Social Security recipients embrace electronic payments, give high marks to Treasury-recommended prepaid card

(ARA) - If you receive one of the 6 million paper checks for your monthly Social Security or other federal benefit, the time has come to switch to the safety and convenience of electronic payments.

With less than one year until the March 1, 2013, deadline for all federal benefit recipients to switch from paper checks to electronic payments, a new U.S. Department of the Treasury study has found overwhelming support for its recommended Direct Express(R) Debit MasterCard(R) card. According to a cardholder survey, 95 percent of individuals who use the Direct Express(R) card to receive monthly Social Security payments are satisfied with the card, and 93 percent also report they are likely to recommend the card to others.

"We hope that hearing about the extremely high satisfaction with the Direct Express(R) card will encourage check recipients to make the switch to the card or direct deposit as soon as possible," says David Lebryk, commissioner of the Treasury Department's Financial Management Service. "This card helps senior citizens, people with disabilities and others who lack access to traditional banking services to pay bills, withdraw cash and make purchases without worrying about their paper checks being lost or stolen or paying check-cashing fees."

Easy and safe to use

Introduced in June 2008, the Direct Express(R) card has helped more than 3 million Americans to safely and easily access their federal benefit payments. The card, which can be used with no or low fees, provides a more convenient way for all Americans to access their federal benefits, while also improving government efficiency and delivering more than $1 billion in savings. Federal benefit recipients also can choose to have their benefit payments deposited directly into their bank or credit union account.

The Treasury Department published a final rule in December 2010 to gradually eliminate paper checks for federal benefit payments.

Since May 1, 2011, anyone applying for new federal benefits, including Social Security, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Veterans Affairs, Railroad Retirement Board, Office of Personnel Management benefits and other non-tax payments, have had to choose direct deposit or a Direct Express(R) card when they sign up for the benefit. For those who began receiving benefits earlier, March 1, 2013 is the final deadline, and all remaining federal benefit check recipients must start receiving their money electronically.

Learn more about electronic payments

The Treasury Department's Go Direct(R) public education campaign is working with more than 1,800 partner organizations nationwide to spread the message about the electronic payment rule and to educate federal benefit recipients about their options. The campaign recently introduced a new public service announcement as well as a series of educational videos and print materials that explain how electronic payments work and how to use the Direct Express(R) card. The videos and materials are available on the Go Direct campaign website at www.GoDirect.org.

Make the switch today

Federal benefit recipients can switch to electronic payments online at www.GoDirect.org or through the U.S. Treasury Electronic Payment Solution Center toll-free at 1-800-333-1795. It's free to switch and takes less than 10 minutes.

Go paperless today and enjoy electronic benefits for many years to come.

The preceding information has been provided by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Financial Management Service.

The cardholder survey was conducted by KRC Research and commissioned by MasterCard Worldwide on behalf of the Treasury Department's Financial Management Service.

The Go Direct(R) campaign is sponsored by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Federal Reserve Banks. The Direct Express(R) logo, Go Direct(R) and Direct Express(R) are registered service marks, and the Go Direct(SM) logo is a service mark, of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Financial Management Service. The Direct Express(R) Debit MasterCard(R) card is issued by Comerica Bank, pursuant to a license by MasterCard International Incorporated. MasterCard(R) and the MasterCard(R) Brand Mark are registered trademarks of MasterCard International Incorporated.

Tips for seniors on managing health care costs

(ARA) - Finding the Medicare coverage that best fits their needs and their pocketbooks is challenging for many seniors. Health care plans make changes to their coverage. People’s health conditions change. Not keeping on top of these changes can mean problems. Suddenly seniors may find they don’t have needed coverage, their doctor no longer takes their plan, or they face steep medical or prescription drug costs.
That’s why it’s essential to review Medicare coverage and individual needs each year, and to use the Medicare annual open enrollment period to make changes to coverage. Medicare annual open enrollment runs from Oct. 15 through Dec. 7, with new benefit choices effective the following Jan. 1.
“Getting started early is key,” says Mary Dale Walters, senior vice president of the Allsup Medicare Advisor, a Medicare plan selection service. “Choosing Medicare coverage is complicated, even when you have lots of information on the Web. It can be difficult to get current plan information and to get an apples-to-apples comparison of plans.”
Walters offers these tips for seniors to manage and lower their health care costs.
1. Be an informed consumer. Millions of seniors, their families and caregivers will be pleased to know that for the third straight year the average basic Medicare prescription drug premiums will remain steady.
Since enacted, the Affordable Care Act has helped more than 5.4 million people with Medicare save more than $4.1 billion in out-of-pocket prescription drug expenses. These are significant results as the law closes the Medicare Part D donut hole coverage gap, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
Seniors can capitalize on those savings by knowing exactly what they are paying for — shop around for better prescription prices and ask about costs. For additional savings, use generic medications. Take advantage of Medicare preventive services, including many types of screenings, tests, shots, counseling, training and supplies now offered without co-pays or other out-of-pocket costs.
2. Ask for help. In addition to guidance on retirement, estate and long-term care planning, seniors can rely on professionals to help them with health care choices. Walters points out this can include Medicare specialists such as Allsup or financial planners who often consult Medicare experts.
“Health care planning is a quality of life and a financial issue,” Walters says. “If you need assistance sorting through the overwhelming number of options, it’ s important to know that help is out there for you — don’t be afraid to ask.”
Grace Hercules used Allsup to research her Medicare needs and found she could save more than $1,000 a year by switching drug plans. “I thought a mail-order prescription plan was best for me, but their specialists proved me wrong about this — and I am so happy,” she says.
“People can probably do their own taxes, but when they pay a tax adviser they get better returns,” Hercules adds. “It’s getting the mindset that good help is available. It’s really worth getting expert help and not having the aggravation.”
3. Be proactive. Having known and been around seniors, Hercules says she is saddened that so many settle for high costs or keep the same Medicare plan year after year because of a lack of understanding.
Just as seniors review their finances or taxes each year, Medicare annual enrollment is the ideal time to review health care coverage, Walters says. “It’s OK to admit it’s confusing and that help will be valuable. Look at all your Medicare options and take charge of your health care.”
In addition to annual Medicare enrollment, special enrollment periods happen throughout the year for specific situations. For an evaluation of Medicare options, call an Allsup Medicare Advisor specialist at 866-521-7655, or go to medicare.allsup.com.

If you have ever wanted to spend your retirerment years on your own private island, here's your chance

Heiress Puts Two Thimble Islands Up For Sale

By Kenneth R. Gosselin On August 28, 2012 ·

A wealthy heiress who has spent $35 million since the late 1990s amassing a collection of nine of the Thimble Islands off Branford is now putting two of them up for sale.
Christine Svenningsen late Monday listed Jepson Island and the larger Belden Island for sale — the first time an entire island in the Thimbles has been for sale in at least the past five years, agents at William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty in Madison, which has the listing, told me.
Island ownership isn’t for everyone, and these will certainly cost you.
Jepson Island — about a third of an acre with a 1,000-square-foot, contemporary-style house — carries an asking price of just under $2 million. The house has extensive decking wrapped around the house and clamming beds that go with the property. Svenningsen paid $1.4 million for the island in 2003, property records show.

Belden Island in the Thimbles off Branford is for sale with an asking price of $3.9 million. Photo Courtesy of Shoreline aerial photography.

Slightly to the west, Belden Island, at just over an acre, features a 4-bedroom, 2-bath colonial built in 1912 that includes original board and batten wainscotted walls and ceilings and gas lights. The house also has wraparound porches; the grounds have a new dock. Read More.

