Queercents

In the July issue of The Advocate, Jennifer Hatch reports in the finance column that:

The biggest unknown in your financial future isn’t the market’s performance, it’s how long you’re going to live.

Financial advisors have dubbed this the longevity risk. Thanks to advances in health care, the average life span has been extended and poses a new threat to Baby Boomers: outliving your money.

How much do you need to save by the time you retire? Fred Yager at ConsumerAffairs.com writes, “There are a lot of ‘guestimates’ but the low end number seems to be around $450,000. Anything lower than that and it becomes a real struggle. To live really comfortably, you need close to $1 million in savings.”

So how best can you predict your life expectancy? Hatch mentions a site called LivingTo100.com:

This free site can — by posing 40 questions about your habits and health history — predict your life expectancy, giving you a better sense of your post-career financial needs. I logged on, took the test, and learned that I can expect to live until the ripe age of 95. The site also provides advice on how, with a few changes (like flossing daily to lower my risk of heart disease), I can extend my life expectancy to 98! Read the rest of this entry »

Rhea at The Boomer Chronicles pointed readers to a community group for AARP members who are LGBT:

AARP has developed the online Prism Network to make lesbians and gays feel more at home within the organization. It’s a great idea. AARP, for instance, is offering members a free membership for a spouse or partner. Here’s the link for the AARP Prism Network.

Last year, Newsweek discussed issues faced by many aging gays in Invisible And Overlooked:

“In many ways, this population is a mirror opposite of what the mainstream aging community looks like,” says Karen Taylor, director of advocacy and training for the New York-based Services and Advocacy for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender Elders, or SAGE, the nation’s oldest senior network. “The average senior in the United States lives with one other person; two-thirds of LGBT seniors live alone. If you don’t have those informal support networks built into your life, then everything else becomes a bigger issue. Who forces you to go to the doctor? What happens if you fall?” Read the rest of this entry »

“To this day, I still don’t know my father’s income.” – Cooper Smith

My parents have always been very private about their finances. That said, in high school, I learned how much money my dad made on an annual basis and over the years he continued to be open about the amount. He turns seventy soon and still works full time as a real estate appraiser. Even with the ups and downs in real estate prices, his income has been fairly consistent during the last ten to fifteen years.

But that’s about as much as I know. Everything else has really been off limits. For example, how much debt they carry, how much they have saved, the value of their life insurance policies (or if they have kept these current), the amount they still owe on their home, what other investments they have, what measures are in place to make sure my mom cared for if my dad dies first, or what happens when my dad can’t work anymore.

We’re all in the dark: all means me and my three siblings. I’ve asked and no one knows any more than what I’ve gathered. Quite frankly, I probably know the most because I share a lot about my personal finances with my parents and tend to pick up things about theirs in the conversation. I’ve made my own conclusions and those conclusions worry me. Read the rest of this entry »

Michael Jacoby is a filmmaker and director of Ten More Good Years, a new documentary about LGBT elders and the governmental and social injustices experienced by those growing old and gay in America. It’s screening around the world at a number of film festivals this fall and has been licensed by both the Sundance Channel and LOGO. Of course, money plays a part in aging and it’s only natural for Queercents to want to understand more. Michael hopes to change a few perceptions with his film and answers below. Enjoy!

1. How does the film challenge the stereotype of LGBT elders as a largely affluent group?
Ten More Good Years follows four LGBT Elders who represent the vast majority of our community in that they are NOT wealthy. The common belief is that queer older adults have lots of disposable income. The truth is the average annual income for LGBT seniors ranges between $16,000 – $22,000. As a result of antiquated federal laws an policies many LGBT elders, the groundbreakers of our civil rights movement, are finding themselves in situations similar too, if not exactly like, those presented in Ten More Good Years.

2. What did it cost to make your film? How did you raise the money?
Initially I set out to raise the money to make Ten More Good Years by applying for Grants. This process can be daunting and takes a long time for approval. I began the project without Grants and began racking up credit card bills. My first purchase was the camera. At the time I was working at a restaurant on Cornelia Street in the West Village called Po. I had been working there for quite some time and had made a lot of friendships with the regulars. Read the rest of this entry »

I worry about my parents’ retirement plans and future medical care. As I’ve gotten older and more involved in the personal finance community, the prospect of my own retirement has come up more and more. I find I’m faced with the possibility of having to care for four elderly people. A little background: I’m 32; my parents were both divorced and subsequently remarried when I was 10. There are no step siblings.

My half-sister is fifteen years younger and I’m not sure she’ll be in a financial position to provide assistance when its needed. The good news is that my dad’s financially stable and already in a comfortable retirement. My mom, not so much—she’s self-employed, smokes and has no health insurance. I thought I’d collect some insight and wisdom from QC readers on this issue.

