The Columbia Press
July 2, 2021
Senior Moments
7
Financial Focus
with Adam Miller
with Emma Edwards
Set your mind on healthy things Declaring your financial independence
The epoch of “old” is barely
setting into my life, no matter
how old I get.
I wonder what will define
my demise. There are many
theories out there. Do I fol-
low the maternal or paternal
side of my family? Maybe you
genealogists can tell me.
I have asked the Lord to
keep me here until I’m 103.
Do you think I’ll get my way?
I know, there are charts I
could look at, but I try to stay
away from them. In doing a
bit of research, I learned the
average life expectancy was
about 35 from the 1500s to
the 1800s.
Life was a lot harder for our
ancestors.
We are traveling on the lon-
ger life pathway much faster
than we did back then. I’m
convinced that having more
to think about helps.
Think about all the virtual
visits we’ve been privileged
to take part in this past year
or more.
I’ve heard of more than
one family reunion that took
place via the current media
available.
Many have become ac-
quainted with Zoom and
Skype and then, of course,
there is FaceTime and Face-
book and so many others.
And we can still keep in
contact with handwritten let-
ters, of course.
An 80-year-old woman
I know wouldn’t dream of
quitting their job.
Those who volunteer and
act as caregivers remain
healthier, I am told.
And those who continue
to be involved, even if it’s a
weekly Bridge or Pinochle
game, are far less apt to give
in to loneliness, which could
have negative impacts both
physically and emotionally.
Another way to fight loneli-
ness is to live in households
with or near one or more
grandchildren, according to
the American Psychological
Association.
As many as half a million
grandparents 65 and older
have primary responsibility
for their grandchildren, an-
other “kicker” of loneliness.
“One out of every four
65-year-olds today will live
past age 90, and one out of 10
will live past age 95,” accord-
ing to the APA. “The number
of Americans over age 85 is
increasing faster than for any
other age group.”
There is a verse in the Bi-
ble that reminds me of our
thought patterns. Many of us
need to remember to feed our
thoughts positively.
The Apostle Paul reminds
us in Philippians 4:8 to set
our thoughts on those things
that are true, noble, right,
pure, lovely, admirable, and
praiseworthy.
That reminds me of one
distraught senior citizen who
let her thoughts go elsewhere
when she phoned her doc-
tor’s office.
“Is it true that the medica-
tion you prescribed has to be
taken for the rest of my life?”
she wondered.
“Yes, I’m afraid so,” the
doctor told her.
There was a moment of si-
lence before the lady replied,
“I’m wondering then, just
how serious is my condition
because this prescription is
marked ‘No refills.’ ”
Independence Day is al-
most here. And as we make
progress in moving past the
COVID-19 pandemic, more
of us will be able to enjoy
Fourth of July activities.
However you observe the
holiday, it’s important to rec-
ognize all the liberties we en-
joy in this country.
But you may still need to
work at one particular type of
freedom – financial freedom.
How can you achieve it?
There’s no one instant solu-
tion. But you can work to-
ward financial independence
by addressing these areas:
• Retirement savings:
Approximately 45 percent of
Americans think the ideal re-
tirement involves “enjoying
my well-earned freedom,”
according to the March 2021
Edward Jones/Age Wave
Four Pillars of the New Re-
tirement study.
But when you’re retired, the
risk to this freedom is obvious
– paychecks have stopped
but the bills haven’t. Further-
more, you could spend two or
three decades in retirement.
That’s why it’s important
to contribute as much as you
can afford to your tax-advan-
taged retirement accounts,
such as your IRA and your
401(k) or another employ-
er-sponsored plan.
At a minimum, put in
enough to earn your employ-
er’s matching contribution, if
one is offered.
Whenever your salary goes
up, try to increase the annu-
al amount you put in your
401(k) or similar plan.
And if appropriate, make
sure you have a reasonable
percentage of growth-orient-
ed investments within your
401(k) and IRA. Most people
don’t “max out” on their IRA
and 401(k) each year. But, if
you can consistently afford to
do so, and you still have mon-
ey you could invest, you may
want to explore other retire-
ment savings vehicles.
• Illness or injury: If you
were to become seriously ill
or sustain a significant injury
and you couldn’t work for an
extended period, the loss of
income could jeopardize your
ability to achieve financial in-
dependence.
Your employer may offer
disability insurance as an
employee benefit, but this
coverage is typically quite
limited, both in duration and
in the amount of income be-
ing replaced.
Consequently, you may
want to consider purchasing
private disability insurance.
Keep in mind that this cov-
erage has an end date and it
probably won’t replace all the
income lost while you’re out
of work, but it will likely be
more expansive and gener-
ous than the plan provided
by your employer.
• Long-term care: In-
dividuals turning 65 have
about a 70 percent chance
of eventually needing some
type of long-term care, such
as a nursing home stay or the
assistance of a home health
aide, according to the U.S.
Department of Health and
Human Services.
These services are quite ex-
pensive – the average annu-
al cost for a private room in
a nursing home is more than
$100,000, according to Gen-
worth, an insurance compa-
ny.
Medicare typically covers
only a small part of these ex-
penses, so, to avoid depleting
your savings and investments
(and possibly subjecting your
grown children to a financial
burden), you may want to
consider long-term care in-
surance or life insurance with
a long-term care component.
A financial adviser can help
you choose a plan that’s ap-
propriate for your needs.
By addressing these areas,
you can go a long way toward
attaining your financial inde-
pendence.
It will be a long-term pur-
suit, but the end goal is worth
it.
This article was written by
Edward Jones and submit-
ted by Adam Miller, financial
adviser at the Astoria office,
632A W. Marine Drive. To
reach him, call 503-325-7991.
Special columns in The Columbia Press
Every week: Senior Moments with Emma Edwards
Week 1: Financial Focus with Adam Miller
Week 2: Here’s to Your Health from CMH
Week 3: Off the Shelf by Kelly Knudsen
Final week: Mayor’s Message by Henry Balensifer