The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is now an Age-Friendly State
Governor Charlie Baker has announced that Massachusetts has joined the network of AARP Age-Friendly States and the World Health Organization Global Network of Age-Friendly Cities and Communities. We thank Governor Baker for his leadership on this issue of importance to Bay State residents of all ages.
AARP’s Tax-Aide program provides older adults free tax help
Tax filing season is upon us, and AARP can help! Approaching its 50th year, Tax-Aide offers free tax filing help to anyone, especially those 50 and older, who can’t afford a tax preparation service.
Sometimes you get sunflowers
One raw, late-winter day many years ago, arborists took down a grand, ancient pine in our yard. I don’t remember all of our reasons for this but, once it was cut, signs of internal rot made it clear that the tree would have come down anyway, probably tumbling huge limbs onto somebody’s house. The decision to cut it down had been a good one.
Congressional two-step: Cut taxes, then entitlements
Elder rights groups are warning that the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (HR 1) will be financed by gutting entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare.
AARP Supports the Recognize, Assist, Include, Support, and Engage (RAISE) Family Caregivers Act
Across America, family caregivers help parents, spouses, children and adults with disabilities and other loved ones to live independently. They prepare meals, handle finances, manage medications, drive to doctors’ appointments, help with bathing and dressing, and perform complex medical tasks and more — all so loved ones can live at home.
My cloak of invisibility
One chilly, blustery day, I was browsing in a bookshop when a willowy young woman breezed in. I immediately noticed that she wasn’t dressed appropriately for the weather. More than that, in my opinion, she wasn’t dressed appropriately for any public viewing: flimsy, slippery beige T-shirt clinging too revealingly to her torso, her tiny black skirt like two napkins stitched together, long bare legs, model-perfect make-up, every hair in her puffy dark bob in its assigned position.
Workplace retirement savings program debuts in Massachusetts
Today, a secure retirement may be out of reach for millions of Americans, especially those who work for small businesses. Fifty-seven million Americans have no access to a retirement savings plan through their employers - that’s over 50 percent of the 18- to 64-year-old population. When employers give workers the option of payroll deduction for retirement savings, AARP research indicates that their participation rate is a whopping 1,300 percent higher than that of those without the option.
Treating poor people as “passive” health care consumers
By Al Norman
In 2009, a state legislator who chaired the House Financial Services Committee on Beacon Hill introduced a bill that would "automatically enroll...
Massachusetts Care Act takes effect this month
If you are not a caregiver, chances are you will be one in the future, or maybe you know someone who is currently caring for their loved one. In 2015 in Massachusetts, family caregivers provided 786 million hours of unpaid care valued at approximately $11.6 billion annually. These family caregivers have a huge responsibility and, fortunately, there is a new state law to help them. AARP Massachusetts is thrilled to announce that the Caregiver Advise, Record, Enable (CARE) Act is now law. The CARE Act recognizes the critical role family caregivers play in keeping their loved ones at home, and out of costly institutions. Currently, Massachusetts is the 38th state to enact the CARE Act.
Pushing health care to the states is no solution
The U.S. Senate recently found itself in a mad rush to beat the clock and repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) before Sept. 30. It was an act of desperation to support a bill that simply kicked the problem down to the states. Here is the background:
