The Senior Scene

When Carol Porter, then in her 60s, filed for bankruptcy in 2015, she didn’t expect she would lose her Issaquah home in the process. That’s because, for more than a century, Washington law contained language to protect people’s homes from being sold to pay off their debts.

But the law didn’t kept up with the state’s rising home prices. As a result, only $125,000 of the equity of Porter’s home was off-limits from her creditors — an amount far shy of what the property was worth.

After Porter’s home was sold as part of her bankruptcy case, she ended up moving out of King County and resettling in Walla Walla, where she now rents an apartment.

It’s a situation state lawmakers don’t want others to have to go through — especially as more people are expected to file for bankruptcy as a result of the pandemic.

New state legislation aims to keep people from losing their homes when they file for bankruptcy.  Senate Bill 5408, which Governor Jay Inslee signed into law in May, increases the state’s homestead exemption, so that it will no longer protect only $125,000 of a person’s home value. Instead, the new law will protect a much larger amount — up to the county’s median sale price, based on homes sold the prior year.

State lawmakers took several other actions this year aimed at keeping people in their homes. Those included putting more money toward rental assistance, passing laws restricting landlords from evicting tenants without cause, and requiring landlords to let tenants repay back rent using long-term payment plans, rather than having the debt due all at once. Lawmakers hope the bills will prevent more people from becoming homeless, particularly after the state’s eviction moratorium expired June 30.

Porter, now 72, said she was doing fairly well until about 15 years ago, when she lent money to her business partner and never got it back. When the 2008 recession hit, her credit card debt began to climb. That began a snowball effect in which Porter lost her home, her business and her retirement savings.

“I was devastated. Here I was, 70 years old, with all my retirement and everything I worked for my whole life, gone,” Porter said.

Had SB 5408 been in effect when Porter filed for bankruptcy, she likely could have kept her home, she said.

Several people shared similar stories in public hearings. One man who lost his job during the pandemic said that if the new law had been in place at the time, he could have avoided draining his retirement savings, which he said was the only way he managed to keep his home.

Others on the verge of bankruptcy said they may now be able to keep their homes because the bill passed.

Attorney Christina Henry said increasing the homestead exemption was a no-cost way for the Legislature to help combat some of the economic effects of COVID-19. Henry serves on the board of the Northwest Consumer Law Center, one of the main groups that advocated for the new law.

“The purpose of the homestead [exemption] is to place a family home beyond the creditor’s reach, when individuals face financial misfortune, so their entire households and families don’t suffer from homelessness,” Henry told lawmakers at a public hearing in April.

Tying the homestead exemption to median home prices ensures lawmakers won’t have to constantly come back and pass a new law when home prices spike.

In King County, the median home price at the end of 2020 was $747,000. Statewide, it was more than $460,000 in the final quarter of last year.

Porter said the change in law came too late to help her, “I’m glad it passed. I’m sure lots of people have experienced the same thing.”

 

New tenant protections

Renters will also have new protections going forward.

Lawmakers have been worried about landlords evicting tenants after the state’s eviction moratorium ends. Many people have fallen behind on rent during the pandemic, an issue likely to come to a head when landlords can once again tell people to pay or vacate. To soften the impact on struggling renters, the Legislature banned landlords from imposing late fees for rent not paid during the pandemic. Senate Bill 5160 also requires landlords to offer repayment plans to tenants, so they can pay back rent gradually instead of all at once.

Other parts of the bill will provide attorneys for low-income renters facing eviction and expand a mediation program that seeks to resolve issues between landlords and tenants.

State Rep. Nicole Macri, a Democrat from Seattle who frequently works on housing issues, said those changes are designed to go hand in hand with a new law that restricts landlords from evicting people without just cause. The new just-cause eviction law, House Bill 1236, bans landlords from evicting people who are renting month to month in most circumstances, unless the landlord can cite one of 16 reasons allowed in the law. Previously, landlords could evict month-to-month renters with 20-days notice, without providing a reason.

Macri said without the change in law, housing advocates were worried that landlords might evict people who were down on their luck during the pandemic, even if those tenants have since brought themselves up to date on rent payments.

Groups representing landlords, such as the Rental Housing Association of Washington, largely opposed the just-cause eviction measure, saying it would impose too many new restrictions on contracts between renters and landlords.

Under the new law, landlords can still evict people for failing to pay rent or engaging in criminal activity on a property, as well as for other reasons established in the law. For instance, with 90 to 120 days’ notice, a landlord can evict renters in order to sell a property, complete major renovations, or convert a building to condominiums.

 

Rental assistance

In the state’s new two-year budget is more than $650 million in rental assistance money. Macri said that sum will go a long way toward keeping people in their homes and helping others who have fallen into homelessness.

To help pay for housing programs, the Legislature approved a $100 increase in fees charged on recorded documents. The fee increase, House Bill 1277, is expected to raise about $300 million over the next two years.

