AARP Vermont

By Elliott Greenblott

Tuesday, January 7, was the first day of the second half of the Vermont legislative biennium and it was off to a quick start. By the end of the second half of the biennium, proposed legislation either lives or dies, and bills that do not pass this legislative session must start all over again in the new biennium in 2021.

AARP has opened applications for the 2020 AARP Community Challenge grant program to fund “quick-action” projects that spark change across the country. Now in its fourth year, the program is part of AARP’s nationwide work on Livable Communities. Grants can range from several hundred dollars for small, short-term activities to several thousand, or tens of thousands for larger projects. In Vermont last year, grants totaling more than $42,000 were awarded to the cities of Newport and Bennington for specific community development projects in those communities.

The coffee is on us!

There's a host of ways our Medicare system, and your account, are being scammed by crooks every day. The video below will open you eyes to how these scams work and how to protect you and your loved ones from being the next victim.

In 2019, Vermonters filed 5,447 scam reports with the Attorney General’s Consumer Assistance Program (CAP). As old scams persisted, new scams emerged. According to the Attorney General’s list of top 10 most commonly reported scams of the year, the Social Security number phishing scam surpassed the IRS scam, knocking it out of the top spot as the most common scam. This phone scam involves calls claiming that your Social Security number has been compromised, suspended, and/or linked to criminal activity. The phony grandchild is also still popular.

Want to help combat scammers? AARP Vermont is looking for more fraud fighting volunteers to staff tables and give talks.

AARP Vermont State Director Greg Marchildon released the following statement on Dec. 18 upon the passage of FY 2020 appropriations bills H.R. 1158 and H.R. 1865:

Over 4 million Americans at risk of surprise tax increase if medical expense deduction not extended.

Bill Would Improve Weaknesses in Caller ID Cited in Recent AARP Survey