A new CNBC report said it all, “It’s a scary time for new retirees. Stocks have plunged this year. Bonds, which traditionally serve as a ballast when stocks falter, have also been pummeled. Both trends are worrisome for seniors who rely on investments for their retirement income. High inflation also means retirees need to draw more income to afford the same items and make ends meet.”
So, what’s a baby boomer to do? What steps should you take to protect yourself from loss? Of course, the #1 recommended action to take is “spend less” but there are other things to be mindful of. Click here for the full article.
It used to be that a family stayed in a home for 50+ years moving out only when necessary, but times have certainly changed. Couples and individuals are healthier longer and when they decide to move, it’s not necessarily a move to live with a child or into a senior living facility.
The National Association of Realtors’ 2021 Generational Trends Report shows the changing priorities of today’s seniors.
1/4 or more of seniors surveyed cite the desire to live closer to family and friends as their primary reason for relocating. The second most cited reason is that they consider their existing home too large.
More than 1/2 of seniors surveyed say their top consideration when looking for a neighborhood is the quality of the neighborhood. Coming in second is its proximity to friends and family and third is its convenience to shopping and health facilities.
When asked about factors causing a buyer to move, 1/4 of 66-74 year olds and 1/3 or 75-95 year olds say a household members health is the primary reason.
Among those considering senior-related housing, today’s seniors are looking for detached single family houses located in a suburb.
Understanding what seniors want and need in their next homes is what Senior Real Estate Specialists do best. They specialize in knowing what homes and communities work best for seniors who want accessibility, convenience and security in their future neighborhood.
The survey also revealed that seniors contact agents as a first step in the home search process, take the longest (an average of 10 weeks) to search, and ultimately view fewer homes than younger home buyers. Seniors want a realtor with the expertise to make the homebuying process as stress-free as possible. Atlanta Seniors Real Estate is one of the best at understanding how best to serve senior homebuyers. Contact us for a complimentary consultation to learn how we can help you with your next real estate transaction.
Have You or a Loved One Been Scammed? Here are some recommendations of what to do next:
DO
Report the fraud. Let people who can help you know about the scam. Reporting the deception can stop more individuals from being victimized. Start by contacting your bank and the Federal Trade Commission at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/#/ You may also want to report losses to local police or your State Consumer Protection Office at https://www.usa.gov/ state-consumer.
Work with your bank to recover lost funds. Contact your financial service provider to let them know what happened. Although there is no guarantee, they may be able to help recover your funds if you get in touch quickly.
Change passwords and ignore unknown calls. After a scam, change your passwords, replace any compromised credit cards, and block calls from unknown numbers to avoid getting scammed again.
DON’T
Be embarrassed. Fraudsters are convincing, and millions of people fall victim to their tactics every year. Although it is unsettling to be taken in by a scam, don’t let those uncomfortable feelings stop you from taking action.
Stay silent. Talking to family and friends that you trust about your experience can help you move on. Remember–they encounter scams too. Sharing your story can raise awareness and keep your loved ones safe.
Stop using all devices. Getting scammed can shake you up, but don’t let it shut you down. Devices are still safe and useful if you take precautions.
In the United States, several government agencies investigate complaints. Report your experience to one of the following:
>Medicare-related fraud: U.S. Department of Health 800-HHS-TIPS • (800-447-8477) • oig.hhs.gov/fraud/report-fraud
>IRS Impersonators: Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). 800-366-4484 • treasury.gov/tigta/reportcrime_misconduct.shtml
>Social Security scams: Social Security Administration 1-800-269-0271• https://oig.ssa.gov/
>General scams: The Federal Trade Commission 877-FTC-HELP (382-4357) • ftccomplaintassistant.go
Kiplinger is out with what they call eight financial survival tips. It’s a great read with some terrific suggestions of things to keep in mind as we deal with inflation and a recession.
(From Kiplinger) Why is this year different from all other years for seniors? Inflation. The latest numbers show a whopping inflation rate that’s the highest since 1982. This means that everything you buy will be more expensive. You see this impact at the gas pump, the grocery store, the doctor and, frankly, all over. The issue is that you don’t have a choice not to buy certain things.
