AARP Foundation Has New Ideas to Help Older Americans

More than 39 million Americans age 50 and over are either living in poverty or one tough break away from slipping into it. AARP Foundation, the philanthropic arm of AARP, has long played an important role in fighting poverty among older Americans, and it is refocusing its efforts to assist even more people.

The Foundation is expanding beyond direct service to also concentrate on improving and reshaping the systems and structures that keep people in poverty.

The goal is to create new opportunities for older workers while removing barriers to potentially life-changing benefits such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid. Here’s a look at what the Foundation is doing.

Increasing access to benefits: Millions of older adults do not receive safety net benefits simply because the system is complex to navigate. AARP Foundation is funding technical experts to improve the systems behind programs like SNAP and Medicaid to make it easier for older adults to apply and stay enrolled.

For example, the Foundation is investing in improvements to automate renewals for Medicaid, a program that has seen millions of eligible people disenrolled in recent years because of administrative errors.

Going to court: AARP Foundation’s litigation team is building on decades of fighting for legal rights of older adults at the highest levels of our legal system. New cases filed on behalf of Americans 50-plus involve critical issues such as alleged bias in AI technology that unfairly discriminates against older job applicants.

Conducting vital research: AARP Foundation is partnering with the state of California to research and understand what older, low-income workers experience when they lose jobs, pursue retraining or seek help. The insights will inform policy changes to improve support for older workers in California — and create a model for other states. This is an ambitious expansion of the role the Foundation was created in 1961 to fulfill as the charitable, philanthropic arm of AARP.

Claire Casey, president of AARP Foundation, says the organization is continually seeking to expand its reach. “We’re asking, ‘How do we reach more people? How do we have a greater impact on their lives?’ ” The new initiatives are in addition to more-established programs, including AARP Foundation Tax-Aide, the nation’s largest free tax-preparation service for older adults. Last year, volunteers across the country helped 1.7 million taxpayers, most with low income, file their returns.

AARP Foundation also runs a free job coaching service called Back to Work 50+ that has given more than 100,000 older adults help returning to the workforce.

“We’re always looking for new ways to help older Americans have more security and fresh hope,” Casey says.