Much of that money will go toward permanent supportive housing and rental vouchers for chronically homeless people. Another portion of the money will go toward preventing evictions among people in danger of losing their housing, with an emphasis on helping people of color who experience homelessness at disproportionate rates.

 

Melissa Santos wrote this article

for Crosscut, a non-profit Pacific Northwest journalism site.

The latest “State of the Air” report from the American Lung Association has the Seattle-Tacoma metropolitan area among the 25 most-polluted cities in the United States for short-term particle pollution.

In ozone pollution (also called smog), King County received an F grade in this year’s report and recorded the same number of unhealthy ozone days as in last year’s report. Benton County, in eastern Washington, also got an F. Pierce County received a C.

Seniors are among the people who can suffer the worst health effects of polluted air, said Carrie Nyssen, senior director of advocacy for the American Lung Association.

“State of the Air” 2021 (lung.org/sota) placed three other Washington cities or metropolitan areas in the top 25 for worst short-term pollution, meaning unhealthy air quality caused temporarily by spikes in smoke and soot from wildfires, for instance. Besides Seattle-Tacoma at number 14, Yakima was fifth, Spokane 11th, and Vancouver-Portland 23rd. Spokane and Yakima recorded the highest number of days of unhealthy particle pollution levels, largely due to smoke from wildfires.

All but two of the worst 25 cities are in western states, led by 10 in California. Joining Yakima among the five worst cities are, from first to fourth, Fairbanks, Alaska, and Fresno, Bakersfield and San Jose-San Francisco, Calif.

Ozone pollution, or smog, forms in the atmosphere when gases from vehicle tailpipes, smokestacks, oil and gas extraction, and other sources react to sunlight.

“Particle pollution remains the dominant air pollutant,” Nyssen said. “Wildfire smoke and woodstoves are two major contributors to particle pollution. These particles are so small they easily penetrate deep into the lungs and even into our bloodstream, leading to premature deaths, heart attacks and asthma attacks. Children, older adults and people living with lung disease are particularly vulnerable to poor air quality. More must be done to protect our public health and clean our air.”

In Washington, that effort is the work of Puget Sound Clean Air Agency. And there is lots of work to do. According to agency officials, while air pollution has been reduced over the years, wood smoke from wood stoves and outdoor burning continue to be a major source of particle pollution, especially in colder winter months. And emissions from cars and trucks, other transportation sources, and industry contribute to pollution in the Puget Sound region.

The agency’s goal is regional compliance with federal and state air-quality standards in its four-county jurisdiction of King, Pierce, Kitsap and Snohomish counties, where about 4 million people live—more than half the state’s population.

Air quality in Tacoma varies based on seasons and weather conditions. While the majority of days in the city are deemed healthy, an average of nine days a year are classified as “unhealthy” by federal Environmental Protection Agency standards, according to IQAir, a real-time air-quality monitoring service.

Nyssen noted that nationally, wildfire seasons “are lasting longer and burning more acreage while creating smoke that is harmful to our public health. Exposure to this smoke has been linked to lung and heart diseases. It’s vital to keep working to implement policies to lessen exposure to wildfire smoke – and any air pollutant.”

The Lung Association’s annual air quality “report card” tracks and grades Americans’ exposure to unhealthy levels of particle pollution and smog over a three-year period. This year’s report covers 2017-19. It revealed that nationwide, 135 million people lived with polluted air, and that people of color were more likely to live in a county with unhealthy air than white people. Also, climate change made air quality worse and harder to improve.

Love is in the air for all—even seniors! In fact, the passion amongst those in their golden years is at an all-time high. So much so that STIs (sexually transmitted infections) have become increasingly common among the senior age group, and treatments have increased by 23 percent within the last three years.

With a lot of love left to give and a little help from technology, today’s seniors actively play the love game. Choice Mutual, an independent insurance agency that researches a variety of consumer and societal issues, surveyed 2,000 seniors (ages 55-plus) about relationships to learn what love is like for the people who have been around the block a few more times than younger generations. They were asked about their current relationship status, how they met their partners, if they’ve dated within the last five years, what dating apps they’ve used, if they’ve cheated or been cheated on, and what’s important to them in a relationship.

More than one-third of seniors have dated within the last five years and tried various methods for meeting new people. Dating seniors say they’ve had the best luck in meeting their significant others through an introduction by mutual friends (18 percent), dating apps or websites (13 percent), and local events (12 percent) such as parties and community activities. About 66 percent of those using dating apps or websites had a relationship with someone they met that way. Seniors reported that the top dating app was Tinder, with 35 percent dating someone they met on the platform. Other sites where seniors have had luck finding relationships were Match.com (28 percent), Hinge (25 percent), Plenty of Fish (25 percent), and Bumble (24 percent).

Every individual is looking for different things in a relationship, but it’s clear that seniors especially value trust in a relationship. Choice Mutual asked survey respondents to rank nine common relationship factors based on importance–trust, communication, honesty, empathy, emotional intimacy, physical intimacy, sexual attraction, loyalty, and common interests. Out of those nine factors, trust had the highest average ranking, with 47 percent of respondents saying it is the =most important factor in a relationship. On the other end, common interests ranked as the least important.

