Celebrating Older Americans Month
Reading Time: 2 MinutesLast Updated: May 31, 2022
Every May, the U.S. Administration for Community Living (ACL) leads the national observance of Older Americans Month. This year’s theme is “Age My Way” – with a focus on how older adults can plan to live independently for as long as possible. At USAging, this is our theme all year long! Our members lead local efforts to help older adults age well at home.
Social Security is key to this work. Social Security provides older adults with basic financial support to help them remain living in – and engaged in – their communities. That’s not only what most older adults prefer, but it also benefits their communities. Social Security benefits are economic drivers and lifelines. Older adults spend their income at local businesses, pay local taxes, and support religious and civic organizations.
To age well, older adults need to protect themselves. Unfortunately, the importance of Social Security benefits to older adults and people with disabilities creates opportunities for scammers. Older adults and their family members must be aware of these scams so they protect their Social Security number and don’t get scammed out of their benefits.
A growing area of need and support for older adults is social engagement. Research shows that being socially isolated and lonely has a negative effect on mental and physical health. This increases the risk of dementia, heart disease, and mortality. To find local engagement resources and aging services, contact ACL’s Eldercare Locator at 1–800–677-1116 or visit eldercare.acl.gov.
It’s not just about aging at home. It’s about aging well at home. Our members, the Area Agencies on Aging and Title VI Native American Aging Programs around the country, offer a range of services that promote healthy aging, independence, and engagement. These include:
- Health promotion classes.
- Meal delivery.
- Transportation.
- Medicare education and counseling through the State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP).
- Outreach to ensure older adults with low income can afford the out-of-pocket costs of Medicare (in coordination with Social Security).
To make aging your way possible, get connected to local aging resources. Learn more about the local aging services and supports USAging members provide, by visiting the USAging website. Please share this information with your friends and family – and post it on social media.
Our posting of this blog does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation of any non-Social Security organization, author, or webpages.
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Tags: fraud, People Facing Barriers, social security, Social Security benefits
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Karen
Low income Seniors are suffering under the unfair Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) & Govt. Pension Offset which reduce meager SS benefits by 40% or wipe them out completely.
SSA staff usually can’t explain WEP, don’t understand GPO, give bad advice or can’t give any advice. You just take our money. Then we have to go on Medicaid & foodstamps. We earned these benefits. Why are you taking them away & why do you have such poor customer service & inadequate explanations of WEP & GPO by your staff? We earned those benefits.
NBD
I’m new at this Social Security/Medicare scam. I’m sorry for all the sorrowful stories, but at least I know now I’m not crazy. Seniors are treated as if because we can no longer physically, or emotionally work we don’t matter. Sure, let’s allow illegal immigrants to enter our country, unvaccinated no less, and because they’re in need hand them a check! Where did America go? What happened to caring for your own? You know, the ones who worked hard, were law abiding all their lives, served in the military to protect their country, paid their taxes! Now we can’t work and you can turn the other way? I feel so empty, disillusioned. It feels like God has left AMERICA!!
Renee'
Every year I watch my SSI decrease in buying power. CLA never keepsych up with the actual CLA! I think they use last year’s CLA, so how does that help? Like this year, we got a 5.9%
CLA, then Medicare instituted the largest raise, ever! It took all of my meager CLA, so now I get less to live on, than ever. I can honestly say, forward the end of the month, until my next check comes, I am hungry. I did save for retirement, I have one account, from a, now out of business corporation, that existed until Wells Fargo Investments took it over, then it disappeared. W.F. denies any knowledge of it!
Then, once my youngest was out of the house and pretty much on his owe, I began acquiring a nice IRA. 5 years from retirement, I was a victim of violent crime, and lost my job. I also, almost lost my life! I was in able to get SSDI, and ended up using all of my savings to live on, until The retired! As the Baby Boomer generation, we have seen more economic ups and downs and employment instability, than any other generation. When I was in high school, a candy bar was a nickel, you could get a McDonald’s Hamburg for 15 cents, and gas averaged 15cents a gallon. A new car could be had for under $1,000.00! It was a very difficult time to make any long term financial planning. This has not changed. A home built for $20,000.00 in the 1970’s now sells for, upwards, of a quarter-of-a-million dollars! After graduating with a student loan to pay off, and she acting my career, we were hit with a wage freeze! Wages, only, not other commodities! We weathered the he storm, as best we could, but the government has done nothing to plan for us, Lee largest demographic of retirees in the history of the United States! No increase in livable, lowe income Housing, even though high rise apartment complex are being built, by huge conglomerates, daily. All that needed to be do was to pass legislation setting aside a percentage of apartments, in each building, for low income senior citizens! It would be a start. Right now, housing, utilities and health insurance takes 65-70% of my monthly income. I’m driving a 31 year old Honda, and pray that it keeps going! I was denied medicaid because I owned 2 cars. O n Easy was a non running, “parts car”, which I’ve since gotten rid of, so I can qualify for medicaid!
Denise S.
Seniors need help Right Now!!!!
