Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Marital History And Retirement Security: An Empirical Analysis Of The Work, Family, And Gender Relationship, Lauren A. Martin Palmer

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation investigates the relationship between marital history and individuals’ retirement resources, namely Social Security, employer-sponsored pensions, and non-housing wealth. Prior research provides a foundation for understanding marriage’s positive relationship to retirement security, and suggests that marriage is financially beneficial and can even lessen some external factors that would otherwise damage a family’s financial situation. Yet changing demographics, with fewer people in first marriages and rising numbers of individuals experiencing divorce and choosing to remain unmarried, suggest our understanding of this relationship for today’s retirees may be limited. The purpose of this research is to identify which aspects of complex …

Needs Assessment For The Topsfield Council On Aging, Jan E. Mutchler, Ceara Somerville

Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging Publications

The Town of Topsfield’s older population grew substantially during the last decade. Increases are expected to continue as the number of seniors increase moving forward, as well as the share of the Topsfield population they represent. In response to these demographic changes, a study was undertaken to generate and organize information on the older residents of Topsfield and the community organizations supporting their well-being. Special focus was placed on needs of older residents along with the capacity of the Topsfield COA to meet those needs. Methods used included description of existing data, key informant interviews, and focus groups aimed at …

Health And Mental Health Of Older Asian Americans: A Comparative Study Of Chinese, Filipino, Asian Indian, And Other Asian/Pacific Islander Elders, Jing Tan

Institute for Asian American Studies Publications

Purpose: This study examined the health and mental health status among U.S. Chinese, Filipino, Asian Indian, other Asian/Pacific Islander (API), and non-Hispanic White older adults, using nationally representative data. Method: An aggregated data file from the National Health Interview Survey from 2000 to 2009 was analyzed. The sample included 848 Chinese, 823 Filipino, 337 Asian Indian, 1,488 “other API,” and 74,042 non-Hispanic White older adults aged 65 and older. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to compare the health and mental health status among different ethnic groups of older adults and to identify related factors. Findings: The descriptive statistics reveal …

Aging In Boxford: Planning For An ‘Active And Involved’ Future, Nina Silverstein, Caitlin Coyle

Gerontology Institute Publications

This planning study was conducted to investigate current and anticipated needs, interests, preferences, and concerns of Boxford adults aged 45 and older. Special emphasis is placed on gauging future age-related services needed by residents, including those provided by the Boxford Council on Aging and its Senior Center (hereafter, COA), as well as the existing physical infrastructure of the COA relative to these service needs now and in the future. A primary focus of this study was whether Boxford is a town where lifelong residents will feel supported in later life.

The goals of the project were (1) to identify the …

Needs Assessment For Littleton Elder And Human Services And The Council On Aging, Jan E. Mutchler, Bernard A. Steinman, Ceara Somerville, Maryam Khaniyan, Mai See Yang

Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging Publications

This report describes efforts undertaken by the Town of Littleton Council on Aging, in partnership with the Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging within the Gerontology Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston, to investigate the needs, interests, preferences, and opinions of Littleton’s older population. The focus of this report was on two cohorts of Littleton residents—those aged 50 to 59 (referred to as “Boomers”), and the cohort of individuals who are currently aged 60 and over (“Seniors”). The content of this report is intended to inform the Town of Littleton, the Littleton Council on Aging and Senior …

Aging In Barnstable: Striving For High Livability In A Cape Cod Community, Bernard A. Steinman, Ceara Somerville, Hayley Gleason, Maryam Khaniyan, Mai See Yang

Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging Publications

This report describes collaborative efforts undertaken by the Town of Barnstable Senior Services Division and the Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging, within the Gerontology Institute at the McCormack Graduate School, University of Massachusetts Boston. Beginning in Fall 2014, these organizations partnered to conduct a study to investigate the needs, interests, preferences, and opinions of the Town’s older resident population, with respect to living and aging in Barnstable. The focus of this report was on two cohorts of Barnstable residents — those aged 50 to 59 (referred to as “Boomers”), and the cohort of individuals who are currently …

