California Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill to require mobilehome park management to provide residents an annual notice that includes mobilehome park rights and responsibilities. Existing provisions of the California Mobilehome Residency Law (MRL) require management to provide residents with a copy of the MRL only if there had been a significant legislative change in the prior year. Under the bill, management must provide residents with their mobilehome owner rights each year (including the right to receive advance written notice before any rent increase). Read more here.
The Social Security Administration recently announced a 1.7% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for 2013 Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits. The increased payments will begin January 2013 for the more than 56 million Social Security beneficiaries and December 31, 2012 for the 8 million SSI beneficiaries. Read more here.
California Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill to protect tenants from certain evictions (evictions based on nonpayment of rent) after rental property ownership changes. While existing law requires a new owner to notify tenants of where to pay rent within 15 days of the ownership change, this bill prohibits the new owner from evicting a tenant for nonpayment of the rent that accrued during the period of time when the owner failed to comply with the notice requirement. According to 2010 Census Bureau data and the California Department of Finance, 44% of Californians live in rental units.
The Department of Labor now requires employers to disclose fees associated with 401(k) plan investments. There are two new disclosure statements. The first is an annual statement, which was distributed in August. The second is a quarterly statement, which will be sent in October or November. Read more about the new transparency requirements here.
In other 401(k) news, the man credited with creating the 401(k), Edwin Johnson, has died. He was 82. Read his story here.
According to a report from the Society of Actuaries, an increasing number of Americans believe they will work their entire lives. The report found that 35 percent of Americans near retirement age do not expect to retire. That represents a six percent increase in two years.
Read more here.
According to the California Department of Aging, California’s senior population is expected to grow more than twice as fast as the total population. The California Department of Aging predicts that between 1990 to 2020 California will see a 112% increase in the number of seniors age 60 and over. The number of seniors age 85 and over is predicted to increase more rapidly with a 143% increase between 1990 and 2020.
Read more and view the maps here.
According to a recent NPR story, student loan debt has followed some seniors into retirement and their Social Security benefits have been withheld to pay off federal student loan debt. For a senior living on a fixed income in an economically insecure climate, a 15% reduction in Social Security benefits has a significant impact.
Read more here.
Federal health officials rejected California’s bid to charge Medi-Cal copayments for everything from drugs to hospital visits, dealing a new blow to the state budget but relief to low-income patients and their providers.
The plan to charge low-income Medi-Cal patients and allow doctors to refuse care for nonpayment was unprecedented for a state on such a wide scale. The charges ranged from $3 for “preferred” drug prescriptions to $5 for doctor visits and a maximum $200 on hospital visits. Medi-Cal serves about 8 million Californians, though patients also eligible for Medicare were exempt from the copays.
Read more here.
According to a recent San Jose Mercury News article, California Governor Jerry Brown announced Thursday his proposal to eliminate In-Home Supportive Services funds for benefit recipients who live with someone else.
If adopted by the state legislature, this proposal would save the state $164 million, but would come at the cost of a severe deterioration of the quality of life for seniors and disabled individuals currently receiving assistance from the program, according to critics of the plan.
Such a move would affect 60 percent of IHSS recipients, as most live with other family members who provide them care.
A new study described in a recent US News & World Report article indicates that older adults are able to make decisions as quickly and as well as college students in many cases.
The study was published in the current online issue of Child Development.