Most individuals qualify for Social Security if they are U.S. citizens or green card holders and have earned 40 “work credits” during their working life. The amount of earnings needed to earn a credit varies each year. In 2024, workers receive one credit for each $1,730 they earn. However, workers earn a maximum of four […]
Social Security, pension benefits, and savings can combine to help seniors maintain comfortable lifestyles after retirement. Careful preparation and advice from a financial adviser can produce a plan that addresses post-retirement needs and goals. Still, to twist a popular war adage, it might be said that no retirement plan survives contact with the future. Unexpected […]
Updated: March 2025 Older consumers are frequent targets of scammers. The AARP Fraud Watch Network provides resources to help consumers protect themselves from swindlers. It educates seniors about fraudulent schemes and alerts them to scams that are operating in their communities. It also provides a Scam-Tracking Map to help seniors stay abreast of fraudulent schemes […]
As individuals grow older, they often need to keep track of a growing list of medications. Doctors commonly prescribe drugs to elderly patients to treat hypertension (high blood pressure), diabetes, high cholesterol, chronic pain, blood clots, depression, sleep disorders, and many other conditions. More than a third of adults who have reached retirement age are […]
Updated April 2025 Deaths in the United States from COVID-19 infections spiked at almost 26,000 per week in early January 2021. Thanks in large part to widespread vaccinations, the death toll decreased to fewer than 1,000 per week in January 2025. People who are age 75 or older continue to be the demographic group with […]
Planning for the future can be exciting. Planning for death can be grim. Yet death lies in every person’s future. Planning for death is part of planning for the future. Like planning for retirement, planning for death should begin at an early age. None of us can predict the day on which our life will […]
In most states, older Americans have been given priority in obtaining a vaccination against COVID-19. Because they were prioritized, most seniors have been partially or fully vaccinated. By early April, 75% of U.S. seniors had taken at least one dose of the vaccine. By May 17, the CDC vaccination tracker showed that almost 85% of […]
Updated April 2025 The FBI reports that scammers often target older Americans because seniors “tend to be trusting and polite,” have good credit, and have accumulated savings. Swindlers also count on seniors to resist reporting a scam because seniors may worry that relatives will view them as incapable of managing their finances if they admit […]
Two economic stimulus checks were sent to most Americans in 2020. The first was for $1,200 and the second for $600, although those amounts varied depending on income and the number of dependents claimed on tax forms. Individuals or families with high incomes may not receive a payment. Most Americans should receive a third payment […]
Updated: March 2025 By end of 2024, the COVID-19 pandemic caused more than 1.2 million deaths. The death rate was higher for groups of people who had certain underlying health conditions. Older Americans disproportionately fell into the category of individuals who were most vulnerable to the deadly consequences of an infection. The death rate has fallen, but […]