The Alzheimer’S Association Dementia Care Coordination Program: A Process Evaluation, Executive Summary, Nina Silverstein, Frank Porell, Pamela Nadash

Gerontology Institute Publications

The Massachusetts/New Hampshire (MA/NH) Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association has long sought ways to systematically increase the number of families who utilize its services and support. According to the Alzheimer’s Association’s 2015 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures, there are 142,000 individuals living with Alzheimer’s disease in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, and the Alzheimer’s Association estimates that less than 30% of those individuals and their caregivers take advantage of its programs (Alzheimer’s Association, 2015). The MA/NH Chapter recognized that one major barrier to accessing services is a model that relies on families taking the initiative to seek out assistance.

In …

Finding A Financial Planner, Emily G. Brown Jd

Pension Action Center Publications

This fact sheet provides information on how to find the right financial planner to help you meet your retirement planning goals. This fact sheet suggests things to consider prior to picking a financial planner and answers questions like:

• What do financial planners do?
• How do you know if you need a financial planner?
• How do you find the right financial planner?
• What type of professional title does a financial planner have?

Plenary Session Iii – Medical Track: Reporting At-Risk Drivers To Massdot Medical Advisory Board, Michele Ellicks, Marjorie Weinberger, James Ellison, Debra Kerrigan, Jatin Dave

Older Driver Safety Summit: Planning a Safe and Mobile Future for Massachusetts

This session will address counseling the at-risk driver, healthcare provider responsibility and liability, clinician resources to provide older drivers, and procedures for reporting. This session will also include information on recognizing the sense of loss and grief experienced by someone who must relinquish a driver’s license.

Plenary Session Iii – Policy Track: Focus On Innovation, Emily Shea, Jessica Cicchini, Bryan Reimer, Meghan Verena Joyce, Nora Moreno Cargie, Betsey Crimmins

Older Driver Safety Summit: Planning a Safe and Mobile Future for Massachusetts

Dr. Cicchini will describe the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and how its work can inform efforts in Massachusetts to promote older driver road safety. Dr. Reimer will describe innovations in research and the implications for policy. Nora Moreno Cargie will discuss how corporate and philanthropic partners can support innovative policy developments. Meghan Verona Joyce will describe Uber’s innovative partnership with government partners as a model for other entities to consider as they face regulatory challenges. Betsey Crimmins will discuss the legal and elder justice innovations needed to keep older MA adults safe and mobile.

Plenary Session Iii – Mobility Track: Successful Models For Senior Transportation In Massachusetts, Theadora Fisher, Jayne Colino, Tim O’Day, Erica Girgenti, Janet Seckel-Cerroti

Older Driver Safety Summit: Planning a Safe and Mobile Future for Massachusetts

This session will discuss examples of replicable, successful programs that address the transportation needs of seniors in Massachusetts, including Council on Aging programs, a partnership with a regional transit authority, and a medical escort program.

Plenary Session Ii – Mobility Track: When The Wheels Fall Off, Jean Patel Bushnell, Lissa Kapust, John Paul, Don Blackburn

Older Driver Safety Summit: Planning a Safe and Mobile Future for Massachusetts

This session captures the consumer experience throughout the transition process, their struggle to maintain control and solutions to help them preserve independence and identity.

Plenary Session Ii – Medical Track: Substance And Medication Use, Mary Maguire, Michele Matthews, Stephen J. Walsh, Joanne Thomka

Older Driver Safety Summit: Planning a Safe and Mobile Future for Massachusetts

This session will provide information on drivers’ use of prescription medications, poly-pharmacy, alcohol, “medical” marijuana, and illegal drugs and the impact these substances may have on one’s ability to safely operate a motor vehicle.

Plenary Session Ii – Policy Track: Policies That Work, Kathrin Boerner, Jake Nelson, Richard Marottoli, Tom Meuser

Older Driver Safety Summit: Planning a Safe and Mobile Future for Massachusetts

This session will describe policies related to medical fitness to drive and medical reporting. Jake Nelson will provide an overview of the research related to medical fitness to drive. Best practices will be highlighted by Dr. Meuser, and clinical geriatric issues will be discussed by Dr. Marottoli.

