Comment from Bill: Is AARP supporting Obama or Romney in the presidential race?

David Certner, AARP: Thank you for your question. As you may or may not know, AARP is nonpartisan. We do not endorse candidates for office, we do not have a PAC and we do not give money to candidates or political parties. Our goal is to work with all elected officials on behalf of older Americans, regardless of party. This fall we will be putting out a Voters' Guide with comments on key issues in the candidates' own words.

Comment from Renee G: How will our comments on how to strengthen Medicare and Social Security be used?

David Certner, AARP: Through the You’ve Earned a Say initiative, AARP is providing members a variety of ways to make their voices heard, such as through town hall meetings, surveys, questionnaires, videos, online chats and bus tours. Results of the questionnaires and member comments will be compiled into reports we’ll provide to Congress and federal candidates this fall.

Comment from James F. Frazee: I will count on AARP to do the right thing in Washington!!!

David Certner, AARP: Throughout its history, AARP has been fighting to protect Social Security and Medicare. Hopefully that is a vote of confidence. Rest assured that AARP will continue to fight to protect the retirement security of older Americans. But we need your help and involvement. The actions of millions of Americans spur our efforts. So thank you for joining us today.

AARP: Well, we’ve reached the end of our hour. Thank you, David, for being with us today! We appreciate all the helpful information you provided. And a huge THANK YOU to everyone who took the time to submit a question or participate in today’s chat! If you didn’t get your question answered, don’t worry. We’re planning to answer more questions every week through a new “mailbag” feature on earnedasay.org. So keep an eye out! AARP will keep working to protect and strengthen Medicare and Social Security for today’s seniors and generations to come.

If you haven’t done so yet, we encourage you to take our questionnaire at earnedasay.org and express your opinion on the future of these vital programs. Together, we can take the debate out from behind closed doors in Washington. Thank you again. Bye, everyone!