BETWEEN US
Robert Love EDITOR IN CHIEF
Social Security, Medicare & AARP
How to get the latest news about these programs—and how to help protect them
THIS IS A SUMMER of milestones for America’s safety net. Ninety years ago this August—in the depths of the Great Depression—President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act, which takes taxes from every paycheck to provide guaranteed retirement income for workers. Thirty years later, on another summer day, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the law creating Medicare, the federal health insurance program for older Americans, also supported, in part, by payroll taxes. In polls, these two programs remain wildly popular. It’s not an exaggeration to say that these lifelines transformed aging in America.
For 67 years (that’s how young we are), AARP has worked to protect Social Security from arbitrary cuts to cost-of-living adjustments, proposals to use Social Security to pay for budget deficits, and attempts to morph Social Security into risky private accounts and Medicare into completely private insurance; and to improve Medicare coverage. And we’re not stopping now.
This year, Americans have faced new and worrisome questions about the safety of their earned benefits. Will Congress protect both of these crucial programs from cuts to payments or services? How can people make sure they receive their benefits from the programs they paid into?
On behalf of our members, AARP has pressed the administration and Congress for promises on three points: uninterrupted payments, timely claims processing and decent customer service. In April, AARP’s advocacy helped force the Social Security Administration to backtrack on proposed changes to its phone service, and we continue to urge SSA not to make millions of Americans jump through hoops or drive hours to fill out paperwork.
Now we are mobilizing tens of millions of our members and volunteers in a nationwide campaign to defend and protect Social Security. AARP members have already emailed and called their congressional representatives more than 2 million times. It’s not too late for you to get involved. In the May/June AARP Bulletin, you’ll find an in-depth cover story laying out the main issues and AARP’s concerns for both Social Security and Medicare.
AARP is fighting hard to protect the benefits you have earned. For up-to-the-minute news and updates on Medicare, go to aarp.org/medicare. Find out the latest on our efforts to save Social Security and how you can join the fight at aarp.org/socialsecurity.
