The SPRY Foundation works with Federal agencies and national associations to obtain accurate, high quality materials on health issues, finances, Social Security and Medicare, caregiving, housing, leisure and recreation, and other issues of interest to older Americans. Examples of organizations currently participating in the Retirement Living Forum are the Social Security Administration , the Health Care Financing Administration which manages the Medicare program, the National Institute on Aging and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute from the National Institutes on Health, the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research , the Alliance for Aging Research, the American Bar Association, the Pension Rights Center, the National Center for Financial Education, Alzheimer's Association , Administration On Aging and the National Health Council. In addition, Aging Network News, a newsletter aimed at professionals serving older persons, contributes articles and resource lists and the American Society on Aging, a professional association with 9,200 members, contributes research articles from its publications. Forum subscribers also find friends and colleagues in the Retirement Living Forum. In the time SPRY has been managing the forum, we have been amazed at the strength of the friendships and personal relationships that build between users.
Subscribers find immediate responses to their questions and concerns.
For organizations interested in consumer education, the Retirement Living Forum provides an opportunity to reach individuals which accurate information when they want it. In the library, subscribers can locate information on any of 20 topics such as the ones noted in the section above. Subscribers can browse through documents, read them, and, if they wish, print out the information for their use. Conferences are scheduled periodically with subject area experts. Members gain access to CompuServe through their local phone lines for the price of a local telephone call.