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Glory Days & maturity KANSAS CITY, Mo. (MCT) — Just how much the Great Recession reshaped what many baby boomers thought retire- ment would look like is becoming clearer: More than ever they now expect to retire later or work when they're "retired." In 1991, just one in 10 workers told the Employ- ee Benefit Research Insti- tute that they planned to wait to retire until they were older than 65. By 2007, three in 10 said that. This year? More than four in 10. toward a traditional retire- ment suffered a financial comeuppance in the pro- longed economic slump that began in late 2007. The downturn sapped jobs, stock and housing values, and interest on savings. Many were also caught in the shift from defined- benefit pension plans to 401(k) plans that required workers to contribute toward their own retire- ment savings. Some did- n't, a choice that will leave them short finan- cially. Boomers cruising MCT photo Bill Brockman landed a post-retirement job at the Village Church Child and Family Development Cen- ter in Overland Park, Kansas, where his duties include playing with the kids. Finally, employment- based health insurance for many retirees has been withering away, which is causing older workers to cling to paychecks. Overall, the stage is set Small wonder that, according to the Pew Research Center, boomers are the gloomiest of all age groups about the health and future of their finances. Boomers were more likely than other age groups to tell Pew researchers that they lost money on investments since the recession hit. Nearly six in 10 said their household finances wors- ened. for a new normal: Work- ing in retirement. That suits William Brockman just fine. The 65-year-old working retiree began a new job this year at a child care center in Overland Park, Kan., where he delighted- ly calls himself "a shep- herd to flocks of children" four days a week. Brockman worked for the federal government for 33 years, leaving at age 59. But he soon found he needed to better his financial situation and have more contact with people. Infection often shows no symptons TOR K: I'm in my mid-80s and am infected with H. pylori. I don't have any symptoms. Do I need to be treated? DEAR READ- ER: Helicobacter pylori — H. pylori — is a species of bacteria. In the mid- 1980s, two Aus- tralian doctors found H. pylori in many peptic ulcers. These ulcers, which were common in the mid-1980s, occur in the stomach and the first part of the small intes- tine. DEAR DOC- was widely believed that peptic ulcers were caused by stomach acid. Most people thought that bacteria could- n't possibly live in such acid. Today we know that H. pylori causes not only many peptic ulcers, but also many cases of stomach cancer. But many people who are infected with H. pylori never get ulcers or stomach cancer. In fact, doctors don't usually test for H. pylori in people without symptoms. So I'm curious about why you were tested. Perhaps many of your relatives have suffered from peptic ulcers or stomach cancer. Or per- haps you're of East Asian or Eastern European extrac- tion, populations in which stomach cancer is more common than it is else- where. Before this discovery, it Most people become infected with H. pylori in early childhood. So if you're in your mid-80s, you have probably been living with this infection for most of your life — and it apparent- ly hasn't caused you any trouble. In my opinion, this increases the likelihood that it won't cause trouble in the future. What I ask patients like Dr. K by Anthony L. Komaroff, M.D. take several antibiotics for seven to 14 days. As with any treatment, though, there can be side effects. may figure that if you were going to get an ulcer or can- cer from H. pylori, you would have gotten it by now. If you don't want the bother and possible side effects from treatment, I wouldn't disagree. On the other hand, you you is this: Does knowing that you have an infection that has a very small chance of causing cancer make you worried and anxious? If so, let's treat you to make a small risk even smaller. Treat- ment is effective and simple. You "I truly believe the more active one stays, both mentally and physi- cally, the better the quali- ty of life," Brockman said. So his first post-retire- ment job was as a grocery store courtesy clerk. When that ended, he jumped at the day care center opportunity "in order to have more income, and I found that in retirement every day is Saturday, so to speak. Now my days are spe- cial." workers has grown more rapidly than any other age group in the last few years. This year, 18.6 per- cent of those 65 and older were participating in the labor force, compared with 13 percent in 2002. At the same time, older The number of older workers represent a dis- proportionately large share — 40 percent — of people who have been try- ing to get back into the work force for at least a year. settled at 6 percent earlier this year. employment is made more desperate for some who fight age discrimina- tion and outdated skills. "The prospects are dim for older workers who lose their jobs," said Christine Owens, execu- tive director of the National Employment Law Project. "They have the highest rates of long- term unemployment of any age group." The unemployment rate of 55-and-older workers jumped from 3 percent at the end of 2007 to 7.4 percent in 2010 and The scramble for re- Among the 65-and- older group, the jobless rate, which for years was 3 percent to 4 percent, pushed above 7 percent in 2010 before edging down to 6.5 percent this year. Demographers warned for years about social and economic stress when baby boomers began "retiring in droves." After all, boomers — represent- ing slightly more than one-fourth of the U.S. population — are hitting age 65 at the rate of 10,000 a day. One in every four 65-year-olds today will live past age 90, and one in 10 will live past 95. That's a long time to be retired. And it's guaran- teed to stress the Social lifestyles For many boomers, 'retirement age'is a moving target Security and Medicare systems. Younger age groups, needed to keep paying into the system, aren't as big as the boomer group that will draw benefits in ever- greater numbers. The Employee Benefit Research Institute finds that today's near-retirees are more likely than ever before to expect to contin- ue working for pay beyond their "official" retirement. Those expectations