By William Power; The Wall Street Journal ~ Mar 27, 2016

It is a typically frustrating moment in our family crisis, one that many grown children will have to face, ready or not: We are people in our 50s who are unraveling the finances of parents who can no longer do it themselves.

My wife, Julie, is on the phone with the company where her 82-year-old dad had once worked, trying to change the direct deposit of his pension checks to a bank closer to the assisted-living home where he and his wife now live, which is near us in Pennsylvania. Again and again, she is transferred to the person in charge, “Rose.” And every time, the same recording: “This number has been disconnected.”

By Russ Wiles, TAR; USA TODAY ~ Mar 26, 2016

Millions of Americans already are facing tough financial challenges when it comes to retirement. But we’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg if life spans really begin to lengthen.

Longevity has become a hot topic as medical advances have improved survival rates for life-threatening diseases while helping people with chronic ailments lead more active lives. That’s the good news. The bad news comes when the bill arrives.

By Marlene Y. Satter; BenefitsPro ~  Mar 25, 2016

A new AARP study showing retail prescription prices have increased six times faster than the general inflation rate since 2006 underscores the possibility that the Government Accountability Office may be seriously underestimating how much health care is costing retirees.

The AARP study also found that the average annual cost of therapy for one prescription drug totals more than $11,000, which equals a whopping 75 percent of the average annual social security benefit.

By Dan Meyer; RCR Wireless News ~  Mar 24, 2016

Citing the need for greater scalability and control, AT&T software plans push towards opening ROADM network switch

AT&T’s focus on tapping software to enhance its network is set to include the telecom operator’s optical fiber infrastructure.

Andre Fuetsch, SVP of AT&T’s Domain 2.0 Architecture and Design, said the company was tapping software control and open hardware to its reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexer network switch, as well as launching the Open ROADM group in an attempt to foster vendor support for the technology. Fuetsch explained by using software control, the ROADM switch would be able to automatically scale bandwidth to network needs, or in the case of optical line the ability to move traffic from congested lines to those with more capacity.

By Melinda Beck; The Wall Street Journal ~ Mar 24, 2016

Medicare officials said they have temporarily abandoned a proposed measure that would have penalized doctors for ordering “non-recommended” prostate-specific antigen tests to screen for prostate cancer, citing a wave of negative comments.

The proposal, part of the federal effort to define and reward quality in health-care services, sparked confusion and criticism among urologists and others who said whether men should be screened for prostate cancer remained too controversial to link to a penalty in Medicare reimbursement.

By Tariro Mzezewa; Reuters ~ Mar 23, 2016

NEW YORK  –  Wealth managers in the United States are cutting fees, relying more on technology to give advice and reducing the minimum amounts clients can hold in their brokerage accounts, all in preparation a new rule governing how they advise retirement savers

Some advisers are even job hunting, worried that the rule’s impending introduction could slash their compensation.

By Brenton Smith, Forbes – March 22, 2016

There is a consensus among forecasts that Social Security is heading for a crisis in less than 18 years. Experts and policy managers tell the voters that such a result is the unavoidable outcome of changing demographics of the system. Basically, it’s your grandparents’ fault for having too many damn kids.

Yes the data suggests that the program is heading for crisis. Yes everyone agrees the number of workers to beneficiaries is falling. It is only natural that politicians tell voters that the latter is the cause of the former. It is, in the words of H.L. Mencken, a clear and concise answer to the complex problem of Social Security.

By Sarah Max; Money ~  Mar 21, 2016

The system is not going to zero.

As long as people continue to work and pay taxes, Social Security will not run out of money, says Alicia H. Munnell, director of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.

The numbers fluctuate depending on tax revenue and Social Security benefits, but the system brings in enough money each year to cover roughly three-quarters of the benefits it pays out.

By Leslie Mann; Chicago Tribune ~  Mar 21, 2016

Alicia Colunga keeps a daily planner in her purse, “just in case” she forgets one of the groups that keep her booked seven days a week, said the retired banker from La Mirada, Calif.

Not that that’s likely.

Ask the 76-years-young widow about her schedule, and she can recite it lickety-split.

By Ashley Welch; CBS News ~ Mar 21, 2016

One in six seniors in the U.S. regularly uses potentially dangerous combinations of prescription and over-the-counter medications and dietary supplements, according to new research. The study, published today in JAMA Internal Medicine, showed a two-fold increase over a five-year period.

“This is a major public health problem,” study author Dima Mazen Qato, assistant professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago in the department of Pharmacy Systems, Outcomes and Policy, told CBS News.