Pennsylvania lawmakers and community leaders gathered in Montgomery County Wednesday, urging the General Assembly to use $204 million in unspent American Rescue Plan funds to help older adults through property tax and rent rebates.
Pennsylvania’s Property Tax Rent Rebate Program has delivered more than $7 billion to older adults and people with disabilities for more than 50 years.
Rep. Steve Malagari, D-Montgomery, said his older constituents are facing many financial challenges, including rising prescription drug costs. He emphasized increasing the rebate could be a lifeline for them.
“Too many are struggling to stay in their homes and stay connected to the neighbors they call friends because their property tax bills or rent payments are rising beyond their control,” Malagari observed. “I know how critical the Property Tax Rent Rebate Program is in Pennsylvania and how critical it is to the seniors living here.”
The investment would be a one-time bonus, doubling existing rebates, with an estimated 466,000 Pennsylvanians receiving an additional average rebate of $475.
Gazi Razzak has lived in Lansdale for 24 years and is a recipient of the rebate program. He said any increases to the program will be helpful, especially for seniors like him, who are on a limited income.
“Right now, it is very tough because prices are rising. Food prices are record high,” Razzak pointed out. “Support for expanding the rebate is needed more than ever.”
Sen. Maria Collett, D-Montgomery, has introduced Senate Bill 1187, which would create the one-time bonus rebate. It was referred to the Urban Affairs and Housing Committee in April.
In Montgomery County, the Property Tax Rent Rebate program benefited more than 13,000 residents who received a total of $6.4 million dollars. Nearly 75% of the recipients were age 65 and older.
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Older Nebraskans will be keeping more of their hard-earned Social Security benefits even sooner, after Gov. Pete Ricketts signed Legislative Bill 873 into law.
All state income taxes on Social Security checks will now be eliminated by 2025, five years earlier than outlined in a measure passed last year.
Todd Stubbendieck, state director for AARP Nebraska, said dropping the tax is the right thing to do for nearly 350,000 Nebraska seniors facing rising prices at supermarkets and at the gas pump.
“This program was never designed to be a revenue raiser for the states,” Stubbendieck explained. “This is hard-earned Social Security benefits, all of it should be in seniors’ pockets spending how they want it to be spent.”
Stubbendieck noted the vast majority of older Nebraskans are not wealthy with big pensions, they are middle-income people living on a fixed budget. Nearly 55% of beneficiaries rely on Social Security for half or more of their income, and about 28% rely on Social Security for at least 90% of their income.
Stubbendieck emphasized removing taxes from benefits will help Nebraskans live their retirement years independently and with dignity, and will also boost local economies. Nebraskans age 50 and older account for 56 cents out of every dollar spent in the state, creating an annual economic impact of $50 billion.
“We’re past the point of savings, we’re at the point of spending our savings,” Stubbendieck stressed. “The dollars that are going to go into people’s pockets because of this tax cut are going to be spent in our local economies, and are going to be a big economic driver in those communities.”
Older Nebraskans will see immediate benefits from the measure, which reduces taxes on Social Security benefits this year by 40%. Next year, seniors will see an exemption of 60%. In 2024 the exemption rises to 80%, with all state taxes on benefits set to end in 2025.
Disclosure: AARP Nebraska contributes to our fund for reporting on Budget Policy and Priorities, Consumer Issues, Health Issues, and Senior Issues. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.
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Colorado residents in assisted-living facilities could soon have the same protections in place under federal law at nursing homes.
Senate Bill 154 aims to protect some of the state’s most vulnerable residents from being evicted or abruptly discharged, unless the resident needs a higher level of care than the facility can provide.
Mary Fries, volunteer legislative advocate for AARP Colorado, said the number one grievance at assisted-living facilities is improper eviction and inadequate discharge planning.
“Abrupt discharges are a safety issue, especially when a resident has dementia,” Fries asserted. “Residents with cognitive impairments are at greater risk of suffering declines when abruptly moved to a new place. Moving is confusing because their environment, routines and support systems change.”
The bill would require facilities to provide at least 30 days notice of discharge, and create a transparent appeals and grievance process. The measure also would ensure facility administrators are qualified and increase fines for violations.
Critics pointed out protections for residents already are on the books, and warn increasing fines could put smaller facilities out of business.
Sen. Jessie Danielson, D-Wheat Ridge, the bill’s sponsor, said the measure is necessary because some facilities are getting away with abuse and neglect.
Fries emphasized most residents do not know their rights, because they are buried in hundreds of pages of regulations. She added current fine caps for violations are too low to be an effective deterrent.
“Currently fines, on an annual basis, are capped at $2,000 a year,” Fries explained. “Some people feel that this is too low; that fines must be sufficient to deter violations and to deter lax safety practices.”
Fries noted fines for violations would be applied based on multiple considerations, including the size of the facility. The measure would also require operators to check Colorado’s Adult Protective Services Data System prior to hiring workers responsible for the care and welfare of residents.
The bill has cleared the Colorado Senate and is under consideration by the House Appropriations Committee.
Disclosure: AARP Colorado contributes to our fund for reporting on Civic Engagement, Health Issues, Livable Wages/Working Families, and Senior Issues. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.
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Maryland has launched a brain-health program in senior centers aimed at helping older adults experiencing memory loss.
Called StrongerMemory, the program was created by Rob Liebreich – president of Goodwin House, a senior health services organization in the National Capital Region.
The curriculum includes doing simple math rapidly, writing by hand, and reading aloud 20 to 30 minutes per day, five days a week. Research shows these activities can activate the prefrontal cortex of the brain, which supports cognitive function.
Liebrich said it’s important to make programs like these more accessible.
“With aging, does come the prevalence of brain challenges,” said Liebrich. “Having a resource like StrongerMemory – people don’t have to worry about how much it’s going to cost them – that they can use and take more control is really exciting. Although there is no cure for dementia, now there’s an element of hope as it relates to brain health.”
Goodwin House is collaborating with George Mason University to research the results of the program.
The Maryland Department of Aging is coordinating the statewide partnership, which has initially launched in Baltimore, Charles, Calvert, Cecil, Wicomico, St. Mary’s and Worcester counties.
Carol Zimmerman – Aging and Dementia Programs manager at MAC Inc., the area agency on aging for the Eastern Shore of Maryland’s lower counties – said they’ve incorporated StrongerMemory into three senior centers.
She said as the number of Marylanders facing memory loss is expected to grow, programs like these will be key.
“This particular program seems to be a wonderful intervention as people are beginning to experience some of those normal aging symptoms,” said Zimmerman, “to help sharpen and to challenge those parts of the brain that they may not be challenging.”
Zimmerman said MAC is also piloting StrongerMemory at home with people who have been diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment or early-stage Alzheimer’s.
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