Senior Living
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It's the season for scams, so here's a piece of advice: Never do business with strangers
LOS ANGELES -- The text arrived midday, saying a delivery to me was on hold. To fix the problem, all I had to do was click on a web link and enter my ZIP Code.
"Have a great day from the USPS team!" the text said.
The awkwardly worded message (with bad punctuation and an international phone number) was clearly not from the Postal Service. ...Read more
Chefs serve seniors tradition and community on Thanksgiving Day
ATLANTA -- A few days after Thanksgiving, in his second year as executive chef at Meals on Wheels Atlanta, Chris Kelly received a thank you letter and phone call from a woman who had received one of his carefully prepared turkey dinners.
Meals on Wheels Atlanta is a nonprofit organization funded primarily by private, foundation and corporate ...Read more
Chefs serve seniors tradition and community on Thanksgiving Day
ATLANTA -- A few days after Thanksgiving, in his second year as executive chef at Meals on Wheels Atlanta, Chris Kelly received a thank you letter and phone call from a woman who had received one of his carefully prepared turkey dinners.
Meals on Wheels Atlanta is a nonprofit organization funded primarily by private, foundation and corporate ...Read more
2025 Part D plan does not cover my expensive insulin brand … what do I do?
Toni:
In 2022, the Toni Says Medicare team enrolled me in Medicare with Medicare Supplement and Medicare Part D plan including my prescriptions that had copay only. When I looked online at Medicare.gov, I noticed that the diabetic insulin I take will no longer be covered for 2025. This change will cost $391 monthly out-of-pocket. And Ozempic,...Read more
Social Security and You: Give Thanks for Social Security
I'm dusting off an old Thanksgiving-themed column I ran many years ago. I thought that now would be a good time to remind people what Social Security is all about.
I'm going to suggest that we Americans give thanks for the Social Security program. I know lots of people like to think that the "good old days" (before Social Security) were, well, ...Read more
Stroke survivor went from using a wheelchair to walking again, and started a nonprofit
Eight years ago, Deb Shaw stepped into the shower of her home in Los Gatos, California, and her vision blurred. She wobbled, fell and hit her head on the shower bench. Minutes later, she woke up on the floor.
Her head throbbed. Deb's husband, Bob Shaw, was out of town for work. Her 90-year-old father-in-law, Dale Shaw, was visiting. Deb couldn'...Read more
Protecting yourself from the painful shingles virus may also protect cardiovascular health
Shingles is a funny-sounding name for a seriously painful disease. How painful? That's hard to put into words. Printable ones, at least.
Officially, shingles pain can range from mild to severe. The words "itchy" and "burning" frequently come up in descriptions. Some use "horrendous" and "excruciating."
Sufferers might relate to David Letterman...Read more
Travel Trending with Kathy Witt: Cunard’s new Queen Anne cruise ship captivates with outstanding and original entertainment
Do not sit in the front row. It’s great advice, especially in the case of an interactive show like the Bright Lights Society’s rollicking good murder mystery aboard Cunard’s gorgeous new Queen Anne—and especially when you listen to said advice. Which I didn’t. Which is why I found myself a reluctant participant, soft shoeing before the...Read more
Is this 'slow' strength training method the fountain of youth? LA's 90-year-olds say yes
LOS ANGELES — DeLoyce Alcorn is 92 years old — and pressing nearly four times that in weight at the gym.
On a recent Wednesday afternoon, Alcorn — dressed in a T-Shirt that read "Be Strong. Be Resilient. Be You." — slid into the leg press machine, which was set at a whopping 312 pounds. He gripped the handlebars, closed his eyes and "...Read more
Older Americans living alone often rely on neighbors or others willing to help
Donald Hammen, 80, and his longtime next-door neighbor in south Minneapolis, Julie McMahon, have an understanding. Every morning, she checks to see whether he’s raised the blinds in his dining room window. If not, she’ll call Hammen or let herself into his house to see what’s going on.
Should McMahon find Hammen in a bad way, she plans to...Read more
Is this 'slow' strength training method the fountain of youth? LA's 90-year-olds say yes
LOS ANGELES — DeLoyce Alcorn is 92 years old — and pressing nearly four times that in weight at the gym.
On a recent Wednesday afternoon, Alcorn — dressed in a T-Shirt that read "Be Strong. Be Resilient. Be You." — slid into the leg press machine, which was set at a whopping 312 pounds. He gripped the handlebars, closed his eyes and "...Read more
2025 Medicare deductibles and premiums released
Hello Toni:
In the new Medicare & You Handbook that I received about a month ago, I cannot find what the 2025 Medicare costs and premiums will be. I would like to know this information because I have been diagnosed with a heart condition and will need to undergo heart surgeries next year. I have looked online and cannot find the costs.
Do ...Read more
Social Security and You: How Other Government Benefits Interact With Social Security
I have been saving up some emails from readers who want to know how other government benefits might affect their eligibility for Social Security, or vice versa. In other words, they wonder if their Social Security benefits impact whatever other government benefits they might be due.
I can always deal with that first issue. In other words, I can...Read more
Funeral swag? Personal branding comes to death care
MINNEAPOLIS — Jeff Johnson’s life is full of creativity and zest: He runs his own Minneapolis design firm, turns a mean polka and once starred in a Norwegian realty TV series. And he’s decided that a memorial to mark his eventual death — outlined in a seven-page legal directive titled “Jeff Johnson’s Awesome Funeral Party!!” — ...Read more
I received a 250% increase on my Part D plan … help!
I received my new 2025 Part D premium with the plan increase going up by 250%, from $25.00 a month to over $60.00. I was informed that my diabetic insulin and one of my high blood pressure prescriptions are no longer covered beginning Jan. 1, 2025, on the Part D plan I am on.
Toni, please explain in easy-to-understand terms what I need to do...Read more
Social Security and You: Seeing It in Black and White
Readers are always asking me to explain various Social Security rules and regulations. But sometimes they want more. They want to see something official -- something in "black and white." In other words, they want me to give them a legal reference.
I sort of know where they are coming from. Frequently, they have heard one thing from a friend or...Read more
Commentary: Seniors are getting crushed by Washington's recklessness
Inflation has pulverized Americans’ finances over the last four years, and a new study shows that’s especially true for the nation’s seniors, whose retirement accounts have been walloped.
The losses have been so severe that would-be retirees need to work an extra six years on average before they can hang up their work boots—and they can...Read more
How to inform Medicare that your income is lower
I began taking my RMDs (Required Minimum Distributions) from my 401(k) when I turned 72, and my Medicare premium in 2024 is $454.20 for Part B and $53.80 for Part D. Did taking my RMD with my Social Security check raise my Medicare premiums? My wife, Karen, was working last year and made about $250,000. Are both of our incomes used to determine...Read more
Social Security and You: Politics, Elections and Social Security
Because the presidential and congressional elections are on everyone's mind, more than a few people have sent me emails saying something like this: "I'm afraid that this upcoming election will lead to dramatic changes to Social Security. So even though I didn't want to file for Social Security for a few more years, I'm going to do it now so that...Read more
Missouri: Jackson County voting on small property tax increase for senior services
Voters heading to the polls in Jackson County have the chance to adopt a small property tax increase to fund services for seniors aged 60 and above through a ballot measure called Question 1.
The question reads, “Shall Jackson County, Missouri, levy a tax of five (5) cents per each one hundred (100) dollars assessed valuation for the purpose ...Read more