Is it okay to criticize your parents for not being financially responsible? Clearly I wouldn’t tell a friend or stranger how to manage their money unless they asked me or were reading my thoughts within the contents of a blog. But if their savings decisions have a long term impact on me then it seems like I should have some input.

For now whenever I get a birthday check from my mom I slip in into a CD. Read the rest of this entry »

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that two children cost more than one to raise. And it doesn’t take a genius to understand that for queer parents, like straight parents, cost is only one factor in deciding on family size.

However, I’ve recently discovered some hidden costs of having an only child. Of course, in the wash, it’s still cheaper to have only one—and cost is still not the main factor for anyone I’ve ever met in determining family size. But here are some costs to think about, prepare for, and maybe even save for if you’re going to have a single-child family.

1) Lessons, Play Groups, and Underwater French

I always planned to enroll my child in a few fun, enriching activities. I didn’t want to be one of those pushy type-A parents forcing my infant into underwater French lessons at six months to ensure she got into Harvard down the road. But I did plan to put her in a few classes in various art forms, sports, etc. when the time came. Well, with a single child, the time comes sooner rather than later, and with greater frequency, for a couple of reasons. Read the rest of this entry »

Hunk alert: Fellas, gather around. Sam Page is an ex-Mormon, reformed porn star & L.A. trainer. Earlier this year, I interviewed Sam and his partner, Bronson for Ten Money Questions. He writes PeaceLoveLunges.com, a health and fitness blog where you’ll find everything from gay inspiration with his guycandy posts to his video interview with Kathy Griffin in Bora, Bora.

Sam’s training motto is “fitness through inspiration, not intimidation,” which reflects his belief that total health is available to everyone, regardless of his or her present condition. He also thinks that muscle is currency. If that’s the case, then you just might want to make a deposit at the Bank of Sam. These are his words…

Years ago, I was in a relationship with a very muscular, worked out guy who was adored by all of our friends for his Adonis-like physique.

James (not his real name) spent hours in the gym each week working every muscle group to failure. Even my friend Paul who rarely gushes over anyone told me that he “had the best body of anyone he’d ever seen.”

His diet was strict. His collection of bodybuilder photos numbered in the thousands. He supplemented with amino acids and protein drinks several times throughout the day. Read the rest of this entry »

I know very little about estate planning and execution of financial and legal responsibilities for someone who is deceased. I know it all falls under the term estate administration, but other than that the details escape me because I have never had to do it. What I learned recently as a result of the death of my grandmother is that just because you’re already dead doesn’t mean they can’t bill you. You see she was in a nursing home at the time she passed. My father was busy settling her affairs there when he discovered she was being billed for medication purchased and administered two days after she had died.

Sorry Charlie, but the woman is dead, the meds won’t help.

OK, perhaps that is a little harsh and sarcastic, but it does leave you scratching your head wondering who is paying attention to what in the place?

For normal expenses and debts, a person’s estate is responsible for them even after death. However, personal family members are not necessarily responsible for the debts if the estate does not have the assets to pay for them. Read the rest of this entry »

As a kid, money was my favorite present; preferably cash since I could go out and use it immediately. I could never leave a store with any money left over, probably a lesson I picked up from the old Wheel of Fortune where the contestants had to spend their winnings in Service Merchandise show rooms. The happiness was much anticipated and quickly over.

When I was seventeen my dad gave me a checking account. In spite of the $100 opening deposit that gift didn’t go over so well. It was a smart idea to try and teach his son about managing money, however I saw through it immediately. It was like being given a neck tie, a symbol of the grey oppressive adulthood that lay before me.

That was not the last time I received money from my parents, but those times (especially in college) were rarely cause for celebration. There were a few other times after college (and student loans) I legitimately needed help, but that was nearly four years ago. And still every year like clockwork, the money comes on Christmas, birthday and sometimes even Easter. They’ve been politely offering to buy me a housewarming present from IKEA for the last year.

Read the rest of this entry »

“They want the federal government controlling Social Security like it’s some kind of federal program.” – George W. Bush

Recently, I heard from Lea Abdnor, the Executive Director at Women for a Social Security Choice in response to my post about how gays and lesbians are Denied Social Security Benefits. In case you forgot, families of gays and lesbians (upon the death of a spouse) are denied the same benefits of heterosexual Americans, even though we contribute equally to Social Security throughout our careers.

Abdnor writes, “You are SO right about Social Security penalizing gays and lesbians. I’m straight but I’ve complained about this for years! ‘Legal’ spouses who don’t work a day in their life, and pay zero in Social Security benefits are granted FREE an additional 50% on top of his/her spouse’s Social Security benefit. A relic from the old ages.” Read the rest of this entry »