A Story About A NORC

The New Old Age talks about NORCs (Naturally Occuring Retirement Communties):

Twenty-five years ago, a University of Wisconsin professor coined a great term for this kind of residence. It is a naturally occurring retirement community, or NORC. The place wasn’t built for seniors; its tenants are all ages, infants through nonagenarians. But a substantial number of residents have been there long enough to grow old together.

Recession Depletes Social Security and Medicare

The Associated Press reports:

Social Security and Medicare are fading even faster under the weight of the recession, heading for insolvency years sooner than previously expected, the government warned Tuesday. Social Security will start paying out more in benefits than it collects in taxes in 2016, a year sooner than projected last year, and the giant trust fund will be depleted by 2037, four years sooner, trustees reported

Social Security Debit Card In New York?

A member of the center inquired about the social security debit card and whether New York recipients will be using them.

SSA.GOV answered the question.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Management Service (FMS) has designated Comerica Bank as its financial agent in a new initiative to give millions of Americans without bank accounts the option of using a prepaid debit card for receiving Social Security and/or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and other federal benefit payments. The “Direct Express®” card provides a safer and more convenient alternative to paper checks.

Beginning in Spring 2008, the U.S. Treasury began to promote the Direct Express Debit Card to current Social Security and SSI check recipients by enclosing an informational insert about the new debit card service with monthly benefit checks. Direct Express Debit Card is currently being introduced in 10 states, and will be rolled out nationwide this summer. Interested beneficiaries should contact Comerica Bank by telephone or via the Internet at:

Toll Free 877-212-9991 (Mon-Fri 7AM – 11PM CST to enroll) or,
http://www.usdirectexpress.com (24 hrs per day, 7 days per week)
Each month, payments will be automatically deposited on the Direct Express card account on the federal beneficiary’s designated payment day. Cardholders will be able to access their money at automated teller machines (ATMs) and financial institutions nationwide. They will be able to use their card to get cash back and make purchases at retail locations, pay bills and make purchases online. In addition, these accounts are personal information number (PIN) protected, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insured, and subject to federal consumer protection regulations (Regulation E).

For more information, please visit the FMS Web page