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Pension | Health | Elder Rights | Blog
PENSION
WORLD
Canada:
Pension Plan Protection in a Recession (April 16, 2009)
Pension plan
protection has many Canadians worried, especially now when there is a serious
lack of assets and a greater chance of companies shutting down. In 2005, more
than 13.7 million Canadians did not have any type of employee retirement plan.
The author summarizes the recent struggles pensioners face, the ways in which
they can receive better protection, and questions that they may have.
Jordan:
Older People in Jordan Take Time to Invest (April 12,
2009)
(Article in Arabic)
Studies show that older retirees'
participation in the Jordanian stock market generates economic growth,
increasing the rate of daily circulation in the market. These older men
represent "small" investors who, because they are no longer working, have time
to research and "play" the market, splitting shares between many companies in
order to generate a larger profit. Though this provides a form of entertainment
for older people, it can be a risky one, as they are investing their retirement
funds in a gamble that does not always pay off.
Mauritius:
Enjoying One's Retirement Abroad...Why not in Mauritius? (April 9,
2009)
(Article in French)
French retirees are now settling
abroad permanently (+13% in five years) and the numbers continue to go up. With
a milder climate and lower living costs, seniors do not hesitate to cross seas
and oceans to live in places where daily life is more pleasant, especially in
North Africa or to more remote countries in Southeast Asia. Due to this
tendency, Mauritius is now trying to attract French seniors to its own tropical
paradise.
France:
GIP Pension Info: 3 Million Social Insurance Contributors and Four Generations
Informed (April 2, 2009)
(Article in French)
Almost four
years after the beginning of coordination by the GIP Info Pension, a new step
has been taken to assure the right to information from insurance contributors
about their pension as set by the August 21, 2003 law. In 2008, mandatory
pension organizations sent three million people personalized documents of
information, consolidating the data held by each of them. Surveys of
beneficiaries showed a very high satisfaction with this initiative, the content
of the documents and the warm welcome given by pension organizations when
contacted.
HEALTH
US
Growing
Focus of Anti Aging Research: Ethnicity (April 14, 2009)
Skin color
is a burgeoning area in anti-aging research. Besides the pigment, every ethnic
group has its own propensity to develop signs of aging. The article provides
specific tips to different ethnic groups, as well as the universal rules of
applying sunscreen and using retinol.
Medicare
Eyes Costs in Miami (April 14, 2009)
Miami has been chosen by
Medicare as one of 14 communities for a pilot project seeking to eliminate
unnecessary hospital readmissions. Miami has long been known for having one of
the highest Medicare costs per senior citizen in the nation. The average Miami
senior costs about twice as much per year as does one in Minneapolis.
Readmissions can be lowered by approaching healthcare quality from a
community-wide perspective, and by better coordination among the health
providers.
There's
Plenty That Can Be Done to Prevent Memory Loss (April 14, 2009)
Many
steps can be taken, from exercise to proper diet to sufficient rest to head off
memory loss, which gets worse with age. Engaging in cognitive activities like
reading books, playing games or crafting in middle age or later life are
associated with a decreased risk of mild cognitive impairment. It's proven:
Staying involved in life helps stave off memory loss.
Senior
Citizens Have an Appeal Process When Medicare Drug Plan Fails to Cover Needed
Drugs (April 13, 2009)
Senior citizens have a process of appeal that
they can use if their Medicare private drug plan (Part D) does not provide them
with the insurance coverage that they need for their drugs. This report from the
Medicare Rights Center advises seniors on the process of appeal and how to
handle the challenges.
Hispanics
Appear to Face Poorer Quality Nursing Home Care (April 10, 2009)
A
researcher suggests that nursing homes serving primarily Hispanic residents
provided poorer quality care compared to facilities whose patients were mostly
white. These findings come less than two years after a landmark 2007 study that
suggested that blacks are more likely than whites to live in poor quality
nursing homes.
