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(HealthNewsDigest.com) - Westport, CT - Monday, October 1, 2007 - The MetLife Mature Market Institute and the Lesbian and Gay Aging Issues Network (LGAIN) of the American Society on Aging have prepared a list of tips and advice for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) baby boomers. Based on the Institute's 2006 study, Out and Aging: The MetLife Study of Lesbian and Gay Baby Boomers, the first national survey of its kind, this publication will help LGBT individuals prepare for retirement, long-term care, caregiving and other issues related to getting older and providing assistance to others. Out and Aging, produced with LGAIN and Zogby International, found that individuals ages 40 to 61, who identify as being LGBT have more distinct concerns about aging with regard to financial stability, personal support and end-of-life legal issues - and are providing care at a higher rate than those in the general population. Men and women both fear outliving their income in retirement, women (60%) more than men (55%). The study also indicates that one in four respondents said they had provided care for an adult friend or family member in the last six months, compared with one in five in previous general-population studies. Forty-four percent of LGBT caregivers care for a partner, friend or other non-relative, while 36% care for a parent. Seventy-five percent report important connections with families of choice, close friends who are "like a second or extended family," in addition to close ties with their families of origin. "The data tells us that those in the LGBT community have concerns about growing older," said Sandra Timmermann, Ed.D., director of the MetLife Mature Market Institute. "This group reports a great deal of worry about who will care for them. Financial concerns are also an issue, for women slightly more than men. Planning for financial, legal and emotional support should be a high priority." "We prepared these tips to provide support to the LGBT community," said Kimberly D. Acquaviva, Ph.D., an assistant research professor in the School of Medicine and Health Sciences at The George Washington University, Washington, D.C., who serves as co-chair of LGAIN. "This advice should make it easier for people to make a smooth transition to retirement and to the later stages of life, a concern for all of us." Tips for LGBT baby boomers: Have Your Affairs in Order File a living will to legally designate who will make decisions about your future, should you be unable to make decisions for yourself. Have a will to assure that your wishes regarding transfer of assets are clear. For basic tips on wills for LGBT people, the national advocacy organization Lambda Legal offers a free three-page fact sheet at http://data.lambdalegal.org/pdf/713.pdf. Establish a Support System Whether your biological family or your family of choice will take care of you when you are not able to care for yourself is largely dependent on the support system you maintain throughout your life. Creating positive and supportive living arrangement and relationships throughout your life will help you both provide support to others and receive help when it is needed. Prepare Financially LGBT baby boomers clearly want to spend their final days in their own homes; 47% said they would like their end-of-life care to take place in their current residence with the help of hospice care. Having a savings plan and preparing for guaranteed income in retirement, along with long term care insurance, will help insure that you will be able to fund home health care, assisted living or nursing home care, if necessary. Select Health Care Providers Carefully Out and Aging found that more than a quarter of those polled (27%) fear discrimination as they age. Less than half expressed strong confidence that health care professionals will treat them with dignity and respect. Shop for doctors and hospitals that make you feel comfortable. Don't leave it to chance that all medical professionals will treat you as you wish to be treated. A good place to start is the website of the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association, which offers helpful tips on identifying culturally competent health care providers, as well as an online directory of LGBT-friendly physicians. Visit www.glma.org. Housing Seek out alternative living arrangements, such as co-housing, to assist with support as you age. Preparing to live with others as people age together is becoming a more popular alternative with older boomers and will carry familiarity from college and post-college living for many. Support Systems Those who care for aging relatives and significant others report relief from stress when they are able to air their challenges with others. Seek out support groups for caregivers through your local LGBT community center, municipality or place of worship. Online organizations such as the National Area Agencies on Aging (n4a) can be helpful in this regard. Visit them at www.n4a.org. In addition, the Family Caregiver Alliance offers a national online LGBT support group, along with helpful publications on issues faced by LGBT caregivers. Visit www.caregiver.org. Resources There are many organizations nationally that provide assistance on matters related to aging and caregiving. The MetLife Mature Market Institute's Resources for Caregivers and Since You Care guides offer one place to start. The home page of the Lesbian and Gay Aging Issues Network also provides useful annotated links to numerous sites dealing with LGBT caregiving. Visit www.asaging.org/lgain (click on "Web Guide"). A 2000 poll by Harris Interactive reports that there are 15 million people, 6.8% of Americans, who identify themselves as lesbian, gay or bisexual and there are more than three million same-sex couple households. The buying power of this segment was estimated to be $641 billion in 2006. Out and Aging was conducted with a sample of 1,000 self-identified LGBT individuals, ages 40 to 61, who participated in an online survey conducted by Zogby International in 2006. The margin of error for the survey is +/-3.2%. Most study respondents report being well educated, middle-income adults, living in a committed relationship. Of those studied, 75% say they are "completely" or "mostly" out. Only 3.7% say they have kept their sexual orientation private. Staffed by gerontologists, The MetLife Mature Market Institute, part of the company's Retirement Strategies Group, has been providing research, knowledge management, education, and policy support for over ten years to Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, its corporate customers, and business partners. MetLife is a subsidiary of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET), a leading provider of insurance and financial services to individual and institutional customers. The Lesbian and Gay Aging Issues Network (LGAIN) is a constituent group of the American Society on Aging. It works to raise awareness about the concerns of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) elders and about the unique barriers they encounter in gaining access to housing, healthcare, long-term care and other needed services. Visit the LGAIN home page at www.asaging.org/lgain. The report, "Out and Aging: The MetLife Study of Lesbian and Gay Baby Boomers," can be found at: www.maturemarketinstitute.com under "Studies." www.HealthNewsDigest.com Top of Page 
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