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AUGUST 14, 2006
Retirement: Different Perspectives And Useful Tools "Am I ready to retire?" (Retirement Guide, July 24) offered excellent resources for "prepping for retirement." However, for grandparents raising grandchildren, "focusing your mind on the future" requires a significantly different perspective. U.S. Census 2000 figures show that 2.4 million grandparents are singlehandedly raising more than 6 million grandchildren. The number of grandparents nationwide who are caring for grandchildren at a time of life when they expected to be doing something else is growing significantly and affects every income level, from executives to clerical staff. While the experience brings much joy to caregivers, it also brings challenges such as financial hurdles, conflicts with retirement plans, and dealing with children's emotional issues. Lifestyle planning as well as financial planning for retirement-age adults with children to raise is crucial. We need help! Terry Casdorph Anchorage, Alaska Retirement was one of the less brilliant solutions to U.S. unemployment during the Great Depression. Where has it been demonstrated that limiting the creation of value is good for any person or society? Isn't retirement a function of consumption? How does the switch from creating value to consuming value produce a net benefit to the participants or society? If you aren't happy with the work you're doing, why not go now to where your talents will be rewarded? Wait for any reason, and it may be too late. Gene Youngreen Roseville, Calif. As a career counselor, I am happy to see transition-to-retirement issues included in planning guides along with financial advice. I have been using Turning Points Navigator for more than a year and find it a very effective tool. In the article, TPN was given a "mixed review" because it is so thorough and takes time to complete. To my mind, this is akin to entering a large bookstore and complaining that the number of books creates an overwhelming choice. I utilize Turning Points Navigator specifically because it requires a deeper level of thought than tools that simply ask multiple-choice questions and then spit out recommendations. Lisa Severy Director of Career Services University of Colorado Boulder, Colo. More and more employers are hiring retirees for part-time jobs and for temporary or project assignments. Many new Web sites help employers reach older workers who are interested in continuing to work and do not charge seniors to post a résumé or search for a position. These include: RetiredBrains.com, RetirementJobs.com, yourencore.com, RetireeCareers.com, and seniors4hire.org. Arthur Koff Retired Brains Chicago Seeing Cracks In The VA's Medical Model While "The best medical care in the U.S." (Health, July 17) suggests that the Veterans Affairs system should be the model for the entire U.S., it fails to address the most important question: Can we afford to have the federal government own, operate, and employ all hospitals, clinics, doctors, and nurses? The public has shown no appetite for a federally owned and operated health-care system. It has expressed a desire for the federal government to help make positive change. The VA system is helping to lead that change. An example is the VA's early implementation of electronic medical records -- proof that this technology improves patient care and reduces costs. Following this example, President George W. Bush made it one of his priorities to develop electronic medical-record standards and procedures within 10 years. Sarah Berk Executive Director, Health Care America Washington Editor's note: The writer's organization is a nonprofit advocacy group opposed to government-controlled health care. My last military position before retiring was colonel, commander of the health facility in Bamberg, Germany (with many prior years in private practice), serving a population of 13,000 military and dependents. I find current VA services in Las Vegas, as you described past VA care, "understaffed, underfunded, and uncaring." Try to change things, and you'll find the hierarchy hiding and unresponsive. Some 16% of Nevada's population are veterans requiring medical and specialty referral services. We have no hospital, with only a promise of one many years from now. Our current medical needs are served by small clinics. As a physician I find evidence of substandard care -- from the primary-care doctor who accepts a new patient without doing a complete physical to the treatment of glaucoma (diagnosed by a student and an optometrist) without a referral to an ophthalmologist. A drastic makeover is needed. There should be fewer older, retired doctors as primary-care physicians, to be replaced by newly graduated MDs being trained with government funds as a fulfillment of their obligation. And every veteran should be referred to a specialist when indicated. Colonel S.J. Hazan U.S. Marine Corps (ret.) Las Vegas
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