For Mature Audiences
News & information for the seniors in our community

sponsored by Friendship Manor


Spousal benefits offer increased retirement options

Send a link to a friend

[December 29, 2010]  You may have more options than you know when it comes to Social Security benefits. Like many, you probably have given some thought to your own retirement plans. You know you can retire as early as age 62 and get reduced benefits. You know you can wait until your full retirement age and get full benefits.  You also may know you can defer collecting benefits and accrue delayed retirement credits up to age 70, which will boost your payment. (Click here for the rest of the story)


Social Security's 75th anniversary: an eventful year Send a link to a friend

[December 29, 2010]  Social Security is the nation’s most successful domestic program.  It’s easy to look back at what a difference it has made over the past 75 years.  And 2010, our diamond anniversary year, has been full of accomplishments. (Click here for the rest of the story)


Christmas 1958, A Sears Blunder Creates a Holiday Extravaganza    By Mike Fak

Send a link to a friend

[December 29, 2010]  Ten years old is a pretty good age to be. At least it was for me back in 1958. I had finally mastered my multiplication tables and could spell most normal words, so school was starting to be less trying, especially when I showed up for it (Click here for the rest of the story)


Seniors Urged To Apply Online for Illinois Cares Rx

Send a link to a friend

[December 29, 2010]  SPRINGFIELD – December 20, 2010. Illinois Department on Aging Director Charles D. Johnson is reminding Illinois seniors about their Illinois Cares Rx coverage. He is urging seniors and persons with disabilities to apply online because it is the fastest way to get approved. Illinois Cares Rx is the state’s prescription drug assistance program that provides wrap-around prescription drug coverage to fill in the gaps created under Medicare Part D. People who have waited until the end of the year to apply will experience a break in coverage. Paper applications take longer, but people who apply online today through the end of the year can expect their coverage to resume in early February. (Click here for the rest of the story)


Your Social Security resolutions for 2011

  Send a link to a friend

[December 20, 2010 It’s that time of year: out with the old and in with the new. You may be thinking about your list of New Year’s resolutions for 2011. There are many important things to consider. May we suggest a few? Each of these will take only a matter of minutes. (Click here for the rest of the story)


Take Steps to Stay Safe and Warm This Winter

Send a link to a friend

[December 17, 2010 SPRINGFIELD – December 17, 2010. As the mercury dips, Illinois Department on Aging Director Charles D. Johnson reminds older persons they are at a higher risk to falling ill during these cold days. (Click here for the rest of story)


Lottery and Secret Shopper Scams Reported in Western IL.

One of our SMP Volunteers in western Illinois recently reported that a local police department issued a warning about lottery scams and secret shopper scams. The warning states that residents in western Illinois have been receiving letters telling them that they won various lottery amounts, containing fake checks that the recipients are told to deposit, then send money to another address for “documentation and taxes”. (Click here for the rest of the story)


Social Security can show you the way

Social Security’s homepage, www.socialsecurity.gov, has a new look! Our redesigned homepage now features a service channeling guide on the left side of the page, which lists the most sought-after services and information on the site. (Click here for rest of story)


Ill. A.G. protecting seniors from fraud

As the elderly population grows in Illinois and across our nation, protecting older citizens continues to be one of the most important responsibilities of the Attorney General’s office. (Click here for the rest of the story)




Blundering Through Modern Music

By Mike Fak

 

In all honesty, I don't understand music anymore. Actually, I never did. I certainly didn't as a young man, because even then I realized most music was goofy. I think I was the only teenager in America who realized that "Love Me Do" by the Beatles, was a poor grammatical foray into telling a girl you have affection for her and would appreciate reciprocity if plausible. (Click here for the rest of the story)


Family gatherings, holiday shopping and Medicare prescription drug plans

When you think of November, you may imagine such things as turkey dinners, family gatherings, Veterans Day, or the start of the holiday shopping season. But newly entitled and current Medicare beneficiaries, who are considering changes to their Medicare Part D Prescription Drug plan, might think of November as the time for thinking about Medicare. (Click here for the rest of the story)


Wrap up your retirement application before wrapping up holiday gifts

November 24, 2010]  The holiday season is, for many people the busiest time of year with gift lists and to-do lists, feast planning and party preparation. The busy schedule, like the gift lists, often can get out of hand.  

If you’re planning on retiring sometime early in the new year, we suggest you wrap up your retirement application now before wrapping any holiday gifts. It’s so easy and can take as little as 15 minutes. Just go to www.socialsecurity.gov/applyonline.  (Click here for the rest of the story)


A Holiday Gift

By Mike Fak

 

Four years ago I spent a great deal of time on the weekend before Thanksgiving doing something that I doubt anyone would consider normal. I was up in the air in a small ticket booth suspended on the end of an industrial boom. Yeh, I will explain.  (Click here for the rest of this story)


Social Security Unveils New Home Page at www.socialsecurity.gov

Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, today unveiled the agency’s newly redesigned home page at www.socialsecurity.gov that will help visitors more quickly and easily find the information and services they need. (Click here for the rest of this story)


BABY BOOMERS: Apply online for Medicare

This January marks a historic moment: our Nation’s first baby boomers are turning 65.

For many baby boomers, it’s time to hit the computer. Even if you have decided to wait until after you are age 65 to apply for retirement benefits, most people should start getting Medicare coverage at age 65. (Click here for the rest of the story)


 

Don't be tricked out of money by the 'grandparent scam'

Grandparents across the country are falling victim to a new and surprisingly effective scam: They receive phone calls from people claiming to be their grandkids, frantically asking for money.  Click here for the rest of this story...


Social Security Fast-Track Disability Processes Get Even Faster

New Rules Will Further Speed Benefits to Tens of Thousands of Americans with Disabilities.  Click here for the rest of this story...


Archived articles

 

 

Archived articles

< Top Stories index

Back to top


 

News | Sports | Business | Rural Review | Teaching and Learning | Home and Family | Tourism | Obituaries

Community | Perspectives | Law and Courts | Leisure Time | Spiritual Life | Health and Fitness | Teen Scene
Calendar | Letters to the Editor