AARP Kansas

Gerald Schmitt intended for his retirement to be productive, so he started a business repairing old toys during his first career.

In case you missed it, you can still listen to the AARP Kansas Teletownhall meeting about protecting yourself from holiday scams. AARP Kansas Director Dr. Maren Turner was joined by Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt and Kristin Keckeisen (by phone) with the AARP Fraud Watch Network for a Teletownhall meeting on December 11, 2017 to talk about the latest scams and frauds in Kansas.

AARP Kansas is hosting a series of meetings in Wichita, with coffee and conversation from 9 to 10 a.m., followed by a presentation. Topics include caregiving, medication management, end-of-life planning, financial security and computer skills. Participants can learn about resources that help people continue to live at home as they age and make communities age-friendly.

Judy Bellome has been selected by AARP, the nonprofit organization for people 50 and older, to receive the 2017 AARP Kansas Andrus Award for Community Service -- the Association’s most prestigious and visible state volunteer award for community service.

Open enrollment for the Health Insurance Marketplace runs through December 15 in Kansas and many other states. That makes it prime time for scammers to try taking advantage of unsuspecting consumers. Be wary of phone or email solicitations selling cheap health insurance that claim to meet all federal requirements. If you bite, you may end up without a plan, and with a tax penalty for not having qualifying coverage. Your best bet is to enroll or re-enroll by visiting healthcare.gov, where you can learn about ways to get help during open enrollment. You can also check with your Area Agency on Aging for help ( www.n4a.org).

When state lawmakers return to Topeka in January for the 2018 legislative session, AARP Kansas staff and volunteers will be on hand to advocate for issues important to Kansans 50 and older.

Kansans who receive Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income, public housing or other kinds of government benefits may be eligible for the state’s Lifeline program, which makes it more affordable to have a landline telephone. Savings can be as much as $17.02 a month.

AARP Kansas announced a winner for the AARP Community Challenge, which aims to create change and improve quality of life at the community level. The winning project is The Wichita Public Library’s launch of three historical walking tours accessible through the PocketSights app. The project was partially funded through the AARP Community Challenge grant and is set to be completed by November 1, 2017.

When you think of healthy food, do you think bland and boring? Wichita Chef Josh Rathbun proved it doesn’t have to be that way during AARP’s healthy cooking class in Wichita in August.

If you get a call from a tech support company saying they have detected a virus on your computer, hang up! You may get the same pitch from a pop-up ad. These are scams, intended to get you to fork over money to “fix” your computer or get you to buy phony virus protection. Get an inside look at this scam from a con artist who reveals jut how the scam works to the AARP Fraud Watch Network at www.aarp.org/techscams.