AARP IN YOUR STATE

Virgin Islands Bulletin News

April 2008

Set the course – With lack of health insurance a widespread problem in the Virgin Islands, Gov. John deJongh, D, plans to appoint a task force to address the issue and has demonstrated his commitment by signing a Divided We Fail pledge. The national Divided We Fail initiative urges bipartisan action to give all Americans access to affordable health care and financial security. A recent survey found nearly 30 percent of the territory’s 110,000 residents were uninsured, almost twice the national average of 15.4 percent. AARP Virgin Islands and other groups hope task force members will recommend timelines and set priorities for extending coverage to uninsured residents. To learn more or to express your support for the task force, visit www.aarp.org/vi.

October 2007

Fairness in benefits – Under a new law, people who continue to work after they’ve begun collecting Social Security retirement benefits and then lose their jobs through no fault of their own will no longer forfeit unemployment benefits. Introduced by Sen. James Weber, D, and signed in August by Gov. John P. deJongh, D, the measure amended a long-standing law that required unemployment insurance payments to be reduced by the amount of Social Security retirement benefits a worker received.