The Economy Hits the Retired

By Laura Knoy on Wednesday, March 4, 2009.

It's supposed to be a time of leisure, when the worries of work are behind you, the kids are out on their own and you can live smartly on all that you’ve saved. But things have changed for many of New Hampshire’s retired population. The rise in fuel costs, the dropout in the housing market and severe dips on Wall Street have left many with deep monetary losses and extra costs. The result: some retirees have been forced to go back to work, others to sell their homes and live with relatives and still others to live much more inexpensively then they ever thought they would have had to. We’ll look at New Hampshire’s retired population and how hard the economic times have hit them.

Guests

  • Ally McNair, Volunteer State President of the New Hampshire AARP
  • Kathleen Otte, bureau chief at the state of New Hampshire's Bureau of Adult and Elderly Services

We'll also hear from

  • Joanne Dodge, a retiree from the Seacoast who is trying to return to the workforce
  • Priscilla Malcolm, Exchange volunteer who's been retired since 2004
  • Mel Speirer, founder of Pocket Book Therapy, a Manchester program that helps lower-income elderly residents with financial issues
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Reverse Mortgages
Matthew J Butt - Wed, 03/04/2009 - 09:10

I heard the intro to your program and read it here. You have not mentioned an alternative for seniors that own their own homes -- Reverse Mortgages. This is an excellent opportunity to supplement income by eliminating a mortgage payment, adding a monthly income, creating a line of credit, or all of the above! This product is not for everyone but allows many seniors to stay in their homes.

The program is a rising debt falling equity program. Meaning that currently a lender takes their profit everytime someone makes a payment on a "forward" or regular mortgage, with a Reverse Mortgage the lender collects all the payments at the end.

The senior owns their home and can never be asked to leave.

There is alot of bad information out there about reverse mortgages and I urge your listeners to contact a professional. This is a highly regulate FHA program requiring independint counseling to ensure the client is fully aware of this loan.

I can be contacted at http://www.new-hampshire-home-mortgage.com

NH taxes and the elderly and the depression
alexandra moffat - Wed, 03/04/2009 - 09:34

To discuss the plight of elderly in NH without bringing up the Pledge is omitting a truly important issue. Inequitable tax policy, taxing seniors out of their homes is a strange goal for NH - because without a broad based tax, that's what will happen more & more. Education costs cannot be born by low-mid income elderly trying to stay in their homes. If you want to see Gov Lynch run rapidly in the opposite direction - just mention The Pledge. Granite State for Tax Payer Relief is doing its best and broad based tax will come someday. Meanwhile, you are just talking around the edges of the problem by ignoring the inequitable NH tax system

has age of retirement been affected by this economic crisis?
Geneve Hoffman - Wed, 03/04/2009 - 09:39

I remember back in 2000 when my brother in law, who was 32 at the time and who worked at a dot.com, was saying at the current rate of the market he was going to retire at 39! Well, that dream ended, of course...are people's expectations of the retirement age too unrealistic because of recent bubbles & implosions of the market? When did American's begin retiring before 65??