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A Social Security cost–of–living–adjustment (COLA) of 8.7% is rare — enjoy it now. This may be the first and possibly the last time that beneficiaries today receive a COLA this high. There were only three other times since the start of automatic inflation adjustments that COLAs were higher (1979-1981). You can find a history of the COLA at https://www.ssa.gov/oact/cola/colaseries.html. Without a COLA that adequately keeps pace with inflation, Social Security benefits purchase less over time, and that can create hardships especially as older A...
One of the most poignant exercises I have experienced was during hospice training in which participants envision, and write down, four favorite people, four favorite places, four favorite activities and four favorite objects. In the exercise, we strike off these precious parts of our life one at a time, saving the most well-loved until last. The objective is to understand the process of loss, which is an inevitable part of life, and certainly of aging. Most of you reading this will acknowledge that, in the grand scheme of things, we are the...
Q: I own too much stuff, and it is daunting when deciding what to do with everything. None of my children nor grandchildren want my memorabilia, collections, furniture, or vintage kitchenware. Any suggestions? A: For many of us, our homes are full of things we do not need or use anymore. As we get older, it’s not uncommon for our living spaces to start feeling a bit cluttered. From clothes to trinkets to outdated electronics, it can be tough to let go of things we once held dear. We hang onto t...
Have you ever found yourself, a friend, or a family member in a situation that makes it difficult to pay the rent on time? Or maybe struggling with paying a utility bill? Life happens. And sometimes not in a good way. Dealing with the unexpected such as a decrease in work hours or loss of income, an urgent medical need, an increase in expenses, providing financial help to a loved one, emergency travel – are all part of life, and can also threaten a family’s housing stability when the unexpected makes it difficult to pay the bills. If you are...
Upon feeling a familiar "swirling" motion that Sunday afternoon of Nov. 3, 2002, I left the kitchen and walked to the living room of our Slana home. I'm always a little jumpy during earthquakes, remembering the 1964 quake at age nine. Gary, my husband, agreed he felt it, but continued to sit in his recliner in another room. A few seconds later after a hard jolt, he joined me in the center of the house where there were no windows and many doorframes. We held on to each other as the jerking and...
We can all get stuck in a comfort zone. Trying new things and changing old habits can be a challenge at any age, but as we get older our attitude can become inflexible. Like continuing to try to hit the pickleball like a tennis ball. Or stepping into the receiving box before the second bounce. Or aways being late on your backhand. All of these errors are the result of lack of movement on the court. And every pro player will tell you that the ability to move is key to better play. So, what does...
As hordes of prospectors streamed into Alaska and Canada in the 1880s and 1890s, crime like thefts and claim jumping became more common. The Canadians had not yet established a law and order presence in their remote territory and the Americans' only established civil government was hundreds of miles away in Sitka. In 1893, miners in the camp of Fortymile formed the fraternal Yukon Order of Pioneers to enforce correct moral behavior. The order's motto was "Do unto others as you would be done...
Aside from the songwriters, imagine being the first person on the planet to enjoy the words and music of some of the greatest classic songs to ever appear in Broadway and Hollywood productions. Nancy Olson Livingston did not have to imagine. As she writes in her new November autobiography, "A Front Row Seat," her lyricist husband Alan J. Lerner and composer partner Frederick "Fritz" Loewe would regularly serenade her with their latest compositions throughout the 1950s. "We were living in New...
Here we go again: another celebrity estate mess. You have probably heard of Anne Heche. Even I knew who she was, and I don’t follow celebrity gossip or go to the movies that often. But even I have seen “Men in Trees”. And anybody who has been to the movies in the last 20 years has probably seen her on the screen. And if you don’t remember seeing her on TV or in the movies, you can’t help but have heard about her stormy personal life. She had significant mental health issues, including one very p...
Q. I want to add home automation devices to my house. What is the best way to get started? A. When the topic of home automation has come up in previous columns, my advice has been to hold off investing in expensive hardware. Most of the devices you can buy today are likely to disappoint you in fairly short order. This has not changed, but there is good news on the horizon. The good news is Matter. A new industry standard that allows devices from different manufacturers to talk with one another. This is the technology that I hope will transform...
Editor’s note: This press statement was received Aug. 31, 2022. Alaska’s Election System gave Alaskan voters more choice, voice and competition on Election Day. A near-record number of Alaskan voters participated in the Aug. 16, 2022, special election. When surveyed after voting, 95% of Alaskans reported that they received instructions on how to rank their choices. Additionally, 85% of Alaskans reported ranked choice voting was “simple.” Voters were given broad choice and competition between the three candidates in this special election. It was...
“Expenditures made by retirees of state and local government provide a steady economic stimulus to Alaska communities and the state economy.” – National Institute of Retirement Security, Pensionomics 2021 Tourist greenbacks coming to Alaska fluctuate dramatically year to year. Same with fishing revenue, oil bucks, construction expenditures, and federal dollars. Some years it’s downright scary. So, what are the stability superheroes of the Alaskan economy? An important one is the traditional “defined benefit” pension plan where, regardless...