History of the Tootsie Roll

The Tootsie Roll story began in 1896, when Austrian-born Leo Hirshfield opened a tiny candy shop in New York City. Taking full advantage of his confectioner’s background, Hirshfield hand-crafted a variety of products, including an individually wrapped, oblong, chewy, chocolate candy that quickly became a customer favorite. Sold at a penny apiece and affectionately named after Hirshfield’s five-year old daughter, Clara, whose nickname was “Tootsie,” Tootsie Rolls propelled Hirshfield’s modest corner store into burgeoning candy enterprise that has evolved in little more than a century into the multinational corporation, Tootsie Roll Industries.
Strongly adhering to Hirshfield’s original recipe, Tootsie Roll Industries today produces more than 62 million Tootsie Roll candies each day, the majority from its Chicago headquarters. Building on the success of Tootsie Roll and its early offspring (the company launched Tootsie Pops, the world’s number one-selling lollipop, in 1931), the company has expanded over the years and now includes 22 of the world’s favorite candy brands within its confectionery lineup.
With annual sales approaching nearly half-a-billion dollars, Tootsie Roll Industries is recognized as one of the world’s largest candy producers. Its 100-plus years of unprecedented growth and expansion is a direct result of a keen focus on the basic fundamentals that launched Tootsie Roll into a worldwide success among every age group, culture, and demographic: relentless hard work; an unyielding commitment to quality; and a humble, socially responsible, family-run corporate culture.

The 116-year-old company is run by one of America's oldest CEOs,  Melvin Gordon, a bespectacled man in his 90s who has headed the company for 50 years. He runs it with his 80-year-old wife, Ellen.

 Learn more about Tootsie Roll Industries  Read More

Protecting and enhancing your vision with internal sunglasses

(ARA) - As we age, the quality of our vision can change, and for most of us that entails wearing glasses, contacts or maybe even undergoing surgical procedures. But did you know that your vision can improve through nutrition and supplementation?

The back of the eye contains a film called macular pigment. This film is made up of two pigments: zeaxanthin (zee-uh-zan-thin) and lutein (loo-teen). These macular pigments function like "internal sunglasses" that protect and enhance vision. The beautiful thing about internal sunglasses is that you can build them by eating a lot of the right fruits and vegetables or by supplementing your diet with eye vitamins.

Thicker macular pigment offers protection of the photoreceptors that are responsible for vision. Remember in science class when you learned about rods and cones? Rods are responsible for peripheral vision, and cones are responsible for central vision. Unfortunately, harmful blue light comprises visible light waves that can damage these photoreceptors in the back of the eye, as opposed to the ultra-violet (UV) range of the light spectrum, which can affect the cornea, or the front of the eye. And even though the eye contains millions of rods and cones, they don't replenish themselves once they die. So, it is smart to be proactive about healthy vision and protect what you already have.

Dense macular pigment can also improve your vision - from driving a car to reading to playing tennis. Science supports that higher amounts of zeaxanthin and lutein can improve the ability to see fine details, decrease sensitivity to bright light, increase recovery time from glare and enhance contrast sensitivity - the ability to see objects that may not be outlined or stand out clearly from the background. Contrast sensitivity declines with age - this important function helps people clearly recognize steps and other obstacles. Improving this condition alone becomes very important as one-third to one-half of the elder population falls at least once per year, and the risk of falling increases with age.

Baby boomers are aging at a rapid pace, but the way they are aging is unprecedented. Older Americans are working longer, staying more active, engaging in more hobbies and interests and value their independence like no generation before them. So, if you have difficulty adjusting to bright light, reading in dim light or driving a car at night, increasing your macular pigment or internal sunglasses might be just what the doctor ordered - literally.

Eight milligrams of dietary zeaxanthin per day improved vision in 60 veterans with early Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD), according to Stuart Richer, a doctor of optometry and leading expert on nutrition and eye health, who recently published the results in the Zeaxanthin and Visual Function (ZVF) Trial, and follow-up clinical paper, "Macular Re-pigmentation Enhances Driving Vision in Elderly Adult Males with Macular Degeneration." These patients experienced an 8.5 letter improvement on an eye chart, improved ability to discern between shapes, blind spots were eliminated and a significant percentage experienced improved driving vision.

While lutein is readily available in many fruits and vegetables, zeaxanthin is much more difficult to obtain in the average U.S. daily diet. Zeaxanthin is found at a natural two-to-one ratio to lutein in the center of the macula (the fovea) where the cones responsible for central vision are located. To protect and enhance these photoreceptors, macular pigment can be increased by eating vegetables like kale and corn, but currently less than 10 percent of calories on average are derived from fruits and vegetables while the recommended amount is 50 percent. One would have to consume approximately 20 ears of corn per day to equal the amount of dietary zeaxanthin found in eye vitamins like the EyePromise brand of nutraceuticals.

