Consultant focuses on retirees' questions

Tim Johnson has dealt with death and dying. He knows the ins and outs of nursing homes and senior care facilities.

Hes asked questions most people dont until theyre forced to make snap decisions.

So now the 58-year-old Oregon resident and volunteer firefighter, whose wide-ranging resume includes marketing, insurance and real estate credentials, is launching a Web site www.retirementtim.com for retirees as part of his retirement counseling business that opened a month ago.

"I try to raise the unvarnished questions," says Johnson. "Ive been around all kinds of senior issues for a lot of years. Ive buried my brother, father, wife and mother. Ive experienced the mechanics and the paperwork."

The former board member of Plymouth Village, a nursing center in Redlands, Calif., has been around nursing centers for much of his life. His wife of 10 years, Mary, is a registered nurse and has been in nursing management for 30 years.

"You can imagine how often the subject comes up at the breakfast table," he says.

"He knows the continuing care retirement community business and is a very competent guy, says Glen Belka, the marketing director and a former co-worker at 300-resident Plymouth Village,

"He hustles, has a lot of enthusiasm for what he does. Plymouth Village (which opened in 1962) was 30 percent vacant, and in a three-year period we were up to 97 percent of capacity. He did the administrative work and was able to keep all the paperwork straight.

Johnsons catch phrase is: "Dont trust anyone without scratches." He earned his scratches in a 10-year period between 1983 and 1993, when he lost his brother, father, wife and mother.

"Can you trust anyone who has never buried anyone to tell you about intensive-care units and mortuaries?" Johnson asks. "If some 25-year-old is trying to go over that with you, it just aint there. Burying people doesnt make me any better, but it does make me more knowledgeable."

Johnson receives what he calls modest retirement checks from San Bernardino County and the state of California for civil service stints.

"Its not a lot of money, but it does keep me up to speed on California retirement issues and there are lot of retirees here coming out of California," he says.

Johnson now makes a living selling reference guides dealing with retirement issues and through speaking engagements. His self-published book, "Answers: A Users Guide to Your Retirement," is due out in mid-September

Although hes not a financial planner, accountant or attorney, hes staked out a consulting niche.

"When people move from one state to another and are moving into a continuing care retirement facility that will cost them $500,000 or $600,000, theyre probably willing to spend $1,000 for a personal review," Johnson says. "I want to make sure people have specifics of what theyre about to do."

His guides are available via the Web site for $4.95 each, less for bulk orders. They cover:

Long-term care insurance, risks and coverage factors.

Retirement communities, detailing how monthly fees often double at every level of care.

Rights of nursing home patients, what questions to ask and what choices might be made.

The kinds of choices children may have to make for their parents concerning future care.

How to prevent assets left to church groups from falling into the wrong hands.

Preparing your house and yourself for emergencies.
Jacksonville, OR Councilman Bill Leep says Johnsons insights will benefit retirees who havent asked the right questions.

"When Tim looks at stuff - where perhaps a lay person would look at 10 feet and Tims looking at 20 feet - he captures things a lot of people dont," Leep says. "Hes researched the insurance industry and has been all the way around the block with this stuff.

"Hes shared text and books with me. After a while you get a feel for how people think and hes on a different plane."

Retirement Tim, or www.retirementtim.com, is designed to help seniors navigate issues that they have avoided or were afraid to tackleFor more information contact Retirement Tim, 1050 Crater Lake Avenue, Suite D, Medford, OR 97504 (541) 621-9515 or email at info@retirementtim.com