are a stark contrast to the actual work experience of already-retired Ameri- cans. While about seven in 10 current workers say they expect to work for pay in retirement, only about two in 10 current retirees have actually drawn paychecks since they retired. It's a fact of life, though, that about one in three people becomes dis- abled before retirement. Many boomers, like generations before them, are finding that their intent to continue work- ing is foiled by health — physical or mental. According to the "MetLife Study of Baby Boomers at 65," pub- lished this spring, four in 10 of the 65-year-olds questioned in a random survey who had stopped working sooner than they planned did so because of health rea- sons. That was more than twice the rate of those who retired earlier than planned because of job loss or other job-related reasons. Complaints mount against debt collectors WASHINGTON (MCT) — Hard economic times have helped push millions of Americans deeply into debt, plunging many into a dark world filled with relentless collection agents, aggressive companies that profit mightily if they can get peo- ple to pay up. lawyers and and lax oversight, debt col- lection has become a $12- billion-a-year business as people increasingly have fallen behind on their bills for credit cards, student loans, hospital stays and other expenses. Aided by outdated laws The Great Recession and its aftermath have led to a sharp increase in the num- ber of people facing debt collectors to an estimated 30 million Americans this year — up nearly 50 per- cent since 2003. All of us carry bacteria and viruses inside us for most of our lives. Some of those bacteria and viruses, like H. pylori, can cause dis- ease. But they cause disease only occasionally. Most of the time they just live harm- lessly within us. We don't fully under- stand the mystery of why only some people get sick from their H. pylori infec- tion. We know that some strains of the bacteria are more likely to produce dis- ease. We also suspect that the way the body's immune system responds to the bac- terial infection plays a role, and the body's immune response is largely deter- mined by the genes we inherited. Someday research may teach us which people infected with H. pylori are more likely to get sick from it. That will allow doctors to test for the bacteria, and to treat people who are infect- ed when the treatment is most likely to prevent dis- ease. from paychecks or home equity — recovering $55 billion in debts in 2010. Southern California is home to two of the debt- collection industry's major players — ones that con- sumer advocates alleged have been at the forefront of improper behavior. Encore Capital Group Inc. of San Diego, which buys unpaid bills from busi- nesses, has faced numerous lawsuits filed by state attor- neys general and private lawyers, alleging it used false and faulty affidavits, much the way banks allegedly used robo-signing in filing foreclosure docu- ments. process can be intimidating and nightmarish. Katie Brown got a call in March about her unpaid $3,000 credit card bill from Hhgregg Inc. The person said he was from a free legal aid service she had contacted to try to stop harassing phone calls from debt collectors. "After I told him every- thing, he laughed and said, 'Now let me tell you who I am. I hold your debt from Hhgregg,' " said Brown, 26, of Piqua, Ohio. She didn't know how the debt collec- tor knew she had contacted legal aid. "I was scared they At the same time, job losses and underwater mortgages have made it more difficult for many of those people, who already are struggling to make ends meet, to pay off their debts. Federal regulators, along with lawmakers in several states, are starting to take action against debt collec- tion firms over aggressive tactics that authorities said are becoming rampant. Those tactics include intimidating phone calls, unfounded threats of arrest, harassment of relatives and neighbors and a flood of lawsuits aimed at squeezing money for unpaid bills 2126 Solano St., Corning Have you been in to see us lately? We are inside Clarks Drug Store Bring in this ad to receive 2000 20% off a Fresh Flower Bouquet of $ Exp. 9-19-2012 or more Floral Shop 824-3971 Clarks Coffee NOW .94¢+tax LUNCH & DINNER SPECIALS EVERYDAY Coming Soon Beer & Wine! Best Homemade Pies in Town Ice Cream Orders to go 731 Main St., 530.529.4012 open 7 days 5:30am-9pm Although some cases are still pending, Encore said it has corrected the problems. And Brachfeld Law Group in El Segundo, Calif., one of the nation's largest debt collection law firms, has been contending with allegations that it failed to investigate the facts adequately when it pursued some debts. A spokesman said the firm checks to ensure accuracy. In one case, though, Brachfeld allegedly helped pursue the wrong person for a debt he never owed. Several years ago, debt collectors began pursuing California state Sen. Lou Correa for an unpaid Sears bill they said he owed. He told them they had the wrong man, but the debt collectors never wavered. "These folks are very aggressive," Correa said. "They'll call back repeated- ly and say, 'Tell us some personal information so we can tell it's not you.' When all of a sudden is the burden of proof on me?" tor of business development for Brachfeld, said the suit was served on the person who owed the debt, but the senator later was incorrect- ly targeted for wage gar- nishment. Michael Gottlieb, direc- would get to my husband's work and start calling them," she said, "because at this point they would stop at nothing if they were going to misrepresent them- selves." Brown did what an increasing number of con- sumers are doing: She filed a lawsuit. Her complaint against International Asset Group Inc. in Amherst, N.Y., alleged the company violated a federal law that prohibits misrepresentation and harassment by debt collectors. The suit is pend- ing. Once informed of the problem, Gottlieb said, Brachfeld stopped the process before any of Sen. Correa's wages were taken. For many who do owe money, the debt collection Sierra Sound Car Audio 35th $ 226 So. Main St., Red Bluff 527-3735 All CD's 13.99 Anniversary Sale or less company's general coun- sel, said he couldn't com- ment about the case. Inter- national Asset Group is an upstanding company, he said, but sometimes techni- cal violations of the law occur. 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