Plenary Session I – Medical Track: Identifying Medically At-Risk Drivers, Janet Jankowiak, Brian Ott, Ann Hollis, Elin Schold-Davis, Eugene Scanzera

Older Driver Safety Summit: Planning a Safe and Mobile Future for Massachusetts

This session will focus on assessing and identifying medical conditions that may impact one’s ability to safely operate a motor vehicle. The session will include information on Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, changes in vision, reaction time, and cognition.

Plenary Session I – Policy Track: Policies That Work, David Stevens, Marian Ryan, Kay Khan, Harriette L. Chandler, Patricia Jehlen

Older Driver Safety Summit: Planning a Safe and Mobile Future for Massachusetts

This session will discuss policy formation, implementation, and enforcement issues related to older driver safety. Policymakers Representative Khan and Senators Chandler and Jehlen will discuss the process of getting evidence-based laws enacted, while Middlesex D.A. Marian Ryan will describe enforcement issues and concerns. Moderator David Stevens will talk about advocating for socially just and evidence-based policies impacting older adults.

Plenary Session I – Mobility Track: The Transition From Driver To Passenger And The Role Of Senior-Friendly Transportation Options, Nina Silverstein, Jana Hunkler, Helen Kerschner, William Henry, Noah Berger

Older Driver Safety Summit: Planning a Safe and Mobile Future for Massachusetts

This session will explore the challenges faced by older adults as they transition from driving to transportation options; introduce the strategies of travel training and mobility management for senior transportation; present the concept of supportive senior-friendly transportation and the role of volunteers and volunteer driver programs in supporting that vision; and address risk management concerns in the provision of senior transportation.

401(K) Plan Expenses, Anne Becker, Jeffrey Arnold

Pension Action Center Publications

Under a 401(k) plan, your benefit is your vested account balance. This account balance reflects the contributions you make to the plan, the contributions your employer makes to the plan on your behalf (if any), and investment gains and losses.

Many 401(k) plan participants are responsible for choosing how to invest their account balances. If you direct the investment of your 401(k) plan account balance, it is important to understand that fees and expenses may substantially reduce the growth of your 401(k) plan account balance over the course of your working life. The Department of Labor (DOL) estimates that paying …

Your Former Employer’S 401(K) Plan, Jeanne Medeiros Jd

Pension Action Center Publications

When you leave a job where you have participated in a 401(k) plan, you may have a number of different options about what to do with the money in that account. This fact sheet explains those options and offers guidance about the pros and cons of each option.

Here are some frequently asked questions answered in this face sheet:

Q. Can I leave my money in my former employer’s plan?

Q. What are my other options?

Q. If I decide to withdraw the account balance from my former employer’s plan, how do I do that, and how long should it …

Protect Your Retirement Income: Documents To Keep And Questions To Ask, Pension Action Center, Gerontology Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Pension Action Center Publications

No matter what kind of pension or retirement plan your employer offers, you should keep certain documents indefinitely to ensure that you receive the retirement benefits you have earned.

This fact sheet was produced as part of the Pension Action Center’s investor education program, made possible thanks to a grant from the Investor Protection Trust, a nonprofit organization devoted to investor education, and support from the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Illinois Secure Choice Savings Program Act (Passed Jan. 4, 2015), Emily G. Brown Jd, Ellen Bruce Jd

Pension Action Center Publications

The Illinois Secure Choice Savings Program Act, passed on January 4, 2015, creates an automatic enrollment payroll deduction IRA. The purpose of the program is to promote increased retirement savings participation for employees in the private sector. This fact sheet answers some basic questions about how this new program will affect workers and their employers in Illinois.

Mapping Boston's Assets To Improve Livability For Older Adults: Boston's Age Friendly Community Initiative; And Building Bonds To Last A Lifetime: Creating Community Among Beverly’S Aging Population, Bernard A. Steinman, Abigail Butt, Ceara Somerville, Hayley Gleason

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

The Boston Age Friendly Community Initiative is working with the City of Boston to document a comprehensive and inclusive baseline assessment of needs within domains that influence health and quality of life of older adults. In a separate project, UMass Boston worked with the City of Beverly Council on Aging and Senior Center to develop a database that would allow the Senior Center to locate and contact both new and long-time resident seniors in the hopes of building a better relationship with them.