Tony
Sorry, they only help out low income older Americans. Please make a donation to the USAging website if you are not a low income older American. You have plenty of money. Lol
Carol V.
Well everyone else gets their month and they get so much coverage it’s crazy but us older folks our month lasts one whole day whoo hoo !!! What does that tell you ? No RESPECT for the ELDERLY from anyone !!!!!
Madhuri V.
Break thro’s in medical research have given longevity of life but sadly enough over the years no attempt has been made to rationalize Social Security benefits. It is high time that MINIMUM AMOUNT should be raised for all older people say over 75 years. There is no justification of paying Social Security of $ 494 less Medicare Part-B added with penalty for late Enrolment i.e., a meager $ 339 and ask the person to apply for SSI. WHY HUMILIATE A SENIOR SENIOR CITIZEN.
Douglas
I just saw this article and cannot help to make a comment on it.
I live on SS at the new $935 a month.
I got a holiday job for 1 month till my legs gave out. And was waiting for my small tax return and the 1 time benefit for low-income elderly.
then I didn’t get either 1 only a letter saying I owed some taxes from yrs ago and took it that was forgiven because I was living on $600+ at the time and unable to work.
So reading about all the help were getting sounds like a cruel joke.
Donna
Absolutely agree with you. I’m getting the usual $934/mo. and was blindsided when received letter that I was overpaid due to my child turning 18. They took out 1/3 of monthly payment & it’s been downhill since. They said would return money to me & let me make payments. I got one story/promise after another and never received anything.
I did reach someone at the national 800 number for social security & finally thought was getting fixed. I wasn’t overpaid cuz my child was still in school at 18 btw. Lady told me would email me documents to have school verify. Again nothing. Amount they took might seem small but it’s what relied on to pay bills and keep roof over heads. Never heard or received any resources they’re talking about. Kinda feels like a slap in the face.
Ce C.
Very True!
EGB
Well being told at the last minute says it all…we don’t count as much as the SSA and AARP make it sound.
Retired seniors need more help finacially especially during this time of almost recession and high prices with everything thanks to the current Administration in the White House. The programs are limited and for those of us who lost a major wage earner from Covid when the vaccine was not available should be allowed to apply for continued help,,,,FEMA and the CHAP program to help with rental assistance has been minimal and with all the monies going to Ukraine it makes one feel we are just swept under the rug. And when you have worked all your life and find oneself struggling I believe the Seniors and Elders are Not really high on the totem pole, even for all we have given to society and the government by being responsible people. Shame on those who don’t really care.
Disappointed C.
I agree with many of the comments here…I am disabled but not quite retirement age so I get nothing. I had food stamps for 3 months but it was taken away when we got our whopping COLA in Jan, 2022, which also came with increases in premiums large enough to completely offset the piddly “raise” we got. I appealed and the supervisor agreed with me that, on paper, I qualified for the food stamps I was receiving, but the antiquated computer system said NO so I was denied yet again. Why didn’t they call the IT Dept to see why the program wasn’t working properly? I was told the computer “gets the last word”. Really? Our govt employees are now completely incapable of rational thought and simple math so much so that the people defer to the machines instead of the other way around? I am so very disappointed in my decision to remain a US Citizen when I turned 18 and had the opportunity to move to another country whose economy has only bettered itself over the last 40+ years instead of allowing itself to be manipulated into a completely different style of government over the same course of time. With the benefits I receive after pledging myself to this country I feel sick to my stomach and feel duped into giving away my life for nothing. No retirement, expensive & inefficient health insurance, and no protection from the internal evildoers who helped to poison the world in an effort to play a worldwide game of “only the strong survive” which I am convinced was just practice to see how the world reacted so they can do it better next time. And there WILL be a next time… count on it, because the folks in charge are counting on it. What a diaappointment the USA turned out to be after all.
Susan N.
You have no idea what causes high prices and the current administration may have nothing to do with it, so stop your political rants.
Ron D.
May is older Americans month and this fact is being posted on 5/31🤔
John J.
My thoughts indeed.
EGB
agree
betty g.
Yes, this topic should’ve been discussed and posted on May 1, not the last day of the month of May 31.
Have more articles and scams in the very specific ones that are out and about especially for the single folks that are widow/widower’s and those wanting to get their money
Plus try this for 30 days and you can cancel are the biggest scams.
For those who are scammed, please contact your states Attorney General consumer protection office and they will help you get your money back.
Don’t be embarrassed that some city slicker took advantage of our country bumpkin mentality of trusting people that they are honest and dependable.
Willene D.
I thought the same thing. They tell us on the very last day. Good thing there wasn’t anything we had to do or we would have been late.!!!
Tammyj
Just shows their lack of concern for us on s.s ssi ssdi and veterans. Someone mentioned rental assistance, that would be nice but who do you contact because I get that humana and they didn’t mention rental assistance. Idk who else has humana, but my medicine has been late every month!
John O.
Nice to find out about this on the final day of the ninth. Doing so does not allow for a very timely discussion.
Jay J.
month not ninth.
Lyn H.
That’s exactly why I am not going to reply!