Diet
Soda Linked to Higher Diabetes Risk (April 10, 2009)
Middle aged and
older adults who drink diet soda every day might be around 67% more likely than
others to develop Type 2 diabetes. They also have higher odds of blood sugar
elevations and abdominal obesity.
High
Blood Lead Levels Linked to Heart Deaths (April 9, 2009)
Older women
with high levels of lead in their blood are likely to die sooner, particularly
from heart disease, than their counterparts with low lead levels, new research
indicates. Despite declines in blood lead concentrations during the past 30
years, environmental lead exposure continues to be a public health
concern.
Vitamin
D Deficiency Related to Increased Inflammation in Healthy Women (April 8,
2009)
According to a recent study, 75% of Americans do not get enough
Vitamin D. Researchers have found that the deficiency may negatively impact
immune function and cardiovascular health, and increase cancer risk. Sunlight is
a readily available, a free source of vitamin D. Exposing 25% of the skin's
surface area to 10 minutes of sunlight three days per week will maintain
adequate levels in the majority of people.
WORLD
Mexico:
Better Quality of Life for Older Persons (April 15, 2009)
(Article
in Spanish)
Three hundred and twenty people from age 50 onward are
participating in a project to measure the impact of various health-monitoring
levels. The health tests include electrocardiogram, blood test and measurement
of energy levels, conducted by a group of young doctors from the National
Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). The project will last two years, with
the objective to study this specific age group from all socio-economic
backgrounds.
United
Kingdom: Round the Clock Helpline can be Lifeline for Those Who Have Dementia
and their Carers (April 14, 2009)
Dementia Helpline was established
20 years ago in Scotland to help people with dementia. The only helpline of its
kind in the UK, it is free and available 24 hours a day. Manned almost
exclusively by volunteers, all receive extensive training. Many have direct
experience of caring for someone with dementia. It is entirely reliant on
voluntary income and gets thousands of calls a year.
Tanzania:
Grandmas Helping a World Away (April 11, 2009)
Growing old can be
challenging for Tanzania's older citizens. The advent of HIV has been
particularly challenging. While relatively few senior citizens are infected,
many watch their adult children die of the virus and have been left to raise
their grandchildren. This situation can prove very difficult due to the lack of
social services, compounded by the burden of their own failing health.
World:
Chronic Disease Presents New Challenge as World Ages (April 7,
2009)
Chronic diseases such as stroke, dementia and heart
disease--which affect mainly older people--are the biggest causes of death and
disability in much of the developing world. As the populations age, there is a
rapid rise in these diseases. Yet older people continue to face numerous
barriers in accessing primary healthcare. User fees are a key concern, as many
older people do not have a regular source of income.
World:
A Study on Napping for Older Women: Is It Really Healthy? (April 5,
2009)
(Article in Arabic)
Scientists at a California
institute of medical research discuss the relationship between napping and
mortality rates among older women. Their findings contradict previous research
as well as the common conception that taking naps correlates with a healthier
individual. Spanning almost seven years of study covering 8,000 women over the
age of 69, their findings could prove extremely significant for the future of
healthcare for older persons.
Europe:
A New Treatment Against Terminal Prostate Cancer (April 2,
2009)
(Article in French)
During the Annual European
Congress on Urology, the Swiss pharmaceutical company announced the launch in
Europe of Firmagon, "a new option of hormone therapy for prostate cancer." It
appears to be an effective treatment for this kind of cancer. Some 670,000 men
in the world are diagnosed every year with prostate cancer, and about two
million European men have the disease.
Canada:
Mouth is 'Window on the Rest of the Body' (April 2009)
Oral health is
more than just brushing, flossing and visiting the dentist. These rituals
prevent bacteria from building up on the teeth. Unchecked, a buildup of plaque
can eat away at the gums, which can then wear down the bone that holds teeth in
place. Residents in nursing homes face this particular problem. With weakened
immune systems; elders may not get the help they need to brush and floss
properly.