From Data To Community Action: A Case Study Building On The Massachusetts Healthy Aging Community Profiles, Nina M. Silverstein, Brittany Gaines, Darlene Adams, Dorothy Wideman

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

The Healthy Aging movement is a driver in the promotion of Evidence-Based programs such as Chronic Disease Self- Management (CDSMP) programs related to falls prevention and diabetes. Such programs are critical in any recommendations for short or long term interventions to communities to address challenges to aging well.

Helping Elders Living With Pain (Help), Suzanne Leveille, Tongjian You

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

The HELP study, which is a two-year study supported by a R21 grant from National Institute on Aging, is a direct extension of our previous work examining attentional demands of chronic pain in the older population. The HELP study is designed to compare two different exercise programs - simple body exercise and mind-body exercise, in their effects on pain symptoms, cognitive function, dual-task walking ability, and levels of pain-related biomarkers in community-dwelling older adults with multisite pain who are at risk of falling.

Pension Action Center: Protecting Your Retirement, Louise Cataldo, Michele Tolson

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

The Pension Action Center (PAC) is a one-of-a-kind organization serving New England and Illinois that touches the lives of thousands of low- moderate income people, who often have nowhere else to turn when they need help understanding and obtaining their retirement benefits.

Assessing Current And Future Needs Of Residents Aging In The Town Of Andover, Bernard A. Steinman, Ceara R. Somerville, Maryam Khaniyan, Hayley Gleason, Mai See Yang, Jan E. Mutchler

Gerontology Institute Publications

This report describes the collaborative efforts undertaken by the Town of Andover Division of Elder Services and the Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging, within the McCormack Graduate School at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Beginning in Fall 2014, these organizations joined to conduct a needs assessment to investigate the needs, interests, preferences and opinions of the Town’s older resident population, with respect to aging in Andover. The focus of this report is on two cohorts of Andover residents—those who are age 50 to 59 (referred to as “Boomers”) and the cohort of individuals who are currently age …

Hardship Withdrawals And Loans: Some Words Of Caution, Emily G. Brown Jd, Jeanne Medeiros Jd, Ellen Bruce Jd

Pension Action Center Publications

As defined benefit pension plans become more and more rare, the responsibility of saving for retirement falls increasingly on individuals. Many studies have been published about the average or median balances in retirement savings accounts and virtually all of them have reached the same conclusion - most Americans aren’t saving enough money to last them through their retirement years.

In this fact sheet we will take a look at one of the factors that contributes to this problem, that is, the availability of loans and hardship withdrawals from 401(k) retirement accounts, which can lead to lower account balances overall. Sometimes, …

Getting The Most Out Of Your 401(K), Emily G. Brown Jd, Jeanne Medeiros Jd

Pension Action Center Publications

Planning for your retirement is an active and ongoing endeavor. It requires a certain amount of diligence and knowledge to ensure you have an adequate amount of financial stability at retirement. In order to safeguard your economic security, it is important to know if you are getting the most out of your 401(k) retirement savings account. This factsheet provides basic information about enrolling in a 401(k) retirement savings account and important items to keep in mind once you are enrolled.

Aging In Scituate: An Assessment Of Services And Programs For Our Community, Jan Mutchler, Hayley Gleason, Ceara Somerville, Maryam Khaniyan, Bernard A. Steinman

Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging Publications

This report describes collaborative efforts undertaken by the Town of Scituate and its Council on Aging (COA), and the Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging within the Gerontology Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Beginning in Summer 2014, these organizations partnered to conduct a needs assessment study to investigate the needs, interests, preferences, and opinions of the Town’s older resident population, with respect to living and aging in Scituate. The focus of this report is on two cohorts of Scituate residents—those aged 45 to 59 (referred to as “Boomers”), and the cohort of individuals who are currently …