Press

from the AARP Media Relations Office

In a statement released today, AARP Utah State Director Alan Ormsby said, “AARP Utah is disappointed that the Utah legislature did not advance Healthy Utah into law this session. This means that thousands of people who fall into the coverage gap will continue to suffer because of their lack of access to affordable health care. Some will die while waiting for treatment. It is truly disheartening when political posturing gets the upper hand over the outpouring of support for Healthy Utah from the public and organizations around the state. We hope that this vital piece of legislation will be considered and passed quickly in a special session of the legislature and intend to work with the committee to help ensure that this happens.”

On the heels of a new report showing the top scam in Utah is imposter scams, the AARP Fraud Watch Network offers tips so people can learn how to protect themselves from all ten of the top scams reported by Utahns in 2014.

NEW AARP POLL SUPPORTS BIPARTISAN CONGRESSIONAL FAMILY CAREGIVING CAUCUS LAUNCHED TODAY

AARP Utah unveiled a statewide survey that showed a growing concern over retirement savings in the state. The survey, Making Retirement a Reality: Helping Utahns Age 25-64 Save and Take Control of Their Future, engaged 1,000 Utahns age 25-64 and found that 85 percent wish they were able to save more money for retirement and 77 percent support the idea of a state-created retirement plan for those who lack access at their place of work. One in six of those surveyed has less than $5000 in savings. Currently in Utah, 53 percent of private sector workers [1] – and 21 percent of those surveyed -- do not have access to a retirement savings plan at their place of work. The results were presented during AARP Utah’s Democracy Day event at the Utah State Capitol on February 12.

The Cost of Retiring Poor: Nearly 1 in 5 Utahns Will Reach Retirement age with More Debt than Cash and Savings

To coincide with Tax Identity Theft Awareness Week, the AARP Fraud Watch Network is launching an education effort to help people protect themselves from tax scams, releasing a new video, a tip sheet and encouraging people to take advantage of AARP’s free tax preparation services.

(Midvale, UT) To recognize their work to support family caregivers in Utah, AARP named Representative Rebecca Chavez-Houck and Senator Brian Shiozawa as 2014 “Capitol Caregivers,” a bipartisan group of 46 state legislators and 3 governors from 19 states. These elected officials have advanced policies to help family caregivers who are making it possible for older Utahns to live independently at home—where they want to be. Representative Chavez-Houck and Senator Shiozawa will be formally recognized for this honor today at the meeting of the Utah Coalition for Caregiving Support at the Department of Human Services.

List Narrows the Field of Contenders for the Movies for Grownups Award Winners to be Announced in January

To address the needs of the 70 percent of Americans age 50+ who suffer from some level of hearing loss, AARP has launched the AARP Hearing Resource Center. The platform, online at www.aarp.org/hearing, connects AARP members and other consumers interested in hearing health with helpful tips, information, tools and links to related product solutions and programs. A Spanish language version of the site is also available.