ELDER
RIGHTS
US
Green
House Concept Combines Best New Thinking for Elderly (April 14,
2009)
Two Green House homes, built primarily by donations and
entirely with environmental savvy construction, were "designed to look like a
home and promote what folks can do" and not focus on what they can't do.
Organizers want to deinstitutionalize long-term old age care, while medical care
is provided; the homes have nurse aides that go beyond typical care by cooking,
cleaning and doing laundry while providing protection and nurture for their
residents. Currently, Green House residents pay about $20 more than the average
skilled nursing private rooms.
Just
Say No to Aging? (April 14, 2009)
Harvard psychologist Ellen Langer
has written a new book, suggesting posits that people are victims of their
society and their own stereotypes in regard to aging and health. By robotically
believing negative cultural cues about the aging process, people form their own
image and behavior. But by freeing themselves from damaging cliches, they have a
greater chance to lead more productive lives well into old age. She argues that
by accepting signs that aging is undesirable, older persons place a limit on
living healthily into old age.
Fremont
Offers Help to Older Immigrants Who Do Not Speak English (April 13,
2009)
(Article in Spanish)
Volunteers in Fremont,
California, help older immigrants to integrate by offering social activities in
their native tongues. The Community Ambassador Program for Seniors, known as
CAPS, is a collaborative initiative with the Department of Humanitarian Services
of Fremont and seven cultural and religious organizations that offer help to
older immigrants. More than a dozen languages are spoken in each organization.
Program coordinators find "ambassadors" to serve as liaisons between their
members and their services.
Tax
Scammers Target Unsuspecting Senior Citizens (April 13, 2009)
Senior
citizens were warned to avoid financial scams aimed at them, especially around
Tax Day. The most common income tax scam aimed at seniors involves someone
posing as an IRS agent who, for a fee, offers a higher tax refund. After
securing a "fee," the con artist requests personal financial information from
the individual and that is used for identity theft. Older persons should be
especially careful when handling financial transactions.
All
in the Facebook Family: Older Generations Join Social Networks (April 13,
2009)
While online social networks like Facebook, Twitter and MySpace
are known hang-outs for younger adults and teenagers, older persons have been
taking to the medium at a faster rate than any other age group in recent months.
Facebook's popularity is growing most quickly among women older than 55 years.
Many older people use social networks to keep tabs on younger family
members.
Longer
Unemployment for Those 45 and Older (April 12, 2009)
The unemployment
rate in March for workers ages 45 and over was 6.4%, the highest since at least
1948. Many out-of-work baby boomers have despaired as they consider trimming
their resumes to avoid revealing decades of work experience. Others try to
rejuvenate their appearance. Older workers often have knowledge specific to
their companies that helps protect them from layoffs. But that background is
often less useful to prospective employers. Therefore, some unemployed boomers,
frustrated after months of fruitless searching, conclude that they will start
over at much lower pay.
Obama
Sent Birthday Wishes and Gifts to the Oldest Person (April 8,
2009)
(Article in Chinese)
President Obama sent a birthday
card and cake when Gertrude Baines celebrated her 115th birthday in Los Angeles.
Baines, the oldest African-American voter in the United States, cast her vote
for Obama in the 2008 election. She said on her birthday that she hoped to live
to the year 2012 so she could vote for Obama again.
More
Seniors Using Vehicles as Shelter (April 8, 2009)
Gene Sargent, 65,
has spent the past four years living in the cab of a pickup in South King
County, pulling behind him a camp trailer packed with his life's possessions.
With a Social Security payment of less than $700 a month, he cannot afford an
apartment. His situation is becoming increasingly common. The homeless
population is graying along with the general population and more older people
are living out their final years on the streets.
WORLD
Chile:
Most People Are Willing to Pay Tax For Services Required By Older Adults (April
17, 2009)
(Article
in Spanish)
The University of Chile recently revealed the results of
their study, "Social Inclusion and Exclusion of Elderly in Chile," which
provides a detailed explanation of the views, expectations and evaluation of
Chileans about senior citizens in Chilean society. Key findings include the
conclusion that 57.5% of respondents would pay a tax to provide services needed
by older adults. Researchers emphasized that Chile must become more aware of
their politics and policy regarding older people.
