Few things are as deeply woven into the fabric of our nation as Social Security. For over eight decades, this bedrock program has offered economic security and dignity to millions of retirees, people with disabilities, and surviving spouses and children. It is a sacred promise between the government and the American people who pay in and earn their Social Security over a lifetime of hard work.
“Our ‘active’ years were absorbed in the preliminaries of the business of living. Now, freed at last, we face the challenge of making a life rich in expression without friction and without futile desires. This existence today is life itself. …To savor the present, to squeeze out every bit of its flavor, its scent, its quality, to enjoy it is to live it to the full. It's folly to believe that tomorrow will be uniquely different from today. Today is ours! It will be significant as it is purposeful.”
Turning 50 is definitely one of those “milestone” birthdays! It is often accompanied by black balloons, the aging jabs from friends and co-workers, and the quips about reaching half a century. And, since I started working for AARP New Hampshire two years ago, I inevitably get the phone calls, emails or texts from friends who have turned 50 about the invitation to join AARP that has arrived in their mailbox. This news is usually shared along with a heavy groan, maybe a few expletives or a “Why are they sending me this? I’m not old yet.”
AMERICANS MAY NOT SEE EYE-TO-EYE ON MANY THINGS, but fully 96 percent of us agree on the importance of Social Security. And no wonder: The program, now 86 years old, has become the bedrock of our retirement finances.
Concord Television's Senior Speak NH March 2022 edition, hosted by AARP NH volunteer Karen Ulmer Dorsch, features Henry Quinlan who speaks about confronting the exciting and stressful life changes that retirement brings.
It has been a looog winter and we’re all ready to come out of hibernation and hit the trails again. The good news is that the City of Concord has a trail system covering more than 84 miles! Get ready to get moving!