Senior Spirit Online

According to the MetLife Foundation/Civic Ventures Encore Career Survey, millions of baby boomers are interested in second careers that combine income and personal meaning with social impact.  As many as 9.5 percent of Americans ages 44 to 70 are in encore careers, and an additional 44.7 percent are interested in pursuing encore careers.  As defined by the MetLife study, encore careers are largely in health care, education,  government, and nonprofit organizations.

Many older people need help paying for prescription drugs, health care, utilities and other basic needs. Ironically, millions of older Americans — especially those with limited incomes — are eligible for but not receiving benefits from existing federal, state and local programs. Ranging from heating and energy assistance to prescription savings programs to income supplements, there are many public programs available to seniors in need if they only knew about them and how to apply for them.

Developed and maintained by The National Council on Aging (NCOA), BenefitsCheckUp is the nation’s most comprehensive Web-based service to screen for benefits programs for seniors with limited income and resources.

BenefitsCheckUp includes more than 1,550 public and private benefits programs from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, such as:

• Prescription drugs
• Nutrition (including Food Stamps)
• Energy assistance
• Financial
• Legal
• Health care
• Social Security
• Housing
• In-home services
• Tax relief
• Transportation
• Educational assistance
• Employment
• Volunteer services

Since 2001, millions of people have used BenefitsCheckUp to find benefits programs that help them pay for prescription drugs, health care, rent, utilities, and other needs.  For information visit BenefitsCheckUp.

CIGNA Senior & Retiree Services, a division of one of the nation’s largest health service companies, is joining forces with the National Council on Aging (NCOA) to make available NCOA’s BenefitsCheckUp(R) to CIGNA’s Medicare members. The program helps identify federal, state and local benefits programs that can help enhance the quality of seniors’ lives.BenefitsCheckUp is the nation’s most comprehensive Web-based service to help individuals, primarily older Americans with limited income and resources, find and get the benefits programs for which they qualify. Launched by NCOA in 2001, the innovative program tracks over 1,550 benefits programs throughout all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

This arrangement provides CIGNA with its own version of NCOA’s BenefitsCheckUp, and the potential to provide access to benefits programs to thousands of its members nationwide.

“CIGNA’s mission is to improve the health, well-being and security of those we serve,” said Sam Srivastava, president, National and Senior Segments for CIGNA HealthCare. “What better way to accomplish that mission than to help provide necessary resources to improve the quality of seniors’ lives. NCOA adds a valuable dimension to our services and commitment to our members.”

Since its creation, BenefitsCheckUp has screened more than 2 million seniors and some younger persons with disabilities for programs that help pay for health care, prescription drugs, rent, utilities and many other needs.

More information on NCOA and its BenefitsCheckUp program is available at BenefitsCheckUp.org.

The Freecycle Network™ consists of over 4,000 groups with nearly 5 million members across the globe. It is “a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns. It’s all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills.” Each local group is moderated by a local volunteer, and membership is free.  If you have items to give away or you are in need of items, sign up today!

According to a report released March 28, 2008 by AARP,  while older Americans 65+ have a limited awareness of new technologies, they are willing to use a wide variety of items if they were available to maintain social contact, gather information, be safe at home, and promote their personal health and wellness.  Click here to read report.

A report released Tuesday, March 18, 2008, by the Alzheimer’s Association predicted that an estimated 10 million American baby boomers, (1 in 8) will develop Alzheimer’s disease.  In addition, the report showed that the disease is now the seventh deadliest in the nation and that women are at greater risk than men. Currently, at least 5.2 million Americans suffer from Alzheimer’s, including 200,000 to 250,000 people under age 65. By 2010, projections say there will be 500,000 new cases of the mind-wasting disease each year, and nearly one million new cases annually by 2050, the report estimates.  To learn more about Alzheimer’s, visit the Alzheimer’s Association website.  To read the report, click here.

Many seniors are on a fixed income, and one of their biggest expenses is often utilities/energy costs.  Visit http://hubpages.com/hub/Low-Income-Energy-Assistance to learn about low income energy assistance programs.

Holidays can be strained for the inter-faith family.  Here are some tips for a stress free holiday:   
http://hubpages.com/hub/Holiday-Tips-for-the-Interfaith-Family

RetireeWorkforce.com is dedicated to providing exciting employment opportunities for experienced and motivated retirees. Their goal is to match organizations with experienced, reliable, and hard-working employees.

Because of the expense involved with individual health insurance, making it to Medicare has become one of the biggest challenges for baby boomers who retire or are laid off before 65, The Dallas Morning News reports.

More than half of the pre-65 boomers on such policies spend at least $300 in monthly premiums for single coverage, according to the Commonwealth Fund, a Washington-based policy institute.  Individuals with a chronic medical condition may be denied coverage related to that condition or be turned down altogether.

However, because of the baby boomer generation’s size and affluence, Aetna, Humana, and WellPoint have begun to market policies geared to the 50-to-64 age group.  Aetna Inc. has signed an agreement with AARP’s business unit to offer a range of plans for members.  Humana Inc., is reportedly promoting its Portrait plans to the pre-Medicare market because they come with unlimited doctor’s visits, which is a feature Humana believes will appeal to baby boomers who are accustomed to group insurance plans.