A survey of more than 800 registered voters 50 and older commissioned by the Illinois chapter of the AARP found many senior Chicagoans worry about being able to remain in the city, reports WTTW . Forty-four percent of respondents have seriously mulled leaving in the last year, and 41 percent worry at least "somewhat often" about being unable to stay due to financial reasons. The three biggest reasons for considering relocation include the overall cost of living, reduced taxes, and wanting to live in a safer community. "AARP Illinois has typically not gotten involved in local politics," said AARP Illinois State Director Bob Gallo. "But our members wanted us to be more local and to share their voice." The survey found among the most important issues for seniors are reducing crime and violence, better services for vulnerable residents, and jobs and the economy.

Fox Business cites a new Fidelity Investments study, which found that a 65-year old couple retiring this year will spend approximately $285,000 in health care and medical expenses throughout retirement — and that assumes both spouses are eligible for Medicare coverage. "That figure compares to a $280,000 Fidelity projection for 2018, and $275,000 for 2017," notes Fox. A decade ago, Fidelity's health care cost estimate for retirees was $240,000. Meanwhile, for single retirees, health care-related costs for the present year are estimated at $135,000 for males and $150,000 for females. Hope Manion, senior VP for Fidelity Workplace Consulting, issued a statement that read: "Paying for health care — before and in retirement — continues to be top-of-mind for Americans, and understandably so as it's a cost that can vary significantly by individual and is difficult for many to predict."

A new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found rates of violence against older Americans, particularly men, have risen in recent years, according to U.S. News & World Report . The rate of nonfatal assaults against adults 60 and older climbed by about 53 percent between 2008 and 2016, after remaining relatively flat from 2002 to 2008. "The older adult U.S. population is growing faster than are younger populations, yet violence against older adults has received little attention," the researchers noted. The highest rates of nonfatal assaults and homicides occurred against men in their 60s on average, while the homicide rate was lowest among women in their 60s, and women in their 70s had the lowest nonfatal assault rate. "Many older adults require care and are vulnerable to violence perpetrated by a caregiver or someone they trust," the study said. An estimated 58 percent of perpetrators of violence against older adults were familiar with their victims, and a separate report indicated about 50 percent of homicides of older people were committed by a friend or relative. The researchers suggested emergency departments could be optimal medical environments for identifying at-risk seniors and helping those already affected by violence.

Workforce participation is growing for older workers in the United States, but focusing on prime-age employees to measure economic health to avoid demographic effects overlooks key trends among those older than 54, reports the Brookings Institution . Recent groups of women have been participating at higher levels than their predecessors early in life but at lower rates in middle age, while recent cohorts of men have been participating at lower rates throughout prime-age years. Yet both men and women in the 60 to 64 age range are still working at higher rates than their predecessors. Aging was determined to have contributed 2.7 percentage points to the 3.1 percentage point decline in workforce participation during the Great Recession, while changes in participation contributed only 0.4 percentage points. However, this conceals the fact that young people, particularly young men, have driven the general participation rate down between 2007 and 2018. The declining participation of prime-age or younger workers caused the overall participation rate to decline by 1.14 percentage points in total, while participation of men and women 55 and older increased the overall rate by 0.73 percentage points. For the trend of rising workforce participation among older workers to drive future growth, policymakers need to address labor force departures, and support workforce reentry for 55- to 64-year-old nonparticipants.

The Perennial food startup aims to serve people older than 50, offering products like a non-dairy drink designed to promote gut, brain, and bone health, reports Fast Company . Perennial co-founder Brent Taylor says a key driver "was a lot of frustration around the fact that this is a very forgotten demographic in food and beverage." Co-founder Sara Bonham adds that just 1 percent of global innovation targets people over 50, even though it is the fastest-growing consumer demographic. Perennial's beverage is designed for those who still consume full meals and want a supplement. The drink combines four plant proteins to make a "complete" protein like animal protein, so that it can be digested well. It contains as much protein as 2 percent dairy milk, and also includes a prebiotic fiber to aid calcium absorption, amino acids for muscle health, and an algae-based component and vitamins for brain health. "This is just the beginning for us," Bonham notes. "We really want to create a better world where folks can age into and harness the endless possibilities of plants using science, research, data, and food and sensory experiences to really innovate for healthy aging."

