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Finance and the Aging Population
In This Issue:
Upcoming Deadlines
Announcements
Research & News
Funding Opportunities
Resources
Policy
Upcoming Deadlines
Sign Up Your School for Careers in Aging Week
GSA and its educational branch, the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education, are now gearing up for Careers in Aging Week 2010, which will take place from April 4 to 10. This annual venture is intended to bring greater awareness and visibility to the wide-ranging career opportunities in aging and aging research. Universities and colleges around the world participate by sponsoring events at their schools or in their communities. Participants sponsor events such as networking receptions, panel discussions, job fairs, exhibits, and aging-related film screenings.
Educational institutions are invited to apply for one of ten $200 grants for their planned activities. The deadline for grant application submissions is March 1, 2010. Download the application here. For more information, visit www.careersinaging.com or send an e-mail to ciaw@geron.org.
GSA Accepting Abstracts for Annual Meeting
The Gerontological Society of America is continuing to accept abstract submissions for the 2010 Annual Scientific Meeting, which will take place from Friday, November 19 to Tuesday, November 23 in New Orleans. The Call for Abstracts is currently available online; the meeting theme is "Transitions of Care Across the Aging Continuum." Individuals who would like their abstracts to be considered for several of GSA’s many awards will have the opportunity to indicate their intent on the submission form. The deadline is March 15. Applications for potential pre-conference workshops are also due on this date.
Indian Journal of Gerontology Welcomes Abstracts Focused on Gerontological Social Work
The Indian Journal of Gerontology, a peer-reviewed publication, is seeking submissions for a special issue of the journal focused on gerontological social work with Dr. Barbara Berkman as a guest editor. This edition will have a special emphasis on international implications of social work. If you would like to submit an article about your policy or practice research, please contact Dr. Barbara Berkman at bb151@columbia.edu. Abstracts are due April 10, 2010 and the full manuscript would be required no later than September 1, 2010 for publication in early 2011. There are also plans to publish the accepted articles in book form.
Health and Aging Policy Fellows Program Application
The deadline to apply for a 2010 Health and Aging Policy Fellowship is April 15, 2010. Supported by The Atlantic Philanthropies, this national program seeks to provide professionals in health and aging with the experience and skills necessary to contribute to the development and implementation of health policies that affect older Americans. The program is open to physicians, nurses, social workers, and other clinicians (e.g., pharmacists, dentists, clinical psychologists) with a demonstrated commitment to health and aging issues and a desire to be involved in health policy at the federal, state, or local level. For more information, click here or e-mail Phuong Huynh, Deputy Director of the program.
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Announcements
Faculty Scholar Featured on WGTE Public Media for Research with Computers and Cognitive Function
Dr. Sudershan Pasupuleti, Associate Professor of Social Work at the University of Toldedo and Hartford Faculty Scholar, was recently interviewed on WGTE Public Media in Toledo, Ohio for his groundbreaking research in brain fitness in older adults. Paired with physical activity, simulation software is helping to increase cognitive function. Dr. Pasupuleti says, "To stay cognitively healthy all through one's life, one needs to have a proper lifestyle and this lifestyle includes some physical activity in daily life and then some mental activity, doing some creative things so that your mental capacity is used, challenged." To find out more about the research he is doing with computers and cognitive function, please click here to WGTE's website to view the full video.
Sanford Center for Aging at the University of Nevada, Reno Seeks Candidates for Director
The Center is a free-standing, endowment funded entity devoted to aging-focused research, education, and community outreach. The director will be responsible for recruiting staff and faculty affiliates and for the academic, clinical, and financial success of the Center. The director will also pursue and maintain a program of extramurally funded, peer-reviewed research as well as take a leadership role in philanthropic efforts on behalf of the Center. Support for the Center includes a new 6,000 sq. ft. clinical education facility. For complete position description and requirements, please visit www.unr.edu/sanford. Applications received by March 12, 2010 will receive full consideration. EEO/AA, women, and under-represented groups are encouraged to apply.
EPA Recognizes Four Communities for Building Healthy Communities for Active Aging
The awards program recognizes outstanding community strategies and planning that support active aging and smart growth. The Achievement Award recognizes communities for overall excellence in building healthy communities for active aging. This year's recipients are the Town of Cary, NC., and Martinsville/Henry County, VA. The Commitment Award recognizes communities that have developed and begun to initiate a specific plan to implement smart growth and active aging principles. This year's recipients are City of Gaithersburg, MD, for the Upcounty Senior Center and the County of San Mateo, CA, for the Half Moon Bay Senior Campus Plan. Applications for the 4th Annual Building Healthy Communities for Active Aging (2010) are due July 17, 2010. For more information, please see: http://www.epa.gov/aging/bhc/awards.
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Research & News
Financial Abuse of Elders Worsens
As crippling as physical abuse, elders are suffering theft at the hands of children, grandchildren, caregivers, friends and strangers. Due to the nature of fixed income, many older people can not recover from the loss of money or property. Since a large portion of the wealth belongs to persons over the age of 50, the demographic is a target for theft and financial abuse. To read more about this problem, please see the original article from the Stamford Advocate.
