National Speaker to Discuss Importance of Social Security & Medicare in Orlando

Feb 11th Social Security Medicare Smith Center event flyerA workshop discussing the importance of Social Security and Medicare will take place Wednesday, February 11th at the Dr. James R. Smith Neighborhood Center at 6pm. The event is open to the public and will feature national speaker Laura Feldman, Grassroots Manager for the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare for over 20 years.

The workshop will highlight the importance of Social Security and Medicare to women and minorities. The workshop is being co-hosted locally by the Orange County Voters League and will take place at the Smith Neighborhood Center (1723 Bruton Boulevard, 32805). Orlando City Commissioners Regina Hill and Sam Ings are also helping promote the event and should be in attendance.

The National Committee’s “Eleanor’s Hope” initiative, named in honor of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, focuses on women’s health and retirement security. Eleanor’s Hope aims to raise awareness, recruit and train new activists and bolster Congressional leaders who are making a difference on women’s health and retirement security issues. The program advocates for legislation that addresses the inequities threatening millions of retired women and works to elect lawmakers who share the vision of retirement equity for women.

“The retirement challenges facing millions of American women simply can’t be ignored,” the National Committee says on its website. “On average, women live longer than men yet their lifetime earnings are generally lower. Pay inequity while they’re working and often reduced benefits once they retire means millions of women face retirement and health insecurity in their old age.”

Social Security protects families in the event that a worker retires, becomes disabled or dies. The National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare is also focusing on the importance to minorities in addition to women. These guaranteed insurance benefits are especially crucial to minority communities who tend to have fewer alternative resources, become disabled at higher rates, and disproportionately rely on Social Security’s family benefit features. Social Security provides many elderly African-Americans with their sole or primary source of income in retirement.

According to the National Committee, today’s African-American workers are concentrated in low-wage jobs that typically lack pension coverage. African-Americans experience high poverty and underemployment, and have less ability to save and invest for retirement than most other Americans. Because of typically low incomes throughout their working lives, research shows elderly African-Americans may depend almost exclusively on Social Security for their retirement income by not being able to accumulate savings. Preserving the current system with its guaranteed benefits is crucial.

Laura Feldman’s extensive knowledge of social insurance issues and distinctive presentation style make her a sought after speaker for large and small group events. Feldman draws from her background in senior advocacy combined with her leadership experience with the Southern Gerontological Society, Florida Silver Haired Legislature, Maryland Gerontological Association and Virginia Council on Aging to provide informative and thought-provoking discussions for community groups. Demystifying politics, personalizing it and making it fun is one of her goals. She also brings her skills as a teacher to educating senior groups and activists across the country.

Learn more by attending the event on February 11th at 6pm.

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