[Paleopsych] Services: Their Specialty? Anything Gray

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Business > Retirement > Services: Their Specialty? Anything Gray
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/12/business/retirement/12pope.html
April 12, 2005

    By ELIZABETH POPE

    THE graying of America is creating opportunities for entrepreneurs to
    provide new services to older people. These businesses, a relatively
    recent phenomenon, are helping clients create their ideal retirements,
    manage their daily finances and sell their homes or find smaller ones,
    among other services.

    Statistics on these specialized businesses are hard to find. Many of
    them were started by people who dropped (or were kicked) out of
    corporate culture, or who decided to change careers in midlife, said
    Sandra Timmermann, director of the MetLife Mature Market Institute.
    "These entrepreneurs saw a need, started small and went after a niche,
    then discovered it's bigger than they imagined," Ms. Timmermann said.

    Here are some of the new specialties:

    Transition Coach

    Transition coaches, the latest incarnation of personal or life
    coaches, have emerged to help people retire.

    "A lot of my clients in their 50's and 60's either have to leave work
    or want to," said Constance Adkins, 61, of Newton, Mass., a social
    worker who counsels people about retirement issues. "They feel
    restless, anxious and a bit at loose ends."

    Ms. Adkins and others like her use a variety of methods, including
    written exercises, readings and close questioning, to help clients
    clarify their goals and develop strategies to meet them. Ms. Adkins's
    clients report to her weekly, which, she says, adds accountability to
    the collaborative process. "Coaches don't nag," Ms. Adkins said. "We
    work with the client to lay out options and have them make conscious
    choices rather than falling into something without giving it
    attention."

    Like many transition coaches, Ms. Adkins offers an initial free
    telephone consultation, then charges $300 to $400 monthly for her
    services, which include a weekly 30-minute phone call and unlimited
    e-mail exchanges. Relationships with clients usually last six months
    to a year, she said.

    Coaching is a vague specialty that is neither licensed nor regulated,
    and training varies widely, so it is recommended that clients shop
    carefully and enter any arrangement with their eyes open. It is
    increasingly popular, though.

    "Retirement is one of the fastest-growing segments of the coaching
    industry," said Daniel Martinage, executive director of the
    International Coach Federation, an organization in Washington
    ([1]coachfederation.org).

    He recommends that potential clients check coaches' credentials,
    training and background. Most offer free introductory sessions so
    clients can get an idea of coaching style.It is typical for clients to
    create a patchwork of part-time work, volunteering, hobbies, late-life
    learning and travel, Ms. Adkins said.

    She recalled a former client who abruptly quit a demanding job.
    Working with Ms. Adkins, the woman spent several months examining her
    life and discovering long-forgotten pleasures. Within six months, she
    had moved out of state, built a new house, found a new partner, began
    a consulting business and taken up lots of other activities. "She was
    like a kid - cooking, biking and knitting - all the things she never
    had time for," Ms. Adkins said. "That's when I saw the potential in
    this time of life."

    Aging-in-Place Specialist

    As a remodeling contractor, Bill Bell, 45, of Millsboro, Del., worked
    on many houses that were being prepared for sale because the owners
    were moving into an assisted-living facility or nursing home. "I kept
    thinking if we just made a few changes, they could stay in the house,
    and wouldn't have to move," Mr. Bell said.

    One thing led to another, and Mr. Bell is now known as a certified
    aging-in-place specialist after taking a three-day workshop held by
    the National Association of Home Builders. The course teaches
    universal design and building techniques for making a home accessible
    to everyone, regardless of age or disability.

    "People think universal design is just ramps and grab bars, but good
    universal design is seamless and invisible," Mr. Bell said.
    Modifications include widening hallways and doors; adapting kitchens
    by adding multilevel countertops and easy-to-reach sinks and
    appliances; redesigning entryways to eliminate stairs and situating
    the master bedroom on the first floor, with a curbless shower and grab
    bars in the bathroom.

    There are more than 600 certified aging-in-place specialists in the
    United States, said Therese Ford Crahan, executive director of the
    National Association of Home Builders Remodelors Council ([2]nahb.org
    /remodelors). They come from various backgrounds and include
    architects, interior designers, builders and people who work in health
    care, Ms. Crahan said. The three-day course focuses primarily on
    design and building techniques, but also covers sensitivity training.

    Mr. Bell, for example, was required to wear earplugs and sunglasses
    smeared with petroleum jelly to simulate hearing and vision loss. He
    was then asked to write down verbal directions. "It did put some
    things in perspective," he said.