It’s interesting, because, we sort of have a love-hate relationship with our financial world. We love that the economy is back roaring at a full-employment rate and that almost anyone can get a job if they want one. We also love that wages are going up and that we are back in the car and eating out and traveling. But at the same time, we hate that this growth breeds inflation, resulting in costs for everything rising. We also may support the Ukrainians in their war with Russia, but we hate the costs to us.
You’ve probably had it happen with a loved one – they’ve forgotten something that is obvious, or their forgetfulness is completely uncharacteristic. You immediately think, “is it the beginning of Alzheimer’s?”
More often than not, it’s simply a natural part of aging. It’s important to know and understand the difference — and be able to recognize the signs of Alzheimer’s as early as possible to ensure safety and hopefully slow the progression.
Recently, Atria Senior Living published a great article explaining the differences between dementia and Alzheimer’s, as well as the signs to look for.
(Published by Atria) Dementia is not a disease, but a broad term that refers to various conditions of more serious cognitive impairment. It is caused by damage to brain cells which can affect thinking, behavior and feelings. There are many types of dementia including Lewy body dementia, mixed dementia, vascular dementia, frontotemporal dementia and more. Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia – accounting for 60–80% of dementia cases.
What we know about Alzheimer’s
Alzheimer’s disease is one of the most prevalent health concerns among adults ages 65 and older and is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States. It is a degenerative disease resulting from brain cell damage where dementia symptoms gradually worsen over time.
Scientists are working hard to identify what causes this damage. They do know that, as this damage spreads, the brain cells lose their ability to function and then die. This causes irreversible changes in the brain that leads to memory failure, personality changes and problems carrying out daily activities. A person with Alzheimer’s lives four to eight years on average after diagnosis, but depending on other factors, can live as long as 20 years.
It’s not something we like to think about, but most Americans will face a time when they need assistance to care for themselves. Whether you’re thinking of yourself or a loved one, we all must be well versed in long term care and other elder care programs in order to be prepared.
AARP’s CEO Jo Ann Jenkins has written an article calling attention to what she refers to as a deeply flawed long term care system. She explains what long term care is and what is at risk today. Take a few minutes and learn more about the system you may one day depend on.
Cybercrime reported to the FBI cost Americans 50 and older nearly $3 billion last year, a 62 percent increase from 2020, according to data from the bureau. The steep rise in dollar losses came despite a drop in incidents reported by older adults to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). Americans ages 50 and over filed 166,831 complaints with the cybercrime unit in 2021, down from 191,768 the year before.
Overall, nearly a quarter of last year’s total cybercrime losses were borne by people 60 and older, the population that is the focus of the new report. Tech support scams, investment fraud and what the bureau terms “confidence fraud” — cons that play on victims’ emotions and affections, primarily via romance scams — were major drivers of rising fraud costs, collectively accounting for more than half of that age group’s losses.
Confidence frauds, which also include grandparent scams, were the costliest cons for older adults, with 2021 losses topping $432 million for victims age 60 and up, a 54 percent increase from the prior year.
But it’s tech support scams — in which crooks posing as IT pros from well-known tech companies charge hefty fees to fix fabricated computer problems — that have seen the most explosive growth during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In case you missed it, a great interview on NPR’s Morning Edition this week. Seniors across the US are struggling with the same question — if I sell my house, where will I go? Click here to read the interview transcript.
Helping your parents downsize is an emotional process for you and for them. With some compassion, tact, preparation, and possibly some outside help, it can be a smooth experience for everyone involved.
Before helping your parents, prepare yourself mentally and emotionally. Sometimes the emotional aspect of downsizing goes overlooked as you focus on the more practical aspects. Checking in with yourself and setting your perspective goes a long way in creating a more positive experience.
Recognize that this won’t be easy. Even with a plan, downsizing can bring up some tough emotions. Expect the process to be a little messy and stressful and be compassionate towards your parents and yourself.
Be patient. Downsizing can be especially difficult if your parents are leaving the family home, or if an upsetting circumstance triggered the downsize. On top of that, it often takes longer than expected, depending on how many possessions must be decluttered. Put yourself in your parents’ shoes as best you can. A little patience goes a long way.
