Tech-Challenged? Free Resources for Seniors!

 Does this sound like anyone you know? 

Four months ago, Cindy Sanders, 68, bought a new computer so she could stay in touch with her grandchildren. She wanted to follow them on Facebook and have Zoom chats, to be part of their lives. So where is that computer? It’s still sitting in a box, unopened. “I didn’t know how to set it up or how to get help,” said Sanders, who had been extremely cautious about venturing out during COVID.

Who hasn’t had this experience?

My friend Cheri has a brand new Kindle that she’s never used. She thought it would be great for travel. “It’s still in the box. I have no idea how to set it up or use it.” For seniors who retired and never used computers during their careers, a new computer represents a formidable learning curve. If they don’t have kids or friends who will teach them how to use it, it remains a mystery. And a liability. We’ve learned important lessons from the fires and Covid. We depend on our digital devices to share important messaging and keep us safe. We know that we can run our lives from our phones or our computers.

Older adults: Purchasing more devices, but need help using them

A recent  AARP survey found that older adults increased technology purchases during the pandemic but more than half (54%) said they needed a better grasp of the devices they’d acquired. Nearly 4 in 10 people (37%) admitted they weren’t confident about using these technologies.

Happily, there are some wonderful resources that help seniors learn to use their electronic devices.

• Generations on Line: Service dramatically increased during the pandemic. Before the pandemic, Generations on Line provided free in-person training sessions at senior centers, public housing complexes, libraries and retirement centers. When those programs shut down, it created an online curriculum for smartphones and tablets and new tutorials on Zoom to help older adults with technology. All are free and available to people across the country.

• Cyber-Seniors: Grants and nonprofits for technology mentors. This organization pairs older adults with high school or college students who become technology mentors. They’ve trained more than 10,000 seniors since April 2020 — three times the average of the past several years. These services are free and grants and partnerships with government agencies and nonprofit organizations supply funding.

• Phone support for seniors struggling with technology issues. Seniors can call 1-844-217-3057 and be coached over the phone until they’re comfortable pursuing online training. According to Brenda Rusnak, Cyber-Seniors’ managing director, “A lot of organizations are giving out tablets to seniors, which is fantastic, but they don’t even know the basics, and that’s where we come in.”

• digiAGE: Digital training for seniors that started during Covid. Lyla Panichas, 78, who lives in Rhode Island, got an iPad from the digiAGE program. She is getting help from the University of Rhode Island’s Cyber-Seniors program. Lyla got off to a rocky start: “The first time my tutor called me, I mean, the kids rattle things off so fast. I said, Wait a minute. You have a little old lady here. I couldn’t keep up and I ended up crying.” But Lyla didn’t give up. Lyla’s now playing games online, streaming movies and Zooming with her son and sister who live in other states.

• OATS/Older Adults Technology Services: OATS runs a national hotline for people seeking technical support, 1-920-666-1959. It operates Senior Planet technology training centers in six cities (New York; Denver; Rockville, Maryland; Plattsburgh, New York; San Antonio, Texas; and Palo Alto, California). All of its in-person classes converted to digital programming when Covid closed down much of the country.

• Emergency Broadband Benefit for low-income individuals. The current administration’s commitment to infrastructure includes broadband. An immediate priority is educating older adults about the government’s new $3.2 billion program that was funded by a coronavirus relief package and became available last month. That short-term program provides $50 monthly discounts on high-speed internet services and a one-time discount of up to $100 for the purchase of a computer or tablet. A caveat: this benefit isn’t automatic. You must apply to get funding.

• Candoo Tech: In libraries, senior centers and retirement centers. Candoo Tech launched in February 2019 and works with seniors in 32 states as well as libraries, senior centers and retirement centers. For various fees, Candoo Tech provides technology training by phone or virtually.

• GetSetUp helps seniors acclimate to the online environment. It relies on older adults to teach skills to their peers in small, interactive classes. It started in February 2020 with a focus on tech training, realizing that their fear of technology was preventing older adults from utilizing the internet as a communication tool and source of entertainment.

All of these programs have easy-to-navigate websites

I googled each of these organizations and found fully functioning websites that were easy to navigate. Hopefully you can take it from there. I think of my mom, who died when she was 94. We kept trying to get her to use a computer when she was in her 80s, but she insisted that she was too old. Being able to share Facebook posts, send a quick email or text would have gone a long way toward helping us stay connected.

