Alliance Praises Vice President Harris’ New Medicare Home Care Plan for Seniors

On Tuesday, Vice President Harris proposed establishing a new home care benefit through Medicare to help families afford the cost of caring for seniors who prefer to age in place. She made the announcement on television’s “The View.”

“Vice President Harris’ home care plan is exactly what millions of American seniors and their families need,” said Richard Fiesta, Executive Director of the Alliance. “We know that seniors have better health outcomes when they can age in their own homes, and this plan will make that option more affordable.” 

The plan addresses the caregiver shortage and also raises wages for the people who provide the care. It is paid for by lowering drug prices, including requiring Medicare to negotiate lower prices with pharmaceutical corporations for additional drugs. 

More than 40% of Americans, more than 105 million people, currently provide unpaid care for a family member. The plan offers family caregivers much needed help as they try to juggle careers, raise children and go about their everyday lives. 

“Tuesday’s announcement is another reason that the Alliance has endorsed the Harris-Walz ticket,” Fiesta added. “There are dozens of critical differences between the Harris-Walz ticket and the Trump-Vance ticket on issues affecting older Americans, and many of them are spelled out here.”

New Digital Ad: Kamala Harris will Work for Union Households and Older Americans, Donald Trump will Work for Billionaires and Corporations

A new 30-second digital ad featuring older union members and retirees, making the case for Kamala Harris over Donald Trump, has launched on streaming and digital channels in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. The ad will reach more than 2 million voters, primarily older women and union households.

The ad, called “Blue Wall For Us,” features older voters speaking directly to camera about Trump’s tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans and the loss of manufacturing jobs when he was president, compared to Harris’ plans to take on wealthy corporations and drug corporations and to lower costs for people like them. The 30-second spot is paid for by Retired Americans PAC, the independent political arm of the Alliance.

“The voters who see this digital and streaming ad are very likely to be the ones who decide this election,” said Fiesta, who is also Treasurer of Retired Americans PAC. “The themes and issues raised in this ad are top priorities for persuadable voters in this demographic group.”

"Retired Americans PAC is the only Democratic-leaning group focused on persuading and mobilizing this segment of the electorate,” added Fiesta. "We believe that older voters, who are the most likely to turn out, need to know the facts so they can vote for the candidate who will look out for their interests.”

In addition to “Blue Wall for Us,” Retired Americans PAC is currently running independent expenditure ad campaigns in the Michigan Senate race, AZ-01, AZ-06, MI-07, PA-07, and PA-10 to get important information to older voters before the Nov. 5 election.

Rep. Larson Confirmed to Speak at Alliance’s November 13 Symposium

The Alliance and the AFL-CIO are pleased to invite you to attend our annual Retiree Security Symposium, The Looming Retirement Security Crisis, on Wednesday, November 13, 2024 from 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM at AFL-CIO headquarters in Washington, DC.

“Presenters and attendees will discuss the future of retirement security and how to face it as a movement, as well as the role of personal responsibility,” said Robert Roach, Jr., President of the Alliance, who will serve as emcee. “We will also focus on the Butch Lewis Act: how the legislation is working, efforts to build on it to further protect pensions, and repercussions from bankruptcies.”

Rep. John Larson (CT), House Committee on Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee Ranking Member, is confirmed to speak at the event. Liz Shuler, President of the AFL-CIO, will send remarks via video.

A panel, “Keeping the Pension Promise: How to Win Retirement Security for all Americans,” will feature Brandon Rees, Deputy Director of Corporations and Capital Markets for the AFL-CIO. An updated list of other confirmed speakers and invited guests can be found here.

Additional presentations and speakers will be added, and the agenda will be forthcoming. Information will be provided as soon as it is confirmed.

Due to limited space, please RSVP at https://tinyurl.com/Symposium111324 by Friday, November 1, 2024 to reserve your seat. A continental breakfast and a lunch will be provided. The event will also be livestreamed; please let us know if you will attend in person or virtually. Respondents who RSVP to attend virtually will receive the link for the livestream. 

If you have any questions, please contact Joni Jones at [email protected] / 202-637-5377.

SSA Announces a 2.5% COLA Increase for Social Security Beneficiaries

The Social Security Administration (SSA) announced a 2.5% cost-of-living (COLA) benefit increase for 2025 on Thursday.

“The 72.6 million Americans who rely on their earned Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits will undoubtedly benefit from this modest cost-of-living increase,” said Joseph Peters, Jr., Secretary-Treasurer of the Alliance. “However, for far too many Americans, it will not be enough.”

The increase amounts to an additional $48 per month for the average retired worker. 

“We welcome the news of an increase, but many older Americans struggle to make ends meet and afford even the most basic necessities like housing, food, and prescription drugs,” added Fiesta. “We need a COLA that better reflects how seniors spend their money. Strengthening Social Security and increasing benefits must be a national priority. If billionaires and the top 1% pay their fair share into the system, we can afford to increase benefits across the board and ensure Social Security is there for our children and grandchildren.”

Many Republicans in Congress and on the presidential campaign trail continue to propose cuts to the benefits seniors have earned over a lifetime of hard work; raising the retirement age, slashing benefits and privatizing the program are among retirees’ top concerns.

Alliance Releases Digital Ad to Help Older Pennsylvanians Vote by Mail

As more Pennsylvania voters prepare to cast ballots by mail, the Alliance has placed a non-partisan ad with complete, step-by-step instructions on how to vote by mail on streaming digital channels throughout Pennsylvania.

“Voting by mail is the best choice for many older Pennsylvanians but it is critical to follow the directions carefully,” said Fiesta. “That means placing the ballot in the yellow secrecy envelope and sealing it, remembering to sign and date the outer return envelope, and putting it in the mail in plenty of time to be received by the county election office by Election Day. Thousands of ballots were not counted in recent elections due to these sorts of errors. Our ad will help reduce mistakes so that all votes are counted.” 

“More than half of all voters who applied to vote by mail in this November election were over the age of 65,” added Fiesta. “We want everyone to understand exactly how to fill out their ballot so that it will be counted. This election is too important for a ballot to be discarded unnecessarily.”

Voters are advised to mail their ballot by October 31 so that the ballot is received by 8:00 PM on November 5, and told to go to VOTE.pa for additional information. 

Pennsylvania's highest court rejected a request by voting rights groups last Saturday to stop counties from rejecting mail-in ballots that lack a handwritten date or have an incorrect date on the return envelope, citing earlier rulings pointing to the risk of confusing voters so close to the election.

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