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4B Daily News – Saturday, October 6, 2012 Glory Days & maturity ATLANTA (MCT) — A decade ago, Denise McColister envisioned a comfortable retire- ment around the time she turned 62. "At 45, I felt really secure," the Dallas resident, now 55, recalled. Back then, her husband made good money, and their house was paid for. Then he became disabled and their house, which they had bor- rowed against, plummeted in value. Now, instead of padding her financial cushion, she's work- ing a part-time call center job while hoping for a better position. There's no retirement in sight. "I'll probably be working until I'm called home," she said. Many Americans have had to adjust their retirement dreams since the recession and housing bust. For some, like McColister, the question is whether they can ever retire. Benefit Research Institute deter- mined that 1 in 3 households headed by people now age 55 to 64 won't be financially prepared to retire even by age 70. Lower- income people face the biggest problem. A study by the Employee effects of career-interrupting lay- offs, flatlined pay, declining prop- erty values and a turbulent stock market have eroded wealth to the point where many can no longer expect to stop working when they're 65 — let alone earlier. The demise of traditional pen- sion plans and spotty participa- tion in 401(k) plans or other sav- ings vehicles also has undercut retirement readiness. Still, the conventional wisdom — bolstered by other studies — is that retirement should still be feasible at least by age 70, thanks to higher Social Security pay- outs, the accumulation of more It's generally accepted that the lifestyles Retirement roadblocks mount for many education and security, and after raising four children, she faces having to pay for a mortgage, a car, food and utilities as well as mounting medical bills. Her late husband's Social Security bene- fits are not enough. "I'm working to pay for med- ication," she said. percent of households would be ready to retire if they worked until age 70. Because of her health, she's not sure how long she will be able to work, but said, "You may give out, but you don't have to give up." Janie Walker, 65, has no plans to give up her job for a while. Associate state director for com- munity outreach at AARP of Georgia, she expects to work to "more like 71 or 72," for finan- cial reasons. MCT photo Denise McColister, shown at her City of Dallas, Ga. home with her 22- year-old son Derrick, expected to retire around the usual time, but then her husband became disabled and their home value sunk in the housing collapse. savings, and the shortened post- retirement lifespan. Even that extra time on the job may not be enough when potential long-term care and medical costs are fac- tored in to the equation, as in the EBRI study. much beyond 65 may not be practical for many. The EBRI's retirement confidence survey found that nearly half of all retirees who were interviewed said they were forced to retire because of a spouse's medical condition, their own health or their employer's choice. In other words, they couldn't extend their careers even if they wanted to. "It would be comforting from a public policy standpoint to assume that merely working to age 70 would be a panacea to the significant challenges of assuring retirement income adequacy, but The problem is that working this may be a particularly risky strategy, especially for the vul- nerable group of low-income workers," said Jack VanDerhei, the study's author. The EBRI projections are more pessimistic than those from other groups because they factor in longevity risk, investment risk and the chance of long-term health care costs. Barbara Wainwright, 66, of Marietta, Ga., recognizes the importance of covering health care costs for a senior. Like McColister, she works a part-time job in the Georgia Department of Labor office in Marietta and is looking for some- thing more. A widowed breast cancer survivor, she looks back now and says, "It was my plan to retire at 65." After a career working jobs in fields as diverse as health care, retire, but it will be much later than I would have expected when I was 50," she said. Walker's well-laid financial plans went sideways when a cor- porate restructuring and the recession led to layoffs. "When you get laid off in bad economic times, it takes a long time to find a job," she said. "You go through your savings and it takes a long time to recover from that." Now, she wants to work long enough to help pay for her grown daughter's specialized music study and her mortgage. Working until 70 will allow her to collect the maximum Social Security benefit, which increases annually until then. That's one of the key reasons "I do feel I will be able to to work that long, according to The National Retirement Risk Index, done by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. The NRRI takes a more optimistic view of Americans' retirement readiness, and work- ing to 70 is a key reason why. The NRRI determined that 85 of workers are "at risk" of not having enough money to main- tain their living standard if they retire at 65. When health care and long-term care costs are factored in, the number rises to 65 percent. "The one piece of advice that's relevant to those with a good job and good health is that work is a powerful antidote to not having saved enough for a comfortable retirement," said Anthony Webb, one of the authors of the work, which is subtitled, "How Much Longer Do We Need to Work?" Webb acknowledged that By