Fighting For You Every Day

The average family caregiver spends an estimated $7,200 a year on expenses related to their duties, according to AARP research. And that’s on top of the emotional and physical challenges that often come with providing unpaid care for an older loved one. 

So we commend the Oklahoma Legislature for passing an AARP-backed caregiver tax credit bill to ease that financial burden — and we urge Gov. Kevin Stitt to sign it.

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While older adults give health care in the U.S. high marks for quality, they think it’s lacking in access, affordability and care for seniors. That’s according to a new AARP survey of more than 1,000 Americans 50 and older. 

Asked in November 2022 about their satisfaction with the quality of U.S. health care, half of respondents rated it good (36 percent) or very good (14 percent). But far fewer gave it high marks for accessibility and affordability — just 39 percent and 16 percent, respectively.

Our survey also found many older adults think the U.S. lags behind other developed countries in caring for the elderly. 

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We’re thrilled that our advocacy helped pass legislation in Minnesota this week that will allow retirees to keep more of their Social Security income.

On May 21, state lawmakers passed a bill that will eliminate the state tax on Social Security benefits for three-quarters of the state’s recipients. People with taxable incomes up to $78,000, or $100,000 for a couple, would be exempt from paying state taxes on their benefits under the legislation, which Gov. Tim Walz is expected to sign. 

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For years, we’ve been fighting for laws to reduce or eliminate state taxes on Social Security income, and we notched a major win in Missouri this month.

State lawmakers overwhelmingly passed legislation that would allow all Missourians to deduct Social Security income on their state tax returns starting in 2024. Previously, state tax on Social Security was only exempt for those 62 or older with taxable income of up to $85,000, or $100,000 for a couple filing jointly. 

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We led dozens of advocates for family caregivers in thanking President Joe Biden on Thursday for his executive order bolstering support for them.

Biden’s sweeping April 18 order calls for a range of actions, including improved access to home-based care for veterans, enhanced job quality for long-term care workers, and new or expanded efforts to support caregivers of veterans or people with dementia.

But we urged him to continue to prioritize policies to address the many challenges caregivers face.

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We sent letters to congressional lawmakers this week urging them to pass legislation to remove the mandatory retirement age of 65 for commercial airline pilots.

Instead of an arbitrary retirement age, AARP supports requirements for testing and exams designed to measure a pilot’s ability and characteristics needed to do the job, we told leaders of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.

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As many as 20 million Americans may have lost money to fraud in 2021 and not realized they were victims — or were too embarrassed to admit it.

That’s the conclusion of AARP researchers after a follow-up survey of 890 people who were identified as victims of fraud based on their answers to an earlier survey. 

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We applaud Florida lawmakers for passing a series of bills to improve long-term care, strengthen protections against elder abuse and expand affordable housing options.

Our advocacy also helped block a bill that would have made it harder to sue Florida long-term care facilities following the wrongful death of a resident.

The wins come after AARP Florida stepped up its presence in the state capitol during the 2023 legislative session. More than 40 volunteers from across the state spent months advocating for issues important to older Floridians.

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