By Mark Miller; Reuters ~ May 29, 2014

CHICAGO (Reuters) – Economists worry about something called the economic dependency ratio – the number of people over age 65 to 100 working-age people. The U.S. Census Bureau projects that the ratio will jump sharply in the years ahead as the population gets grayer – from 22 in 2010 to 35 in 2030.

The total dependency ratio, which also includes children, won’t rise nearly that quickly, but politicians and policymakers often marshal the elderly dependence figures to conjure all manner of economic doomsday forecasts – soaring budget deficits, the collapse of Social Security and Medicare. You’d think we’re headed for block-to-block intergenerational warfare raging in our streets.

By Mitch Tuchman; Forbes ~ May 29, 2014

You hear a lot about the unfortunately high cost of 401(k) plans, and they are a walking disaster. But even ordinary savers and investors can fall victim to hidden fees in their retirement plans.

Fees are a big deal. A number that seems small, say 1%, adds up over time to be a large percentage of your potential gains. That’s money that leaves your account each and every year, irrespective of your investment performance.

By Ben Steverman; Bloomberg Businessweek ~ May 29, 2014

Grandma’s much anticipated Arctic cruise becomes a slow drift away on an ice floe. Grandpa mortgages his kidneys to pay for a new heart. Social Security is deader than disco.

That bleak vision is only a slight exaggeration of the retirement catastrophes foretold by the media, financial firms, and many experts. It’s a scare tactic that’s moved the tone of the U.S. savings and retirement conversation from a constructive call to action to an alarmist frenzy. Building a solid financial future isn’t easy—wages are stagnant, markets have been disappointing, and Americans are getting older and living longer. Half of U.S. households are at risk of not having enough to maintain their living standards in retirement, according to Boston College’s Center for Retirement Research. Still, focusing only on the difficulty of the challenges can make the problem worse.

By Julie Appleby; Kaiser Health News ~ May 28, 2014

After getting a green light from the Obama administration earlier this month, more employers may begin to cap what they pay for certain medical treatments, such as joint replacements and drugs, potentially shifting more costs to workers.

Done right, economists and policy experts say the move to “reference pricing,” as the approach is known, could slow health care spending by prompting consumers to choose less expensive providers or treatments— and leading providers to lower their charges. Still, consumer advocates warn that the approach is likely to make health insurance even more complex, and could expose unwitting consumers to thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket costs.

By Carl Richards; The New York Times ~ May 27, 2014

It can be very difficult to separate the good advice from the questionable and the questionable from the downright irresponsible. Unfortunately, good advice doesn’t always walk around wearing a sign, but there are some red flags to help you avoid the so-called advice that’s actually irresponsible.

Case in point: What do you think when you hear someone is “forced” to do something? For me, it implies that there’s no other choice. So imagine my surprise when I read a quote in The Wall Street Journal last week that suggested that low interest rates are “forcing folks into riskier strategies in which they feel they will be more richly compensated.”

By Robert Laura; Forbes ~ May 27, 2014

Retirees are constantly on the hunt for income but the terrain is not only becoming more difficult to cover, the targets are also getting more and more dangerous. Stocks are at an all-time high, which means dividend payments are lower. Interest rates remain low, yet the prospects of the Federal Reserve raising rates within a year continue to climb higher making good long-term fixed income holdings as elusive as stalking Sasquatch… or Bigfoot in layman terms.

While your favorite tree stand and hunting spots may be providing less income than you want or need, I have a few creative, hidden foxholes for you to consider:

By Patrick Howley; The Daily Caller ~ May 27, 2014

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) plans to fine companies $36,500 per employee per year if the companies give their workers money to help them buy health insurance plans rather than directly providing health insurance coverage for the workers.

“Under IRS Notice 2013-54, such arrangements are described as employer payment plans,” according to a Q+A posted to the IRS website. “An employer payment plan, as the term is used in this notice, generally does not include an arrangement under which an employee may have an after-tax amount applied toward health coverage or take that amount in cash compensation.”

It’s Likely to Cost More Than You Think It Will

By Tom Lauricella; The Wall Street Journal ~ May 24, 2014

It’s not all golf and grandchildren.

Many people spend years planning for retirement and think they have it all figured out, until they actually retire.

Here are a few areas where retirees don’t know as much as they think they do.

1. You’ll probably retire earlier than expected.

Sounds like a good thing, but it’s not. Among the most critical variables determining the size of a retirement nest egg is how many years money is saved before withdrawals start. These days, many financial plans assume delayed retirement, and to a large degree it’s happening.

By Karl Bode; DSLReports ~ May 23, 2014

10:37AM Friday May 23, 2014 Tipped by telcodad See Profile.

Last summer AT&T rather quietly launched their fixed LTE service, quite creatively named “AT&T Wireless Home Phone and Internet.” Like Verizon’s Home Fusion service, the service is primarily being targeted at more rural users that are tired of
very expensive, heavily capped satellite broadband service. AT&T’s fixed service isn’t exactly cheap either, users paying $60 a month for 10 GB, $90 a month for 20 GB, or $120 a month for 30 GB.

By Elise Viebeck; The Hill ~ May 22, 2014

In a shift from the current system, Medicare is proposing to rule on seniors’ coverage for home medical devices before the supplies are delivered or claims for payment are
submitted.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is planning to expand the use of “prior authorization” for power scooters and wheelchairs, and introduce the process for several other categories of medical goods used at home.

Officials said the effort is targeting improper payments and fraud in the system, when Medicare foots the bill for products aggressively marketed to patients and doctors who do not need them.