Don’t try to take over. Unless there is an issue of impaired cognitive function, know that your parents are ultimately the decision makers. Trying to force them into anything will only be counterproductive. If your parents are losing cognitive functioning, still be respectful and involve them as much as you reasonably can, so they feel they still have some control.
More than 2 million people in the United States file fraud complaints each year, many of them in the senior population. Here are some tips that can help you identify a scam before falling victim.
SCAM SAFETY TIP #1 If someone contacts you from an organization you trust, verify that they are who they claim to be. You can hang up or stop replying, then contact them using information on the organization’s website.
Verify the organization. Call them back: Scammers want to build trust fast— preferably in a matter of seconds. They often pretend to be from a government agency or another well-known organization such as Apple, Medicare, Amazon, or local utilities companies. These imposter scammers will have specific, personal details that make them seem legitimate. Never give out your credit card or social security details over the phone unless you are the one who initiated the call.
SCAM SAFETY TIP #2 Be aware of people who present you with a problem or a prize. Never give out personal details or credit card info over email or over the phone during an unexpected, incoming call.
Be skeptical of urgent problems or sudden prizes: If you get a call about a sudden problem (a missed bill, back tax, family health emergency) that until now, you hadn’t known about, be alert. Be skeptical of any unexpected prizes like a sweepstakes or all-inclusive vacation. Oftentimes, scammers will use these scenarios and ask for a “small fee” to claim winnings.
SCAM SAFETY TIP #3 Keep social media accounts private. Never give someone who contacts you remote access to your computer or device.
Avoid oversharing personal details online: Scammers are experts at extracting info. Sometimes they will research their targets beforehand. They might call and know names, hometowns, family members or home purchase prices. This kind of information is available online, and is easy for them to access. Having this information also makes it easy for them to win your trust and get more details from you. After purchasing a home, your personal details may be more readily available online. Be alert.
SCAM SAFETY TIP #4 Even if something is urgent, there is always time for you to verify details online.
Remember, there’s always time to double check: If you or someone you know is being pressured to make an immediate payment, be suspicious. Scammers expect victims to act fast, before anyone can realize they are illegitimate, so they threaten with losses. If you feel nervous, time-pressured, or afraid of losing benefits during a phone call, it may be a scam.
SCAM SAFETY TIP #5 Only use protected, traceable methods of payment. Using a credit card means seniors can dispute payments “after the fact” if a product is not delivered as advertised.
Pay with credit card: Scammers often request specific forms of payment. Anytime someone asks to be paid quickly via wire transfer, gift card or mailed cash, be wary. Most legitimate organizations offer a variety of safe, traceable payment options and let you decide the best form of payment.
BONUS TIP To opt-out of marketing calls and easily recognize scams, consider registering your number with the National Do Not Call Registry at donotcall.gov. Within a month of submission, all legitimate businesses should stop calling you. Scammers will still use your number, but you will know that the calls you receive are no legitimate.
The article below comes from the National Association of Realtors/SRES. Hilary Walker has earned the Senior Real Estate Specialist (SRES) designation and is committed to helping Atlanta-area seniors manage their unique real estate needs.
Preparing a home for sale is always a significant undertaking. For seniors, in particular, the pre-listing process can feel overwhelming. An agent who has earned their Seniors Real Estate Specialist® (SRES®) designation can guide your efforts and help make the transition go as smoothly as possible.
You can trust your SRES® designee to help you:
Map out a plan.
An SRES® understands that each client faces different circumstances and challenges. They can advise you on a sequence of steps tailored to your situation. And they’ll guide you through the process at whatever pace suits your needs. Your SRES® will take a no-pressure approach and look for ways to make your move more manageable and less stressful.
Set priorities.
Please don’t assume that every aspect of your home has to appear picture-perfect before listing it for sale. Your SRES® understands what matters most to buyers in your market and can help you focus on the most critical projects. The top priorities are often decluttering living spaces and cleaning your home thoroughly, immediately before it is listed.
Evaluate renovations.
