Public Policy & Aging E-Newsletter
Volume 6, Number 5, September 2012
This bimonthly e-newsletter highlights key developments and viewpoints in the field of aging policy from a wide variety of sources, including articles and reports circulating in the media, academy, think tanks, private sector, government and nonprofit organizations.
The goal of this email publication is to reach teachers, students, and citizens interested in aging-related issues, especially those who may not have sufficient access to policy information disseminated both in Washington and around the country.
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I. WHAT’S HAPPENING IN WASHINGTON?
A. Choosing Our Future: RNC and DNC Party Platforms: The Older Women's League compiled this public policy issues alert that illustrates the contrast between the Democrats and Republicans on the major issues affecting women over 40 and their families: Social Security, Medicare/Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act.
B. Aging Services Programs 2013 Funding: The National Council on Aging compiled figures for this table showing proposed Fiscal Year 2013 funding levels for aging services programs. For background information on the assumptions built into these calculations, click here.
C. Census Application Programming Interface (API): The US Census Bureau recently released a new online service to make key demographic, socio-economic and housing statistics more accessible to the public. The Census Bureau’s first-ever public API allows developers to design Web and mobile applications relevant to changing population and economy. For example, developers could use the statistics available through this API to create apps that show commuting patterns for every city in America; display the latest numbers on owners and renters in a neighborhood someone may want to live in; or, provide a local government a range of socioeconomic statistics on its population.
II. WHAT’S HAPPENING AROUND THE COUNTRY?
A. Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid Work for America: Social Security Works released a series of state reports that provide information on how Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid impact a state's population and economy, with a special focus on the benefits for such groups as children, communities of color, and women. In addition to providing information about the programs’ history, character and vitality, as well as compelling, real-life stories, each report includes statistics about the number of people who receive benefits, the types of benefits they receive and the total amount of funds flowing from these programs into every state, its congressional districts and counties. All 50 state reports are available here.
B. Family Caregivers: The Primary Providers of Assistance to People with Functional Limitations and Chronic Impairments: Family (or other unpaid) caregivers play a central role not only in assisting impaired family members with personal care needs, but also in helping them coordinate health care and supportive services, and, increasingly, providing and/or supervising home-based medical care. This National Health Policy Forum paper presents background information on family caregiving, briefly describes federal programs that provide direct assistance to caregivers, and discusses possible future policy and practice directions.
C. United States of Aging Survey: A new survey from the National Council on Aging, UnitedHealthcare and USA TODAY finds that most older Americans feel their best years are still to come, but not all are prepared for the health and financial challenges of aging. Close to 70 percent of respondents say the past year of their lives has been normal or better than normal, and more than 75 percent of seniors ages 60-69 expect their quality of life to stay the same or get better over the next five to 10 years. However, the survey also found that advances in senior wellness and security have not been universal, due in part to a lack of awareness of programs and services that can support older adults. Fifteen percent of surveyed seniors say they are not confident their finances will last through their retirement years, and 8 percent have no financial plan for retirement. Among those respondents making less than $30,000 a year, 41 percent say they are unaware of all the benefits and programs that could help meet their needs.
III. THIS ISSUE'S MAJOR POLICY STORY: REVERSE MORTGAGES
Twenty years ago I proposed to a dear elderly friend that she prepare to finance her potential long-term care by taking out a reverse mortgage on her primary residence, a home in Chautauqua, New York. The house was worth a lot of money, even before that summer colony attracted Boomers and their children. Helen, aged 83, was in good health; her younger brother was her only kin. My friend knew that I had her best interests at heart, but she balked because she did not understand how reverse mortgages worked. In retrospect, my friend probably was wiser than I. Reverse mortgages might make sense under some circumstances. That said, in the wake of the recession of 2008, I no longer think houses are a surefire investment. Nor do I pretend to understand the possible abuses in the industry. These articles, which deal with an important albeit understudied area of old-age policies, are illuminating.
-Andy Achenbaum
A. Reverse Mortgages: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)’s Office of Older Americans released a Report to Congress on reverse mortgages. The CFPB’s study finds that reverse mortgages are complex products that are difficult for consumers to understand. Borrowers are also increasingly using reverse mortgages in ways that are different from what was intended. Nearly half of recent borrowers were in their 60s, and nearly 3 out of 4 borrowers in 2010 took at least 90 percent of the money at closing, compared with 43 percent in 2008. Additionally, the CFPB released a 4-page consumer guide to reverse mortgages and a new and improved set of answers to common reverse mortgages questions on Ask CFPB.
B. Nightmare on Main Street: Older Americans and the Mortgage Market Crisis: New analysis from AARP shatters the myth that older Americans largely escaped harm in the foreclosure crisis by having large amounts of equity or owning their homes outright. In fact, as of December 2011, approximately 3.5 million loans of people age 50+ were underwater—meaning homeowners owe more than their home is worth, so they have no equity; 600,000 loans of people age 50+ were in foreclosure, and another 625,000 loans were 90 or more days delinquent. From 2007 to 2011, more than 1.5 million older Americans lost their homes as a result of the mortgage crisis.
