Aging: What's Your "Age of Potential"?

There have been many revaluations over the last century, however none as significant as the Longevity Revolution. This past week was my birthday, which got me reflecting on that thing called, life.

In America, we are living on average 38 years longer than our great grandfathers*. That’s an entire second adult lifetime, added on to our lifespan. Yet, our culture has not yet come to let go of stereotypical slangs like, “blue hair”, “geezer” or “BOOF”. We’re still living with the old perspective of age as an arch; you’re born, you peak at midlife, then you decline into decrepitation.  This view stems from the notion that age is merely pathology.

The Longevity Revolution however, has shed light on these last three added decades, some calling it the “third act of life”. Slowly scientists, doctors, and researchers are coming to the realization that this is actually a developmental stage of life with its own significance. As different as midlife is to adolescence, and adolescence to childhood. So what about the average person? What about you?

We should all be asking, how do we make good use of three more decades of life?  How do we live the third act successfully?

As you may know one of the fundamental laws of the world is the second Law of Thermodynamics; entropy. Entropy means that everything in the world is in a constant state of decline and decay. There’s only exception to this universal law and that is the human spirit. Take instances of joy: the fall of the Berlin wall, Armstrong walking on the moon, Jackie Robinson joining the major leagues. Now take instances of sorrow: Nine-eleven, fall solders from the invasion of Iraq, the Vietnam War. Both bear stories of heroism, growth, and unity.   

Likewise, your spirit can continue to evolve with age into wholeness, authenticity, and wisdom.

So I propose a slight twist in the way we view age. Instead of thinking, “I’ve lived so many years”, look at how many years you have left to make a difference, learn a new skill, or contribute to your community. A 75-years-old female now has 16 more years to do great things. A 60-year-old male now has 24 more years to do great things. Age then turns from pathology, into potential.

What is your "Age of Potential"? You may just have an entire lifetime ahead of you to do and be great.

*Average life expectancy according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC):

In 2013: 86 female, 84 males

In 1900: 46 female, 48 males

Five Tips to a Retirement Fit to You

Whether retirement looks like beach lounging, golfing till the sun goes down, or volunteering at a local shelter, you have the freedom to do as your heart feels. You can even dramatically reduce your cost of living or improve your quality of life. But you want to make sure to pick a retirement spot that will continue to meet your needs as you age. Here are five tips for finding your ideal retirement spot:

1. Seek lower costs for living. If you can sell your large home house and move to a more easily and cost friendly home, you can use that influx of cash to help fund your retirement years. "If the cost of living is lower, it can certainly let your retirement nest egg last a little longer," says Scott Cole, a certified financial planner for Cole Financial Planning in Birmingham, Ala. "We do see people who had a lot of their investments tied up in their house, and they were able to liquidate that house, net a significant gain and then come and buy a pretty similar house, if not much nicer house, here [in Alabama], and then use the rest of that money for retirement income." Other options include renovating your current home to meet your needs as you age or finding a home that does allow for aging in place.

2. Look for great amenities. Think about how you want to spend your retirement years, and make sure your retirement spot has the resources for you to follow through with those. Look for pools, tennis courts, golf courses, parks, fitness centers, or other activities you would like to take part in. "If you want to be pursuing your education, you might be looking for a college or other learning venues," says Mary Languirand, author of "How to Age in Place: Planning for a Happy, Independent, and Financially Secure Retirement." "If there are travel options you want to pursue, you are going to need to be near an airport or a train station."

3. Health care accessibility is essential. Make sure any community you are considering has adequate medical facilities and doctors that are taking on new patients. If you have any ongoing medical condition, or predisposition for a specific illness that runs in the family, it may be useful to retire near medical professionals who specialize in treating it.

4. Calculate the impact taxes will take. Taxes vary considerably by state or county, and you can often reduce your costs considerably by moving to an area of low-tax. Take a look at state taxes on pensions, Social Security, income tax, property tax, sales tax, and any special tax perks available for senior citizens. However, consider that there may be less help available to senior citizens in low-tax areas so definitely do your research. "There are some services for senior citizens that might actually be better met in a higher-cost community," Languirand says. "In rural areas, it is not unusual to have no public transportation or the special transportation services that people with lower mobility require."

5. If desired, aim to be in close proximity of family and friends. Family and friends can enrich retirement years and provide significant (and often free) help when needed. "If somebody has lived in the same place their whole life and that's where their social network is and where the people they depend on are, then it's much harder to pick up and build a new network of support where you don't know anybody and you have to start from scratch," says Cynthia Conger, president of Conger Wealth Management in Little Rock, Ark. "Rather than being able to depend upon a support network of people you know, you might now have to pay for services that might have been done by people who were friends. You might end up paying more." If you do move to a new community, you will need to create a new circle of friends. "An activity like golf or bridge will get [you] into another social network," Conger says.

Above all, retirement is unique to everyone. If that means going into the office one day a week, traveling around the world, mentoring newbies in your field or laying on a beach without a care, then that is your "retirement". 

Home-Based Healthcare: The Rise of Aging in Place

William Jackson is in his third year of medical school at Stanford, doing his first clinical rotation. He is told to look into the case of an elderly man with advanced lymphoma. The patient is weak and near death; his bone marrow overtaken by cancer. The supervising oncologist has ordered a course of chemotherapy using a very toxic drug. Jackson feels certain that the treatment will kill the patient though it does not appear that the family understands this as they continue to insist on treatment. Like a buck from minor league challenging a professional athlete, Jackson appeals the decision, but a panel of doctors declines to intervene. Well, Jackson thinks, if it has to be done, I will do it myself. He mixes the drug and administers it. The patient cries, “That hurts!” A few days later, the man’s bed is empty. Jackson leaves the room with his fists clenched.

Years later, he still believes he killed that patient. Reflecting on the experience, he commented, “I was appalled by how we care for—more like, fail to care about—people who are near the end of life. We literally treat them to death.”

Here are the facts: from 1970 to 2009, spending on health care in the U.S. rose by just over 9 percent annually, creating fiscal havoc. Then in 2009, 2010, and 2011, health-care spending increased by less than 4 percent a year. Sure, the recession  had something to do with it, though several recent studies have found that the recession is not the whole story. One such study, by the Harvard University economists David Cutler and Nikhil Sahni, estimates that “structural changes” in our health-care system account for more than half of the slowdown.

In a sense, William Jackson is one of those changes. He is a leader in a growing movement of individuals who advocate for home-based care, which represents a fundamental change in the way we care for people who are chronically ill. The idea is simple: rather than wait until people get sick and need hospitalization, a multidisciplinary team visits them at home, coordinates health-related services, and tries to nip problems early.

For years, many people in medicine have understood that late-life care for the chronically sick is not only expensive but also ineffective or inhumane. For years, the system seemed impervious to change. Recently, however, health-care providers have begun to realize that the status quo is what Jackson calls a “burning platform”: a system that is expensive and inefficient. As a result, new home-based programs have started popping up in the market. Such companies and organizations have created new vocabulary in healthcare such as, “age in place” or “die with dignity”.

With his 65th birthday coming up, Jackson will soon qualify for Medicare himself. His wife wishes he would slow down, though fe refuses. “That would be like spiritual suicide right now,” he told me, “because there is so much going on. I’m more hopeful all the time. We’ve rolled the rock all the way to the top of the hill, and now we have to run to keep up as it rolls down the other side.”

Tell me: What is your perception of "aging in place" or to "die with dignity"?