ElderLaw Answers Blog

We are delighted that the 50 Something Info Blog has listed ElderLawAnswers as one its Top 10 Websites for 2009.  Sue Levine says “To compile my Top 10 list of trustworthy, informative and enjoyable sites for 2009, I’ve selected the sites that I’ve revisited many times.  I’m sure you, too, will find them invaluable this year.”

ElderLawAnswers makes the third site listed on Sue’s Blog for Boomers’ top 10.

This morning I interviewed Dr. Robert N. Butler, the CEO of the International Longevity Center – USA and a pioneer in the field of geriatric medicine, for ElderLaw Radio about the future old age of baby boomers.  I was expecting an uplifting conversation about how we’ll change aging with our vitality, health and resourcefulness.  That’s not what I got.

Dr. Butler pointed out that we’re not so healthy.  While some baby boomers eat right and exercize, we’re also a big part of the obesity revolution, which could lead to declining longevity and health on our part.

We’re also not so wealthy.  Most people had too little saved up even prior to the current recession.  We have even less now.

And we can’t depend on our parents to pass along gobs of wealth to us.  They also have less than ever now, and what wealth current seniors have is concentrated in a small number of the most affluent.  Most baby boomers will see little or nothing by way of inheritance.

Finally, there are not enough caregivers to take care of us when we get ill and feeble.  Given the high cost of a medical education in the United States, most new doctors come out of school with too much debt to become primary care physicians.  Instead, they go into high-paying specialties that permit them to pay off their debt, and by the time they’re solvent most are too ensconced in their specialties to switch back to the calling that may have inspired them to be doctors in the first place.

Are there any answers for this dilemma?  Certainly, there are steps government can take to ameliorate the situation, but Dr. Butler makes a resounding call for each of us to make changes that will improve our senior years and, if we all make these changes, that will save our nation from a potential financial and care trainwreck.  Here are some steps we can take:

• Exercize, aerobic and for strength and balance.  One of the leading causes of death and disability among seniors is falling, which can be avoided through exercize.
• Push back from the table.  Don’t eat that second course or dessert.  Obesity is a major health and financial crisis for individuals and the country.
• Keep working.  You’ll need the money, as well as the socialization and purpose work provides.
• If you’re not working, volunteer.
• Start or involve yourself in a community such as Beacon Hill Village to help yourself and others stay at home.

With these changes, Dr. Butler says, we can change our future as individuals and as a nation.