Next time you experience discomfort from night driving, bright light, reading in dim light or an activity that encompasses fine detail, think about your internal sunglasses. Zeaxanthin and lutein make up your macular pigment, so give your eyes what they need most through a diet rich in fruits and vegetables including spinach, kale, corn and peppers. If you cannot consume enough fruits and vegetables, consider taking an all natural supplement containing high levels of dietary zeaxanthin and lutein.

4 Bodily Signs You’re About to Have a Heart Attack

Your body may warn you of a heart attack — days, weeks, even as much as a month before an attack strikes.

Recent research from Duke University Medical School indicates that up to 60% of people fail to recognize they are having a heart attack. And these so-called “silent” heart attacks are associated with a shockingly high risk of death.

According to the government’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, many Americans fail to act on heart attack warning signs. Sadly, too many victims die because they do not know the most dangerous warning signs that a heart attack is near.

And because statistics show a clear link between a delay in heart attack treatment and death or disabling heart damage, it’s essential to know exactly what your heart is trying to tell you.

Fortunately, renowned cardiovascular expert Chauncey Crandall, M.D. has prepared a free video presentation: These 4 Things Happen Right Before a Heart Attack. This powerful video reveals some of the most ominous warnings of unrecognized heart attacks. Read More.

Five tips for choosing a nursing home

 (ARA) - Transitioning to life in a nursing home can be difficult, especially after living independently. When thinking about the next step for yourself or a loved one, it is important to consider how the quality of care you receive will affect your health and well-being. It's helpful to plan ahead, consider all your long-term-care options, and make good financial plans early.

Here are five tips for choosing the nursing home that is right for you or your loved one:

Determine if a nursing home is your best option
Depending on your needs and resources, you may have other long-term-care options available to you. For example, you may be able to get the services and support you need in your own home or in other types of community housing. If you're in a hospital or working with a home health agency, a discharge planner or social worker can explain your options and help arrange your care. You can also talk to your doctor, family members, friends, neighbors or clergy to get additional opinions on long-term care options.

Find nursing homes in your area
If you or someone you know has access to the Internet, visit Medicare's Nursing Home Compare at www.medicare.gov/NHCompare to help find nursing homes in your area. You can search by nursing home name, city, county, state or ZIP code. If you do not have access to the Internet, your local library may be able to help you find the information on Nursing Home Compare. You can also call 800-MEDICARE for further assistance.

Your area agency on aging can also help you choose a nursing home, as well as help you and your family plan for long-term care. Contact the U.S. Administration on Aging to get in touch with your area agency on aging by visiting the Eldercare Locator at www.eldercare.gov or get information by calling 800-677-1116.

Compare quality of care
It's important to compare the quality of care that nursing homes provide in order to find the home that meets your needs. Nursing Home Compare has a five star quality rating system for certified Medicare and Medicaid nursing homes that indicates meaningful differences between high- and low-performing homes. On Nursing Home Compare, you can evaluate the nursing homes you're considering by clinical quality measures, staffing, and health and fire safety inspection results.

Visit potential nursing homes
After comparing the quality of care provided by nursing homes in your area, it is important to visit the homes you are interested in to see if you would be comfortable and happy living there. Nursing Home Compare provides maps and directions to listed nursing homes. The easy-to-use information provided by Nursing Home Compare can guide you in talking to nursing home staff about the quality of care they provide. Medicare provides a great Nursing Home Checklist that outlines things to look for - and key questions to ask - when visiting potential homes.

Consider your needs
When you have all the information about the nursing homes you're interested in, consider which ones will best meet your personal needs. Think about location and proximity to family and friends, availability and when you can move in, any cultural or religious preferences you may have and other personal factors important in creating a comfortable living environment.

If you're helping a loved one choose a nursing home, keep the person you're helping involved in making the decision as much as possible. People who are involved from the beginning are better prepared when they move into a nursing home.

All the resources mentioned above can be found at www.medicare.gov/nhcompare or by calling 800-MEDICARE (TTY 877-486-2048). To objectively compare other types of health care providers such as hospitals or home health agencies, visit medicare.gov/qualitycarefinder.