Assisted Living Executive

to know
Bright Retirement Outlook for Middle Boomers

Most middle boomers—the segment of baby boomers who are 52-58 years old right now—aren’t worried about outliving their retirement money. Only 12 percent say this a concern for them. They’re more concerned about being able to afford health care (25%) and staying productive and useful in their golden years (18%). Another 13 percent are concerned about long-term care expenses.

Conducted by GFK Customer Research for the MetLife Mature Market Institute, the middle boomers study included 1,000 respondents who were surveyed late last year. Here’s a quick look at the study result highlights, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Middle boomers’ biggest concerns about retirement are: Being able to afford health care (25%)

Staying productive and useful (18%)

Having to work full- or part-time (15%)

Providing for your spouse’s/partner’s/own long-term care (13%)

Outliving retirement money (12%)

Having a comprehensive financial plan (9%)

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FedeRAL AdvisORs sAY enHAnced FLu
vAccine MAY suit seniORs
Ltc Resource center for
gLBt seniors Launches

Next flu season, look for a new, more powerful flu vaccine developed
specifically for seniors, which has just
received a top endorsement from the
CDC-appointed Advisory Committee
on Immunization Practices (ACIP).
Manufactured by Sanofi Pasteur and
called Fluzone High-Dose, the vaccine
has quadruple the amount of immunity-
building antibodies as a standard influ-
enza vaccine
As reported in ALFA Update, the
vaccine received U.S. Food and Drug Ad-
ministration approval in December and
will be available for the 2010-2011 flu sea-
son. Each shot will be about $25, nearly
twice the cost of the standard vaccine.

According to a Washington Post report, “in years when the flu shot is well matched to circulating flu viruses, vaccine is 70 to 90 percent effective in people younger than 65. But it tends to be only 30 to 70 percent effective in those

who are older because they generally
have weakened immune systems.”
ACIP also broadened its overall
recommendation for annual flu vaccines
from 85 percent of the population to
nearly 100 percent and including healthy
people between the ages of 19 and 49.
The committee’s recommendation now
goes to CDC, which usually follows the
committee’s advice.

Gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender seniors now have access to a national resource center to help them plan for their long-term care needs. The resource center is being created through the nonprofit Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE) and received an initial $900,000 award spread over three years from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

To establish the center, SAGE will partner with other aging-related organizations that target such issues as culture change, competency, and program evaluation. Goals include a comprehensive Web site, which will include social networking tools, an “Ask the Experts” service, Web-based training, and other features.

The center “will provide information, assistance, and resources for both mainstream aging organizations and GLBT organizations,” said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius in a statement. More information can be found at www.aoa.gov and www.sageusa.org.