45 Forward

Americans approaching retirement—however they plan to spend their next chapters—have experienced some frightening economic waves in recently years. During the Great Recession in 2009 and the COVID-19 pandemic of the early 2020s, older workers experienced higher rates of job loss than younger ones, and many have not fully recovered. Spiking inflation and the possibility of another recession have led to stressful economic circumstances for millions who have been thrown off course and are still struggling to envision a secure future. In today’s episode, Mark Miller, a veteran journalist, author and podcaster who is a nationally recognized expert on trends in retirement and aging, walks us through a short course of decisions we can make to improve your financial security in retirement —even if it’s just a few years away. Mark, the author of the recently published book, “Retirement Reboot: Commonsense Financial Strategies for Getting Back on Track,” outlines the steps we need to remake a retirement plan – and the critical importance of managing the risk of longevity by optimizing Social Security and Medicare benefits. He’ll also talk about how to build savings—even late in the game. And he’ll provide some refreshing insights from conversations with his own children, answering their questions about retirement and discovering some unexpected conclusions about the next generation’s preparedness for their later years.

When Ilyce Glink set out on a career path years ago, she wanted to be a screenwriter—she even wrote more than a half dozen scripts and was represented in Hollywood for a time. Then she realized had to support herself. So she started writing articles about real estate, and discovered she loved being a freelance writer, selling hundreds of stories a year to newspapers, magazines and trade publications. Soon she became a syndicated newspaper columnist—for $15 a week. And now, Ilyce Glink is CEO of Think Glink, the creator of four Chicago-based companies, a best-selling financial journalist, author, radio and TV personality. In today’s conversation, Ilyce will take us through her extraordinary, evolving journey “Rethinking Glink” across a series of innovative projects and ventures, extending her brand into personal finance, consumer advice and even as a creator of digital content and media strategies. Of course, she’ll give us her latest insights about the real estate market as we head into the spring housing season, as well as the confluence of “Great Reconfigurations” in housing, finance and careers for much of America. And Ilyce will explain her latest ground-breaking project, “Best Money Moves,” a mobile-first employee benefit designed to help organizations measure and dial down financial stress among their workers—and promote the principles of financial wellness.

As we get older, it becomes increasingly clear that one of the most important resources we need to thrive in our later years is information: clear, accurate, comprehensive information that helps us live safely, with dignity and security—especially as many of us age in place. In today’s episode, Judy Serino, a Community Service Representative and Home Care Consultant for Home Instead, talks about her wide-ranging role providing critical information and education for seniors and their families—particularly about fraud prevention, but also about topics like immunity and disease prevention and dementia care. Fraud and scams have been a stubbornly persistent problem affecting seniors, and the damage they inflict seems to have gotten worse during the pandemic and its aftermath. Judy will identify some of the most prevalent scams and schemes—everything from romance fraud and gift card scams, “spoofing” phone calls, phishing and imposter scams. She’ll talk about ways seniors and their families can protect themselves from becoming victims of scams and resources that can help. A passionate senior advocate, Judy will also talk about other educational programs she provides to help people maintain a healthy lifestyle, as well as managing difficult tasks, such as dementia care for older parents.

Two years shy of her 50th birthday, Hilary Topper, a highly successful entrepreneur and mother of two, knew she needed a change. She was fully absorbed in her work, but it wasn’t making her happy anymore. She was sick and tired of the ups and downs of the business world. So she decided to run. In today’s episode, Hilary talks about how her foray into running grew into a remarkable journey as a triathlete, which she chronicles in her newly published book, “From Couch Potato to Endurance Athlete: A Portrait of a Non-Athletic Triathlete.” Hilary is now an established presence in the sport of triathlon—she is even a certified triathlon coach who oversees a team of endurance athletes, from beginners to experienced Ironmen. But it has not been as easy transformation for a former coach potato—she did not even know how to swim when she started. In today’s conversation, Hilary share her deeply personal story, detailing her memorable races and achievements but also how she overcame unexpected challenges, setbacks and failures along the way. Hilary, an insightful blogger who has journaled since she was a young girl, will offer an array of lessons learned at each juncture of her journey. And if you think you’re too out of shape, too old, too heavy or too…anything…to become a triathlete, Hilary will change your mind.

For many decades, we’ve held an conventional assumption that our “peak ages” of creativity are between 39 and 42. It ain’t necessarily so, says poet, writer and teacher Priscilla Long in her recently published book, “Dancing with the Muse in Old Age.” In fact, she says, our older years are a prime time to flourish in creative productivity—even a prime time to BEGIN creative work. In today’s episode, Priscilla reflects on new ways of to look at old age as a potentially dynamic time, full of connections to others and deeply satisfying work. Her book provides examples of hundreds prominent people who grew very old while living remarkably creative lives—many of them in the arts, but others in a wide range of fields and endeavors. Yes, Priscilla acknowledges, ageism can poison creativity. But she challenges these deep and often unconscious prejudices, affirming that in old age, creative work can truly thrive. And these opportunities are not merely for the brilliant, exceptional elders. They’re for all of us, Priscilla affirms. She offers a series of questions we should ask ourselves as we strive to shape an old age of flourishing well-being, learning and engagement in creative work—while we also help reshape the future of the middle-aged, the young, and the generations to come.

