AARP Alert – Rising Heating Costs

Winter Heating Costs Expected to Increase for Older Consumers

Winter heating costs are likely to be higher for older households for the upcoming winter due mainly to lower temperatures. Heating costs will be higher for households heating with fuel oil than for those heating with natural gas or electricity. Winter heating costs are likely to be a greater burden on older low-income households than on similarly aged higher-income households, even though low-income households tend to use less heating fuel than other groups.

In the News! GenPhilly and Age-friendly!

AARP Bulletin: Towns and Cities Prepare for Aging Populations

Get used to hearing about “age-friendly cities” and “livable communities.”

That’s exactly what many towns and cities are striving to become as the first of 78 million boomers turn 65 this year. In 10 years those boomers will be 75, and in 10 more, age 85. For the next 19 years, nearly 10,000 people a day will celebrate the big 6-5. And that doesn’t include the demographic that reached 65 before 2011. continue reading>>

Two years ago, Kate Clark, a PCA planner, created GenPhilly, a network of professionals, mostly in their 20s and 30s. The group raises awareness of the older demographic and offers professionally and networking opportunities for its members. continue reading the section about GenPhilly [here]

Source: AARP

AARP Sues HUD Over Effects of Reverse Mortgages on the Elderly

Reverse mortgages, which pay older homeowners a regular sum against the equity in their house, are supposed to shield borrowers from economic upheaval. But the popular loans have become tangled up in the real estate collapse.

AARP, the seniors’ organization, filed suit Tuesday against the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which regulates reverse mortgages. The suit asserts that policy changes by HUD are pushing older homeowners into foreclosure.

The case was filed in Federal District Court for the District of Columbia by the AARP Foundation, the organization’s charitable arm, and the law firm of Mehri & Skalet on behalf of the surviving spouses of three homeowners who had bought reverse mortgages. All three are facing eviction, the suit says. continue reading>>

Source: New York Times