SOAR ARA Affiliation

Our SOAR members, in New York State, have become the latest group to affiliate with the Alliance for Retired Americans. With District 4 SOAR members affiliating with the NY State Alliance, it brings the number of states we have now affiliated with to 22. This affiliation will allow us to gather and share information, as well as giving access to more people who share our issues and are willing to get involved in New York State. I want to thank District 4 Director John Shinn for his vision and willingness to help SOAR and also the other US District Directors who have paid the dues for SOAR Chapters in other Districts to allow SOAR to become more relevant in their States.

With the recent release of the proposed budget and the attack on seniors through Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid changes, it cannot be more clear that SOAR must do all it can to educate our members and the general public about the threat to ourselves and future retirees. Today, 61 million Americans receive Social Security benefits. Over 40 million retirees rely on these modest benefits for over half of their retirement income. Also, millions of seniors, who are in nursing homes, rely on Medicaid to pay for their care. We cannot allow our story to be told to only our members. We need to join groups like the ARA so that we can expand our numbers and grow our voice on these issues.

See your District Executive Board member for more information relating to a new or existing State affiliation with the ARA.

Bill Pienta, SOAR President