Dear Editor, Seniors should vote Nov. 8 against a convention to revise our state constitution. We could lose a lot in a convention. Article XII, Section 7 says benefits that state, borough, city and school district retirees have accrued “shall not be diminished or impaired” but, even with that protection, the Retired Public Employees of Alaska has had to sue the state repeatedly to roll back diminishments. The retiree trust funds are underfunded by billions, so in a convention there’d probably be a drive to eliminate that debt by killing the ...
AARP Alaska wants to insure that people in later life have opportunities to contribute to their communities. AARP volunteers serve throughout Alaska and across the nation to create better places for people of all ages. With deep local knowledge, they are well-positioned to make communities more age-friendly. Anchorage’s membership in the AARP Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities is a commitment to make community improvements over a five-year period. The first two years will be spent engaging the Anchorage community, establishing a t...
Another autumn is upon us, and one thing that means is that Medicare's Open Enrollment Period (OEP) will be happening soon. Each year from Oct. 15 through Dec. 7, you can make changes to your Medicare sponsored Prescription Drug (also known as Part D) coverage in order to meet your needs for calendar year 2023. As long as you make your decision and request any coverage changes by Dec. 7, then that insurance coverage will be effective, Jan. 1. You may be able to receive better drug coverage at a...
Oct. 18, 2022, is Alaska Day. It marks the formal transfer of Alaska from the Russian Empire to the United States of America. 2022 is the 154th anniversary of this transfer that changed and impacted the history of our state. It is something we can celebrate. We can also celebrate when we take the time to take care of ourselves. A part of this includes making sure we are current on our Medicare enrollment. People do have questions regarding Medicare. It is a large federal health insurance program and can be complex due to the unique needs of...
Q: Why aren’t assisted living costs covered by my health insurance program? A: When people think about assisted living, they often presume costs are covered by their medical plan. However, as a general rule, traditional employer-based health insurance will not cover daily care over a long period of time. A common misconception is that Medicare extends to long-term care stays. However, Medicare is strictly a health insurance program that covers costs related to illnesses and injuries and, to s...
Fall in Alaska is unpredictable, and usually that means snow and slippery surfaces. It is easy to be distracted when in familiar surroundings, and this creates an accident waiting to happen and we trip, slip, fall or have a scary close call. According to the CDC’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System 2020, Alaska led the nation as the highest-risk state when it came to falls of people over 65 years of age. The U.S. average is 27.1% and Alaska is 36.5%. This means approximately 1 in 3 Alaskans aged 65 and older are falling each year. W...
Across the country, residents of long-term care facilities along with family members, ombudsmen, citizen advocates, facility staff and others will honor the individual rights of long-term care residents by celebrating Residents’ Rights Month in October. Setting aside a month to focus on rights is an effective way to ensure this important topic is recognized in our community and state. Residents’ Rights Month is celebrated each year to highlight residents living in all long-term care settings. It is a time to reflect on the importance of the Nur...
The third grade students looked at me like they did the other two docents – old ladies who were telling them what life was like back in the good old days of 1935. The way I talked made one student ask if grew up in the house. I couldn't blame him, but I wasn't even born for another 20 years. Why could I identify so easily with children living in Palmer in 1935? Barbara Thomas, head docent for Colony House Museum, had asked me to help with the Knik Elementary School tours that October 2016 m...
Not only does Alaska have a history steeped in fur trading, whale harvesting and gold mining. It also has drawings on rocks usually associated with primitive people in exotic faraway lands. Petroglyphs, the Greek word for rock carvings, are among many enigmas of science. Because their true meanings are elusive, they remain a mysterious link to a people who inhabited the world a long time ago. Many of Alaska's petroglyphs, which are in abundance in the Southeastern part of the state, are unique...
I was watching a Korean comedy series recently online, called “Extraordinary Attorney Woo”. It is about a brilliant but significantly autistic woman who becomes a lawyer. If you don’t mind reading subtitles (or alternatively, if you speak Korean) I can highly recommend it. One episode involves an inheritance dispute. After the father dies, the two older brothers convince the youngest brother that under Korean law, the oldest brother get the largest percentage of the estate, the second broth...
Q. Years ago I converted a box of family photos with a desktop scanner. Are scanners still around, or have they gone the way of the fax machine and pay telephones? A. Tabletop flatbed scanners are still available. And far less expensive than they were years ago. Pretty much any model that sells for less an $100 should do just fine. Just be sure that it is supported by whichever device you use it with. There is however another solution: a smartphone app. Today’s smartphone cameras are more powerful than most budget-friendly scanners, and w...
While best known for joining the cast of the popular CBS spy series "Mission: Impossible" for the last two seasons in the early 70s, Lynda Day George became something of a minor horror movie icon before retiring from acting in the late 80s. In the horror realm, she portrayed characters threatened by an army of ants ("Ants," 1977), a pack of wild dogs ("Day of the Animals," 1977), a demonic force ("Beyond Evil," 1980), a haunted mirror ("Fear No Evil," 1969), a chainsaw-wielding killer ("Pieces,"...
Dear Savvy Senior: How do I go about looking for an old former company 401(k) plan that I think I contributed money to many years ago, but forgot about until recently? - Retired in Rochester Dear Retired: If you think you may have lost track of an old 401(k) retirement account, you aren’t alone. As Americans move from job to job, many leave scraps of their company sponsored 401(k) plans behind, believing they’ll deal with it later, but never do. In fact, according to a recent study, Americans have left behind around $1.35 trillion in retirement...
