The roughly 2.4 million Ohioans who rely on Social Security income are expected to get a big boost in benefits, but advocates for the program are voicing concerns about its future stability, especially in this political climate.

The annual Social Security Cost of Living Adjustment or "COLA," which could be announced any day now, is predicted to be close to 9% for 2023.

Amid record high inflation, said Norman Wernet, president of the Ohio Alliance for Retired Americans, the increase will be crucial to help older Americans cope with inflation.

"Social Security is there because we need some way to have a life after a life of work," he said. "Not every worker has been able to put money back or have a good pension - and actually, pensions have been diminished over the last 30 years."

However, the Social Security Board of Trustees report continues to forecast a long-term cash shortfall that could lead to reduced benefits in 13 years. Some Republicans have floated cutting or sunsetting the program. But Wexner's group and others are supporting bills in Congress that would expand benefits and boost the cap on the amount of income subject to Social Security tax.

Jon Bauman, president of the advocacy group Social Security Works' pollitical action committee, explains that the current wage cap for the program is $147,000, which means those who make more than that don't have money withheld on the additional earnings. Bauman argued that the cap should be lifted.

"A Koch brother or Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos or a random rich person stopped paying at $147,000," he said. "So, if they made, like, $50 million that year, they're paying '.0000000000000001%' in - and how is that fair?"

He noted that the money in the Social Security Trust Fund comes directly from workers' wages during all their working life, plus their employers' contributions. One-point-eight-million Ohioans receiving Social Security benefits are age 65 or older.

Southern Oregon continues to recover from the fires of 2020 and grants are helping residents in the region. The Almeda Fire in Jackson County devastated the towns of Talent and Phoenix. About 1,700 manufactured homes were destroyed, and more than half of those homes were in communities for people age 55 and older. Many of those folks are still displaced. AARP Oregon has donated $10,000 dollars to Firebrand Resiliency Collective to help with recovery.

Executive Director Tucker Teutsch said there are a number of barriers to recovery for older residents.

"We experienced this fire on top of COVID and its own supply-chain issues but also the largest building-supply price bubble that I think any of us have ever seen," he said. "So, that income disparity in that community really prevented people from being able to purchase new homes or build new homes."

Teutsch added disability is another barrier. His organization has also focused on victims' access to technology and their social circles, both of which have been struggles for older Oregonians.

The Rogue Valley Council of Governments' senior and disability services has also provided a $5,000 grant to Firebrand Resiliency Collective.

Constance Wilkerson, senior and disability services director, said like Firebrand Resiliency Collective, her organization helps with the heightened need for disaster preparedness in the region. She added it's going to take a long time to rebuild but efforts are under way in Talent and Phoenix.

"It's really heartening to see businesses are being rebuilt and opening, gardens are being planted around the new homes that are springing up, and lots of homes are under construction," Wilkerson said.

She said the Community Action Agency of Jackson County's Center for Community Resilience is the point of contact for fire survivors in the region.

In her fifth State of the State address this week, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer emphasized policies designed to put more money in Michiganders' pockets.

The second-term Democrat included several proposals, including a plan to cut the tax on retirement income, that played well with Michigan seniors.

Melissa Seifert, associate state director for government affairs at AARP Michigan, said the governor's speech set a positive tone for the new legislative session. She said her group's priorities include more funding for long-term care and help for the state's caregivers.

"Right now, 68% of Michigan's Medicaid dollars actually go to nursing homes," she said. "We want to see a rebalancing of those dollars, to put back into resources for home and community-based services."

Seifert said AARP is also watching legislation to lower drug prices, expand access to affordable housing and make it easier for people to save for retirement.

Republican lawmakers, in the minority for the first time in years, have said they'll wait for the governor's proposed budget before passing judgment on her programs.

Seifert said lawmakers need to find a solution to the crisis in Michigan's direct-care industry, where she said poor wages and working conditions have led an annual employee turnover rate of up to 80%.

"We want to see Medicaid wages increase for direct-care workers by $4," she said. "And we're also asking for an investment from the American Rescue Plan Act to provide retention bonuses for direct-care workers."

Seifert said she believes home is the best place for seniors to get care, but said that it often leads to long hours and high stress for family members doing the caregiving. She said it's important for the state to develop and provide resources for these families.

"It's estimated that 1.73 million Michiganders are family caregivers," she said. "So, we're looking at a very large chunk of Michigan's population. We want to create Caregiving Resource Centers to provide information and resources for those that need it."

The Michigan Legislature opened on Jan. 12 and will meet periodically through Dec. 28.

A grant program that helps with projects that benefit local communities is back. The AARP Community Challenge program selects projects for small, one-time grants. The aim is to fund projects that will make cities and towns better for people of all ages - with an emphasis on folks age 50 and older - and can be completed in a few months' time.

Marie Bonaminio, a volunteer with AARP Idaho who looks through applications, said the project's feasibility is one area they focus on.

"Sometimes just the smaller dollars is all they're looking for to finish a project, sometimes just start the project. Maybe we're just a piece of it," Bonaminio said. "But it's all about making the communities more livable."

Bonaminio said applications from nonprofit organizations and government entities are prioritized. The deadline for applications is 3 p.m. Mountain time on March 15th. Once they're funded, the projects must be completed by November 30th. Since it began in 2017, AARP has awarded $12.7-million to more than a thousand projects, including 20 in Idaho.

The Community Challenge program is adding two new grant programs this year. One is a capacity-building micro-grant for improving walkability by starting or expanding a community garden. The other is a demonstration grant, which will focus on transportation improvements and the benefits of accessory dwelling units as a housing solution. While some of the projects funded as part of the Community Challenge's flagship program may only last a short time, others are there for much longer.

Bonaminio said these are big wins for communities.

"These are actually projects that they put together and they stay there," she said. "This is to improve their community forever."

Last year, three projects in Idaho were funded. They included funds to install a permanent sound system at the Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial in Boise, a remote locker system for the Emmett Public Library, and an electric cargo bike that carried games and other items around Boise over the summer.