WASHINGTON, DC, July 17 — “The Golden Years are supposed to be carefree, but sometimes the challenges of growing old can be depressing. At worst, they seem downright unfair,” says Rebecca Weber, CEO of the Association of Mature American Citizens [AMAC].
Weber cites, as an example, the complications of what used to be the simple task of getting your driver’s license renewed. “It’s a breeze for younger drivers. They can get their new licenses by mail or online and in many states their licenses are good for ten years. Not so for too many older citizens. Many states require in person renewal procedures for older applicants in their 60s and 70s and will only issue renewal licenses for a maximum of five years and a minimum of one to two years. Specific state by state license renewal information is available on the Website Insure.Com.”
And, the AMAC chief notes that more and more states appear to be planning license renewal restrictions on older drivers. As the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) put it: “While older drivers have lower crash rates reported to the police, the likelihood of seniors being involved in a fatal crash goes up after age 70. ”
Meanwhile, notes Weber, seniors seem to be a target of choice not just for scammers but for “legitimate” commercial enterprises. “For example, timeshare predators seem to aggressively target the elderly, using extreme deceptive and exhausting sales practices that coerce customers into signing up for timeshares– a technique that may be particularly effective on the elderly.”
But, she warns, even those timeshares that are purchased willingly can be cause for concern due to maintenance fees, which may seem affordable enough at first but, which can become onerous as the years go on.
As consumer advocate Dave Ramsey describes it: “The average annual maintenance fee is $1,000. But the surprise comes when you find out the fees go up every year, often much faster than the normal inflation rate. The latest numbers say the increase averages around 4% a year. So, in hard numbers, your original $1,000 fee could be $1,477 by year ten—a total increase of around 48%!”
Excessive fees can make timeshare ownership a nightmare, says Weber, particularly if you are an older owner whose resources may be limited. It is one of the key issues targeted for reform by such organizations as The Coalition to Reform Timeshare. The organization says it is actively seeking to impose “a strict code of ethics and transparency” for the industry.
My mother called these the tarnished years, not the golden years. It’s not as much about finances, as the decay of the body.
Golden years, thats rich. One’s “Golden years” are when your young and can do things. Its important to stay healthy as you get older. Stay away from big pharma and use holistic health care.
I’m calling mine the “snap, crackle, pop” years because that’s what increasing joints do as time goes on. It began when I would roll my neck to stretch. Seems to be progressing downward as time goes on. But hey, it’s part of life as ours begins the winding-down process. It is what we make of it that counts. I joke about it.
The Golden Years certainly aren’t describing your blonde hair getting a deeper yellow gold that’s for sure. … At almost 73, I keep my health tip top, meaning I’m not really interested in physical exercise as much as wanting to keep my insides strong and healthy. And I do that by taking natural alternative medicines as opposed to chemical prescriptions that have terrible side effects. I turned to natural supplements when my doctor prescribed a drug for my high uric acid problem that was giving me kidney stones and as he said would eventually give me gout. When I asked him how long I would have to take this prescription, he said “probably the rest of my life!” which was 20 years ago. I thought to myself “well that’s not curing me so why take it?” … I knew people with gout attacks and I knew I didn’t want that! Guess what?
I’ve NEVER had gout, no more kidney stones and I never changed my diet. Because instead I take a tart cherry 1000 mg supplement daily and I have normal uric acid. Now I take 2000 mg daily of tumeric and I have no joint pain and have researched that a larger amount of tumeric can even shrink my enlarged prostate so that I eliminated that tamsulosin medication and it’s terrible side effects. Today’s general practitioner doctor ONLY KNOWS PRESCRIPTION DRUGS and is NOT INTERESTED IN NATURAL ALTERNATIVES!
Why? … Because they get kickbacks from drug companies and nothing from prescribing natural alternative medicines. Besides, they don’t make any $$$ if they don’t see you and my doctor doesn’t see me and in fact, notified my Medicare provider that he didn’t want me as a patient anymore. Furthermore, I’ve also discovered the benefits of having PEMF therapy treatments, specifically using the Bemer medical device.
Now, I also have NO CLOGGED ARTERIES because of it. … And best of all, I eat what I like!
Check out natural alternative medicines people and reclaim your health!