Kayt Sukel

The unexpected dependent: When retirement is not for you alone (AARP Bulletin Today - 19 May 2008)

Three articles about the potential retirement consequences of an unexpected dependent appear on the AARP Bulletin Today website.

Excerpt:

Teresa Boardman, 49, and Jack Boardman, 59, of St. Paul, Minn., had a plan. When Jack turned 65, he would retire from his job in the parts department of a car dealership, and Teresa would continue working for a few more years as a self-employed real estate agent. Now they’re reconsidering those plans: Their daughter Sarah, 27, has moved back home while she pursues her graduate degree...

(To see the rest of the article, click here, with sidebar information here and here).

What to do when your parent is in debt (AARP Bulletin Today - April 2008)

An article about what to do when you find that your elderly parent is in debt appears on the AARP Bulletin Today website.

Excerpt:

Until our weeklong visit, my mother and I had no idea that things had gotten so bad for her mother.

Nothing could have prepared us for the telephone calls that began each day at 6 a.m. and sometimes continued late into the evening. My grandmother refused to pick up the phone. And when my mother or I answered, we found tenacious collections agents on the other end who were all too happy to berate us instead. We had no idea how long my grandmother had been living with the calls or how much debt had caused them to start...

(To read the rest of the article, click here).

Regs change roles (Healthcare Informatics/Healthcare Cost and Revenue Management - March 2008)

"Regs change roles," an article on how health savings accounts and other high-deductible insurance plans are changing the way that hospitals do business, appears in the Healthcare Cost and Revenue Management supplement to Healthcare Informatics magazine.

Excerpt:

In April 2006, as a means of controlling rising healthcare costs, President George W. Bush announced his intention to expand health savings accounts (HSAs), the tax-free savings accounts established by the 2003 Medicare reform bill.

To further adoption, the president proposed tax breaks for HSA spending and premiums for HSA-compatible insurance plans, as well as the ability for consumers to take any HSA-qualified insurance plan with them if they change employment. He asserts that HSAs and the consumer-directed health plans that accompany them will reduce healthcare costs by making it easier for consumers to afford insurance and exercise control over their healthcare dollars...

(To read the rest of the article, click here).

Tips for immigrants building a U.S. credit history (CreditCards.com - February 2008)

An article about establishing credit when emigrating to the United States appears on the CreditCards.com website. 

Excerpt:

America lures many who dream of living better. But when immigrants arrive, their credit histories rarely make the trip.

Jeroen Baert, 39, moved to Atlanta from the Netherlands, where he had excellent credit.  When he opened a bank account with a large national bank in the United States, he was stunned that the institution was unwilling to give him a debit card...

(To read the rest of the article, click here).

Moving abroad? Your credit history may not follow (CreditCards.com - November 2007)

An article about whether your credit history follows if you move internationally appears on the CreditCards.com website. 

Excerpt:

As technology advances in the banking and credit communities, you'd think something as simple as a credit rating should be readily available to banks, credit institutions and lenders outside of the United States...

(To read the rest of the article, click here).