It is a good idea to make a list of your various online account login names and passwords and ensure that your family members, executors, trustees, agents, attorneys in fact, etc. know where the list is so that they can access the accounts if something happens to you.

The leading edge of the baby boomers (those born between 1946-1965) is reaching age 65 and will cause huge changes in consumer patterns, and social economic needs from those of senior patterns of the past.  A new Brookings Institute "Mapping the Growth of Older America: Seniors nad Boomers in the Early 21st Century" analyses census data and draws conclusions from the data. http://www3.brookings.edu/views/articles/200705frey.pdfThis new senior population will be different from any before, not only in size but also in educational level, household diversity, gender equality and potiential for economic inequality.  The author believes that the well-off "yuppie senior" populations to fuel areas like Las Vegas, Denver, Dallas, and Atlanta.  Whereas the Northeast and Midwest will be comprised of "mature seniors" who are less well-off and will require greater social support. The conclusion is that " Public and private-sector leaders should thus be poised to evaluate how the impending explosion of both migrating and “homegrown” seniors shapes demand, and once again transforms America’s local economies, politics, and societies in the first half of the 21st century."

 

I am concerned about the problems that disability can cause one's family or friends. Statistics indicate that a person is likely to become seriously disabled or incapacitated for some period of time at least once during his lifetime.

Serious health care decisions are difficult to make. Now, while you are fit, is the best time to decide what kind of health care you would want if you were unable to make your own health care decisions. Unfortunately, when you are seriously ill, you may not be physically or emotionally able to fully participate in these decisions. For this reason, considering and discussing such decisions in advance is not only wise, it is prudent. You can make the situation less difficult for you, your family and your friends, should the need arise, by placing your wishes in writing in advance.