Medicare Fraud Still a Problem 2 Years into Crackdown
USA Today reports that, two years into the latest crackdown on health insurance fraud, the number of individuals charged with ripping off insurers has barely changed.
Medicare spends an estimated $60 billion on fraud annually says Attorney General Eric Holder.
Attorney General Eric Holder and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner announced the creation of a joint task force to combat financial crimes in January.
New Focus on Retirement Savings
President Obama launched an effort to help Americans save for retirement. The proposed plan includes Automatic IRAs, requiring employers who do not already offer retirement plans to provide employees with the option of automatic deductions from their paychecks into an IRA (workers could opt out, if they wish); Saver's Credit, a retirement savings tax credit; Lifetime Income, an initiative that would promote greater use of annuities and other forms of guaranteed lifetime income; and 401(K) Regulations, improvements on the transparency of 401(K) fees and guards against their returns being eaten away by fees and expenses. For more details on the effort, see the original article at ABCNews.
Study of Working Caregivers and Employer Health Care Costs
The MetLife Mature Market Institute with the National Alliance for Caregiving in conjunction with the University of Pittsburgh Institute of Aging recently released a report, MetLife Study of Working Caregivers and Employer Health Care Costs. The report reveals that working caregivers, who tend to experience more health problems than non-caregivers, cost employers an estimated average of an additional 8% in health care expenses per year, or $13.4 billion annually. The report also found that younger caregivers (ages 18 to 39) cost their employers 11% more for health care than non-caregivers, while male caregivers cost an additional 18%. The report suggest employers provide integrated wellness and eldercare programs for employees. For more information, visit: MetLife Mature Market Institute.
Facing Retirement Realities
University of Pittsburgh Professor Dennis Slevin did the math: a 401(K) is simply not enough. According to Slevin, a worker with a starting salary of $50,000 would have to put away 25% of his salary each year for 40 years in order to take out 75% of his last year of work's annual pay ($100,000). The $75,000 per annum, by that time, however would only cover about $15,183 in today's expenses.
Social Security Takes Hit from Unemployment, Early Retirement
Both the cut in revenue from unemployment during the recession and the surge of early retirement have hit Social Security hard. More than 2.7 million people were added to the books in 2009, a 20 percent increase from the year previous. It was the largest one-year increase since 1975. To read more about how the recession is affecting Social Security and retirement, please see the original article from the Miami Herald.
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Funding Opportunities
Practice Change Fellows Program Accepting Applications
The Practice Change Fellows program is seeking applicants for 2010. The two-year program helps nurses, physicians and social workers develop leadership skills and content expertise to improve health care for older adults. The National Council on Aging administers the program with the University of Colorado. Applications are due April 7, 2010. For more information, visit: Practice Change Fellows.
Research to Aid Persons with Disabilities
The National Science Foundation invites research proposals that will lead to new technology, devices or software that will benefit persons with disabilities. Research may be directed toward the characterization, restoration, and/or substitution of human functional abilities or cognition, or the interaction of persons with disabilities and their environment. Emphasis is placed on significant advancement of fundamental engineering and scientific knowledge rather than on incremental improvements. Application due dates: Full proposal windows, March 3, 2010 & August 15, September 23, 2010.
Active Aging: Supporting Individuals and Enhancing Community-based Care through Health Information Technology
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is requesting applications from organizations that propose to develop specialized centers for the purpose of (a) utilizing communication and information based technologies to improve and expand health-related services available to older adults, and (b) developing effective strategies to translate research advances into practice efficiently. Research results are intended to enhance the independence and functional capabilities of older adults through development of tools, production of demonstration projects, and construction of educational programs. Deadline: March 25, 2010.
NIMH Developing Centers for Intervention and/or Services Research
The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) invites research grant applications related to the missions of the Division of Services and Intervention Research and the NIMH Geriatrics Research Branch. The latter supports intervention research relevant to older adults. The purpose of the grant is to provide infrastructure support for groups of investigators that will allow expansion of their intervention and/or services research. The scope of this offering is broad and meant to support investigators who are involved in treatment, prevention and/or services research. Deadline: June 24, 2010.
New Funding Opportunities from NIH
The National Institute of Health has a number of grant opportunities, which include, but are not limited to the following:
Mechanisms, Measurement, and Management of Pain in Aging: from Molecular to Clinical
Bioenergetics, Fatigability, and Activity Limitations in Aging
Mechanisms Underlying the Links between Psychosocial Stress, Aging, the Brain and the Body
Network Infrastructure Support for Emerging Behavioral and Social Research Areas in Aging
Active Aging: Supporting Individuals and Enhancing Community-based Care through Health Information Technology
For a more complete listing on the NIH funding available for aging-related research, please click here.