As we plan for the later chapters of life, many of us have two major concerns: Will we have enough savings to last through our later years? And will we be healthy enough to enjoy the increased longevity afforded to older adults these days? In today’s episode, renowned longevity authority and proactive aging educator Scott Fulton offers an innovative strategy to linking wealth and health, an approach he calls “Whealthspan.” Scott points out that as we age, our health is really the ultimate wealth—that which enables us to extend our longevity. Quality time is what we seek as we age, and time is also what we must invest in our earlier years to plan for healthy longevity. Today’s episode is the third of a series of 45 Forward conversations with Scott, which he calls “Extending Your Best Before Date,” aimed at exploring lifestyle choices, strategies and changes we can make to extend a healthier lifespan. Scott will talk about how we can leverage proven financial principles into our mindset of personal health and longevity. He’ll examine an array of established financial strategies, such as investing for the long term, understanding your risk tolerance, diversifying your assets, and reviewing rebalancing your portfolio—and demonstrate how we can apply these principles to invest in healthy longevity. Scott is passionate around the tremendous opportunity to increase life expectancy through the power of public education, and his unique investment approach to health is something we wish we had learned in school.

Many experts who study aging in America today come away with one inescapable conclusion: We live in a mostly ageist society. We make pronouncements about the perspective and wisdom we gain as we age, and it’s true. The larger truth, however, is that our culture simply values its young people over older folks. We’re profoundly afraid of getting old. But in today’s episode, Ann Monroe offers a powerful antidote to society’s negative stereotypes about getting older. For more than 40 years, Ann has been a passionate advocate for all of us who strive to age with safety, dignity and grace. She has led public and private sector programs in mental health, community health, managed care, and philanthropy, sparking lasting improvements for vulnerable older people and young children. She has vigorously fought against the misperception that younger people are “givers,” while older people are “takers.” Ann will talk about her how her many experiences have informed her personal mission to change our public policies to invest in the future of all generations, and support productive lives in our later years, despite the hardships and losses we often face. She’ll share some of the personal lessons she’s learned along the way—issues of long-term care, the challenges of aging in rural versus urban communities—and, oh yes, the unforgettable story of how she decided to create her own “Grateful Live Tour” as a testament to those who made a difference in her life.

Patricia King has had a long, extraordinary career —and she continues to evolve with new projects and pursuits, even into her 80s. Pat spent 25 years as an international management consultant, working with Fortune 50 companies like PepsiCo, Chase Bank, and Pfizer, and writing five nonfiction business books, including the bestseller, “Never Work for a Jerk,” which landed her on the Oprah Winfrey show. In her sixties, Pat launched another successful career as a historical mystery writer—with the pen name, Annamaria Alfieri. Her early mysteries, set in South America, were followed by another series set in British East Africa, now Kenya. While working on her last novel, “The Blasphemers,” Pat came across accounts of British missionaries who sought, over 100 years ago, to end the practice of female genital mutilation, or FGM, imposed on young girls, between the ages of 11 and 14. Just as her book was launched, she made another startling discovery: FGM is still practiced in Kenya, as well as several other African countries. In today’s episode, Pat talks about the latest chapter in her life—how she met a proud Massai woman met named Sarah Lesiamito, who founded the Sidai Resource Center, a nonprofit whose mission is to save Kenyan girls from forced marriages, female genital mutilation and other regressive practices. Pat will describe her own efforts to support Sarah’s mission, raising awareness abroad and funds needed of continue the work of the Sidai Resource Center. Such efforts not only help young girls become full-fledged members of society, but they transform the lives of everyone in their communities.

As we get older, many of us are going to need long-term care. In fact, someone turning age 65 today has almost a 70% chance of needing some type of long-term care service and support in their remaining years. And yet, many families have little idea how they’re going to pay for long-term care—which won’t be covered by Medicare and may cost as much as $1.2 million per person by the time they need these services. In today’s episode, long-term care experts Natalie Karp and Rona Loshak talk about the many facets of long-term care insurance, a critical option for a growing number of vulnerable seniors who are aging alone or not physically able to take care of their spouse—or simply unable to pay for the care they need, especially as they face potential cutbacks in Medicaid. Rona and Natalie, who are independent brokers and co-founding partners of Karp Loshak LTC Insurance Solutions, are dedicated to helping clients navigate the sometimes-dizzying array of long-term care insurance options. They’ve become a leading resource for consumers, professional advisers and the news media, and in today’s conversation they offer an incisive overview of traditional long term care insurance, as well as alternatives like hybrid life/long-term care plans and life insurance with long-term care benefits. Their goal is to guide families from “conversation to contract,” with expertise and independence. As adult children of widowed mothers, they represent the sandwich generation, those who found themselves caring for children and aging parents. And they saw first-hand the importance of planning—well before families are faced with a health crisis and few viable options.

As we get older, it’s important to find ways to embrace aging with grace, dignity and positivity. And yes, a little humor, too. In today’s episode, Barbara Paskoff and Carol Pack, two long-time friends and former award-winning journalists, offer a host of observations from the latest of their “Over-Sixty: Shades of Gray” series, the “Book of Lists.” The duo explains their latest venture—a collection of lists offering practical tips about appearance, relationships, entertainment, health (and a lot more)—but noting that as they entered the second half of life, they realized that time seems to fly really fast, “so getting to the point is more important than ever.” We don’t want to have to read everything that goes around to support aging, they joke—just give us a list of what to do.” Thus, the book of lists was born. In their litany of lists, Barbara and Carol do not shy away from serious subjects, like loneliness, changing relationships and dementia. But they also integrate the lighter side of graying, reassuring us all that we’re not alone in the trials that come. And sometimes, they may offer up answers to questions you never knew you had.