Your AARP
BUILD YOUR TECH SKILLS
AARP, Senior Planet offer digital literacy options
Becoming digitally literate is increasingly necessary for older Americans. To address this need, AARP, in affiliation with Older Adults Technology Services (OATS), has opened its fourth technology-themed Senior Planet community center, this one in Miami.
The goal is to give older adults a place to hone their digital and technological skills. “Between 20 to 40 percent of older adults in America are still not fully online,” says Tom Kamber, OATS executive director. “Senior Planet fills that gap; we make it a social mission to provide digital equity and help older adults thrive online.”
The Miami center, which joins facilities in Denver, New York City and Plattsburgh, New York, will be more than a tech hub; it is also intended to serve as a gathering space for people to trade ideas and find others with similar interests.
“Older adults can be credited for a lot of innovation in tech and art,” Kamber says. “This is a space for them to learn, pursue their projects and shape their community.”
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez and OATS’s Tom Kamber open the new center.
The facility will host weekly multilingual classes in technology, health, finance, community and the arts. One-on-one tech tutoring sessions and tech discussion groups will also be held at the center. There’s additional good news: More programs are planned for 2024, Kamber says.
OATS has other goals for the year, including expanding Senior Planet disaster preparedness programs to educate older adults on the digital tools they can use to communicate and stay safe during a storm. And the group will expand its free licensing program, which allows local organizations to teach Senior Planet classes to older adults in rural communities.
For those unable to make it to a facility, Senior Planet offers free online classes every week, ranging from tai chi and Spanish to courses on tech wearables and online banking. Find classes at seniorplanet.org/classes.
PLAN YOUR PRETIREMENT WITH AARP
Starting retirement planning in your 50s can pay big dividends when the moment arrives. And that doesn’t have to be scary.
AARP and the Ad Council have launched This Is Pretirement to offer strategies for retirement saving.
The campaign’s website has tools and resources to help people get free from debt, build an emergency cash fund and take initial steps to save for retirement. There is also a short quiz that generates a personalized plan that fits your life circumstances. You can create an account online to track your progress.
Find what you need at ThisIsPretirement.org.
AARP AND ELECTRIC CARS
Interested in learning more about electric vehicles and whether one might be a good fit for you? AARP has a pair of free online virtual workshops that can answer most questions. Take them in any order. The first is called “Power Up Your Knowledge on Electric Vehicles” and introduces participants to the basics of buying, driving and owning an EV. It lasts 45 minutes. The second program, titled “Take Charge of Your Electric Vehicle,” is an hour long, covering topics such as plotting your charging stops and taking a road trip.
To find out more, including how to register, go to aarp.org/EV.