Is it essential to update your flooring, paint your walls, or replace your appliances? Your SRES® knows local buyers’ top priorities and understands which renovations offer the biggest bang for the buck. They’ll explain your options, but it’s up to you to decide if you want to add these projects to your list.
Suggest trusted resources.
If you need help with any aspect of your move, your SRES® can provide suggestions. They’ve already vetted related service professionals that understand seniors’ concerns and can assist in decluttering, packing, renovating, and more. The choice is always yours, but it’s nice knowing you can turn to these trusted resources.
Discuss staging options.
Many sellers assume they need to stage their home before listing it. Again, this depends on your local real estate market and your personal situation. Often, staging isn’t mandatory. Today’s property marketing options include virtual staging techniques, which might be a good alternative. Your SRES® can discuss your options and offer recommendations tailored to your concerns.
Regardless of when and where you are moving, you’ll have a better experience if you work with an agent who has earned the SRES® designation- someone who is committed to helping seniors navigate their housing transitions successfully
Medicaid and veterans’ programs can help alleviate the financial burden of family caregiving. AARP takes a look at how you can qualify to become a compensated family caregiver. Click here to read the article.
Georgia’s primary elections are coming up, but you can go ahead and vote. Georgia’s May 24th primaries will determine which candidates appear on November’s general election ballot for the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, State Senate and House, governor, lieutenant governor and other state executive offices, as well as several state high courts.
AARP has all of the information you need to prepare for voting. Click below for their Voting Guide including links to getting your absentee ballot or what you need to know about early voting.
If you’re a baby-boomer or senior and you aren’t sure what to do about downsizing, you’re certainly not alone. In a recent Atlanta Seniors Real Estate survey, we found:
67% of respondents are planning to move
40% of respondents say they will be downsizing
40% say they’re looking for an owner’s suite on the main level or a ranch style home
With inventory low, you know you can easily sell your home, but what then? Where do you go? Will you be able to find a home that meets your needs? And, with interest rates on the rise, you’ll likely be paying more than you expected just a few months ago.
So, is this a hopeless situation for seniors hoping to sell and move into something smaller?
Absolutely not.
One positive for seniors is that they have seen much higher interest rates in their lifetime, so the fluctuations aren’t as much of a shock to them as it is to younger buyers. And the plusses don’t stop there.
Atlanta Seniors Real Estate owner and Senior Real Estate Specialist (SRES) Hilary Walker, says her clients are in a strong situation if they can just find a home they like and are comfortable moving into. She explains, “In the case of these kinds of buyers, interest rates don’t bother them too much since, in most cases, they plan to use the equity they have in their current home to purchase the next home or they only plan to keep the mortgage for a few years before they pay it off and live mortgage free. In a couple of cases, they are choosing to use a Reverse Mortgage to help stretch their wealth, therefore, the interest rate is not an issue since they can choose not to make any mortgage payments on a monthly basis.”
True that higher interest rates will not necessarily mean more houses on the market, but it may mean 10 offers instead of 20. So, don’t hesitate to begin the process and sign on to work with an SRES agent who is familiar with all of the issues associated with baby-boomers selling and buying real estate.
Increasingly, we’re hearing of home sellers being approached by iBuyers – those companies who purchase your home quickly without you having to list and have showings. The largest iBuyers include Zillow, Opendoor, Offerpad, Simple Sale and Redfin Now. It’s a tempting approach for many appearing to be simple and fast, but is it really worth it? I know from experience that working with an iBuyer can mean that you’re leaving money on the table. If you have questions about iBuyers, contact me and I can tell you more.
For some basic information about today’s iBuyers, check out the article below from Nerdwallet.
An iBuyer, or “instant buyer,” is a real estate company that uses algorithms and technology to buy and resell homes quickly. When selling a home to an iBuyer, you may get a cash offer in as little as 24 hours without the hassle of staging and repeatedly showing the home.
You can also buy a home from an iBuyer. The companies’ websites or apps let home buyers view available properties, schedule tours and request information to get started. Closing may occur more quickly with an iBuyer because you don’t have to accommodate a traditional seller’s timeline.
