Business Report: Beware Of Retirement Sprawl

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David L. Cumming, senior vice president and financial advisor at Morgan Stanley.

By David L. Cumming
As we move through our career, we often accumulate a number of different retirement accounts: A traditional IRA here, a rollover IRA there, and two or three scattered 401(k) accounts left in the plans of former employers.
As the accounts add up, it can become difficult to get a clear picture of your overall retirement preparedness.
Consolidating your retirement accounts into one central account can help you make sure your retirement assets are invested appropriately for your overall goals, better track the performance of your holdings and, in some cases, discover more investment choices and potentially incur lower fees.

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AARP: Cost Of Drugs Is Rising Dramatically

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Retail prices for 267 brand-name drugs commonly used by older adults surged by an average of 5.8 percent in 2018, more than twice the general inflation rate of 2.4 percent, according to new AARP Public Policy Institute (PPI) data released in November.
The annual average cost of therapy for one brand-name drug ballooned to more than $7,200 in 2018, up from nearly $1,900 in 2006, the study said.
“There seems to be no end to these relentless brand-name drug price increases,” said Debra Whitman, executive vice president and chief public policy officer at AARP. “To put this into perspective: If gasoline prices had grown at the same rate as these widely-used brand-name drugs over the past 12 years, gas would cost $8.34 per gallon at the pump today. Imagine how outraged Americans would be if they were forced to pay those kinds of prices.”

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Quick Response To Hold Its 19th Santa’s Playland Holiday Event On December 13-14

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Quick Response Restoration will hold its annual holiday event Dec. 13 and 14 at its headquarters at 2077 Route 9, Round Lake. The event is free to the public.
Courtesy Quick Response

By Jennifer Farnsworth
Holidays goers can once again enjoy the annual Quick Response Restoration holiday light show and display.
The event, called Santa’s Playland, is now in its 19th year. It will be held at the company headquarters, 2077 Route 9, Round Lake.
Vincent Laurenzo of Quick Response said this was something his father started as a away to give back to the community and today the show still upholds that tradition.
“This is something that is important to our family and to all of those 50 plus volunteers who make it happen,” said Laurenzo.

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Hospital’s Annual Ornament Honors Marylou Whitney; Sales Benefit Cancer Patient Fund

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The 24th in the collectible holiday ornament series honors Marylou Whitney.
Courtesy Saratoga Hospital

Saratoga Hospital is honoring a beloved Saratoga Springs icon with its 2019 collector’s ornament, “Celebrating Mrs. Marylou Whitney.”
Proceeds from the sale of the ornaments will support the Saratoga Hospital Cancer Patient Fund.
“Marylou was so impressed by the quality of care she received at Saratoga Hospital,” said John Hendrickson, Mrs. Whitney’s husband. “I know she would have been humbled and honored to have the hospital’s holiday ornament dedicated to her memory.”
The 24th in the collectible series, the ornament features the Saratoga Race Course clubhouse entrance, renamed in Mrs. Whitney’s honor. Previous ornaments depicted historic places, buildings, statues, or iconic areas or pastimes.
The artwork is by Saratoga Hospital surgeon Dr. Joseph Bell, vice president and medical director of perioperative services.
“Mrs. Whitney’s loss reverberated throughout the city,” Bell said.

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‘Skidmore Cares’ Program Will Assist Those In Need In The Community For The 14th Year

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For the 14th consecutive year, faculty and staff at Skidmore College are joining together through the College’s Skidmore Cares program to assist those in need in Saratoga County.
Since the community service program was begun in 2006 by Skidmore President Philip A. Glotzbach and Marie Glotzbach, the Skidmore community has donated more than $108,000 in monetary gifts, more than 26,000 food items and nearly 12,000 school supplies to nonprofit agencies throughout Saratoga County.
On Wednesday, approximately 125 Skidmore faculty and staff members attended a kickoff luncheon on campus to mark the beginning of the donation effort.
“What Skidmore Cares is all about is an opportunity for the Skidmore community to come together and to have a moment of good fellowship and for all of us to give ­­­­– and give back – to the larger community,” Glotzbach said. “It’s a time of gathering. It’s a time of celebration of the season. And we are very happy to combine that with this opportunity for giving.”
Representatives from several Saratoga-based community service agencies attended the luncheon.

