Hawai‘i Candidates for Governor Discuss Retirement Savings, Transportation

AARP asked the candidates for governor of Hawai’i how they would help Hawai’i residents save for retirement, ensure that Honolulu’s rail project will consider the needs of kupuna, and see that they have access to quality home- and community-based services.

QUESTION 1:  216,000 residents in our state don’t have a way to save for retirement at work. Knowing that employees are 15 times more likely to save merely by having access to payroll deduction, what can you commit to do to reverse the trend of under-saving for retirement, above and beyond education efforts?    

QUESTION 2: A livable community is one that is safe and secure, has housing that is affordable (no more than 30% of income is spent on housing), transportation options, and offers supportive community features and services for people of all ages and allows people to remain in their communities as they age. Transit Oriented Developments (TOD) can be developed with features that provide these benefits to Hawai’i’s kupuna. What is your vision for transit-oriented development in Hawai’i, and specifically, what steps would you take to ensure that Honolulu’s rail project will consider the needs of Hawai’i’s kupuna?

QUESTION 3: Hawai’i was the first state in the nation to help working family caregivers through the Kupuna Caregivers Program. This program provides adult day care and other services to help family caregivers stay in the workforce. This includes the 1 in 4 millennials who serve as caregivers. The program will need to be funded again next year. If elected, how will you approach funding for the Kupuna Caregivers Program to help family caregivers stay in the workforce?

QUESTION 4: The majority of Hawai’i residents want to stay in their homes and communities as they age. One way to ensure that they don’t have to move is to redirect spending away from costly nursing home care and into home- and community-based services (HCBS). There are new and existing federal financial incentives and strategies to improve access to services to help seniors remain at home, including consumer-directed decision-making, home health and personal care, helping people better navigate the system and understand their care options, addressing racial disparities in access and quality of care, and expanding and improving the quality of the direct care workforce. How would you help kupuna and caregivers connect better to home- and community-based services, improve the quality of care, and expand and improve the caregiving workforce?