My mature and experienced clients know that rates have been much higher than they are today (just 20 years ago they may have purchased a house with a 7% rate). So, today’s rate at just over 5% is still a good rate in their minds, although we’ve been spoiled with those extremely low 3% rates in recent years.
These clients are savvy and experienced to know also that increasing rates can be a detraction for buyers who want to buy now or very soon. So, now the baby boomers and older homeowners in my circle are calling to ask the very serious question…”How quickly do you think my home will sell if we put it on the market now and where do I go if I sell now?“
Here are two scenarios that I’ve seen first-hand.
First Scenario
A first-time home buyer (over 65) approved for a loan in late March prefers purchasing rather than renting because rent has increased by a significant amount for the last 3-years. We have been on the lookout for a home but have not yet found anything suitable.
Reasons for a delayed purchase in this case are:
wanting a home with all spaces on one level
low inventory in the area of choice with only one or two potential homes coming on the market each week
multiple offers on those few homes or they are in disrepair
and the buyer is searching with a lower-than-average price point (average house values for our local area rose from $278k to $338k)
The first week of May, the lender informed us that the interest rates went up over a quarter percent since the buyer was approved in March so there will be an increase in mortgage payments. This makes the buyer nervous because they are on a fixed income. An interest rate hike above 5.5% may force this buyer out of the homeownership market so time is of the essence.
Second Scenario
Most of my clients are already retired, on a fixed income, or have a budget they are adamant to stick to, so overspending for another home is hard to do. I say “overspending” because that is the word of choice among some of my clients who have watched the market take an unprecedented boom of house prices and, while that is fantastic for the seller, it is a hard pill to swallow for the mature buyer.
However, those who need to move are acknowledging this is the market they are in and must move forward regardless. I have a few clients who are in the situation of needing to sell the large home where they raised their families or enjoyed their mid-life empty nest, replacing the space with their hobby or 2nd career or entertaining friends and family periodically. But the time has arrived that the house is simply too large. They are heating and cooling, and cleaning spaces they rarely use so they want to downsize or resize while they can get a good price for their home.
One of my clients wants to move out of their 5,000 square foot home while identifying a comparable smaller home at a mid-range price point – reasonable, at least so we thought.
The search was difficult for these reasons:
in the madness of the real estate frenzy of 2021/22 even homes in the higher price points were not presented as well as they should have been – a stark difference between photos online and in person
almost every decent home that came on the market received multiple offers within a day or two
their competition was no longer just another occupant buyer but now it was large fund investors vying for that property, too
In the case of these kinds of buyers, interest rates don’t bother them too much since, in most cases, they plan to use the equity they have in their current home to purchase the next home or they only plan to keep the mortgage for a few years before they pay it off and live mortgage free. In a couple of cases, they are choosing to use a Reverse Mortgage to help stretch their wealth, therefore, the interest rate is not an issue since they can choose not to make any mortgage payments on a monthly basis.
If you want to know more about how interest rates may affect your decision or that of a loved one to move forward with a sale or purchase, feel free to contact me.
A Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM), commonly known as a reverse mortgage loan, is a federally insured home loan that allows borrowers age 62 and over to access a portion of their home equity to supplement their retirement income. Like their traditional cousins, reverse mortgage loans have financial obligations, requirements and qualifications, but repayment is structured differently. Whereas traditional loans require borrowers to make loan repayments each month for a designated period of time, reverse mortgage loan borrowers aren’t required to make monthly mortgage payments, so long as they pay property taxes, homeowner’s insurance and comply with loan terms. Instead, non-taxable loan proceeds are made available to the homeowner to use at their discretion, such as paying off other expenses, building up a financial buffer for future unanticipated expenses, or planning for the retirement of their dreams.
How Can a Reverse Mortgage Help with Retirement Planning?
According to American Advisors Group (AAG), there are many features of reverse mortgage loans that can benefit seniors who are looking to supplement their retirement income.
Eliminate monthly mortgage payments. Rather than paying money to the lender each month, you receive funds to enhance your retirement savings. The loan is repaid when you sell your home, move to another primary residence or when the last borrower leaves the home.
