But a new complication, he says, is that growing older too often brings crippling financial hardship.
Shapira says some of his clients can’t afford their rent, food, medicine and all their other expenses. That usually means they have to make sacrifices, eating on the cheap, or forgoing vital pharmaceuticals or medical treatments.
 Dr. Eric Shapira, a clinical gerontologist, sits in his Montara home Monday with his dog, River. |
Shapira says he can relate to his patients’ woes; after all, he’s dealing with stressful financial problems himself. The 62-year-old baby-boomer-generation doctor is currently fronting the medical bills for his mother and an in-law while Shapira copes with his own physical ailments. A neck injury in 2003 ruined Shapira’s dentistry practice, leading him to head back to school to pursue gerontology, which requires less bending over than dental work.
But the doctor says he might never retire — he’s still paying off student loans, along with being the main provider for multiple generations of his family. Near retirement age, Shapira says he doesn’t know if giving up work will ever really be an option for him.
“I’m an aging specialist — that’s really a specialist who’s aging,” he jokes. “I don’t have the money to retire on. Retirement for me is simply not in my vocabulary.”
Shapira’s problems are symbolic of the larger devastation levied by the recent economic collapse that began months ago culminating in losses for a legion of stocks, bonds and investments. That financial catastrophe has suddenly made retirement nearly impossible for many older people and those on the cusp of leaving their jobs to enjoy independence. While a generation of elderly retirees saw their nest egg disintegrate, a younger, larger generation of aging baby boomers struggles as their retirement savings vanish before their eyes.
“There’s a myriad of financial problems for the elderly, but this recent financial crisis is just the straw that broke the camel’s back,” Shapira said. “For us baby boomers, we’re the sandwich generation; we’re caught between providing for our children, our parents or ourselves.”
Howard Hayes, a financial consultant with Edward Jones, says this economic downturn was particularly cruel to seniors, many of whom take on a more conservative investment strategy as they age.
“In this market cycle there’s been no place to hide,” Hayes said. “The typical strategy for the elderly — to move funds into bonds, that hasn’t worked this time around.”
Losing the financial safety net has been frightening for the oldest members of society.
“There’s no magic solution for it,” Hayes said. “There’s a temptation to say, ‘Oh my God, I’m losing value. ... I’m selling my investments and moving into cash.’”
With no sure-fire options, Hayes recommends seniors avoid panicking into selling off assets. Even though many investments seem like financial black holes, he says, having funds invested is better than having money loose in hand.
But for elderly, particularly those who were already scrapping by, a long-term strategy isn’t necessarily an option either.
“There’s real fear out there,” said John Parsons, a Coastside financial advisor. “In their desperation, seniors are trying to cut expenses, even to unhealthy levels, some are overreacting, cashing out everything when they really shouldn’t.”
Herman Hutchinson, 83, considers himself lucky: He lost only a third of his savings, approximately $40,000. Like many seniors looking for some type of recourse during the hard times, Hutchinson decided to take out a reverse mortgage loan on his Frenchmans Creek house.
“That money was being invested for our children,” he said, “We’re hoping it’ll come back, but it might take a while.”
Hutchinson says that he and his wife are looking at trimming their “guilty” pleasures — traveling, dining and entertainment.
It could be much worse, he said.
“I was talking to a doctor friend of mine in Napa Valley. He lost over $1 million!” Hutchinson said. “We’re lucky we only lost as much as we did.”
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