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Organization Formed To Help Businesses Align With Charities Compatible To Their Mission

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Lisa Munter, right, founder of Knitt LLC, poses with Jamie Williams of Franklin Community Center. Knitt will help companies build relationships with nonprofit groups.
©2019 Saratoga Photographer.com

By Susan E. Campbell
A new internet-based service will soon bring together Capital District businesses with nonprofits whose missions align with a company’s goals for charitable giving.
Called Knitt LLC, founder Lisa Munter believes her organization will provide “a mindful and time efficient way to connect” donors and donor organizations. Its success, and future compensation, will depend on the “knitted” relationships among businesses and nonprofit organizations who did not have a prior relationship, Munter said.
Munter is an avid volunteer and wife of a businessman whose company, Munter Enterprises, is “inundated with requests for donations.”

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Stewart’s Shops Partners With Rose & Kiernan To Help Nonprofits Save On Expenses

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Stewart’s Shops and Rose & Kiernan have partnered to help nonprofits save money on gasoline and their operational expenses.
Rose & Kiernan, a market leader in providing insurance and risk management service to non-profits, and Stewart’s Shops, which has a long history of helping nonprofits with financial backing and guidance, have partnered to assist these community organizations in saving money on travel and other business-related expenses.
Officials said the partnership is designed to help nonprofit organizations, many of whom often have limited budgets, put more of their financial resources to use serving people and causes vitally important to our communities.

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Mountain Media Expanded Data Center Assures Protection In Power Failures, Disasters

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Bob Priest, CEO of Kincaid Network Solutions, left, and James Curley, CEO of Mountain Media, pose in the new Mountain Media offices in Ballston Spa.
©2019 Saratoga Photographer.com

Mountain Media, a website development firm, has expanded to provide fully redundant data centers with near-instantaneous connections and automatic switchover services.
According to the company, the expansion assures clients’ ecommerce and other mission-critical applications remain accessible in power failures or other disasters.
The firm, which recently moved its offices to 1252 Saratoga Road, Ballston Spa, from Saratoga Springs, took in a capital partner to assist in developing the data center. Working with Kincaid Network Solutions, Mountain Media now offers what it calls “one of the best-connected and most-scalable web hosting environments on the Eastern Seaboard.”
“We have a long history of working collaboratively with Kincaid Network Solutions and its founder, Bob Priest,” said Mountain Media President and CEO James Curley. “We’re pleased to work with Kincaid as we move our hosting capabilities to the next level for mid-tier ecommerce and business application websites.”

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Adirondack Trust App Allows Customers To Get Discounts At Various Local Businesses

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Celia Vincek of Adirondack Trust Co. uses her company’s new Beyond Savings app on her phone, which allows people to get discounts when shopping at participating local businesses.

By Christine Graf
Adirondack Trust Co. has launched a free smartphone app that provides consumers with the opportunity to receive discounts and other perks at participating local businesses.
The app, called Beyond Savings, uses customized software developed by a third party provider.
According to Adirondack Trust Executive Vice President Charles Wait, it was Robert Ward who first came to him with the idea for the app. Ward is vice president-marketing manager at the bank.
“I knew we needed a rewards program, and Rob came to me with the idea,” said Wait. “It was very easy to say ‘yes’ to. It uses technology to provide local shopping rewards. If I go to one of the vendors on our list—Forno Bistro for example—and I have the app on my phone, I can get a discount. So that benefits not only the user but also the merchants who are our customers. It’s a nice partnership.”

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