Germany:
Education After Retirement (April 16, 2009)
(Article in
Russian)
More than 20,000 students at German universities are people over
60 years. During the past ten years, the number of seniors in German colleges
has grown fast. Seniors pay a small amount of money and have an opportunity to
attend classes together with all the other students. Harmut Hautzel, 69, majored
in pedagogy 45 years ago and is taking pedagogy classes again now: "It is
interesting to me to see what innovations appeared in the field of pedagogy
during such a long period of time."
Europe:
Companion Robots To Improve Elderly People's Quality Of Life In Smart Homes
(April 16, 2009)
An initiative that is part of the European Union 7th
Framework Program aims to create a robotic companion to provide assistance to
older persons in their homes, allowing them to remain independent for a longer
period of time. In addition, the robot will be able to perceive and sense
emotional states, with the ability to contact health and social services for
support or video-conferencing, as well as maintaining therapeutic care and
treatment.
Senegal:
Older Persons: A Population Less and Less Assisted (April 15,
2009)
(Article in French)
The situation for older persons
is a real concern. Recognizing this emerging issue, the Senegalese scientific
community has decided to analyze what policies and programs are needed to
provide assistance to older persons. The issue of aging will change the 21st
century society, thanks to technological and medical progress resulting in
significant increases in life expectancy. But in our contemporary societies,
aging means difficulties in life, and the accumulation of diseases. Older
persons are more and more left to themselves; even the traditional solidarities
once found in African societies are now being lost.
Japan:
Solution to Japan's Jobless Problem: Send City Workers Back (April 15,
2009)
Currently, Japan is experiencing the worst recession since
WWII. As a result, many unemployed are turning to farming as a possible new
career. The Japanese government invested $10 million into programs to train
young workers from the cities to become farmers in hopes that they will renew
the rapidly aging farming population. At present, 2 in 3 farmers are 65 years
and older. Without the recruitment of young workers, agriculture in Japan will
disappear quickly.
China:
Older Persons High on the Agenda! (April 13, 2009)
(Article in
French)
As the population ages, the government is launching programs to
assist older persons. In 2009, there were 160 million people over 60 in China,
i.e., 12% of the society. This may appear low, but within two generations
seniors will represent more than 40% of Chinese people. The wave of older
persons from the "baby boom" encouraged by Mao in the fifties is
arriving.
China:
More than 159.89 Million Old People Aged Over 60 (April 13,
2009)
(Article in Chinese)
At the end of 2008, the number
of old people aged over 60 in China accounts for 12% of the total population.
The number is estimated to increase by 8 million per year. The rapid speed of
population aging and the growing need for social security for old people in
China makes a universal pension system an urgent priority.
China:
China Is Committed to Improving the Service System For Older People (April 13,
2009)
(Article in Spanish)
The State Plan of Action on
Human Rights 2009-2010, passed recently, states that by the end of 2010 China
will increase the number of beds available to older persons, the disabled and
youth at risk by over 2.2 million. Additional beds will be installed at centers
for rural residents with five guaranteed provisons: food, clothing, shelter,
medical care, education and burial expenses. Further, another 800,000 beds will
be provided in towns and cities for older persons who have no living
relatives.
Holland:
The "City of the Ancients" (April 12, 2009)
(Article in
Spanish)
Holland has built a residential complex equipped with all the
services an older person may want. The directors say that it can be a model for
future senior residential complexes, especially as Europe faces a greater
proportion of older persons in the coming years. The city within a city gives
its residents opportunity for greater social contact. They can opt for
independent living or permanent care should they need more assistance. This
system allows the government to reduce its costs while ensuring the welfare of
their older citizens.
