GBONEWS: Social Security Disability at Crossroads; Longevity and Anti-Fascist Activists; Boxers Punch Parkinson’s; Journalism Innovator Sandy Close Steps Down, Not Out; Star Tribune Drops Chris Farrell’s Column; Building Long-Term Care Workforce; & MORE.
GENERATIONS BEAT ONLINE NEWS
E-News of the Journalists Network on Generations
December 16, 2025 — Volume 32, Number 16
EDITOR’S NOTE: GBONews, e-news of the Journalists Network on Generations (JNG), publishes alerts for journalists, producers and authors covering generational issues. If you have difficulty getting to the full issue of GBONews with the links provided below, simply go to www.gbonews.org to read the latest or past editions. Send your news of stories or books (by you and others), fellowships, awards or pertinent kvetches to GBO News Editor Paul Kleyman. [pfkleyman@gmail.com]. To subscribe to GBONews.org at no charge, simply send a request to Paul with your name, address, phone number and editorial affiliation or note that you freelance. For each issue, we’ll email the table of contents and links to the full issue at www.gbonews.org. GBONews does not provide its list to other entities.
In This Issue: It’s Beethoven’s Birthday, “Peanuts” Lovers, So Relevant to Today’s News – “Da-da-da — DUM!”
SUMMARY OF CONTENTS
1. THE STORYBOARD:
*** “Social Security Disability Insurance is at a crossroads,” by Mark Miller, RetirementRevised.substack.com and his New York Times “Retiring” column;
*** “Turns Out Fighting Fascism Helps You Live Longer,” by Julia Mètraux, Mother Jones;
*** “The Parkinson’s program that packs a punch,” by Ambar Castillo, Epicenter NYC.
2. GEN BEATLES NEWS: *** American Community Media (ACoM) Editor/Founder Alexandra “Sandy” Close to Go Emeritus with Jaya Padmanabhan as New ED; *** Minneapolis Star Tribune Cancels Chris Farrell’s Column; *** Former KFF “Navigating Aging” columnistJudy Graham Welcomes Grandbaby.
3. GOOD SOURCES:
*** “America’s Retirement Curriculum Needs a Longevity Rewrite,” by Joseph F. Coughlin, Director, MIT’s AgeLab, Forbes;
*** “Building the Workforce Behind Long-Term Care,” report by Allison Cook, and Erica Amarante, for National Academy for Social Insurance;
*** “Ageing in South-East Asia,” Editorial, The Lancet Healthy Longevity.
1. THE STORYBOARD
*** “Social Security Disability Insurance is at a crossroads,” by Mark Miller, RetirementRevised.substack.com (Dec. 13, 2025. See, also, his New York Times “Retiring” column):
What Happens: “About 40% of people who are employed end up leaving their jobs earlier than expected, often because of an unexpected disability. . . . Lost wages can force disabled workers to burn through their savings and claim Social Security as early as age 62, locking in permanently lower benefits. . .
“There is, however, an important alternative. Older workers who become disabled can apply for Social Security Disability Insurance [SSDI], which replaces a substantial share of the retirement benefit they would otherwise receive later.”
Who’s Affected: “SSDI serves . . . about 8.2 million people with physical impairments or conditions, such as intellectual or mental disorders. Roughly three-quarters of those beneficiaries are age 50 or older, and many have low incomes.”
How: Recent reports say “the Social Security Administration had paused work on a plan to overhaul the disability application system. The proposal would have updated an outdated database the agency uses to determine whether jobs exist that an applicant could perform. At the same time, it would have made it harder for people over age 50 to qualify.”
Miller noted, “But one part of the proposal raised serious concerns: it would have increased the age at which age is considered in disability decisions from 50 to 60. Disability experts warn that such a change would lead to more denials for older, vulnerable workers who have few realistic options left in the labor market.”
*** “Turns Out Fighting Fascism Helps You Live Longer,” by Julia Mètraux, Mother Jones (Nov. 26, 2025) — The Dek: “Retirees are mobilizing to defend democracy—and the benefits literally show up in their DNA.”
The Lede: “Terri Williams, who lives in northern Texas, started volunteering as a high schooler in the mid-1970s—at first for Planned Parenthood, educating people about birth control.
“In retirement, she hasn’t stopped. Linda McMahon’s2024 nomination as President Donald Trump’s Secretary of Education, a prelude to attempts in dismantling the department, led Williams to double down on her efforts, which now center on helping elementary schoolers excel.”
In a Nutshell: “Williams is one of a legion of retired people responding to the tears in the country’s social fabric by volunteering in their communities, rather than staying frozen in fear—work that has taken on new urgency under the second Trump administration.”
The Research: “A January study in the journal Social Science & Medicine found that volunteering slows down aging in retirees: the DNA of people who volunteered the equivalent of one to four hours a week showed distinctive biomarkers associated with decelerated epigenetic aging, with the most pronounced effects among retired people. . . . That study is just part of a growing body of research on the health benefits of volunteering for retirees, a major benefit for older Americans who have mobilized for election defense and other core public services under attack.
