Updated May 2022 In 2022, the United Nations commemorated the October 1 International Day of Older Persons by asking the world to recognize the value of senior women. Having turned 76 in 2025, the UN’s Secretary-General is proof that older people can make significant contributions to worldwide efforts to solve problems that affect people of all […]
Updated June 2025 Recent reports issued by the Census Bureau reflect a depressing reality for older Americans. A 2022 report found that, between 2020 and 2021, the official poverty rate increased for people who were 65 or older. That increase contrasts with a decrease in the official poverty rate for people younger than 18. The […]
Updated May 2025 To avoid late enrollment penalties, seniors who are eligible for Medicare usually sign up at their earliest opportunity. Seniors rarely have a reason not to enroll. Retirees earned Medicare’s hospitalization benefits by paying FICA taxes during their working lives. They are not required to pay a monthly premium to receive those benefits. […]
Updated April 2025 High drug prices can be a problem for every American whose health condition requires medication. However, older people are disproportionately affected by high drug prices. While about half of all Americans between the ages of 30 and 49 report taking prescription medications, 89% of Americans who have reached the age of 65 […]
Updated May 2025 Pharmaceutical companies are exploring drugs to treat or prevent Alzheimer’s disease with increasing urgency. More than 7 million Americans who have reached the age of 65 are living with Alzheimer’s. That number is expected to rise to nearly 13 million by 2050. Research continues to expand knowledge of Alzheimer’s, potentially opening the […]
While some people embrace the experience of growing older, the process of aging is often unwelcome. In his older years, Mark Twain quipped that “life would be infinitely happier if we could only be born at the age of 80 and gradually approach 18.” Twain was not alone in lamenting the loss of youth. Aging […]
Most people love gadgets. While older people are often seen as unwilling to master new technology, that stereotype might cause younger people to avoid giving gadgets as gifts to their older family members. A recent study suggests that older people may avoid new technology because they accept the stereotype that technological competence decreases with age. […]
Updated June 2025 In June, 2025, record-shattering heat waves swept into parts of the US., baking the Plains to the east coast of the US., with mercury heating up into triple digits. Early estimates pegged 147 million would be sweltering in very dangerous conditions. Nor are other parts of the country immune, as last year’s deadly heat […]
Most seniors understand that Medicare provides various kinds of health insurance. Seniors who are eligible for Social Security benefits paid for Medicare coverage through their payroll taxes during their working years. For that reason, some Medicare benefits are free. Other benefits are available at a lower cost than private insurance companies would charge. Seniors who […]