JULIE PACE – February 7, 2014, 12:34 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — “Do you guys have health insurance?” David Bransfield asks each time a group of college students passes by.

Some nod yes. A few promise to stop back after class. Others don’t bother removing their headphones.

Nearly every day, Bransfield comes to a satellite campus of the University of the District of Columbia in the shadow of the Capitol, sitting for hours behind a table in the lobby of a classroom building.

With an Apple laptop and lots of fliers, he’s part of the army of workers and volunteers trying to enroll young, and probably healthy, people in health insurance available through President Barack Obama’s law.

Robert Powell, Feb. 7, 2014, 5:02 a.m. EST

The world’s population is aging, rapidly. So much so in fact that roughly one in six people is expected to be 65 and older by 2050, double the proportion today, according to a recent Pew Research Center report. Put another way, the global population of people ages 65 and older is expected to triple from 530.5 million in 2010 to 1.5 billion by midcentury.

And all that aging is, well, likely to affect your, and more likely, your children’s retirement plan. How so?

Social Security and Medicare

First off, Social Security and Medicare are likely to change dramatically in the coming four decades.

By Ali Meyer, February 7, 2014 – 9:01 AM

1,154,000 fewer Americans are working today than six years ago, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In January 2008, 146,378,000 Americans 16 and over were employed, and now in January 2014, 145,224,000 are employed, a difference of 1,154,000. 91,455,000 Americans 16 or older did not participate in the nation’s labor force in January, meaning they neither held a job nor actively sought one. That’s a 353,000 decline from December, but 172,000 more than November. – See more at: http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/ali-meyer/1154000-fewer-americans-working-today-6-years-ago#sthash.VtmUTbsu.dpuf

The national labor force participation rate — the share of Americans who had a job or were actively looking for one — ticked up to 63 percent in January, from 62.8 percent in December. – See more at: http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/ali-meyer/1154000-fewer-americans-working-today-6-years-ago#sthash.VtmUTbsu.dpuf

By Matthew Heimer, February 7, 2014, 5:24 PM

You’re in your early 60s and thriving. You’ve saved a half-million bucks in your IRA, and since you’ve got other income or other savings you don’t need to tap it until you’re required to, at age 70 ½. So you should leave the IRA alone and let it grow, right?

Shutterstock.com Tapping savings now, to reduce taxes later.
Not necessarily, say many financial planners. In fact, depending on your other circumstances, making withdrawals in your 60s could help you stretch your savings longer, by reducing your income-tax bill later in life.

Mitch Tuchman, 2/07/2014 @ 12:55PM

Time is money, according to the business dictum. When it comes to retirement, it’s literally true.

Most savers believe that their retirement will grow more if they save more, which is correct. They also hope that investing will result in their savings being more in time. Also a likely outcome.

What few understand, however, is just how much time is a factor in making those two forces work in concert.

By Caroline Humer, Thu Feb 6, 2014 3:41pm EST

Aetna Inc (AET.N), the third-largest U.S. health insurer, said on Thursday it expects to lose money on the Obamacare exchanges even as demand for these insurance plans has picked up over the past few weeks.

President Barack Obama’s healthcare reform law, often called Obamacare, created online insurance exchanges where individuals can buy health coverage with income-based government subsidies. The exchanges opened on October 1 to sell plans for coverage effective January 1, but technology issues delayed enrollment for the first few months.

Robert J. Szczerba, Contributor, 2/06/2014 @ 8:15AM

Imagine your insurance company paying you for healthier behavior, such as taking your vitamins or medications as directed, going for daily walks, or not eating that second dessert. That day may not be very far away.

The healthcare industry is moving from a “fee for service” model (clinicians getting paid for each service they provide) to a “fee for outcome” model (clinicians getting paid for successful healthcare outcomes, regardless of the number of services provided). With the emphasis shifting to preventive care, your insurance company will want to encourage you to do things that keep you healthy and out of hospitals, because it will save them money in the long run.

By Russ Britt, February 6, 2014, 2:47 PM

The Obama administration is considering another extension of existing individual health insurance policies in an effort to smooth the transition to plans offered through state and federal exchanges established by the Affordable Care Act, the Associated Press reported on Thursday.

The AP quotes Dan Mendelson, chief executive of health policy adviser Avalere Health, as saying the administration is considering an extension of existing policies for another three years. No decision has been made, however, on whether to offer the extension.

By Mark Miller, CHICAGO, Thu., Feb 6, 2014, 3:02pm EST

Is President Obama’s health reform law a job killer? Republicans seized on a new high-profile analysis of the Affordable Care Act this week to ram home that oft-repeated talking point.

But the report, issued this week by the Congressional Budget Office, actually says something quite different: Jobs won’t be destroyed, but more Americans will choose to work fewer hours because of the ACA’s structure, which subsidizes the cost of health insurance for households with low- and middle-range incomes.

The upshot is likely to be something I’ve suspected all along: The ACA will create work options for people over age 50 as they move toward retirement, because it creates opportunities to get health insurance outside the workplace.

Health Costs, Insurance, Marketplace, Politics, Health Reform, Feb 05, 2014

The Congressional Budget Office report, released Tuesday, which updated estimates regarding how many people will be able to gain health insurance without necessarily having a job, became an immediate political flashpoint and reignited the political debate surrounding the health law.

The New York Times: Health Care Law Projected To Cut The Labor Force
A Congressional Budget Office analysis released Tuesday predicted that the Affordable Care Act would shrink the work force by the equivalent of more than two million full-time positions and recharged the political debate over the health care law, providing Republican opponents fresh lines of attack and putting Democrats on the defensive.