C. 8 Myths about Reverse Mortgages: The National Council on Aging (NCOA), a federally-approved Reverse Mortgage Counseling Intermediary, has compiled a list of eight common misperceptions about reverse mortgages to help older adults keep up with the changing facts about this special type of home loan. For more information from NCOA about reverse mortgages and home equity options for older adults, click here.
D. The Essentials: Reverse Mortgages: This educational guide—prepared by MetLife Mature Market Institute in cooperation with the National Council on Aging—is a general introduction to reverse mortgages. It explains the terminology associated with these loans, presents some basic issues you need to consider, and provides answers to some frequently asked questions.
IV. WORTH NOTING
A. Coming of Age in Aging America: Vital Pictures Productions launched a website to introduce this PBS multi-media, multi-year project (to launch in 2013) that explores how our long lives will reshape the way we work, how we build our communities, and how we as a society can age well. The website includes an engaging introductory video “The Big Idea in Four Minutes” that can be downloaded free of charge here.
B. A Young Person's Guide to Social Security: Released by the Economic Policy Institute and the National Academy of Social Insurance, this guide is written by young authors for students and young workers and explains why Social Security is not in grave danger as oft-reported (Free hard copies of the guide are also available by request). NASI has also prepared a companion resources page, which includes an animated, 4-minute video that explains the basics about Social Security, including its purpose, who pays for it, who gets it, and what it means to seniors, working families, and children now and in the future.
C. Best Cities for Successful Aging: Across the country, leaders are developing exciting solutions to enable successful aging. To shine a light on the best of these programs and encourage new ones, the Milken Institute developed the first Best Cities for Successful Aging index, which measures, compares, and ranks the performance of 359 U.S. metropolitan areas in promoting and enabling successful aging. The overall rankings are based on eight subcomponents (general indicators, health care, wellness, living arrangements, transportation/convenience, financial well-being, employment/education, and community engagement). Infographics and data for each metro area as well as tools for policymakers can be found at www.milkeninstitute.org/successfulaging.
V. WHAT'S HAPPENING ABROAD?
A. A Framework for the Law as it Affects Older Adults: The Law Commission of Ontario has developed a framework to enable policy-makers, legislators, courts, advocates, community organizations and others to understand and evaluate the effects of law, policies and practices on older adults, and to provide a foundation for law reform efforts in the area. The Framework and Final Report are available online and are recommended reading for those working with, and developing policy and programs for older people not only in Canada but across the globe.
B. Balancing Tradition and Modernity: The Future of Retirement in East Asia: This Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) report explores the implications of rapid development and rapid aging for retirement policy and planning in the most economically important region of the emerging world. It is based on nationally representative surveys of workers and retirees conducted by the CSIS Global Aging Initiative in China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan.
C. The Population Powerhouse of Eastern Asia: This trends report from the MetLife Mature Market Institute illustrates some of the economic challenges that the East Asian nations and the United States face as their populations age and their workforce growth slows. In particular, the number of workers under age 45 is projected to decline quite significantly in China, Japan, and South Korea, which combined with the ongoing shift from manufacturing to services and knowledge-based economies means that the nature of what will be traded between the U.S. and our East Asian partners will almost certainly shift.
VI. PERSPECTIVES ON POLICY: ROB HUDSON, EDITOR, PP&AR
The negative consequences of age discrimination in many countries are more widespread than discrimination due to race or gender, yet differential treatment based on a person’s age is often seen as more acceptable and even desirable, according to the newest edition of the Public Policy & Aging Report (PP&AR). This publication, which features cross-national perspectives, was jointly produced by The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) and AGE UK.
The PP&AR explores how discriminatory behaviors manifest themselves, steps that are being taken to address those behaviors, and the challenges associated with asserting elders’ individual rights while acknowledging vulnerabilities that are inevitably — although variably — associated with advanced chronological age.
Five separate articles illuminate the issues and options that face policymakers as they seek to eliminate negative discriminatory behaviors. Yet, the authors wrestle as well with how to identify and preserve age-biased provisions and practices that bring legitimate and needed benefits to older people. In particular, they ask if age discrimination is ever acceptable and whom might such discrimination advantage.
The new PP&AR, “Cross-National Perspectives on Age Discrimination,” is available for purchase here. To subscribe, click here or download the subscription order form.
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Newsletter Editors: Greg O'Neill, National Academy on an Aging Society; Andy Achenbaum, University of Houston.
The Public Policy and Aging E-Newsletter is supported in part by a grant from the AARP Office of Academic Affairs. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of The Gerontological Society of America, the National Academy on an Aging Society, or the AARP Office of Academic Affairs.
© Copyright 2012 The Gerontological Society of America; all rights reserved.
