How AARP is Working for You

We made it a top priority on Capitol Hill this year to fight for laws to support the nation’s 48 million family caregivers. So we applaud lawmakers from the House of Representatives and Senate for relaunching the Assisting Caregivers Today (ACT) caucus to bring greater visibility to the challenges those who care for their loved ones face. 

AARP will work with the bipartisan caucus to “continue raising awareness of the value of family caregivers and the need to find commonsense solutions that will provide them with support to help their loved ones live independently in their homes,” Nancy A. LeaMond, AARP executive vice president and chief advocacy and engagement officer, said in a statement.  

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The pandemic cast a spotlight on the need for high-speed internet — for everything from accessing health care to working from home and connecting with friends and family. But nearly 22 million American older adults lack broadband access at home, according to an AARP report.

Experts who spoke at an AARP tele-town hall on June 22 discussed ways to close the digital divide and urged listeners to tap into new federal resources aimed at addressing the problem, such as the AARP-backed Affordable Connectivity Program. 

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We’re thrilled that all working Minnesotans will soon be able to take paid time off to care for a loved one, thanks to legislation signed recently by Gov. Tim Walz.

Minnesota is the 15th state, along with the District of Columbia, to enact some form of paid family medical leave, although some programs are still being implemented. AARP Minnesota spent nearly a decade lobbying for the legislation, part of our push to support family caregivers.

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More than 300,000 Nevadans without a workplace savings plan such as a 401(k) will find it easier to save for retirement, thanks to a bipartisan bill signed by Gov. Joe Lombardo last week.

The legislation creates the Nevada Employee Savings Trust (NEST), a public-private retirement savings program for private-sector employees. Under the law, private employers that have been in business for at least three years, employ five or more workers, and do not offer their own retirement plan will be required to automatically enroll employees in a state-facilitated IRA, unless the employee opts out. The program will be launched in 2025.

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Virtual doctor visits became a safe, convenient and popular way for older adults to get needed health care during the COVID-19 pandemic. But now that the government has declared the public health emergency over, restrictions on telehealth for people on Medicare — which were waived during the crisis — are scheduled to return at the end of 2024.

That’s why we wrote to Capitol Hill lawmakers last week endorsing the  CONNECT (Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies) for Health Act of 2023. If passed, the bipartisan bill would permanently allow coverage of telehealth services for all Medicare beneficiaries, bringing Medicare more in line with private insurance companies.

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Older Americans lose a staggering $28.3 billion to financial exploitation every year — a figure significantly higher than official tallies, according to a new AARP report.

Most of those losses — about $20.5 billion — are likely never reported to authorities, either because the victims are too embarrassed or the perpetrator is someone they know, the report from AARP’s BankSafe Initiative found.

BankSafe partnered with NORC at the University of Chicago to quantify the true cost of elder financial abuse, using a formula that considers the tendency of fraud to go unreported.

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On Wednesday, we joined U.S. Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Capitol Hill in support of bipartisan legislation to protect the legal rights of older adults facing age discrimination at work. 

The Protecting Older Americans Act of 2023 would prohibit forced arbitration for age discrimination claims in the workplace. Nearly two out of three workers 40 and older say they have seen or experienced age discrimination on the job, according to AARP research, and rates are even higher for women and people of color. 

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We commend the U.S. Supreme Court for striking down a Minnesota law allowing local governments to seize a person’s home to recoup back property taxes and keep any leftover money after the home is sold. 

AARP Foundation filed a brief in a case before the court this week in support of Geraldine Tyler, a 94-year-old Minnesota woman who lost her condo after she failed to pay $15,000 in back taxes, fees and interest.  

According to court documents, the county seized her condo, sold it for $40,000 and kept the $25,000 surplus, as required under Minnesota law. 

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