Korean seniors hanging out at Queens, N.Y., McDonald’s treated like Hamburglars

Always outspoken about senior needs and rights, I was fascinated and conflicted when I read about a McDonald’s restaurant in Flushing, Queens, N.Y., where two police officers ordered a group of elderly Korean patrons to leave the restaurant.

It seems the group, often on walkers and with canes, regularly shuffled into the restaurant as early as 5 a.m. and stayed all day, treating the eatery as their personal senior center.

Officers have been called in, the group leaves only to walk around the block and return again, taking up seats and causing the restaurant to lose other customers.

According to the paper, there is no shortage of facilities that cater to the elderly there. A compromise was brokered by Assemblyman Ron Kim, which called for the patrons to limit their loitering to less than an hour from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. So far, it has only been working part of the time.

The story brought a smile to my face; but on a serious note, as the population ages, we all need to pay more attention to the special needs and feelings of the elderly.

Our own Branford Senior Center is difficult to enter for many seniors, and just recently I complained at a doctor’s office in Madison because their tiny bathroom lacked the requisite handicapped toilet.

All too often, streets in our towns, especially the side streets in New Haven, are icy and dangerous, days following a snowfall, forcing seniors to stay at home or risk falling when they venture out.

On Social Security
Also in the news are some changes in Social Security benefits. Workers retiring this year at full retirement age (currently 66), will see an increase from $2,533 a month to $2,642. If you are already on Social Security, your increase will depend on the level of your 2013 benefits, but benefits will go up 1.5 percent or an average of $19 per month. Based on the Consumer Price Index, during the past 25 years, COLA has averaged 2.74 percent; a relatively modest amount when you realize the increase in many basic living costs, yet some in Congress would like to lower the cost-of-living adjustment.

The maximum amount of pay that can be taxed for Social Security in 2014 will be $117,000, which means Jamie Dimon can sleep soundly at night. His raise as head of JPMorgan Chase to $20 million will hardly be affected. (Can anyone really be worth that amount of yearly compensation?) The Social Security tax is 12.4 percent, shared equally by worker and employer, but additionally, each also pays 1.45 percent for Medicare with no salary cap.

In 2014, if you are between 62-66, are receiving Social Security but continue to work, there is an earnings limit of $15,480 (an increase of $360 over previous years) before you start to lose some of your Social Security dollars. After full retirement, you are permitted to earn any amount with no penalty to your Social Security; a good rule since many seniors are planning to continue to work, well into their later years.

Meanwhile, I think this senior will forgo using credit cards for awhile. After this week’s news of data breaches at Neiman Marcus and Target, it will both save my money and my peace of mind.

Contact Jean Cherni, certified senior adviser for Senior Living Solutions and Pearce Plus, a helpful, full-service program for seniors contemplating a move, at jeancherni@sbcglobal.net or 49 Rose St., Apt. 510, Branford, 06405.

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Ought to be an Oscar or Emmy-type award for seniors aging with courage

The Oscars, considered the definitive movie award, doesn’t occur until March 2, but already there have been a series of other awards, including The Critics’ Choice Awards and the Screen Actors Guild Awards, both televised and overly long and often featuring the same elegantly dressed actors looking up from their food in mock surprise as their name was once again announced. But additionally, there are such an incredible amount of various and sundry other awards, you would have to be either a novice or incompetent, not to have received something. Still to come, are the British Film Awards in February as well as their Rising Star Award. I’m not sure when the PGA or Outstanding Producers Awards or the Peabody for distinguished public service by a radio and television station, occur.

We also have the Emmys, tonight’s Grammys, the Golden Globes, the Broadcasting Press Guild, not to mention an amazing array of film critics awards; each area from San Francisco to Toronto having its own Film Critics Association Award. It is impossible to keep track of them all.

Meanwhile, there is a large aging segment of the population dealing daily with the various problems, pains and inconveniences of growing older, and they receive little notice; let alone, an award. I was thinking about this late the other night after watching the delightful PBS show, “Downton Abbey” when I had one of those brilliant moments of clarity (which somehow always occur late at night when nobody is around).

As I was contemplating my own aging and trying to estimate what some of my future needs would be, I thought, I don’t need a special award or even a party for each additional year I manage to survive.

What I would dearly love is an “Anna”, the personal ladies maid to Mary, on Downton Abbey. She could brush my wayward hair in the morning, do the laundry, help me choose an appropriate outfit for the day’s activities, bring me tea when I am tired and act as my adviser and confidante. Carson, the butler would be an elegant added touch although there is no dinning staff to oversee and there are only three doors to open in the entire apartment. You can’t really expect butlers to open closet doors, can you? “After all,” my imaginary conversation with myself, continued, “Since my mother was born in England, this is really not putting on airs, but simply part of my heritage.”

But of course, in my heart of hearts, I know that for me, like many who are aging, there will be no Anna and perhaps not even a nearby relative to be of occasional help. Yet, every day in my work, I see first-hand how courageously many seniors are dealing with the multiple challenges that are part of the aging process. So here’s to all you seniors — I personally bestow a special Senior Lifetime Achievement Award. “Bravo” and “Well Done.”

Contact Jean Cherni, certified senior adviser for Senior Living Solutions and Pearce Plus, a helpful, full-service program for seniors contemplating a move, at jeancherni@sbcglobal.net or 49 Rose St., Apt. 510, Branford, 06405.

I'm reading: Ought to be an Oscar or Emmy-type award for seniors aging with courage