Senior GO TO Guide • BLOG: December 2018

Thursday, December 13, 2018

The Eagle Says Goodbye

It is with great sadness that we acknowledge that the news website, Branford Eagle has shut down.
I have been a loyal readers for many years and appreciated the high-quality reporting that they served up.--TG

Front: Sally, Marcia. Standing: Mary, Diana, Bill.

After looking at various options, the staff of the Branford Eagle has decided to end publication Dec. 1.

This was not an easy decision, but we concluded it was necessary after the death of editor and founder Marcia Chambers.

Marcia began the Eagle as an online column in 2006. She expanded it to a full online newspaper when reporters Sally Bahner and Diana Stricker joined the publication in 2009. Photographer Mary Johnson began shortly thereafter. Bill O’Brien then began covering sports and other town events and taking photos. Marcia was not only the editor and investigative reporter; she also did fundraising to cover the expenses of a nonprofit publication, and she never took a salary.

We have been unable to find someone to take over Marcia’s role. She is truly irreplaceable.

Another consideration is that reporter Diana Stricker is ready for semi-retirement after covering municipal meetings for about 30 years.

In addition to personnel concerns, there is also a lack of funding to keep the paper afloat.

So, for all these reasons, we are closing shop.

We wish to thank all our readers, the residents, town leaders, and friends we have made over the years.

We have always worked to provide solid, truthful and balanced reporting, which is important to every community.

The Branford Eagle has been under the umbrella of the New Haven Independent newspaper and the Online Journalism Project, which was founded by Paul Bass in 2005. If there is a major event in Branford, it may appear in the New Haven Independent, so please read the publication and donate so that it may continue. We will also maintain the Eagle’s Facebook page for a while as a means of keeping in touch with the community.

—From the staff of the Branford Eagle

Thursday, December 6, 2018

This Chart Shows How Much Health Care Will Cost in Retirement – at Every Age

Getty Images/Cultura

By ELIZABETH O'BRIEN

October 8, 2018

Here’s some good news about medical expenses in retirement: health care inflation has slowed over the past year, lowering your projected lifetime tab, according to a new report. And here’s the bad news: even at this lower growth rate, health care expenses are a runaway train that can plow a hole into the most carefully constructed budget.

Retirement health care expenses are projected to rise at an average annual rate of 4.2%, versus an estimated 5.5% last year, according to a report released last week by HealthView Services, a Danvers, Mass.-based company that provides retirement health care cost data and tools to financial advisors. The report attributed this decline primarily to slower growth in the cost of prescription drugs.

But this lower medical inflation growth rate is still much steeper than general inflation, which has hovered around 2.7% for the past year. The increase compounds over time: annual medical costs for a 65-year-old couple retiring today are a projected $11,752. By age 85, this amount will rise to a projected $31,966 in future dollars, according to the report, a whopping 170% increase.
Click here to continue reading.

“Every year as we get older, health care eats up a bigger portion of what we spend on a fixed income,” says Ron Mastrogiovanni, CEO of HealthView Services. Health care costs will devour 48% of a 66-year-old couple’s lifetime Social Security benefits and 72% of a 45-year-old couple’s.

Included in HealthView Services’ estimates are premiums for Medicare Part B, which covers outpatient services; premiums for Part D, which covers drugs, and premiums for supplemental insurance, which covers co-payments, deductibles, and other out-of-pocket costs. Also included are costs for services that Medicare doesn’t cover, such as routine dental care and vision. (Most beneficiaries don’t pay monthly premiums for Part A, which covers inpatient care.) Projections assume the man lives until age 87 and the woman until 89.

It’s a daunting outlay, for sure, and most financial planning projections don’t fully account for it, Mastrogiovanni says. One common planning method is to consider what percentage of your working income you’ll need to live on in retirement. While there’s no one consensus, planners frequently say you need to replace 75% to 80% of your working income for a comfortable retirement.

40 iPhone X's for Steve Jobs autograph

Steve Jobs did a lot of things in his lifetime: He co-founded Apple, he helped create one of the first mass-market personal computers and introduced the world to the iPhone and iPad, among his many accomplishments.

One thing he rarely did: Sign autographs.

As a result, Steve Jobs’ autograph is one of the most expensive in the world, worth nearly $51,000 or 40 iPhone Xs-es, according to an analysis from collectibles dealer Paul Fraser Collectibles. His autograph has skyrocketed in value since the year 2000, increasing 27.6 percent per year, thanks to his company’s iconic status and his early death. Still, that pales in comparison to the astronomical rise in Apple stock over the last 17 years.

But Stephen Hawking could give him a run for his money. A book autographed in full by the famed theoretical physicist, who died in March, doubled in value over the past year and is now worth roughly $38,000.

“Jobs was a reluctant signer, always maintaining that Apple was a team effort,” Daniel Wade, head writer at Paul Fraser Collectibles, said in the report. “Only a handful of genuine Stephen Hawking hand-signed books exist, mostly from the 1970s before Hawking’s illness made it impossible for him to write. You’re more likely to see Hawking’s thumbprint signatures, which are generally far cheaper.” Click here to continue reading.

Why you must insure things in life

(BPT) - The gift-giving season is upon us once again! Whether you're buying your loved ones a new pet, some fancy jewelry or the latest mobile phone for the holidays, one thing is for sure - these gifts come with costs and complications that can add headaches in the long run. For instance, new pets will inevitably need visits to the vet, electronic devices are often accidentally damaged, and valuables such as jewelry, art or cameras can get stolen or misplaced frequently.
Therefore, this holiday season, investing in pet insurance, device insurance and valuable personal property insurance is the thing to do, so that the "little" things in life do not turn into big problems when things don't go quite as planned. Here are a few reasons why you should consider purchasing insurance this holiday season:
1. Pet insurance: Coverage is flexible and nondiscriminatory.
A major bonus of pet insurance is the flexibility associated with it. For example, unlike health insurance policies for humans that often require you to use a specific group of providers, pet insurance policies allow you to choose the veterinarian you prefer. Likewise, pet insurance does not favor certain ages of pets. You can choose to begin insuring your pet at any time, whether that is at the time of adoption/purchase or many years later when your pet reaches maturity. Perhaps most compelling is the fact that many pet insurance policies reimburse owners at least 3/4 of costs after deductibles. This is a significant chunk of change, especially when a seemingly small procedure, such as having a foreign object removed from a pet's stomach, can cost nearly $800.
2. Device insurance: Accidental electronic device damage is all too common.
Approximately one-third of all users damage their cell phone within the first year of owning it, and as we all know, repairing or replacing these devices can be quite pricey. While a phone warranty typically does not cover loss or theft, many insurance providers offer protection plans that do and save you money to boot. USAA has partnered with ProtectCELL to offer a smartphone protection plan.
3. Valuable personal property insurance: Homeowner's and renter's insurance do not always cover valuables.
Many homeowner's coverage policies have a certain limit for valuable items categories. For example, a typical homeowner's policy may have a limit of $1,500 in coverage for jewelry. A valuable personal property policy provides coverage for higher-ticket items such as jewelry, silverware, fine art, stamps and coins, instruments, etc. that may not be adequately accounted for in other property policies. This type of policy also provides coverage for damage or loss, which is a major distinction from a homeowner's or renter's policy.
It is the smart and financially savvy decision to protect your purchases for loved ones this holiday season, especially when it comes to meaningful and valuable gifts such as pets, electronic devices and personal property, such as jewelry or art. To learn more about these varieties of insurance, visit: USAA.com.

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