May Jobs Report – Strength in Numbers: The U.S. labor market remained hot, adding 339,000 jobs in May and beating expectations. Of note, the unemployment rate actually increased to 3.7%, from 3.4%, the largest increase (outside of the pandemic) since November 2011. One measure that languished for years following the 2007-2008 recession is the prime age labor participation rate (for workers between the ages of 25-54), which rose to 83.4% last month, the highest since January 2007. This rate is particularly of note for women, which reached an all-time high. This is a reversal of the trend when the pandemic hit and more women than men left the labor force to take care of kids. The Federal Reserve meets next week (June 13-14th) to interpret this data and can add May consumer price data (released on June 12th) to its decision to continue interest rate increases or pause them. CNN Marketplace
Ukraine – Russia War Escalation: Recent developments in the Russia-Ukraine war are concerning with the destruction of the Kakhovka dam in Ukraine, on land currently controlled by Russia. An assessment of the aggressors is pending; however, the environmental and humanitarian impacts are not. Villages on both sides of the Dnipro River are underwater. The reservoir dependent on cooling the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, Zaporizhzhia, is supplied by the Dnipro River and the dam. Water levels appear to be adequate for now, however, the plant has been under stress before during the conflict. This comes as speculation rises for a Ukraine counter-offensive to begin. Bloomberg
FAFSA Changes – Make it Easy, Maybe? We are monitoring potential changes to the FAFSA Simplification Act, passed in 2021, as changes may be phased in effective December 1, 2023. In an attempt to simplify FAFSA for families, the number of questions will be reduced from one hundred to about three dozen. The biggest change, and potential benefit, is the elimination of consequences of financial support received from others. Beginning in 2023, if any individual outside the immediate family (i.e. a grandparent), helps pay for college costs it will no longer impact the student’s chances for need-based financial aid. As we have written about previously (here and here), recent legislative changes have enhanced the appeal of 529 college savings accounts as a college saving tool given their increased flexibility.
Other changes are an increase to the income protection allowance, rules preventing colleges from no longer having policies denying all financial aid appeals and the elimination of the multiple children in college discount. For divorced or separated households, the custodial parent will now be required to fill out FAFSA. savingforcollege.com
Financial Planning/Investment Strategy Corner:
Evaluating Retirement Communities: Here at Robinson Smith Wealth Advisors, we strive to become experts ourselves on topics to be a resource for our clients. These topics may be beyond investing or normal financial planning, and we have enough humility to say “OK, we know enough to be dangerous on this topic, so let’s bring in an expert.” Recently we wanted to get more information on what to consider when evaluating retirement communities for our clients or parents of our clients. After I found myself basing the entire decision of the retirement community on the meal plan, we thought it would be best to consult local experts to guide us. We met with local senior living advisors Coastal Transitions of Maine who work directly with seniors and families to find the best fit based on care level, finances available, and current capacity. From our discussion, we took away a few things:
- Consider the lead time when making a decision as the waitlists for higher-end facilities are years out (i.e. Pipershores, Oceanview).
- If you have Veterans benefits for either yourself or your spouse, facilities in Maine also have long waitlists.
- If utilizing MaineCare, the process may take 3-4 months to enter a facility.
- Beyond health and mobility concerns, families may want to begin retirement community discussions after the loss of a spouse, loss of a driver’s license, or loss of independence in any way.
Overall, we are very happy to have a local partner who knows the ins and outs of Maine and Seacoast, NH retirement communities. If you are looking for facilities in states outside of Maine or New Hampshire, for parents or yourself, we think it would be best to consult with a local senior advisor for their expertise. We’ve also written about some of the considerations to make in selecting and evaluating retirement communities and advisors here can help guide you through the process.
Quick Hits:
- Chef Jacques Pepin is one of my favorite chefs for simple recipe instructions, so I truly enjoyed this profile of his career from Julia Child to Howard Johnson’s. Chef Jacques Pépin
- These cows looked more like hams to me 😊. In a recent review of how technology may be helping farmers. There’s a bit of a rap or rock album cover feel to these pictures.
- Maine has two new James Beard Award winners but you have to drive for them – one is in Turner, ME, a nice summer drive, and the other is outside of Moosehead, more of a Maine summer camping trip.
- A look at what the world looked like during the last Ice Age.
Quote: “If you keep your feathers well oiled, the water of criticism will run off as from a duck’s back.” – Ellen Swallow Richards. I think I have been hanging around my ducks too much (which are now outside in the coop chateau):
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