You remain the homeowner and stay in your home. You maintain ownership of and the title to your home as long as you comply with the terms of the loan.
How you spend the proceeds of the loan is up to you. The loan proceeds have very few restrictions and can be used to pay for common senior expenses like medical care, in-home care, household repairs and remodeling, or paying off other debt. Disbursement options vary: you choose a full or partial lump sum, monthly payments or a line of credit.
Social Security, Medicare, your 401(k) and pension are not affected. A reverse mortgage loan is considered a loan and not income, so proceeds are not taxable. However, need-based benefits such as Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) may be affected.
Want to know more? Click here to read the full article from AgingCare including: *How to qualify for a Reverse Mortgage Loan *What are the obligations as a borrower? *How Does the Government Regulate HECM Loans? *How to Apply for a Reverse Mortgage
Everyone needs a little help with decluttering a home — a little outside perspective is helpful as you look at items such as collectibles you’ve had for years, perhaps decades. Check out this episode of Free Thinking with Montel. He interviews Matt Paxton who is a featured cleaner on the television show “Hoarders” and “Legacy List”. The leading downsizing and cleaning expert discusses how to simplify your life by decluttering.
Want to see more from Matt Paxton? He has a show called Legacy List all about downsizing, relocating, and discovering your family’s legacy.
Remodeling a bathroom for someone who is aging in place is very different than one based on aesthetics or home value. If you or a loved one are remodeling with an eye toward future needs, there are some very important issues to consider before you start and as you’re going through the process.
From design, to safety, to ease of use, remodeling a bathroom will take time and effort, and there will be costs involved. But for anyone who wants to age in place it can be very worthwhile to have a bathroom that is comfortable and safe to use easily as needs change.
From something as simple as sensor lights to adding another bathroom, there are options and considerations for anyone who intends to stay in place. But without a clear picture of what you really want to do with your project, you may find that the costs continue to rise and the needed changes either don’t get completed or aren’t what you really expected. Changes have to be effective – and sometimes this means completely revamping an existing space to accommodate what’s needed in the future.
It’s not just your imagination. Gardening is good for your health. Science tells us “interacting with plants can increase self-esteem and reduce feelings of anger, sadness and stress.”
This article, published in the Atlanta Journal Constitution March 2022, explains the science behind the good feelings you get while gardening.
As the weather continues to warm up, many of us will find ourselves back outside pruning, planting and playing in green spaces. This is good news for our bodies and minds, as gardening offers some big benefits for both physical and mental health.
Gardening can help combat depression, anxiety and loneliness
We likely know from our own experiences that bright blooms and warm sun can be a powerful antidote to a less-than-stellar mood. Getting outside and playing with the dirt, mindfully tending to a plant and watching it grow from seed, gives us both a sense of peace and accomplishment that can keep anxiety and depression at bay.
But science backs this up too.
A study from Texas A&M University AgriLife Extension Service found that interacting with plants can increase self-esteem and reduce feelings of anger, sadness and stress. It also helps keep people in touch with their communities and creates socializing opportunities. All of these factors are critical for maintaining positive emotional health.
Working in a garden keeps the brain sharp
One study found that daily gardening may reduce the risk of dementia by up to 36%. A 2019 study published in the International Journal of Environmental Health also found that planting a vegetable garden can improve brain nerve growth factors related to memory, and can improve functioning in the hippocampus, which is critical for memory, and cortical regions of the brain.
Gardening also helps combat stress and low mood and increases feelings of joy and happiness, all of which contribute to a healthier, happier, more resilient brain.
Moving into a long-term care community is a significant life change and requires someone to consider several factors when deciding where to live. When the time comes for extra support while aging, everyone deserves to feel welcome and safe accessing long-term care.
Welcoming policies, practices and culture are all factors which should be considered when trying to find an inclusive and welcoming long-term care facility for LGBTQ+ elders. Learn how to properly screen facilities for these and other factors in a resource created by HRC Foundation and SAGE.
(HealthDay News) — Imagine a closet filled with treasures accumulated during a lifetime of rich experiences. Now, imagine going into that closet to find one specific object.
