Retirement Fears - Running Out of Money and Lack of Government Response

Photo by Miguel Ausejo on Unsplash

As cryptic as it sounds, more older Americans fear running out of their savings more than they fear death. In fact, 67% of Americans in 2026 fear they will run out of money.

You have read the headlines and can see the writing on the wall. I am talking about the unprovoked attack on Iran that has panicked the entire world, spiked gas and oil prices with no ceiling in sight and will lead to inevitable shortages. However, I believe what people should be equally concerned about is the attack on the environment, easing restrictions against pollution and a lack of long-term care in this country.

The NEED for Long Term Care will increase as the population ages

Cancer almost always starts in the environment. Our bodies are less able to adequately respond to chemical pollution which is the cause of a myriad of endocrine related - disease and cancers. Pollution shortens lifespan. As we age, our bodies are less able to successfully respond to these toxins. However, any age can experience disability due to disease and cancer. The need for health care and long term care isn't just a concern for the elderly.

You can demand that your politicians vote for greater regulatory control, and more importantly encourage robust enforcement actions against polluters and sources of pollution.

Then there is the higher likelihood of people over 50, after COVID 19 infection to have New Onset Dementia (NOD). Researchers found that people experience accelerated progression of dementia after COVID-19 infection, which the mRNA vaccine injection appears to have played a role in producing this phenomenon. The COVID virus can remain "active" in the human body in areas that your immune system doesn't detect called "safe havens." You can read more of my research on this topic, by clicking below.

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Researchers believe COVID 19 infection is the cause of higher rates of dementia, specifically NOD due to the oxygen deprivation COVID 19 patients experienced in the brain but in fact consequential to all major organs of the body.

But what if COVID 19 does something else to disrupt even an otherwise "functioning" immune system?

Consider that prostate cancer in men over 70 was considered slow-growing. Prostate cancer is an hormonal or endocrine dependent cancer (testosterone). Doctors and insurance will tend to want to stop screening for prostate cancer in men over 70, since the rate of progression of prostate cancer, once thought slow didn't outweigh cost-benefit for men who will likely live the usual life span about 10 -15 years more. Yet, former President Biden, having the best medical care available, having had both COVID 19 infection and given the vaccine was diagnosed with a "particularly aggressive form" of prostate cancer and was already at Stage 4 (metastatic) by the time the cancer was detected.

President Biden's diagnosis defied what was years of assumptions about the rate of progression in prostate cancer. Will COVID 19 infection act as catalyst in all sorts of diseases and cancers, not just cause rapid acceleration of dementia?

There is a lack of Long Term Care in the U.S.

Private insurance is too costly for most people to buy and would only pay a portion of the exorbitant cost of long term care. The main option in America is to spend down your savings and become Medicaid dependent. Even Medicaid is less of an option with the recent $1 trillion cut to the program by the Republican "Big Beautiful Bill" passed in 2025. Cutting a needed program isn't considered an appropriate government response to the lack of service options.

The only other option is to tuck your life's savings in a stand-alone, irrevocable trust. This requires a third-party trustee to manage your assets. Even that comes with concerns about who to trust coming with plenty of nightmare stories of trusting the wrong person or institution. The threat of abuse can be mitigated by a strong, well-worded trust document but as long as CORRUPTION exists, or allowed to exist, there is no perfect document short of perfect enforcement.

The solution and what you should advocate for

MEDICARE FOR ALL offers the best government response to what is a clear, threatening problem. The Affordable Care Act became popular while the government was barred from negotiating health care prices. Medicaid was intended to expand as a "public option." It did and in those states that embraced the ACA, the health care exchanges worked and more people gained access to Medicaid. That was until the Republican's passed the "Big beautiful Bill" and cut over a $1 trillion from Medicaid and Medicare. Affordable Care Act was a significant step toward the government negotiating prices directly with providers, essentially eliminating private, third-party insurance companies under a national health care system. It was the goal in passing the ACA.

On April 7, President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico announced that the credencialización process, or enrollment, for Mexico’s new universal health care service was set to begin. The goal, she explained, was unambiguous: “By the time we leave office, any Mexican will be able to go to any public health institution and receive care for any condition.”

Republicans tell us the U.S. government can't even forgive student loans.

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