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The transportation options this winter around Alaska are expanding and more user-friendly than ever before. Senior Voice will be looking at different transportation systems and schedules this winter. In Anchorage, People Mover is a division of the Municipality of Anchorage’s Public Transportation Department (PTD) and is the largest public transit provider in the State of Alaska. It connects the community with transportation options, emphasizing customer service while providing economic, social and environmental benefits. The first buses r...
Many of you for years have had your tax returns prepared by Jan Watson, AARP Foundation Tax Aide Anchorage coordinator. She was a familiar face at the AARP State Office and Anchorage Senior Activity Center. Jan took a well-deserved retirement this year and moved to the Lower 48. I was asked, and agreed, to fill her role. These will be big shoes to fill, and I am still on my learning curve. I have been with the program for eight years, and have prepared returns at most sites in Anchorage. I have coordinated the Spenard Recreation Center site...
Interested in learning more about businesses and agencies providing senior services in the Anchorage and Mat-Su area? Want to get the word out about your own service? The monthly Service Providers Breakfast, sponsored by Older Persons Action Group, Inc., is an opportunity for all the above. Informal, early and free, the monthly event currently meets virtually online via Zoom. The November meeting is Nov. 10, hosted by the Palliative Care Alaska Network. Begins at 8 a.m. RSVP by calling Older Persons Action Group, Inc. for more information on...
Get help through the Medicare maze from experts at the Alaska Medicare Information Office. Call to learn more about their “Medicare Monday” and other online trainings in October, which can be attended by phone or by webinar or Zoom. Call 907-269-3680 in Anchorage or toll-free statewide, 1-800-478-6065....
Did you know your spouse’s benefit amount could be up to 50% of your spouse’s full retirement age benefit amount? If you qualify for a retirement benefit from your own work history and a spouse’s record, we always pay your own benefit first. You cannot receive spouse’s benefits unless your spouse is receiving their retirement benefits (except for divorced spouses). If you receive your retirement benefit before your full retirement age, while waiting for your spouse to reach full retirement age, your own retirement portion will be reduced...
Interested in learning more about businesses and agencies providing senior services in the Anchorage and Mat-Su area? Want to get the word out about your own service? The monthly Service Providers Breakfast, sponsored by Older Persons Action Group, Inc., is an opportunity for all the above. Informal, early and free, the monthly event currently meets virtually online via Zoom. The October meeting is Oct. 13, hosted by attorney Constance Aschenbrenner. Begins at 8 a.m. RSVP by calling Older Persons Action Group, Inc. for more information on...
Starting on Oct. 24, 2021, the FCC has mandated all phone calls will require dialing the full 10-digit phone number, including area code. This means all Alaskans, regardless of their service provider, will need to dial 907 before seven-digit phone numbers, even when making a local phone call. Be sure to update your contacts, and reprogram any call forwarding to lead with “907” before Oct. 24....
Some folks think stock dividends are a measurement for how well or poorly a company is doing. That is false. Some folks think all companies pay dividends. That is false. Some folks think dividends are not taxable. That is usually false. Still, dividends remain an important factor in stock ownership. What are dividends? One simplistic explanation often heard is that when a corporation has a profitable year, they share the profit with shareholders, in the form of dividends. But that’s not true. For when a corporation has a less profitable year, t...
What are the chances that you will need services like these at some point in your life? - nursing home - assisted living - home health care - homemaker and chore services It turns out that the chances are quite good. The WA Cares Fund – a new program in the State of Washington, discussed below -- estimates that 7 in 10 Washingtonians over the age of 65 will need long-term services and supports within their lifetimes. That seems to parallel comparable national estimates. More to the point, these services can be extremely expensive. For e...
“Age Smart – Let’s Talk”, the series of forums sponsored by AARP Alaska, Older Persons Action Group and the Anchorage Senior Activity Center, returns Sept. 14, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Events are currently held virtually on the internet, using Zoom. This month’s topic focuses on Alaska’s Medicare Information Office: What it is and how they can help with all things Medicare-related. The timing is good, with the annual Open Enrollment for Part D drug plans starting in October. The “Age Smart – Let’s Talk” series is a monthly forum that focuses...
September is Emergency Preparedness Month, and Alaska's unique geography can leave us vulnerable to a multitude of emergency situations like wildfires, earthquakes and tsunamis--to name a few. The Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness encourages all Alaskans to have two weeks worth of emergency supplies on hand, as well as a plan mapped out in advance. Logan Stolpe, Emergency Management Specialist at Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management,...
In the decades since George Jetson previewed his push-button lifestyle, some of us have dreamed of a smart home of our very own. Yet this branch of technology has resisted the kind of progress that has put supercomputers in our pockets. Most home automation products are hard to set up, they do not work and play well with others, and even the best devices are occasionally unresponsive. Like a desert mirage, visions of a push-button future always feel just out of reach. Automation has crept into a few spaces in our house, with limited success....
Dear Savvy Senior: How does Medicare cover in-home health care? My husband has a chronic health condition that makes it very difficult for him to leave the house, so I’m wondering if he could qualify for Medicare home health care. — Seeking Help Dear Seeking: Medicare covers a wide variety of part-time or intermittent in-home health care services to beneficiaries in need, if they meet Medicare’s criteria. Here’s how it works. In order for your husband to secure coverage for home health care, Medicare first requires that he be homebou...
