All Posts in "The Senior Scene"

The financial demands of eldercare are straining the budgets of many military families, with new data highlighting the growing burden as service members take on caregiving responsibilities for aging relatives.

A survey conducted by First Command Financial Services Inc. found that 63 percent of middle-class military households—defined as commissioned officers and senior noncommissioned officers (E-5 and above) earning at least $50,000 annually—are now providing care for elderly family members. That’s a significant jump from 13 percent in 2012, when the company first began tracking eldercare trends as part of its First Command Financial Behaviors Index, which assesses trends among financial behaviors through a monthly survey of approximately 530 U.S. consumers 25 to 70 years old with annual household incomes of $50,000 or more.

Eldercare costs are presenting a significant challenge for many, with 58 percent of the survey respondents reporting higher-than-expected expenses, and 53 percent calling the costs a severe financial concern.

The average caregiving family spends $1,647 per month, with expenditures directed toward home care, nursing homes, and other healthcare services.

According to First Command’s researchers, military families are taking on these responsibilities at higher rates than their civilian counterparts. Among the general population, 23 percent report caring for an elderly relative, with average monthly costs slightly higher at $1,839. Civilian caregivers similarly report financial strain, with 56 percent citing unexpected costs and 34 percent identifying eldercare as a severe concern.

Looking ahead, 31 percent of military families and 21 percent of general-population households anticipate providing eldercare to a parent or other elderly relative in the future, such as a grandparent, aunt, or uncle.

Mark Steffe, First Command’s president, stressed the importance of financial planning to navigate the economic challenges of eldercare.

“Nine out of 10 military families who are caring for an elderly family member said they planned in advance for the costs,” Steffe said. “One out of four sought help from a financial advisor. Working with a knowledgeable financial coach is a prudent way for military families to prepare for and deal with the economic realities of eldercare while continuing to pursue their own financial goals.”

The Senior Scene by — March 25, 2025 in Personal Finance/Consumers

COMMENTARY

By Senior Citizens League

At a hearing before the U.S. Senate nomination committee, Robert Kennedy Jr., President Trump’s nominee for secretary of Health and Human Services, seemed confused about Medicaid and how it is funded. When asked how he would reform Medicaid, he had no answer.

This comes on top of the news that top Republicans in the House of Representatives are passing around a 50-page list of ideas on how to cover the cost of an extension of the 2017 Trump tax cuts, which will allow corporations to pay lower taxes, among other things. The list includes cuts to Medicaid and new tariffs on all imports to pay for those cuts.

So, what is Medicaid, and how many seniors rely on it for their healthcare? 

Medicaid is a joint federal and state program that provides health coverage to over 72 million Americans, including children, pregnant women, parents, seniors, and individuals with disabilities. Medicaid is the single largest source of health coverage in the United States.

Millions of older Americans rely on Medicaid coverage. Approximately 7.2 million over age 65 are enrolled in Medicaid, and more than 11 million aged 50 to 64 have health coverage through Medicaid.

Nearly 6 million older adults live below the federal poverty level. Medicaid is a lifeline for millions of seniors and older Americans on fixed incomes. 

Medicaid funds nearly half of long-term care nationwide. As seniors age, long-term care becomes more essential, serving about 70 percent  who will need some form of long-term care in their lives.

Medicaid pays for about 62 percent of long-term care residents in nursing homes. It  covers nursing-home bills for over 60 percent of residents. In 2019, this totaled over $50 billion. The median private nursing-home room cost over $100,000 yearly in 2024.

Approximately 12 million seniors who Medicare covers also have Medicaid coverage. Nearly 8 million dual-eligible Medicare-Medicaid beneficiaries are “full benefit” Medicaid enrollees with access to a range of Medicaid benefits not otherwise covered by Medicare, such as transportation to medical appointments and medical equipment.

Older adults depend on Medicaid for affordable, comprehensive care. Older Americans often have more complex health issues, requiring additional medical attention that is costly and would be out of reach if not for Medicaid. Nearly half of dual enrollees are seniors of color, and over half of dual enrollees suffer from long-term disabilities.

We will be watching this issue closely because Medicaid clearly affects millions of seniors.

The Senior Citizens League (seniorleague.org) is a national, non-profit advocate for seniors’ benefits,

The Senior Scene by — March 25, 2025 in News
Study ranks Salt Lake City best for retirement, Seattle one of worst

(Pictured: Salt Lake City, Utah is number 1 in a study of which U.S. cities are the best places to retire.)

By Maggie Davis

Where they live can drastically impact what life is like for retirees.

The newest DepositAccounts study, released in January, looked at lifestyle, cost of living, medical quality and cost, and assisted-care quality and availability to determine the best places to retire. Across the 50 largest U.S. cities and metropolitan areas, Salt Lake City, Utah ranks as the best. On the other end of the scale, Seattle is the 22nd-worst, and Riverside, Calif., ranks last.

Salt Lake City is on top because ithas the lowest rate of preventable hospital stays (1,591 per 100,000 Medicare enrollees) and the highest percentage of older adults who volunteer (44 percent), plus a high percentage of physically active people . It also rates high in lifestyle (behind only Minneapolis, Minn. and Denver, Colo.).

Milwaukee, Wis. and Pittsburgh, Pa. rank second and third overall respectively, thanks to high marks for high percentages of physically activity, low median monthly housing costs ($996 in Pittsburgh), and low average healthcare costs for Medicare users.