Microsoft Corp. founder Bill Gates wrote in a recent blog post that a need exists for a "reliable, affordable, and easy-to-use" method for diagnosing Alzheimer's disease early, reports Business Insider . His post coincides with the rollout of a new program from the Diagnostics Accelerator program at the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation, which aims to ramp up technologies that could provide new tools for Alzheimer's detection. Gates said influential people's investments in this program could lead to apps for predicting Alzheimer's risk based on vocal "warning signs." The Framingham Heart Study is looking into such a tool, having analyzed three generations of residents in a Massachusetts town. Gates suggested studying the compiled audio files of people with dementia could offer insight into their unique vocal patterns. However, the kind of voice app he envisions would not entirely address the problem, since an effective cure or treatment for Alzheimer's following diagnosis is currently nonexistent.

University of California, Davis Health (UCD Health) announced Thursday that the state will allocate the institution's researchers $8.8 million in funding to study Alzheimer's disease, reports the Sacramento Bee . UCD Professor Charles DeCarli said the funding will go toward researching the roles that racial disparities, diabetes, diet, and infection can play in the disorder. "As our population ages, devastating disorders such as Alzheimer's disease and other causes of dementia are increasingly common," he noted. "Not only do these diseases have severe consequences for those affected, but they have substantial added burden to their caregivers." A grant of $4.9 million will be awarded to David K. Johnson, director of the UC Davis Alzheimer's Disease Center. He said he will use the grant to address older African Americans' vulnerability to Alzheimer's, which constitutes an epidemic among this demographic. Johnson added that the grant will help expand the center's clinical services to include delivery and testing of a lifestyle intervention to treat older adults at high risk for type 2 diabetes and affiliated cognitive decline. "We are looking at fitness vs. diet and seeing if one is better than the other for specific people," he noted.

The National Poll on Healthy Aging found pets may help older adults cope with mental and physical health problems, according to ScienceDaily . Overall, 55 percent of adults aged 50 to 80 own a pet, and more than 50 percent have multiple pets. More than 75 percent of pet owners said their animals reduce their stress, and nearly as many said pets give them a sense of purpose. Seventy-five percent of all pet owners, and 78 percent of dog owners, said their pet helps them be physically active. More than 70 percent of respondents who said their health was "fair" or "poor" said their pet helps them deal with physical or emotional symptoms, and 46 percent said their pets help take their mind off of pain. "Although the benefits of pets are significant, social connections and activities with friends and family are also key to quality of life across the lifespan," noted University of Michigan School of Public Health Professor Cathleen Connell. "Helping older adults find low-cost ways to support pet ownership while not sacrificing other important relationships and priorities is an investment in overall mental and physical health."

The U.S. House Ways and Means Committee this week passed the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act of 2019, which makes it easier to offer annuities in 401(k) and 403(b) plans and ups the age for taking required minimum distributions from 70.5 years to 72 years, reports ThinkAdvisor . Committee Chair Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.) said Americans "currently face a retirement income crisis, with too many people in danger of not having enough savings to maintain their standard of living and avoid sliding into poverty. The SECURE Act goes a long way in addressing this problem by making it easier for Americans to save." The House panel is pushing to bolster retirement savings, mainly by expanding 401(k) retirement plans to more workers. The legislation would make it easier for employers to offer annuities in their plans while removing some obstacles on Individual Retirement Accounts. The legislation would also make it easier to expand 401(k)-style plans among small employers, many of whom don't offer these benefits, by permitting companies to join together to form multi-employer plans and save on administration expenses. Another provision would provide an employer credit of up to $5,000 to defray start-up costs. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and ranking member Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) also unveiled the Retirement Enhancement and Savings Act of 2019 as a companion measure to the SECURE Act.

A 2018 AARP poll found nearly two out of three workers older than 45 have seen or experienced age discrimination on the job, reports Fast Company . Of the 61 percent of respondents who reported age bias, 91 percent think this discrimination is endemic. The latest Equal Employment Opportunity Commission study of age discrimination in hiring looked at more than 40,000 applications for over 13,000 jobs in 12 cities across 11 states in 2015. Both genders, especially between 64 to 66 years old, experienced ageism, and were more often denied job interviews than middle-age applicants 49 to 51 years old. Erin Thomas with Paradigm says age is a demographic seldom shared in diversity reports, mainly because most companies have rigid mindsets about the skills and roles of older versus younger employees. "Baby boomers are 60 percent less likely and Gen Xers are 33 percent less likely to be hired compared to their representation in the workforce," she adds. "This generational blindspot has become reinforced and grown because older workers haven't been given opportunities to defy negative assumptions about what they're able to do."