“Another study published in February found that volunteering in early retirement among Americans also reduced rates of depression by around 10 percent—again, a more pronounced effect than in the general population.”
*** “The Parkinson’s program that packs a punch,” by Ambar Castillo, Epicenter NYC (Dec. 8, 2025): The Dek – “Rock Steady Boxing in Manhattan keeps older New Yorkers with Parkinson’s disease moving, motivated and connected.”
The Lede: “It was already warm and sweat-scented inside the East Village gym when the boxing students arrived one afternoon last week. In their 60s and 70s, they wore their game faces as they stepped onto a Hulk-green mat. . . Their instructor, Luke Barrett, led them through shoulder rolls, chin tucks and breathing exercises. Barrett, more educator than drill sergeant, often uses warm-ups and cool-downs for the boxing sessions to slip in tricks for improving daily life.”
Parkinson’s: “In 2019, Barrett, a longtime boxing and Muay Thai coach, opened the first New York City chapter of Rock Steady Boxing, a noncontact fitness program available nationwide for people with Parkinson’s. The classes he runs mirror standard boxing routines but add functional exercises tied to daily life, such as turning, rising from chairs and navigating tight spaces.”
Controversial Language: “Underlying it all is the idea couched in Rock Steady’s motto: ‘Fighting back against Parkinson’s disease.’ Some researchers question that kind of battle language, saying it can leave people feeling at fault for any decline. But Barrett said his students consider it ‘empowering.’”
Research: “A study published in March in the journal Frontiers of Aging Neuroscience found that boxing, when done safely and consistently, can improve lower-body strength, balance, mobility, gait, depression and the severity of symptoms overall.
“In terms of Rock Steady, researchers in Australia conducted a small feasibility study in 2023 looking at 10 participants with early-stage Parkinson’s. Most showed improved motor skills after 15 weeks. . . . A larger study of 1,709 participants in Minneapolis in 2020 found that Rock Steady improved participants’ mood, social life, anxiety, fatigue and fear of falling.”
2. GEN BEATLES NEWS
*** American Community Media (ACoM) Editor/Founder Alexandra “Sandy” Close to Go Emeritus: The widely honored journalism innovator, Sandy Close, a MacArthur “Genius” Award recipient, announced via Facebook, “On Feb. 1, my role will change as Executive Director to Editor Emeritus. I will focus on special projects, development and marketing” of the multi-lingual news service for ethnic news media reaching ethnic communities throughout the United States.
Close wrote, “When I climb up the stairs to my house each day after work, or race through an airport to catch a flight, or brace myself to drive anywhere in the dark, my body sends a message loud and clear: you’re about to turn 84, you’ve got to slow down. I’ve no intention of stopping work. But the time has come for new leadership at ACoM.”
Succeeding her as executive director of ACoM will be veteran journalist Jaya Padmanabhan, a former columnist for the San Francisco Examiner and past manager of the ethnic media collaborative project at USC Center for Health Care Journalism. She’s also been a Journalists in Aging Fellow.
Close directed Pacific News Service (PNS) from 1974 until it ceased operations in 2017. As part of PNS, she established what became the New America Media news service for ethnic news organizations in the United States in 1996.
Among her many other recognitions, Close received the 2012 I.F. Stone Medal for Journalistic Independence, from Harvard’s Nieman Foundation for Journalism, and the 2011 George Polk Award for Career Achievement. In 1996, the documentary, Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O’Brien, which Close initiated and co-produced with filmmaker Jessica Yu, won the Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject).
Not incidentally for this report, Close is a co-founder of the Journalists in Aging Fellows Program with GBONews.org publisher, the Journalists Network on Generations, and the Gerontological Society of America.
*** Journalist and retirement-finance author Chris Farrell announced on Facebook, “My personal finance column with the Minneapolis Star Tribune, published on Sundays has come to an end.” His final piece ran on Dec. 7.
Farrell continues in his roles as a senior economics contributor at American Public Media’s Marketplace, and as an economics commentator for Minnesota Public Radio, where he hosts its series, Conversations on the Creative Economy. Among his five books on personal finance and the economy are Purpose and a Paycheck: Finding Meaning, Money, and Happiness is the Second Half of Life (HarperCollins Leadership, 2019), and Unretirement: How Baby Boomers are Changing the Way We Think About Work, Community, and the Good Life (Bloomsbury USA, 2016).
Farrell explained, “I’m sad at losing the column. Nothing bad happened. The Star Tribune made some changes with its dealings with freelance writers, and the new workflow isn’t practical for me.”
Farrell, who began the weekly column in 2007, noted, “I write my drafts and final versions of the column in one document, and I’ve written more than 525,000 words over the years.” For his final piece, he added, “The last paragraph of that column offers a fitting note to end on: ‘Retirement planning rightly focuses on savings, assets and income. But it’s become apparent that staying curious and staying connected might be the most important investments anyone makes at any age, including late in life.’”