    Real Estate Specialist

    Around the time when Mr. Bell became an aging-in-place specialist, his
    wife, Kathy Sperl-Bell, a real estate agent, decided to specialize in
    helping older adults relocate, refinance or sell their homes. Ms.
    Sperl-Bell took a short course offered by the Senior Real Estate
    Council to become a senior real estate specialist.

    "Real estate transactions in general are fast-paced and very
    stressful, but the process can be emotionally draining for older
    people," said Ms. Sperl-Bell, 57. "My clients often have health
    problems or just lost a spouse. I've learned to slow down, be patient
    and listen."

    Murky family dynamics often complicate matters and call for a
    combination of hand-holding, a diplomatic touch and "a little bit of
    social services work," Ms. Sperl-Bell said. Sometimes, one spouse
    wants to sell the house and the other is adamantly opposed. Some adult
    children urge selling the family homestead, while others want to keep
    it.

    In the two-day online course she took to become a senior real estate
    specialist, Ms. Sperl-Bell studied the demographics and
    characteristics of the over-50 population, learning about financial
    options like reverse mortgages. When helping clients make decisions,
    she said she discussed the alternatives with them. "If the right
    answer is to remodel the house and stay put, that's fine," Ms.
    Sperl-Bell said. "But if the house really isn't going to age well with
    them, then we'll talk about selling."

    Currently there are more than 10,000 senior real estate specialists in
    all 50 states, according to Nathan Booth, a spokesman for the Senior
    Advantage Real Estate Council ([3]seniorsrealestate.com). "We
    discourage a lot of our top producers from pursuing this market - they
    want to be in and out in 20 minutes," he said. "For the older client,
    it's more counseling than hard sales. You have to slow down and win
    their trust."

    Senior Move Manager

    Moving is stressful for anyone, but older adults may be overwhelmed
    when leaving a beloved family home, unable to cope with the task of
    sorting and disposing of decades' worth of belongings.

    The specialists known as senior move managers help clients sort
    through their things, get them packed and settled in their new
    setting. Often, clients are moving from a house to a smaller dwelling
    in a retirement community, or between levels in a retirement
    community. Relocation specialists handle the sale, donation or
    shipping of household items to family members. On moving day, they
    coordinate and supervise movers, but do not physically move boxes and
    furniture. When the client walks in the door, the pictures are hung,
    the beds are made and the boxes are gone.

    "My best guess is that there are 400 such companies in the country,"
    said Margit Novack, a founder of the National Association of Senior
    Move Managers ([4]nasmm.org). Fees range from $30 to $75 hourly,
    depending on the part of the country and the move manager. The average
    cost of moving a one-bedroom apartment is $1,500; for a large,
    well-stocked house, the cost averages $5,000 or more, Ms. Novack said.

    Daily Money Manager

    Older adults want to retain their independence, but physical and
    mental health problems or the stress of caring for a partner can make
    daily financial tasks difficult. Or people may be too busy with travel
    or activities to spend time on bill paying, checkbook balancing and
    record keeping.

    Daily money managers are a new breed of specialists who help older
    people - and many time-pressed younger people - manage their financial
    affairs. "I'm the missing link between your accountant, financial
    planner, broker, lawyer and insurance agent, "said Katherine DeWitt,
    56, a daily money manager from Reston, Va. A former bank president,
    Ms. DeWitt meets clients once a month in their homes. She does an
    initial assessment of their needs, then tackles mundane matters like
    decluttering files. She will also give advice on long-range financial
    issues, and refer clients to professionals for legal, investment or
    tax advice.

    About 600 daily money managers can be found nationwide, charging
    hourly fees from $30 to $100, said Pat Manalio, a past president of
    the American Association of Daily Money Managers ([5]aadmm.com).

    Ms. DeWitt, who is licensed and insured, studied to become a
    registered financial gerontologist to better understand the needs of
    her older clients. Because money is often an emotional subject, it
    requires a sensitive approach. "You inch your way in to sense a
    client's receptivity to discussing money," she said. "Do you take baby
    steps or plunge right in?"

    Ms. DeWitt said her goal was to help her clients remain independent.
    "It's kind of a mission," she said. "I have one client, a widow who
    never balanced a checkbook in her life. When I leave, I feel so good
    because I know I've helped her feel a little more confident, a little
    less stressed and more stable."

References

    1. http://coachfederation.org/
    2. http://nahb.org/
    3. http://seniorsrealestate.com/
    4. http://nasmm.org/
    5. http://aadmm.com/