Moving and Retirement
Aging in Place, Co-Housing, Villages, Alternative Housing for Seniors: Grocery Stores, Grab Bars and 'Golden Girls'
Suburban seniors with less money will need more affordable housing within walking distance of grocery stores and doctors. Local governments may have to help boomers maintain or repair their homes, or else contend with declining property values and tax revenue. more »
New York Times and Consumer Reports Articles on Reverse Mortgages and the FHA Proposal to Strengthen Reverse Mortgage Program
"So yes, our retirement savings vehicles ought to be better. Until they are, however, home equity may end up being the biggest asset that many people have to draw on in retirement. That is where reverse mortgages come in for people who use their homes as a primary residence. If you are 62 or older, you can apply to extract some of that equity in a variety of ways, including through a lump sum or a line of credit. Your age, prevailing interest rates and the amount of equity in your home will help lenders determine what you can borrow." NYTimes article more »
Chair Janet L. Yellen: "My Message Will Be Largely Favorable, Although Recent Developments Have Been Mixed"
"Inflation has been lower than our objective of 2 percent, but I expect it to move up over time for reasons that I will describe. If incoming data are consistent with labor market conditions strengthening and inflation making progress toward our 2% objective, as I expect, further gradual increases in the federal funds rate are likely to be appropriate and most conducive to meeting and maintaining those objectives. However, I will emphasize that monetary policy is not on a preset course and significant shifts in the outlook for the economy would necessitate corresponding shifts in the appropriate path of policy." more »
Keep On Stepping: The Peculiar State of Widowhood's Challenge
Jane Shortall writes: Pulling on a woolly hat, scarf, gloves, heavy jeans, rubber boots and a waxed jacket, on that wild morning, I went out and walked the legendary Bull Wall in Clontarf, a long, long seafront walk, loved by the citizens of Dublin for hundreds of years. This is the area where the High King of Ireland, Brian Boru, was slain in a battle against the Danes in 1014. On that particular morning, I felt I was battling too. more »