California dominates the bottom of the list, with five of the 10 worst places to retire, mainly due to high costs of living. Besides Riverside at the very bottom, the low-ranking metros include San Jose, San Francisco, San Diego, and Los Angeles.

For the study, researchers with DepositAccounts, a Lending Tree-affiliated online source of banking and other financial analysis, grouped data into four categories with various metrics:

  • Lifestyle (access to healthy food, arts, cultural and recreational venues, and amount of older adults involved physical activity and volunteerism).
  • Cost of living (median monthly housing costs, regional prices for consumer items and services).
  • Healthcare quality and cost (ratesof preventable hospital stays per 100,000 Medicare enrollees, if such stays might have been prevented by receiving outpatient treatment instead, and costs per Medicare beneficiary).
  • Assisted-care availability and quality (jncluding number of home health service providers, continuing-care retirement communities, assisted-living facilities, and nursing-home beds per 100,000 residents, average quality of patient care star rating for home health agencies

While Seattle fared poorly overall, all wasn’t bad: It has the third-lowest rate of preventable hospital stays, at 1,850 per 100,000 Medicare enrollees.

Good care is crucial, noted Matt Schulz, LendingTree’s chief credit analyst and author of “Ask Questions, Save Money, Make More: How to Take Control of Your Financial Life.”

“If you don’t have your health, everything gets exponentially more challenging, no matter how old you are,” Schulz said. “The more you’re able to preserve your health and steer clear of the need for hospital stays, the better. And that’s not just about your physical health. It’s about your finances, too. There’s little that’s more expensive than bad health.”

The study was limited to the 50 largest 50 metro areas. Sources of information for the total analysis include the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Census Bureau, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, and individual county health rankings around the country.

The full report is available at depositaccounts.com.

Source: LendingTree, an online loan marketplace and financial researcher.

The Senior Scene by — March 19, 2025 in Lifestyle, Home, Adventures
Point Defiance Park’s story from 1888 to now

(Pictured: Never Never Land, with its iconic figurine of Humpty Dumpty at the entrance, was once a children’s attraction at Point Defiance Park. Everything was removed after slipping into disrepair.)

TIME & AGAIN

From its origins in 1888 as a “loaner” from the U.S. military, Point Defiance Park is a place where Tacoma residents and visitors mingle with history, nature, and outdoor recreation.

The park’s mammoth size (756 acres) today encompasses a zoo, a boardwalk, a boathouse, a historic fort replica, a winding, scenic drive, and 400 acres of old-growth forest on a point of land jutting into Puget Sound. Now operated by Parks Tacoma (formerly Metro Parks), it was part of the homelands of the Puyallup Tribe, whose members still consider the space an important part of their tribal heritage.  

The land began a new chapter 137 years ago when then-president Grover Cleveland signed legislation giving Tacoma the right to use it as a city park. Until then, it was an undeveloped military reservation. With no amenities, the public use of the park was limited to mostly seasonal camping on or near the shoreline now known as Owen Beach, which is named for Floyd Owen, a former park superintendent who was with the park district for 47 years..

In 1890, a streetcar line began carrying people to the park. By 1914, the Pagoda, an Asian-influenced building that still stands today, was serving as a streetcar station inside the park. The building had a heated waiting room for passengers, a first-aid-station, and marble-walled restrooms with attendants who handed out towels.

Here are some other early park milestones, and the years they occurred:

1903

Waterfront development of the park started, eventually producing a ferry dock, a restaurant, boat rentals, and refreshment stands.

1905
The federal government formally grants the title of Point Defiance Park to the city of Tacoma on March 3. The prime mover of the legislation was Congressman Francis W. Cushman, who was honored in 1925 for his efforts with a statue near the park.

1906
The Nereides Baths opened on Memorial Day. Tacoma’s first indoor swimming pool, or natatorium as it was then called, had Puget Sound saltwater heated to 80 degrees and rental bathing suits, all for 10 cents. The baths closed and the building was torn down in the early 1930s.

1921
Development of the park waterfront expanded with a major addition adjacent to the octagonal Pavilion. This arched concrete structure, also referred to as the Pavilion, eventually boasted three stories and included a restaurant, aquarium, and housing for park employees. Fire destroyed the boathouse and pavilion in 1984, but they were rebuilt and reopened four years later.

1933
Funland opened on Memorial Day. Privately operated, the amusement park provided an escape during the years of the Great Depression and World War II. Point Defiance Riding Academy also opened, giving horseback riders the opportunity to enjoy the park’s bridle paths. Both attractions closed in the 1960s. 

1940s
Miltary influence at the point continued into this decade. The park, its forests, gardens, and attractions served the World War II homefront as a convenient and affordable local getaway during a time of gas rationing. Army Air Force crash boat rescue crews were stationed at the Pavilion during the war years in the event of a downed aircraft in Puget Sound.

1959
Point Defiance Zoo added the Children’s Farm Zoo, with cows, chickens, rabbits, ducks, and goats to delight city kids. Care of the farm animals was a cooperative venture between zoo staff and chapters of the Future Farmers of America. On a much larger scale, the zoo expanded after voters approved a bond issue in 1977.

The Senior Scene by — March 19, 2025 in Spotlight