MATURE MARKET HEADLINES POSTED 10/20/97
Social Security: the new oxymoron
Social Security just isn't anymore. That's the word on the street these days. If it were a decent pension system, wouldn't the system's creators (the administration) or it's financial managers (the Congress) want to participate in it? Makes you wonder if all those critics singing the system's requiem haven't got a valid point. If Mark Twain were alive today, maybe he would confirm that the rumors about Social Security's death are NOT highly exaggerated.
Heritage Foundation guru, Daniel J. Mitchell seems to think so. In a recent position paper, Mitchell points out that the insecurity of the system begins with the Baby Boomers, because for at least another 15 years, Social Security will take in more money than it pays out in benefits. But starting in 2012, the red ink starts to flow. Deficts, Mitchell predicts, will quickly climb to about $500 billion 30 years from now.
That's primarily due to the Baby Boom that will change the system's dependency ratio. For example, the 35 workers who supported one beneficiary when the system started paying benefits in 1937, will erode by the year 2030 to only two workers supporting each beneficiary. Without a dramatic fix in the system (some say the "fix" is privatization) the Boomers and those who follow them will actually experience a negative return on their contributions to the social security system.
AgeVenture News Service, www.demko.com
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Boomer Retirement: hell no, we won't go
Once again bucking tradition, Baby Boomers aren't likely to go gentle into that good night commonly known as the retirement years. They've had it their way for too long to change now. Their way is an active, change-agent role carried over from the turbulent 60's.
According to a new survey commissioned by Del Webb Corporation, the Sun City developer, Boomers are "looking ahead to active, fulfilling retirements in settings of their dreams". Of those planning to relocate after retirement, one-in-four have their eye on the mountains. Like many of today's retirees, those boomers surveyed believe that their tax dollars are not well-spent. And they should know.
Recognizing the insecurity of the Social Security and private pension systems, the boomers have become quite savvy about money. How to earn it, invest it, and keep it. Despite their disenchantment with government spending of their tax dollars, those surveyed would be willing to pay more taxes if it meant improving the nation's schools and highway system.
And they'll probably accomplish that and more because they've got two important assets: idealism and numbers. As a case in point, the U.S. Bureau of the Census predicts a 76% increase in the older population as the boomers enter their retirement years.
AgeVenture News Service, www.demko.com
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Research Yields Promising New Therapy
Thirty years of painstaking research has produced a promising new treatment to reduce the inflammatory symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), the degeneration of joint tissues. RA affects two million Americans according to the Arthritis National Research Foundation (ANRF).
The new therapy uses a substance produced in the body to block the activity of the chemical produced by the autoimmune system. It is this autoimmune reaction which leads to the joint tissue degeneration associated with RA. Reduction of the inflammatory symptoms of the disease means relief from painful, swollen and tender joints and , as a result, increased mobility.
The substance released by the body's white blood cells cause the attack on and destruction of healthy joint tissues. These two agents are known as tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and lymphotoxins. Certain body cells release a molecule which blocks the damaging TNF. Scientists at the University of California believe that as long as the test trials show promise, the treatment should be available through a patient's personal physician within the next few years. Learn more at the ANRF website at:
www.CureArthritis.org
AgeVenture News Service, www.demko.com
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Eldercare Gets Million Dollar Commitment
Manor Care Inc has announced the launch of the Manor Care Foundation, a not-for-profit foundation that will support organizations involved in the research of diseases and disorders affecting the elderly, as well as those that provide community service and outreach to seniors. The Foundation received an initial endowment of $5 million from Manor Care Inc, which is a publicly traded company on the NYSE under the symbol of MNR.
Manor Care is one of the nation's leading providers of assisted living, skilled nursing, Alzheimer's care, post-hospital care and rehabilitative services. The Foundation plans to distribute up to $1 million per year. Requests for funding must relate to the Manor Care Foundation's mission and goals.
Organizations that request funding must: be tax-exempt under Section 501 (c) (3) of the tax code, operate within one of the 29 states served by Manor Care Inc, and must have at least one other source of support. For additional information, contact: Manor Care Foundation, 11555 Darnestown Road, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20878-3200.
AgeVenture News Service, www.demko.com
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Now, Nobody Knows Pension Woes
Employees will no longer be able to rely on the government to inform them of possible problems with their retirement savings plans, according to a report in the "Retire with Money" newsletter. The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), which insures 50,000 private pension plans covering 42 million workers, will no longer publish its annual list of the most seriously under-funded plans.
Participants will now have to rely on their employers directly for the information. Employers with pension funds that have less than 90% of the assets required by law are required to send employees a letter explaining the level of underfunding and how benefits would be affected if the plan were to shut down.
Read more about it in the November issue of "Retire with Money" newsletter. Check your local library, or contact the publisher at: 1-800-284-5300.
AgeVenture News Service, www.demko.com
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AgeVenture News Service, 21946 Pine Trace, Boca Raton, FL 33428 USA
Dr. David Demko, Editor
E-mail:newsdesk@demko.com
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