Only maybe you get distracted by another, more enticing item from your past. Or you find the object you’re seeking but it’s intertwined with six similar items, and withdrawing the one will drag out the entire tangle.
That’s how an old person’s memory works, a new theory claims. Seniors struggle with memory not because they have trouble remembering things, but because their minds are too overloaded with a lifetime’s worth of memories.
“There’s this prevalent idea that older adults’ memories are kind of impoverished, or they have weak memories that do not contain a lot of information,” said Tarek Amer, a postdoctoral research fellow at Columbia and Harvard universities, and lead author of a new paper in Trends in Cognitive Sciences that explains this new theory.
“But based on a lot of evidence, we’re actually arguing the opposite. Older adults store too much information, so in a sense they have a harder time focusing their attention on one piece of target information and exclude all sorts of other distractions,” he added.
When anyone attempts to access a memory, their brain quickly sifts through everything stored in it to find the relevant information, Amer and his colleagues write.
Young people don’t have as much prior knowledge tucked away in their brains, so it’s easier for them to find the memory they’re seeking without being distracted by irrelevant recollections. But older people have to dig through a huge amount of prior knowledge when looking for a specific memory. It’s more difficult for older folks to suppress irrelevant reminiscences, and they often pull out a gob of other memories that are stuck to the one they sought, according to behavioral and brain imaging studies cited by the researchers.
“If you know five different people with the same first name — five different Johns, for example — and you’re trying to remember the last name for one of the Johns you know, all the different last names will come to mind and essentially interfere with your ability to remember the last name you’re trying to remember,” Amer said, citing an example.
While this has been presented as a weakness of the aging mind, Amer said that’s mainly a function of the recall tests that are commonly used in psychology labs to measure memory.
Looked at in another way, this brain clutter actually gives older people an advantage over younger people when it comes to tasks involving creativity or wisdom, Amer said. Because of the way memory tests are performed, there are plenty of studies supporting the idea that too much clutter in seniors’ minds causes worse memory performance, he said.
“What still needs more work to provide more evidence for this theory is the other end, showing that these types of cluttered or enriched memory representations in older adults might be beneficial in tasks we encounter in daily life,” Amer said.
For example, studies have shown that seniors outperform younger adults when asked to perform an “alternate uses task” — a psychological test in which they’re handed a common object like a hammer and asked to come up with outside-the-box uses for it.
“You can think of older adults as having this extra information that allow them to form these broad associations between diverse bits of information,” Amer said. “Older adults are forming these cluttered memories, but then once it’s actually time to use this extra information they can perform better on these creativity tasks.”
The new theory “makes sense to me,” said Aaron Bonner-Jackson, a neuropsychologist with the Cleveland Clinic’s Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health.
“Older adult brains are casting a wider net on whatever they’re trying to do, and that can have good and bad consequences,” he said.
This helps explain why storytelling is so much fun for older folks, especially when it tends to ramble a bit, Bonner-Jackson said.
“They may be asked a question and then because they have so many associations, that might trigger an old memory or the name of a person or something they did in the past,” he said. “Reminiscing can be very pleasurable for older people, because they can often make associations with more things.”
It also shows what elderly people can bring to the table, in terms of using their life experience to come up with better solutions to some problems.
“Sometimes they bring in a lot more associations to whatever they’re doing than a younger adult might make, and I think absolutely this could be a source of creativity and wisdom that would give them an advantage,” Bonner-Jackson said.
Did you purchase or sell a home in 2021? If so, Senior Real Estate Specialist Hilary Walker gives you two quick tips in advance of the 2021 tax filing deadline.
Baby-boomers and seniors want to retire and move to a tax-friendly state. So, how tax-friendly is Georgia? An Atlanta Journal Constitution article looked at that and found that it ranks pretty well for the following reasons:
There is no tax on Social Security retirement benefits.
Anyone 65 and older is offered a maximum deduction of $65,000 per person on all types of retirement income.
Sales taxes and property taxes are relatively moderate. The 4% sales tax puts Georgia in the bottom 20 of the country. Georgians pay below-average for property taxes. It’s around $870 per year in property taxes per $100,000 in home value.
You must be logged in to post a comment.