Is it time to update your Living Trust?

One more thing. While you’re updating your skills, this is a very good time to check on your Living Trust. If you created your Trust more than ten years ago, there’s a good chance that it needs to be updated with life events—things like births, deaths and marriages. Make sure you’re taking care of those you love. Our Trust package includes a Power of Attorney and an Advance Healthcare Directive. We guide you through it and we prepare the legal documents. Schedule an appointment today.

Guideway services the entire Bay Area

Berkeley, El Cerrito, Richmond, Pinole, Alameda, San Leandro, Castro Valley Newark, San Lorenzo, Concord, Alamo, Danville, Lafayette, Orinda, Moraga, Pleasant Hill, Martinez, Pittsburg, Antioch, Brentwood, Oakley, Discovery Bay, Pleasanton, San Ramon, Livermore, Tracy and Fremont. Our clients also live in the Napa Valley, Benicia, Vallejo, Martinez, Fairfield.

The information in this article is based on an article in Kaiser Health News.

Early Retirement: The Realities vs the Fantasies

Many of our Living Trust clients are already retired, while others may be mulling over the pros and cons of early retirement. Yet according to Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) survey, just 11% of today’s workers plan to retire before age 60. For those who do retire early, the reality of early retirement well may not live up to the fantasy.

Some things to consider before you decide to retire early—with a big emphasis on the economics.

Health care is expensive

Medicare doesn’t start until age 65. Until then, you’ll need an alternative, and healthcare is expensive. For one of my friends, an attorney in her early 60s, her monthly healthcare premium costs more than her mortgage. For those who may not be there yet, this is not a meritocracy. Insurance rates surge when you hit years that end with a zero—even if you’re healthy and doing everything right. With improved healthcare, we’re also living longer, but that raises another issue. Will we outlive our savings?

Will you be spending more in retirement than when you were working?

A rule of thumb is that we’ll spend about 80 percent as much in retirement as we do when we work. Think about all that you’ll save by not having to commute and pay for lunches and our morning coffee. You also won’t be paying money into social security and your retirement account.

The reality? If you’re healthy and energetic, you well could be spending more than you did before retirement. A J.P. Morgan Asset Management study found that there tends to be a “spending surge” by new retirees on travel, home renovations or relocation, and other retirement-related lifestyle changes. If we feel great and have lots of free time, we tend to look for things to do, and those things tend to cost money.

Housing expenses can become a burden

Retiring without a mortgage is a common goal for many homeowners, yet 44 percent of retired homeowners between ages 60 and 70 still carry a mortgage. But even if you’ve paid off your mortgage, property taxes keep increasing and maintenance, including landscaping, is ongoing.

Offsetting expenses with part-time jobs

Working in retirement can be challenging. It might be surprising that 74 percent of workers plan to work in retirement. These jobs require committing to a schedule that can be inflexible.

If you figure you’ll instead fill the income void with Social Security, remember the earliest you can usually claim retirement benefits is age 62. Even then, you’ll only receive partial benefits. For anyone born in 1960 or later, the full retirement age, when you are entitled to 100 percent of your monthly benefit, is 67. By claiming early at 62, the benefit amount is reduced by 30 percent.

Without your job, there’s suddenly a lot of time to kill

Many people retire and find themselves with a 40-hour gap in their weeks that they really don’t know how to fill. The romance of retirement—sleeping in, long lazy mornings, long walks, curling up with a good book—may not be enough to keep them alert, busy and interested.

One of my colleagues retired from the financial services industry after 35 years and within two months was driving his wife crazy. He didn’t have hobbies or a lot of interests. Work had always been absorbing for him. He got his real estate license and began a new career. It was easy for him—he had always followed the housing market and he’d spent 35 years in sales. He realized how much he enjoyed the challenge of meeting new people and growing a business. Real estate was a perfect fit for him at this point in his life.

Early retirees may find themselves without any friends

Your current friends likely still have full-time jobs. You can spend your afternoons on the golf course, but your new golf partners are now older. What does this mean? A different set of cultural references.