Some seniors aren’t so lucky when it comes to love. One in 10 has never been in a romantic relationship lasting longer than one year. The struggle for single seniors doesn’t end there—54 percent haven’t dated within the last five years.

Dating is especially difficult after experiencing extreme heartbreak, and many find that dating is simply too difficult after losing a spouse. Only 14 percent of widowed responders have dated seriously within the last five years, and 62 percent haven’t dated at all.

From the age of 30 until now, over half of seniors have experienced cheating in some form, whether they did the cheating, were cheated on, or a combination of both (not necessarily in the same relationship). Cheating can play a major role in a relationship at any age. Forty-two percent of separated and divorced respondents reported that they’ve had a partner cheat on them at least once.

Overall, it seems that those who have never cheated have a slightly higher chance of being married. Respondents who haven’t cheated are 13 percent more likely to be married than those who have cheated on a partner.

Seniors who are married and have been with a romantic partner for more than 50 years met most frequently while at school (33 percent).

 

Anthony Martin, who wrote this article, is the founder chief executive officer of Choice Mutual, an independent insurance agency licensed in all 50 states.

THE MID-LIFE MARRIAGE SLUMP

As people age into midlife and beyond, romantic relationships might go into a slump that can mean living unfulfilled lives or an end to decades-long marriages. Susan Bratton, 60-year-old author of books about intimacy and relationship health and who has shared her views on national television (susanbratton.com), has some tips for overcoming those kinds of bumps in the marital road.

• Practice being a soulmate. Hold each other close and tell the how precious they are, and why.
• Move past arguments. “We’ve all heard the adage, ‘Don’t go to bed angry,’ but this is more easily said than done,” Bratton says. So do the following: Let it go. Forgive and forget. Think about how to understand the other person’s side. And breathe. Breathing calms you down and gets you over that momentary emotional flare.

People looking for an enjoyable, affordable place to retire may find the process a bit more challenging due to the economic fallout from the pandemic. What’s worse, this is the first generation to largely be responsible for their own retirement contributions as opposed to depending on a pension plan. As a result, many are reaching retirement age with inadequate savings.

With that in mind, MoneyRates has released “Best States to Retire: 2021.” As it’s done every year since 2011, the rate-comparison and personal-finance resource site ranked all 50 states. Iowa and West Virginia share the top spot on this year’s list.

The rankings consider factors such as cost of living, taxes, safety, lifestyle and healthcare. And while many Americans dream of hanging their retirement hat somewhere with warm, sunny beaches, the two top states are far from any coastlines.

After co-leaders Iowa and West Virginia, the top 10, in order, are Arkansas and Mississippi (tied), Florida and Kentucky (also tied), Connecticut, Missouri , Alabama, and Rhode Island.

Washington? It is almost at the very bottom, with a ranking of 48^th. And to add insult to injury, the Evergreen State fares only slightly better in a second national pecking order of the best and worst states for retiring.

“While climate was one of the factors we looked at, day-to-day there is a lot more to a safe and happy retirement” than warm weather, said Richard Barrington, a senior financial analyst for Money Rates and author of the study. “Economic factors are a big concern to people trying to stretch their retirement dollars. Safety from crime is essential to peace of mind. And healthcare, of course, grows in importance as people get older.

He said Iowa has a high level of nursing care capacity relative to population size. That, coupled with its strong economy, helped the state rise to the top.

West Virginia, on the other hand, scored well by having the third-lowest healthcare costs in the nation, the fifth-lowest average property tax burden, and an overall cost of living 9 percent below the national average.

Here are some other examples of haves and have-nots:

• Beauty is skin deep when choosing a retirement state. Hawaii is paradise, but 21 other states offer a cost of living that is less than half as expensive as the land of aloha.
• Alaska has more than seven times as much violent crime as Maine.
• The average property tax burden in New Jersey is more than seven times the burden in Hawaii.
• The proportion of Maine’s population that’s 65 and older is almost twice as high as Utah’s.
• The average temperature in Florida is about 70 degrees. In Alaska, it’s 26.
• The five lowest-rated states are all in the west. In order, they’re Colorado, California, Washington, Nevada, and Alaska.

“Everyone has individual priorities, plus there are personal factors that can’t be measured,” Barrington said. “The aim of this study isn’t to tell retirees where they should live. Rather, it’s to point out the range of different factors to think through when deciding where to settle in retirement.”

The economic factors used by Money Rates include cost of living data from the Council for Community and Economic Research, property tax burdens from the Tax Foundation research organization, and unemployment rates from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

For crime safety, the study used violent and property crime rates from the FBI.

Lifestyle factors, including proportion of older residents, were calculated from U.S. Census Bureau data.

The review of healthcare is based on nursing-facility capacities calculated from Census Bureau data and life-expectancy data from the national Centers for Disease Control.