arthritis and other rheumatic conditions. Overall, more than 46 million people now suffer from arthritis, compared to 36.8 million in 1997.

That means more than one in every five adult Americans now has arthritis, the CDC says.

The total annual tab to care for these patients: almost $81 billion.

The $81 billion figure represents three percent of U.S. gross domestic product ( GDP), "a startling figure," said Louise Murphy, an Atlanta epidemiologist who worked with the CDC on the report.

Something must be done to turn these figures around, experts say.

"An aging population isn't something that we can control, but you can try to make the population healthier. We really have to push public health programs that improve food consumption and the ability to exercise," said Edward Yelin, professor of medicine and health at the University of California, San Francisco, and lead author of the study.

Baby boomers -- Americans born between 1946 and 1964 -- are leading the surge. Of the nine million people newly diagnosed with arthritis or rheumatoid conditions during the six-year study, 66 percent of those people were between the ages of 44 to 64.

Significant, too, according to researchers, was that most of the increases in arthritis and other rheumatoid conditions occurred among people who had other health worries, such as diabetes or heart conditions. In this group, the prevalence of arthritis increased by 28 percent, from 31.8 million to 40.8 million, compared to a 6 percent increase for those who were otherwise healthy, 5 million to 5.3 million.

Overweight and obesity are prime culprits, Yelin said. "Higher levels of body mass index (BMI) are associated with higher rates of osteoarthritis," he said. "And osteoarthritis in the joint this year is the joint replacement five to ten years down the road."

Caring for these new patients doesn't come cheap. Attendant costs for treating people with arthritis rose by 24 percent between 1997 and 2003 -- from $65 billion to $81 billion, the report found.

Murphy said she and her colleagues were surprised to find the cost increases mostly attributable to people rather than procedures.

Read the whole article at Heatthday.com

http://www.healthday.com/

Assess Your Risk for arthritis at The Arthritis Foundation.
http://www.arthritis.org/conditions/JointHealth/Quiz/risk.asp

Best Job For Over 50

2007-03-29T19:59:00.000-07:00

Best jobs if you're over 50
You're ready to retire from the rat race.
Now you want work you can feel passionate about.
By Jennifer Merritt, Carolyn Bigda and Donna Rosato
March 22 2007: 8:20 AM EDT

NEW YORK (Money Magazine) -- Maybe you're financially secure enough to try a career you've only dreamed about. Or you're burned out after toiling away in the same field for three decades.

There's gotta be more to work - and life - right?

"Most people over 50 plan to continue working beyond traditional retirement age," says Howard Stone, co-founder with his wife Marika of 2Young2Retire.com. "A high percentage want to do something more satisfying than what they've been doing."

The search for meaning prompted AC Warden to become a celebrant - an officiant at life events who isn't necessarily affiliated with a particular religion - after 25 years as a documentary producer."

With budgets shrinking, timelines speeding up and the quality of productions diminishing, I began looking for a more fulfilling option," says Warden, 55.

She took classes for a year that cost about $1,800 and earned her certification in 2003. Warden officiated at more than 60 weddings in 2006, and also does funerals, house blessings and commitment ceremonies. Though she makes just $30,000 a year after expenses, she loves the work so much that she can see doing it for the rest of her life.

It might be hard to imagine making a switch at this stage, but the biggest job gains for the past few years have been among older workers, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And some industries, including health care and education, are actively recruiting people over 50.

Still, when you're making a big change, you've often got to overcome stereotypes about older workers being stuck in their ways.

Here are five essentials to making a successful transition.

1. Make age an advantage
Sure, bias is out there. It's up to you to put your age in a positive light. Talk up your experience and how it fits into what a potential employer is looking for. Is the company trying to launch a service, cut costs or find new customers?

Use examples from your work history that show how you tackled similar problems, and explain how that will help in your new job.

After a 20-year career at Polaroid that included stints in sales, marketing and operations, Roberta Hurtig, 58, became executive director of Samaritans, a suicide-prevention organization in Boston, in 2002.

"A lot of my corporate skills translated. The heart of what we do at Samaritans - training people to provide great customer service - is essentially the same," she says.

2. You're cool. Prove it.
Half of hiring managers in a 2006 survey said the biggest disadvantage of taking on older workers is that they don't keep up with technology. In an interview, talk about the Web research you did on your prospective employer or the new software program you mastered.

"It's critical to show that you're knowledgeable about even basic things," says Deborah Russell, director of economic security at AARP. "Put your e-mail address on your résumé or mention that you pay your bills online."

3. Look the part
Wear an up-to-date suit for interviews, and during small talk drop in your weekly tennis game or that 10-k race you ran. Appearance counts, but energy is more important.

"You can dye your hair and minimize your wrinkles," says Russell. "But really it's about being enthusiastic and showing you can help a company succeed."

4. Plan ahead
If you're going to take a lower-paying job, you need to prepare financially. On the flip side, transitioning to a career that you can see doing beyond 62 or 65 may allow you to put off tapping your savings.

5. Get real
Don't get too seduced by the idea of saintliness. It's easy to romanticize life as a teacher, a minister or an environmentalist. It's still work.

"People are looking for greater meaning," says Marc Freedman, CEO of Civic Ventures and author of Encore: Finding Work That Matters in the Second Half of Life.

"Unfortunately, some of these fields are the most dysfunctional and low paying."

http://money.cnn.com/2007/03/17/magazines/moneymag/bestjobs_over50.moneymag/index.htm

PEOPLE OVER 60 TO INCREASE BY MORE THAN 1 BILLION

2007-03-13T19:42:00.001-07:00

WORLD POPULATION WILL INCREASE BY 2.5 BILLION BY 2050;

PEOPLE OVER 60 TO INCREASE BY MORE THAN 1 BILLION

NEW YORK, 13 March (United Nations Population Division) -- The world population continues its path towards population ageing and is on track to surpass 9 billion persons by 2050, as revealed by the newly released 2006 Revision of the official United Nations population estimates and projections.

The results of the 2006 Revision -- which provide the population basis for the assessment of trends at the global, regional and national levels, and serve as input for calculating many key indicators in the United Nations system -- incorporate the findings of the most recent national population censuses and of the numerous specialized population surveys carried out around the world.

According to the 2006 Revision, the world population will likely increase by 2.5 billion over the next 43 years, passing from the current 6.7 billion to 9.2 billion in 2050. This increase is equivalent to the total size of the world population in 1950, and it will be absorbed mostly by the less developed regions, whose population is projected to rise from 5.4 billion in 2007 to 7.9 billion in 2050. In contrast, the population of the more developed regions is expected to remain largely unchanged at 1.2 billion, and would have declined, were it not for the projected net migration from developing to developed countries, which is expected to average 2.3 million persons annually.

As a result of declining fertility and increasing longevity, the populations of more and more countries are ageing rapidly. Between 2005 and 2050, half of the increase in the world population will be accounted for by a rise in the population aged 60 years or over, whereas the number of children (persons under age 15) will decline slightly. Furthermore, in the more developed regions, the population aged 60 or over is expected to nearly double (from 245 million in 2005 to 406 million in 2050), whereas that of persons under age 60 will likely decline (from 971 million in 2005 to 839 million in 2050).

http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2007/pop952.doc.htm