Retirement can be tough on couples

Retirement is a major life transition, which can have a significant impact on couples. Will you now share cooking, cleaning and yardwork? Covid may have jumpstarted this transition. Many couples have adapted; for others, it’s been too much togetherness. Post-Covid divorces have surged. Retirement, with all of its emotional, financial and social consequences, can have profound effects on a marriage. Divorce has been declining since 1990, yet for those aged 50 or older, it has doubled.

If you’re thinking of retiring, it’s a very good time to create or update your Living Trust

Our Trust package includes a Power of Attorney and an Advance Healthcare Directive. We guide you through it and we prepare the legal documents. Schedule an appointment today.

Guideway services the entire Bay Area

Berkeley, El Cerrito, Richmond, Pinole, Alameda, San Leandro, Castro Valley Newark, San Lorenzo, Concord, Alamo, Danville, Lafayette, Orinda, Moraga, Pleasant Hill, Martinez, Pittsburg, Antioch, Brentwood, Oakley, Discovery Bay, Pleasanton, San Ramon, Livermore, Tracy and Fremont. Our clients also live in the Napa Valley, Benicia, Vallejo, Martinez, Fairfield.

A New Crypto Scam: Waiting for Elon Musk

 

There’s a new scam in town, and they’re waiting for Elon Musk

Scammers are now preying on those who have been investing in the Cryptocurrency market. Crypto’s been a wild ride, with a huge surge in prices, then a plunge. The most important feature of Cryptocurrency is that it is not controlled by any central authority. The decentralized nature of the blockchain, the digital ledger of transactions that is duplicated and distributed across the entire network of computer systems, makes Cryptocurrencies immune to traditional banking procedures as we know them—including regulation by the FTC. Crypto is all internet-based.

Anyone who’s investing in the stock market should be prepared for both profits and losses. What’s disturbing is that some Cryptocurrency investments are complete scams.

Losses grew more than tenfold

According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) 6,800 consumers reported more than $80 million in Cryptocurrency-investment scam losses during the six months ending March 31. The median loss was $1,900.

If you’re going to play in the Crypto market, here are some guidelines from the consumer protection agency that will help you avoid scams.

1. Beware scammers impersonating Elon Musk. Sadly, Elon Musk will not be calling you. Some investors actually believe that one of the world’s richest men, a billionaire entrepreneur and Crypto investor’s tweets can stir the Crypto market. The FTC received reports of more than $2 million in losses due to Musk impersonators. The scam “involves a promise that a celebrity associated with Cryptocurrency will multiply any Cryptocurrency you send to their wallet and send it back,” the FTC cautions. It’s important to understand that no celebrity will multiply your investment. Not Elon Musk or any other well-known person.
2. Beware bogus websites. Be on the alert for phony websites that deploy deceptive testimonials and Cryptocurrency jargon that appear credible, “but the promises of enormous, guaranteed returns are lies,” the FTC states. Even more heinous, these sites may make it appear that your investment is growing. Consumers who have been ripped off have complained that when they tried to withdraw the purported profits, “they are told to send more Crypto — and end up getting nothing back.”

Seniors are an easy target for Crypto scammers and other crooks

Seniors are a vulnerable market. The alarming tone of my social security scam robocalls is a good example. For an elderly person, this call could be alarming and have unfortunate endings.

Creating a Living Trust is an important part of financial planning

A Living Trust is an important part of financial planning that isn’t affected by the ups and downs of the stock market and the uncertainties of Cryptocurrency. Our Living Trust package includes a Power of Attorney and Advance Healthcare Directive. Having these legal documents in place now can help avoid confusion later on. We learned an important lesson from Covid: Once patients were infected with the virus, they were in no condition to be signing legal documents. We guide you through the process, and we prepare the legal documents. Schedule an appointment with Guideway today.

We service the entire East Bay and North Bay areas

Berkeley, El Cerrito, Richmond, Pinole, Alameda, San Leandro, Castro Valley Newark, San Lorenzo, Concord, Alamo, Danville, Lafayette, Orinda, Moraga, Pleasant Hill, Martinez, Pittsburg, Antioch, Brentwood, Oakley, Discovery Bay, Pleasanton, San Ramon, Livermore, Tracy and Fremont. Our clients also live in the Napa Valley, Benicia, Vallejo, Martinez, Fairfield.