France:
Financing of Dependency: Solidarity Will Have to Wait...(April 10,
2009)
(Article in French)
The question of financing social
security has been put on hold several times in the past. The majpr candidates
during the last presidential campaign supported a policy covering a wide range
of supports. For more than a decade, people concerned about handicapping
conditions or aging have rallied and petitioned the government. Eventually those
responsible for making decisions will realize the importance of the
challenge.
China:
Free Medical Examination Given to 0.1 Billion Old People (April 10,
2009)
(Article in Chinese)
At a press conference on April
10, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Health said that about 0.1 billion old
people over age 65 will receive free medical examinations in the years 2009 and
2010. A newly reformed medical program will include setting up standard resident
health archives and giving people 65 years and over health examinations on a
regular basis.
China:
Son and Father Lecturing Filial Piety Across 7 Provinces in One Month (April 10,
2009)
(Article in Chinese)
A retired university professor
and well-known calligrapher has driven 8,000 kilometers to seven provinces along
with his 92-year-old father to give lectures on filial piety. Since retiring
from the university, the professor has given free talks in colleges,
institutions, corporations, etc. on taking good care of parents and the virtue
of respecting old people.
Mexico:
Mexico Opens University for the Elderly (April 9, 2009)
Mexico is
opening its first University for Older Persons to respond to the gradual aging
of the population. The school is very elder-friendly with ramps, elevators and
escalators, and will offer courses from language, law, music and history to yoga
and environmental education.
Israel:
Older People in Tel Aviv Encounter Oppression, Violence, and Isolation (April 9,
2009)
(Article in Arabic)
New figures on violence in
Israel show that the most common cases of aggression against older people come
from within the family unit. Strikingly, while the overall rate of violence in
the nation has declined over the past year, the number of attacks on older
persons has increased to over 2,000 cases, most occurring within the domestic
sphere. Police cite increasing drug use and overpopulation due to immigration as
potential reasons for this phenomenon.
Canada:
Old Man Held Funeral Party to Hear Compliments in Advance (April 8,
2009)
(Article in Chinese)
A 59-year-old Canadian street
artist--after he was diagnosed with cancer--held a funeral party so he could
hear praise and compliments about him from relatives and friends. Those who will
attend the artist's real funeral were all invited to the party. He performed
banjo, acrobatics and comedy for them and said goodbye in advance.
France:
For More Respect of Older Persons: Call for Projects by The French Foundation
(April 8, 2009)
(Article in French)
The French Foundation
wants proposals aimed at promoting respect of the rights of choice and respect
for older persons. The January 2, 2002, law concerning older persons' autonomy
represents a major step, but the principles it stipulates are often contradicted
by the facts and practices. Older persons are often looked upon and treated as
children.
Armenia:
Seniors Constitute 12% of Armenia's Population (April 8,
2009)
(Article in Russian)
Yerevan, capital of Armenia,
hosted a three-day international conference on aging, gathering representatives
from Belarus, Bulgaria, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia,
Tajikistan and Ukraine. Members of the conference discussed social challenges
faced by aging societies as well as the design of social and economic policies
to accommodate the needs of seniors in Armenia.
Madagascar:
Older Persons Are Afraid of Being Neglected (April 4,
2009)
(Article in French)
Older persons are breaking their
silence. A number of associations committed to defending old people's rights has
been organized to sound an alarm to the new transitional government. Their main
concern is that the bill on the status of older persons is still not in effect.
This bill defines the readjustment of the food pension for older persons and the
national solidarity fund for elderly. The fund is significant particularly helps
artisans and the self-employed who have no pension.
Tunisia:
Tunisia Turns to Tourism for Seniors (April 1, 2009)
(Article in
French)
The Tourism Department and a large organization of Austrian
retired people--former secretaries, deputies, representatives and other
important personalities-have agreed to attract 18,000 retired persons to Tunisia
between 2009 and 2010. The tourist industry is currently facing difficulties in
these lean
years.
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