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Resources
CSWE Releases Resource Review on Health and Aging
From the MAC (Master's Advanced Curriculum) Project, the Council on Social Work Education presents a new resource review and curriculum resources. This online Table of Contents includes downloadable resources on the topics of: Chronic Illness and Aging, Health Promotion and Aging, Palliative Care, and Directions for Future Research.
World Population Ageing Report 2009
The United Nations has released the 2009 World Population Ageing Report, a document that includes Demographic Determinants and the Speed of Population Ageing, the Changing Balance Among Age Groups, and a Demographic Profile of the Older Population. The report address such topics as fertility rates, population growth, growth within the aging population, and the differences between rich and poor countries. Click here to download the .pdf from Global Action on Aging.
Aging in America in the Twenty-First Century: Demographic Forecasts from the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on an Aging Society
The MacArthur Foundation Research Network on an Aging Society has released a new report, Aging in America in the Twenty-First Century, featuring projections for 2050 and addressing topics such as life expectancy and implications for America’s fiscal situation, health care system, and labor markets. To access the press release, data, and the entire report, please click here.
Update on an Economic Case for Health Care Reform from the White House
This updated report from the Executive Office of the President Council of Economic Advisors addresses the economic issues surrounding health care reform. The Case for Health Care Reform includes sections on: health insurance reform and federal spending costs, health insurance reform and private health care spending, economic benefits of estimated effects of health care reform, an overview of previous Council of Economic Advisors findings and recommendations for the future.
Medicare Part D 2010 Data Spotlights
The Kaiser Family Foundation has issued a collection of analyses related to the Part D Medicare stand-alone drug plan options available to seniors for calendar year 2010. Each of these spotlights focuses on a key aspect of the drug plans that will be available to Medicare beneficiaries in 2010 and examine relevant trends since the Medicare drug benefit took effect in 2006. They were prepared by a team of researchers at Georgetown University, National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago and the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Aviva Releases Real Retirement Report
This month, British insurance group Aviva released a new resource, the Aviva Real Retirement Report. The report tracks three ages of retirement (55-64; 65-74; and over 75 years of age) and covers topics such as Inflation and Spending Patterns, Income, Savings, and Homeownership, among others. Check back at Aviva.com for quarterly updates.
AARP Research Report on Federal and State Income Tax Incentives for Private Long-Term Care Insurance
American Association of Retired Persons
has issued a report on Federal and State Income Tax Incentives for Private Long-Term Care Insurance. The report describes subsidies, their value to tax payers (by age and income level), and their cost to federal and state governments, where possible. You can download the full report or the information brief from the AARP website.
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Policy
Public Policy & Aging Report : Enhancing Elderly Financial Security
For more on finance and public policy, check out the latest issue of Public Policy & Aging Report, which explores both the sources of and possible solutions to the economic vulnerability created by the "Great Recession" of 2007-09. Topics covered include: the Recession's Impact on Older Workers, Pension Design in the Crisis, Planning for Retirement: The Importance of Financial Literacy, Improving Retirement Security Through the Increased Use of Annuities in 401(k) Plans, Savings for Life: Building a Better American System for Saving. There's more in the Public Policy & Aging e-Newsletter, available here for free.
Caregiver Assistance and Relief Effort (CARE) Act Reintroduced
Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) recently reintroduced his legislation from 2007, the Caregiver Assistance and Relief Effort (CARE) Act (S 2958/ H.R. 1192). The bill would provide a tax credit to those caring for a family member with long-term care needs; the credit would start at $2,500 in 2010, with a reduction of $100 for every $1,000 the taxpayer earns over $75,000. The credit would increase to $2,750 in 2011 and $3,000 in 2012. In addition, the bill would increase funding for the National Family Caregiver Support Program (NFCSP) to $250 million in FY 2011, up from $154 million in FY 2010. It would also allow a tax deduction for long-term care insurance premiums and apply certain consumer protection provisions to long-term care insurance contracts. For more information, visit: Thomas.
Advocates continue to push for the Independence at Home Act of 2009
Enthusiasm among advocates is still high for the success of a bill introduced in May 2009, the Independence at Home Act of 2009. The Act calls for amendments to title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide certain high cost Medicare beneficiaries suffering from multiple chronic conditions with access to coordinated, primary care medical services in lower cost treatment settings, such as their residences, under a plan of care developed by a team of qualified and experienced health care professionals. The Act would authorize chronic care coordination pilot programs for these beneficiaries who volunteer to participate under the traditional Medicare fee-for-service program. The house bill is sponsored by Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-MA) and the Senate bill is sponsored by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR). To track the progress of these bills or to read the full text of the bill visit Thomas.
United Nations Addresses Human Rights Concerns for Older People
A side event at the United Nations' 48th Commission on Social Development focused on the rights of older people. The panel discussion was entitled Regional Perspectives on a New Human Rights Instrument for Older People: Concerns and Benefits. The event also served as the launch of a new resource, “Strengthening Older People’s Rights: Towards a UN Convention.” You can download this resource from any of the sponsoring organizations websites.
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