contrast, it said, 51 percent Walker, who's not planning to retire until her 70s, knows about wild cards, and how they can cause a person to put off retire- ment. "I have a lot of friends who don't think they will ever be able to retire," she said. working to 70 (or beyond) may not be "appropriate" for people who've worked in physically demanding jobs, or for those who don't have a job or can't hold on to one. Studies have shown that while older Americans are less likely to lose their jobs, they have a harder time finding a new one when they do. Webb also called paying for health care "the big wild card," as its costs are so difficult to pro- ject. That saddens McColister, who's put the idea of retirement out of her head. "I've seen so many people who worked up to the time when they couldn't work anymore," she said. "And they never got to enjoy retirement because their health gave out. So I don't even think about it." A little household dust may offer allergy protection keep a tidy house, but no matter how much I clean, there's more dust than I'd like. Is dust dangerous to my family's health? DEAR READER: Yes, depending on its contents, dust can be harmful to your DEAR DOCTOR K: I health. like sausage: You don't want to know what's in it. But I'll tell you anyway. More than half of household dust comes from soil either tracked into the home or wafting in What is dust? It's a little as airborne particles through doors and win- dows. The remainder of dust is a hodgepodge that includes skin cells from family members, skin cells and fur from household pets, carpet fibers, kitchen grease — and more. Household dust often contains remnants of household chemicals and possibly even heavy met- als. It also contains bacte- ria, fungi and dust mite (insect) particles that can trigger allergies. In particu- lar, the debris dust mites Recycle The Warmth Yes, I can help! Getting the word out about Recycle The Warmth. Who do you know that needs a coat? Yourself? Children? Grandchildren? Mother or Father? Neighbor? Homeless? Friend? Co-worker? Elderly? New Place Tehama District Fairgrounds Help us get the word out. Friday, Nov. 2th 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. For over 20 years,the Daily News associates have sponsored a warm clothing/soup kitchen giveaway. It is our way of saying " we care about others". FREE c lothing, blankets and food will be available for all. Please help us pass the word to families and individuals who would benefit from this event. Gently used Items accepted through November 1st. • BLANKETS • COATS • HATS • SCARVES • WINTER CLOTHING Bring to the Daily News, 545 Diamond Ave. Greatest needs: X-Large sizes and Children's clothes. We sincerely appreciate everyone's participation. This event is open to any family or individual in need of winter clothing . THANK YOU! Sponsored by Setting up at the fairgrounds the night before giveaway, Nov. 1st Setting up morning of giveaway, Nov. 2, ( Begins at 2:00 p.m .) Roving help during giveaway. Tearing down afterward, boxing up, cleaning up. ( Ends at 7:00 pm. ) We Also Need: Help with LIFT Your own unique skill or talent Name Phone # E-mail Please return this form to Daily News, 545 Diamond Ave. Call 527-2151, ext 129 (DailyNews) or e-mail: production@redbluffdailynews.com RecycleTheWarmth.weebly .com leave behind can provoke powerful allergic reactions. The most vul- nerable family members are the youngest: Infants are up to 100 times more susceptible to the health haz- ards of dust-borne pollutants than adults. most effective way to control dust lev- els is with regular house- keeping. Frequent vacu- uming, preferably using a vacuum cleaner with a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter, is a good place to start. It may be necessary to vacuum sever- al times a week. Perhaps the Even better: Remove your shoes upon coming inside. Install weather- Dr. K by Anthony L. Komaroff, M.D. Cleaning can temporari- ly launch into the air dust that has settled on floors, carpets and furniture. Peo- ple with respiratory aller- gies should consider wear- ing a mask that filters out dust when they clean. One way to capture the dust that gets stirred up is to clean higher surfaces first and then work your way down. Wiping floors and hard surfaces with a damp cloth or sponge will eliminate a lot of dust. You can also use products like Grab-it or Swiffer that are treated with chemicals to attract dust. You should consider putting heavy-duty door- mats in front of doorways to stem the amount of soil coming into your house. option. Air purifiers are a less effective option than HEPA filtration, and they may emit small amounts of ozone, a gas that can wors- en asthma symptoms. I've talked about how dust in the home can trig- ger allergies, so you'd think that dust is just plain bad. But it may not be that simple. New research indi- cates that newborns and very young children who grow up in relatively "dirty" surroundings, such as farms, may actually be protected against develop- ing allergies and allergic diseases (such as asthma) later in life. I'm not urging you to keep a dusty home for the first few years of a child's life, but someday you may hear that advice. proofing around doors and win- dows to help keep out airborne parti- cles. Filters on heating and air conditioning sys- tems should reduce dust. Portable air clean- ers with HEPA fil- ters are another Dr. Komaroff is a physician and professor at Harvard Medical School. To send questions, go to AskDoctorK.com, or write: Ask Doctor K, 10 Shattuck St., Second Floor, Boston, MA 02115.