Category: April – May 2021

  • A Retirement Dress Rehearsal Can Ease Emotional & Financial Concerns

    Two emotions are likely to strike those who are nearing retirement — excitement and fear. Leaving the world of alarm clocks and offices and having time to pursue your own passions on a daily basis is liberating — but the apprehension of entering a new life stage can easily creep in. Although work-related stress will…

  • Save Yourself From Sympathy Scams

    In a sympathy scam, a con artist plays on the victims’ emotions in order to extract money from them. Typically, you see a lot of these scams stemming from a tragedy that is highly publicized.

  • A Recipe for Conflict

    I have noticed a troubling emerging trend in estate planning. More families are owning property with different generations. This could be because real estate in Hawai‘i is expensive to purchase and even harder to maintain and keep. It is further exacerbated in situations where there are multiple children beneficiaries and/or where the parents need to…

  • Your Estate Plan: What NOT to Do

    Problems with your estate plan may not become apparent until it is too late to fix them. Here are some common pitfalls: • Failing to plan for large expenses, such as long-term care. • Failing to update your estate plan, including beneficiary designations on bank accounts, investment accounts, retirement accounts and insurance policies. • Failing…

  • Get Help Paying Health & Prescription Costs

    If you have limited income and resources,  you may qualify for help paying some healthcare and prescription drug costs. Fifty-two percent of seniors in Hawai‘i qualify for the Medicare Extra Help program.

  • Purpose Pals: A Kūpuna-Youth Connection

    Purpose Pals is a free, virtual intergenerational program led by Christy Nishita and Colby Takeda, in collaboration with Age-Friendly Honolulu, Blue Zones Project Hawaii, and the Hawaii Afterschool Alliance. Purpose Pals matches adults 50 and over with high school through college-age students, fostering regular communication using Big & Mini’s web-based video conferencing platform. The program…

  • Annual Wellness Visits to Stay Healthy

    During a Medicare Annual Wellness Visit (AWV), you and your doctor will focus on overall wellness, prevention and early disease detection. The AWV is designed to support you in taking an active role in managing your health and improving your well-being and quality of life. Doctors recommend the visit and encourage all Medicare patients to…

  • Workers & Social Security

    Do you plan to pay a cleaning person, cook, gardener, babysitter or other household worker at least $2,300 in 2021? This amount includes any cash you pay for your household employee’s transportation, meals and housing. If you will pay at least $2,300 to one person, you have some additional financial responsibilities.

  • Medicare: Increased Benefits for Veterans

    Many veterans don’t understand that the Veteran’s Administration (VA) offers a healthcare plan for veterans, reservists and members of the National Guard only. This healthcare plan is not available to all veterans, as eligibility and qualifications are required to receive these healthcare services. All medical treatment provided by the VA will be at VA facilities…

  • Help & Hope for Parkinson’s Patients

    Although a cure has still not been found, the nonprofit Hawai‘i Parkinson Association (HPA), was established in 1996 to assist Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients and their family members live the best life possible by uniting people, organizations and resources to treat their symptoms.

  • How to Wear a Mask With Hearing Aids

    Hearing aid wearers know the difficulty of getting the elastic bands of their protective face mask tangled up with their hearing aid. Hearing aids can fly out when removing a mask. I have seen many patients with lost and damaged hearing aids due to this problem. Here are seven tips that will help protect your…

  • Bad Breath: Is It Poor Oral Hygiene?

    Chronic bad breath can be embarrassing, but it can also tell you what’s going on with your mouth or body, such as underlying medical conditions, stress, hormonal changes, dry mouth and poor oral hygiene. Bad breath can be caused by a few things: bacteria, decaying food, infected gums, smoking and even an empty  stomach.