HONOLULU (HI Now) - AARP Hawai`i is fighting for kupuna at the Legislature and in Congress. Our top priority is to help family caregivers with paid family leave and a tax credit for caregivers. We polled older voters over 40 and found that there is overwhelming support for family caregivers and the vast majority of older voters think lawmakers aren’t doing enough to support caregivers. The two ways we think they can do the most for caregivers are through making sure workers have access to paid family leave and by providing a tax credit for family caregivers who spend an average of $7,000 a year of their own money to care for a loved one. Some of us are lucky to be able to take time off with pay for caregiving. But too many workers don’t have that option and have to quit their jobs or take unpaid leave. That means that they aren’t paying taxes as workers any more and they jeopardize their own retirement if they haven’t saved enough money to retire and have to retire early.
One thing we want to emphasize is that paid family leave is not just going to to help caregivers of parents and older loved ones. Paid family leave is also for parents of young children who aren’t able to take time off when a baby is born or even if their child is sick. That’s a factor in why young people leave Hawai`i and we have to do more to keep our young people and caregivers in Hawai`i.
Other issues that we will be lobbying for including affordable housing. Insurance is also a big issue that we’ve been hearing a lot about. People aren’t able to get insurance and rates are rising faster than kupuna expected and planned for. AARP Hawai`i is also seeking funding so we can set up a retirement savings program for private sector workers who don’t have access to payroll savings. We also know that too many kupuna die in disasters so we are supporting legislation to improve disaster resilience among kupuna, and supporting funding for the State Fire Marshall so the office can help ensure more communities are prepared for disaster.
Besides being a fierce fighter for kupuna in the Legislature, AARP Hawai`i also believes in being a wise friend and we have a series of free online and in-person events coming up to help people keep their minds and bodies healthy. We’ll also have in-person events on brain health on Oahu, Maui and Hilo. To find out more about the brain health and other activities we’re offering you can go to aarp.org/local.
If you want to help with our advocacy, you can email us ataarphi@aarp.org.
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