Senior Housing and Assisted Living

If you are looking for the answer to how much money to retire… you are asking the wrong question.

Why not ask how much longer can I wait before retiring. For every year we work that is one less year for our retirement. Think about it.

Retirement planning that focuses solely on money…is not the smartest thing for you to do. Why? Because as we age we are less able to do the things we did when we were younger. Not shocking news I am sure.

I am not talking solely about sex either. As you age do you develop more or less aches, pains, ailments, etc? I thought so…as you age you are slowing down. Aging should be given more weight in retirement planning.

As an example let’s say you want to play a lot of golf when you retire. Great, sounds like a plan. Now ask yourself how much further do you hit the ball now, than 10 years ago…equipment improvements aside? See what I mean?

While you are waiting to accumulate that gob of money your financial planner tells you is necessary..you are enjoying golf less and less. who plays better as they age…very few, certainly not me.

How much money to retire? I heard this from friends as I prepared to retire 15 years ago when I retired at 49. The good friends that asked me that question are currently still working, some wealthy, but most in poor health.

The question how much to retire is different for everyone, there is no one correct answer. When we retired in 1994 we retired to a Jimmy Buffett lifestyle on a sailboat in the Caribbean. Boat work is a fact of life. But I am not so sure I would be as eager to go up the mast…52 feet off the deck…I am 64 now.

If you have seen your investment portfolio tank…mine sure has…it is not the end of the world. The key is to explore ways to retire that do not cost as much as you think you need. Then retire early while you can enjoy yourselves. Here is how we did it.

Here is how found the answer to how much money to retire? Here is information on the different frugal retirement living lifestyles we have enjoyed for 15 years. Do not quit on retirement, go to this site. Get a totally unique version of this article from our article submission service

The Legislative Analyst’s Office, a non partisan group in California, released a report that examined costs and benefits of the cuts last year to the state’s home care service for the elderly.  The report found that Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s cuts, while painful, were recommended by the LAO and the LAO suggested that the state look at other alternative programs that offer similar services.  The report notes that the program is cost-effective for the sickest patients and that keeping those patients in their homes offers substantial savings.  The cuts have yet to be officially made due to pending lawsuits in the court.  The Governor is also considering either cutting the programs by almost 90% or eliminating it all together in next year’s budget.

http://www.lao.ca.gov/reports/2010/hlth/health_brief/health_brief_012210.aspx

Representatives from Cedar Rapids, Iowa and the surrounding areas celebrated the groundbreaking of the Cedar Crest Apartments last week.  The newly constructed community of 45 homes for seniors age 55 or older is located on a 2.1 acre site that features the redevelopment of a three-story historic farmhouse into community space for residents with a retained layout and historic millwork. The new apartment building will integrate the exterior design and character of the existing home and will include underground parking for all residents. The development will be completed in the fall of 2010.

The $8.8 million development was financed with $3.84 million in Low-Income Housing Tax Credit equity investment from Enterprise, and support from the Iowa Finance Authority, the city of Cedar Rapids, the Iowa Department of Economic Development and Blackridge Bank.

The Obama administration’s budget proposal for the Department of Veterans Affairs in 2011 is seeking $250 million to strengthen access to health care for 3.2 million Veterans enrolled in VA’s medical system who live in rural areas. This push for rural outreach includes expanded use of home-based primary care and mental health through the department’s “telehealth” program.  The system links patients and health care providers by telephones and includes telephone-based data transmission, enabling daily monitoring of patients with chronic problems.  The budget provides an increase of $42 million for VA’s home “telehealth” program.  The effort already cares for 35,000 patients and is the largest program of its kind in the world.

“Our budget proposal provides the resources necessary to continue our aggressive pursuit of President Obama’s two over-arching goals for Veterans,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. “First, the requested budget will help transform VA into a 21^st century organization.  And second, it will ensure that we approach Veterans’ care as a lifetime initiative, from the day they take their oaths until the day they are laid to rest.”

Skilled Healthcare Group, Inc. (NYSE:SKH) announced higher revenues for its full year 2009 results and a net loss of $133.2 million on a non-cash goodwill impairment charge of $170.6 million that was recorded in the fourth quarter.  SKH recorded the goodwill impairment charge at the long-term care reporting unit (for all the details on the goodwill impairment, see page 56-57 of SKH’s 10-Q).  Prior to the goodwill impairment charge, adjusted net income(1) for the fourth quarter and full year of 2009 were $9.3 million and $37.4 million, respectively, or $0.25 per diluted share and $1.01 per diluted share, respectively. This compares to net income for the fourth quarter and full year of 2008 of $9.3 million and $34.1 million, respectively, or $0.25 per diluted share and $0.92 per diluted share, respectively. During the fourth quarter,  was recorded. Including this charge, the net loss for the quarter ended December 31, 2009 was $161.3 million, or $4.37 per diluted share. For the full year ended December 31, 2009, the Company reported a , or $3.61 per diluted share.

Boyd Hendrickson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented on the long-term care services results stating, "2009 was one of the most challenging economic and operational environments I have encountered during my long tenure in long-term care. It was also a period of great uncertainty within the healthcare industry. In our long-term care services segment, we experienced pressure on our occupancy rates and skilled mix as we endured these challenging times. However, in the fourth quarter, we saw improved occupancy rates California, Kansas and Missouri on a sequential and year-over-year basis. In addition, January 2010 occupancy rates have improved to 83.4% and skilled mix has risen to 22.8%."

"It is important to understand that a write-down of goodwill is a non-cash charge to our consolidated statement of income which does not impact our cash flows," noted Boyd Hendrickson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "Additionally, the goodwill impairment charge does not affect our operations."

For the full earnings release, visit their 8-K or the 10-Q.