National Resource Center on Women and Retirement Planning

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The Administration on Aging (AoA), an agency of the Administration for Community Living (ACL) plans to award one cooperative agreement to support a National Resource Center on Women and Retirement Planning (Center). The federal share will be up to $244,314 per year, for a project period of up to three (3) years, contingent upon the availability of federal funds. Through the Center the grantee will partner with the ACL/AoA to assist the National Network on Aging (Network) to implement objectives that help older adults, especially low income women and women of color to afford access to secure retirements by avoiding incidences of fraud or financial exploitation. AoA is the lead partner of the Network, which consists of 56 State Units on Aging (SUA), 655 Area Agencies on Aging (AAA), 239 Tribal and Native organizations, 29,000 service providers, and thousands of volunteers who operate a comprehensive system of home and community-based services for older individuals and their families. With this leadership role comes a responsibility to help seniors and their families access tools that will allow them to secure their financial independence in retirement. Accordingly, the Center will define the needs and develop strategies that can help seniors, especially women, and their families identify and prevent fraud or elder financial exploitation and enhance the potential for maintaining independence. In partnership with AoA, the Center will design and execute objectives to support the incorporation of the concepts of basic financial and retirement planning into the fabric of Older Americans Act Programs. Center activities will incorporate the latest technology to generate and disseminate knowledge in appropriately packaged forms that can assist women, especially low-income women, women of color, and women with limited English-speaking proficiency to build their capacity to plan for, and to exercise, the most prudent options for their economic security in later life. The Center will serve as a national clearinghouse of tools and information on retirement planning and related financial materials, such as consumer protection and fraud prevention. It will tailor its activities and work products to meet the special needs of disadvantaged women and their families, including limited English-speaking individuals. The award will be made in the form of a cooperative agreement because AoA will be substantially involved in the development and execution of the activities conducted by the Center. Accordingly, under this cooperative agreement, AoA shall carry out the following activities: collaborate with the Center on the development, modification and execution of the Center work plan; serve as liaison with the Network; provide technical advice on the identification, adaptation and development of financial and retirement planning informational materials for women; and consult on the identification of emerging issues, potential partners, feasible strategies and their impact nationwide. The cooperative agreement will provide the program requirements and measures of program success, as well as describe the training, technical assistance and support to be provided by AoA and the National Resource Center on Women and Retirement Planning. Applicants should ideally be well established and have a known presence in their respective professional communities and must present a comprehensive plan to provide program services nationwide. Applicants must cover at least 25 percent of the project’s total cost with non-Federal resources.

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