[INSPRATIONAL MUSIC STING] - Hi everyone, Steve Adubato.

We kick off the program, first time guest, I'm sure he'll be back again.

Chris Widelo is the state director of AARP, New Jersey.

Chris, good to see you.

- Good to see you as well, Steve.

Thanks for having me.

- You got it.

Got the website up.

Tell everyone what AARP is, as if some of us don't get stuff in the mail.

- Sure, so AARP is a social mission organization.

We are a nationwide organization and here in the Garden State we have over 1 million members.

And our goal is to help people age with dignity and live the best life they can as they get older because we are all getting older.

- Yeah, last time I checked that's true.

Chris, the most, two to three most pressing issues for 50 plus people in New Jersey, and then we'll talk about the nation in a second.

- Sure.

You know, I think there's a number of issues that really come to mind.

I think one of the big ones, especially for New Jersey, is around property tax.

You know, far too many people are feeling like they cannot continue to live here in the Garden State and want to, so we're fighting hard to make sure that people can access property tax relief, and stay in their homes, in their communities.

Other issues around fraud is a really important issue.

You know, often older adults are targeted at a much higher rate when it comes to frauds and scams.

You know, I think there's no, I think everybody knows somebody that has been a victim in one way or another, or has been at least approached.

And, you know, the other issue that I think AARP really focuses on is around caregiving.

Making sure that people can have the care that they need as they age.

You know, the majority of care that is given in this state and across the country is done by family members, right?

They're not compensated.

They do it because they love their loved one, but it's often a hard road for many caregivers and we're always trying to make it better for them so they can continue to do that work.

- Chris, lemme ask you this, nationalize this for a second.

We're doing this approximately a week after the presidential and congressional elections.

That'll be seen a little bit after, the date will come up.

Question, how concerned are you about the new Trump administration, Republican Congress, both Houses as we speak right now, that's the way it looks, making real changes to Medicare and Social Security?

- Sure.

I think, you know, we're concerned because we know that social security in 2034 will experience some issues if nothing is done.

And I think what we learned from this election, and, you know, looking at the past a week ago, the majority of voters were 50 and older.

They carried the election as they do in almost every election in the last two decades.

And I think what we know from our members and from older voters is that they care about the issues of social security and Medicare very deeply.

And it doesn't matter if they're, what party they're from.

Their expectation is that Washington will take action to make sure that Social Security can continue to pay out 100% of this benefit and that Medicare is strong, because those are pillars of retirement for many older adults.

- Well, Chris, hold on.

If something has to be done with Social Security, as many argue, to keep it solvent for the future, and some have argued, "Yeah, we need to cut benefits, we need to raise the retirement age before you begin to collect" whatever, do you believe any substantive changes need to be made in the formula and the distribution of dollars in social security or leave it the same?

- We need to have a conversation.

I mean, that's the starting point, is there has to be a national conversation that is free and clear of all these other issues, the debt ceiling, you know, you name the different issues that are floating around Washington that they often want to tie social security to.

This is the bedrock of people's retirement.

They have worked their whole lives, have paid into the system, and they are expecting their benefit when they retire.

And so, we have to have a national dialogue where we have all parties sit down and think about what are some realistic solutions to keep this program as strong as it has been for the last 80 plus years.

So, without that conversation, we can't even speculate as to what the solutions need to be, but we have 10 years, we've known that this date was coming since the '80s.

And it's time to, you know, for everybody to sit down in Washington and address this important topic.

- Chris, bring this back to New Jersey again.

The Stay NJ Program.

Tell everyone again what it is and why it relates to people 50 plus.

- Sure.

So, the Stay NJ program is a new program that was passed this year, signed into law by Governor Murphy.

And we worked, you know, closely with the legislature and the governor.

It will streamline the property tax relief efforts in the state.

It will make sure that if you, you know, qualify based on age and income that you can access the different property tax relief measures.

Currently we have the Anchor Program, and then also the Senior Freeze Program.

- Chris, before I let you go.

Most common misconception about AARP is?

- I think it's that it's just for seniors.

I think that people think about it as, you know, "Oh, that's for people that are older than me."

We're really about helping people as they age throughout their process.

And so the things that we work on are often good for people of all ages, but we're really focused on making life better for people as they age.

And, you know, we engage a lot of folks to volunteer in our state to help run the programs that we offer and give back, 'cause often people want to be involved and give back to their communities.

- Hmm.

Chris Widelo, state director of AARP NJ.

Their website's been out, find out more about the work they do every today.

Chris, thank you so much for joining us.

We appreciate it.

- Thank you very much, Steve.

- I'm Steve Adubato, stay with us.

We'll be right back.

- [Narrator] State of Affairs with Steve Adubato is a production of the Caucus Educational Corporation.

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And by The Adler Aphasia Center.

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