My book club has been reading and nattering together for over 30 years, since most of us had kids in the same neighborhood grade school. A generation later, almost all of us still live in the same general area, but many of have downsized. Our needs have changed through responding to various life circumstances. A few of us are eying the leap to retirement communities. What considerations enter the decision to move from a long-term house? Your unique situation may offer compelling financial reasons to stay, to downsize, or to move into senior liv...
Older Persons Action Group, Inc., earned honors for its monthly, statewide publication Senior Voice in the 30th annual National Mature Media Awards Program. The program, presented by the Mature Market Resource Center, a national clearinghouse for the senior market, recognizes the nation's finest marketing, communications, educational materials and programs designed and produced for older adults. OPAG and Senior Voice won two awards: Gold Award in the Photograph category for photographer Michael...
A few weeks ago I asked my wife if she would like to go on a "date." I told her that it has two parts, and the second part is a picnic here in Anchorage featuring Arctic Roadrunner hamburgers. With some apprehension, I circled around to the first part of the date. "But first, let's go take a look at the free electric car charging station in the parking lot of Chugach Electric." During the previous few months I had been - perhaps obsessively - perusing the internet about electric vehicles, watchi...
Five ways to apply for Social Security benefits online Social Security continues to make it easier for you to access our programs and benefits. Our website offers a convenient way to apply for benefits online. You can apply online for: Retirement or Spouse’s Benefits. You must be at least 61 years and 9 months in age and want your benefits to start in no more than four months. Apply at www.ssa.gov/retireonline. Disability Benefits. You can use our online application, available at www.ssa.gov/disabilityonline, to apply for disability benefits i...
There are many examples of the long-established right for public institutions such as schools, employers, governments and businesses to protect the health of others by requiring individuals to provide proof of vaccination or of a past infection, or seek a medical or religious exception. So why has COVID-19 vaccination become a lightning rod for controversy over “vaccine passports” and claims of violations of medical privacy or individual rights? Medical historian Dr. Howard Markel has written two popular books on the history of infectious dis...
Interested in learning more about businesses and agencies providing senior services in the Anchorage and Mat-Su area? Want to get the word out about your own service? The monthly Service Providers Breakfast (formerly known as the Interagency Breakfast), sponsored by Older Persons Action Group, Inc., is an opportunity for all the above. Informal, early and free, the monthly event currently meets virtually online via Zoom. The June meeting is June 9, hosted by the Thomas Center for Senior Leadership. Begins at 8 a.m. RSVP by calling Older...
Mountain-Pacific Quality Health and AARP state offices in Alaska, Hawaii, Montana and Wyoming invite family caregivers across the west region to a free public webinar series called, “House Calls,” which will demonstrate infection protection and other ways to keep loved ones out of the hospital. The webinar series is free, but participants are asked to register by visiting https://aarp.cvent.com/Housecalls_2021 or https://aarp.cvent.com/Housecalls_MP. The webinar series comes from the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) Project Firstline, which...
Are you a senior chafing under the debt burden of a student loan? It may be perversely comforting to know that you are not alone. According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), in 2015, nearly 870,000 borrowers age 65 and older were burdened by federal student loans. Certainly the numbers are even higher now. Moreover, the amounts of money involved are staggering. According to AARP, in 2004, adults age 50 and older owed $47 billion in student loan debt. By 2018, that figure had exploded to $289.5 billion, making it one of the big...
Dear Savvy Senior: Do you know of any golfing equipment that can help older golfers? My dad, who's 76, loves to play golf, but arthritis in his hands has made griping the club challenging, and his fragile lower back makes stooping over to tee-up or retrieve the ball a problem too. Is there anything out there that can help? – Golfing Buddy Dear Buddy: There are actually a wide variety of adaptive golf equipment that can help older golfers who struggle with injuries, arthritis or loss of m...
World Elder Abuse Awareness Day is on June 15. On this day, and throughout the month, communities, seniors, caregivers, governments, organizations and the private sector unite to prevent the mistreatment of and violence against older people. Social Security imposter scams are widespread across the United States. Scammers use sophisticated tactics to deceive you into providing sensitive information or money. They target everyone – even the elderly – and their tactics continue to evolve. Most recently, Social Security’s Office of the Inspe...
In tough times, communities find strength in people—and people find strength in their communities. In the past year, we’ve seen this time and again in communities throughout Alaska as friends, neighbors, and businesses have found new ways to support each other. In our state, older adults are a key source of this strength. Through their experiences, successes, and difficulties, they have built resilience that helps them to face new challenges. When communities tap into this, they become stronger too. Each May, the Administration for Com...
Celebrate Older Americans Month with the Fairbanks North Star Borough Parks and Recreation. This year's theme is "Communities of Strength". Due to lingering COVID safety concerns, the Senior Recognition Day event has been scaled back. Participants can visit the parking lot of the Big Dipper Arena during scheduled times and receive a goody-bag filled with a senior services resource guide, swag and treats. Pick-up will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the following days: - Last Name A-L:...