*** Former KFF Health News “Navigating Aging” columnist Judy Graham will get her hand on the life wheel to help navigate what’s lies ahead for her new grandbaby. Born in early August, Naomi joins “brother Joel (20 months), their parents, and two 70-pound dogs.” Taking retirement very seriously, Graham, who lives in Denver, posted on Facebook, “I haven’t been taking notes. I wanted life without notes at least for a while.”
3. GOOD SOURCES
*** “America’s Retirement Curriculum Needs A Longevity Rewrite,” by Joseph F. Coughlin, Forbes, (Oct. 20, 2025): Joe Coughlin, Founder and Director of MIT’s AgeLab, has long collaborated with corporations to improve their approach to the seniors market by addressing underlying factors in aging beyond merely weighing supply-and-demand capital concerns.
The Study: Working with the John Hancock Insurance Company, his MIT AgeLab developed the new Longevity Preparedness Index (LPI). This initial report is based on the AgeLab and he insurer’s first annual LPI national consumer survey to gauge the nation’s retirement preparedness.
Coughlin explains in this Forbes commentary, “The Index measures preparedness across eight critical domains that research shows are fundamental to quality of life in older age: health, finance, care, home, daily activities, social connection, community, and life transitions.”
In the poll of more than 1,300 U.S. adults, participants scored an average of 60 Americans out of 100. Coughlin observed, “If it were a grade, America earned what is effectively a ‘D’ in longevity preparedness.”
Some Findings: Among highlights from the study, Coughlin noted, “The lowest scores were in care (42), home (56), and health (56). These areas relate to caregiving, housing flexibility, and personal well-being. Few respondents knew who would care for them or how they would pay for it. Many hadn’t thought about how their homes might need to change to support aging in place.
He added, “Yet there were bright spots: The highest scores appeared in community (70) and social connection (69), evidence that people still find strength and identity in the networks that surround them.”
Coughlin added, “Women outperformed men in most domains, especially care and social connection—suggesting that while financial preparedness often dominates the conversation, emotional and relational readiness may be the true currency of longevity.”
*** “Building the Workforce Behind Long-Term Care,” by Allison Cook, Founder of, and Erica Amarante, consultant for Better Aging and Policy Consulting, National Academy for Social Insurance (NASI, Nov. 12, 2025).
Expert Series: This blog from NASI, Washington’s principal bipartisan association focused on policies related to programs such as Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare, is the first part of a three-part series exploring “how states can strengthen long-term care for older adults, people with disabilities, and family caregivers—by designing sustainable financing models and investing in the workforce that makes care possible. This first installment examines the growing crisis facing America’s long-term care system—and why state action is urgently needed.”
In a Nutshell: The bloggers state, “We currently have a Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS) system that leaves millions of people behind due to its fractured nature and lack of affordability.
“Medicaid, a federal and state partnership, has become the largest payer for LTSS – requiring middle-class individuals to spend down their life savings to qualify for vital services. Further, Medicaid home and community-based services are largely considered optional, rather than mandatory services – creating enrollment caps, waitlists, and geographic limitations for services. Private long-term care insurance provides LTSS coverage, but the premiums are unaffordable for many of those who qualify.”
*** “Ageing in South-East Asia,” Editorial, The Lancet Healthy Longevity (November 2025):
What to Know: “On Oct 15, 2025, members of the World Health Organization (WHO) South-East Asia region signed the Colombo Declaration. The declaration, signed by nine of the 10 member countries (i.e., Bangladesh, Bhutan, North Korea, India, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Timor-Leste), commits to strengthening primary health care to ensure healthy ageing in the region. This action is important as the region, which is home to approximately 25% of the world’s population, is experiencing rapid population ageing.”
WHO Predicts: “The number of people aged 60 years or older in the South-East Asia region will almost double in the next 25 years—from 11.3% in 2024 to 20.9% in 2050. . . The Colombo Declaration sets out an ambitious target of ‘building resilient, inclusive, and sustainable primary health care systems that enable all people in our Region to live longer, healthier and more fulfilling lives.”
10 Actions: “The Colombo Declaration commits the signatories to 10 actions, which focus on embedding healthy ageing into primary health-care systems, combating ageism, ensuring sufficient resourcing, and improving knowledge and data collection. The declaration follows the WHO South-East Asia Regional Strategy on Healthy Ageing 2024–2030 report. . . . For example, the WHO report shows that, of the member states that reported data, only 11% had adequate funding to combat ageism and create age-friendly environments and just over half (55%) of member states reported adequate or substantial resources to provide integrated and primary health care for older people.”
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The Journalists Network on Generations (JNG), founded in 1993, publishes Generations Beat Online News (GBONews.org). JNG provides information and networking opportunities for journalists covering generational issues, but not those representing services, products or lobbying agendas. Copyright 2025 Paul Kleyman. For more information contact GBO Editor Paul Kleyman.
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