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. […]
Inflation is making headlines, not just in the United States but around the world. As the pandemic winds down, consumers are returning to their former buying patterns, create a surge in demand. Suppliers are having difficulty meeting that demand, in part because it takes time to gear up production, in part because the economy is […]
Updated April 2025 The pandemic caused millions of workers to lose their jobs. From restaurant employees to flight attendants, from teachers to travel agents, employees who worked in industries that could not operate because of social distancing rules were sent home. While layoffs disproportionately affected low-wage workers in service occupations, nearly every industry was affected […]
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 […]
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 […]
The article below deals with the state of Social Security in 2021. Click for the outlook of Social Security for 2023 Congress will have a full agenda during the first year of the Biden presidency. Economic stimulus will be a priority, although the political parties have different ideas about the role government should play in […]
Estimates of the number of family members working as unpaid caregivers range from 48 million to 65.7 million, with 53 million being a common approximation. Of those, about 37.1 million family members provide care to someone who is 65 or older. About 30% of Americans in their 50s and early 60s act as family caregivers, while […]