CORNWALL – Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand paid a visit Saturday to the Munger Cottage Senior Center here to tout a master plan she’s championing to help this age group.
Gillibrand, a member of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, revealed a five-point plan to ensure Americans can age with dignity and some financial security as projections find that 2034 for the first time ever that adults ages 65 and over will outnumber children ages 18 and younger.
And those points are:
– Affordable and healthy meals
– Affordable health care and prescription drugs
– Social Security benefits and financial security
– Age in place
– Aging-friendly spaces and employment.
Gillbrand said wants to strengthen Social Security and stave off its potential demise by raising the investment cap for higher incomes.
“I have a bill for Social Security, specifically, to blow the cap,” she said. “We all invest in Social Security across our lifetime, but there’s a cap on income where they stop investing in Social Security. That needs to blown, so the millionaires and billionaires invest into Social Security. That would shore up Social Security and Medicaid. And I think it’s essential because it allows people to know those social safety nets are there in the future.”
Gillibrand would like a public option for Medicare and Medicaid, so individuals could buy in and strengthen these federally funded health care programs.
“Another idea to strengthen Medicare and Medicaid is to let people buy in at a price they can afford,” she said. “So to a have non-for-profit public option in Medicare that people can spend maybe five percent of their income to have access to that insurance plan, even if they are not 65. That would strengthen Medicare and Medicaid, too.”
