8. The California Legislature should be requested to study and develop a method of financing, on a matching basis, local home-care programs.

9. Every possible effort should be made to discourage all attempts to bring facilities, such as boarding homes and homes for the well aged, under the supervision of a governmental agency that is concerned primarily with the health problems of people. The members of the committee, on the basis of testimony offered at committee hearings, and on the basis of their studies, believe very strongly that reasonably well older persons who are brought into close contact with facilities concerned primarily with ill people are soon treated as ill persons. The committee strongly recommends that the present licensing laws be retained as they now are in regard to the agencies now having responsibility for licensing facilities caring for older people. Moreover, the Californía Legislature should to be requested to strengthen and help improve the work of these State agencies so that they can better meet the responsibilities and functions assigned to them.

10. The California Legislature should be requested to revise the California insurance laws so as to prohibit insurance companies from canceling, or refusing to renew, hospital and health insurance policies which have been in force for 2 years or more, except for fraud or other good reasons.

11. The California Legislature should be requested to revise the California insurance laws so as to require that any age limitations in a policy be stated in large, bold type on the face of the policy itself.

12. The retired person, in most cases, is not permitted to continue as a member of health insurance groups because payroll deductions for his insurance premiums can no longer be made. Ordinarily, the insurance company offers conversion rights to a policy which provides less coverage and which may cost more. Therefore, the California Legislature should be requested to study the California insurance laws in order to develop a plan whereby the retired worker may continue to receive health insurance benefits equal to those he received under the payroll deduction plan and without any increase in cost.

Housing

1. The California Legislature should be requested to study the feasibility of financing housing for older persons on a basis similar to that so successfully used for veterans' housing.

2. The California Legislature should be requested to revise the State Housing Act so as to make it easier, without removing protective high standards, for older people, who find it desirable because of economic and social factors, to live in house trailers they own or rent.

3. The California Legislature should be requested to study, revise, and strengthen where found necessary, the provisions of the State Housing Act in order to promote and facilitate the development of adequate housing for older people.

4. The California Legislature should be requested to revise and strengthen the State Redevelopment Act by making it mandatory that local redevelopment programs allocate portions of the areas being redeveloped to housing units for older people to be erected under profit and nonprofit auspices.

5. Consideration should be given to the establishment, by the Governor or the California Legislature of an advisory committee to study the complex subjects of city planning, zoning, and building and safety codes. Such a committee would make recommendations for developing, insofar as is practical, uniform codes which would make it possible to utilize more readily new concepts and techniques with the end result that building costs may be reduced and untenable requirements as to size of lots and buildings may be replaced by more realistic requirements. Such action could result in housing which would more readily meet the needs of older persons from the point of view of cost, size, and location.

6. Action needs to be taken to establish research on the housing needs of older people. Such research should be concerned with location as well as architectural details related to safety, comfort, social needs, health and low cost. Such research could be assigned to the University of California or any other institution capable of conducting it.

Other recommendations

1. The California Legislature should be requested to revise the California School Code to provide that no school district may require retired persons over 65 years of age to pay any fee in order to enroll in adult education classes.

2. Every effort should be made to encourage local school departments to provide more adult education instructors for classes for older persons in homes, institutions, nursing homes, boarding homes, churches, senior citizen centers and other similiar facilities.

3. The California Recreation Commission should be requested to encourage local recreation departments and commissions to waive all requirements for fees to be paid by older persons using community recreation facilities.

4. The California Recreation Commission should be requested to encourage adequate training of specialists in recreation programs for older persons so that they can more effectively help older persons use their leisure to the best advantage of themselves and their communities.

5. The California State Library should be requested to assume some leadership in helping the public libraries of the State offer more services to older people.

6. The Citizens' Advisory Committee on Aging should be provided with a budget which would be adequate enough to obtain personnel so that more expeditious services may be given to communities requesting them. Such additional personnel would also make it possible to gather and publish pertinent data on older people in California and to prepare a directory of senior citizen activities in the State.

7. The State department of social welfare should be encouraged to develop a more active and adequate program of services for recipients of old age security in order to help them live as independently as possible for as long as possible. 8. The State department of social welfare should be encouraged to strengthen its training program for staffs of county agencies licensing boarding homes for older persons.

9. The State department of social welfare should be encouraged to be more active in developing training programs for operators of boarding homes for older persons.

10. The State department of social welfare should be encouraged to develop a foster home program for well older persons who wish to live in a normal home setting.

11. The three State agencies now having responsibility for licensing out of home facilities for older people should be requested to clarify their definitions of such facilities and to publicize them in order to remedy the misunderstandings now current because of the indiscriminate use of the terms "rest home," "nursing home," "sanitorium," and "boarding home." Where necessary, California statutes should be revised in order to permit the use of a clarified terminology. 12. There is general agreement on the part of physicians, psychologists, sociologists, and social workers that idleness and inactivity forced upon retired people are among the primary causes of physical and mental deterioration which is commonly called "senility." Therefore, every effort must be made by the appropriate governmental agencies to prevent such deterioration through a more effective and aggressive program for older persons which will provide them with normal social intercourse, opportunities for recreation and education as well as opportunities for them to be of service, as volunteers, to their communities.

13. The Congress of the United States approved, at its last session, Public Law 85-908 which provides that the President shall call a White House Conference on Aging in January 1961. This law provides grants up to a maximum of $15,000 to each State which calls a preliminary State conference and regional or local conferences prior to the Federal conference. Therefore, the Governor of California should call a statewide conference on aging to be held in November 1960 and to encourage the calling of local and regional conferences prior to that date. The California Legislature should be requested to take the appropriate action which will enable California to receive such Federal funds as will be available and also to provide such additional funds as will be needed for the statewide conference, for staff assistance to local and regional conferences, and for the cost of sending a California delegation to the White House Conference on Aging in Washington in January 1961.

Senator MCNAMARA. Next we will hear from Mr. Charles E. Odell, director, older and retired workers department, international union, UAW-AFL-CIO, Detroit, Mich.

STATEMENT OF CHARLES ODELL, DIRECTOR, DEPARTMENT OF OLDER WORKERS, UNITED AUTO WORKERS, AND FORMER SPECIAL ASSISTANT ON OLDER WORKER PROGRAMS TO THE UNDER SECRETARY, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Mr. ODELL. May my entire statement be made a part of this record? Senator MCNAMARA. Without objection, it will be incorporated in the record.

(Mr. Odell's prepared statement follows:)

The evolving responsibility of America toward its senior citizens is to enable them to live in such a way as to make creative use of their earned leisure and be an accepted and useful part of the community. This is in part: (1) A problem of providing adequate income, housing and health security for retired workers; (2) in part a problem of helping older workers to prepare for retirement; and (3) in part a problem of preparing the community to accept retirement as a way of life for an increasing number of older people.

While much has been said and written about points (1) and (2), little thought has been given to point (3). Point (3) requires that we must work to create a social climate which permits maximum freedom of individual choice about retirement as an attractive alternative to the older concept that all of us, or most of us, should work until we drop. This effort will involve all groups in the community who can make a contribution to the business of work and retirement-the employer, the union, government, the voluntary agencies and senior citizens themselves.

Creating the proper social climate for retirement involves certain basic steps. Some of these were spelled out in a chart which I prepared for Mill and Factory magazine in April 1957, when I was still employed by the U.S. Department of Labor. Copies of this chart are attached. Briefly summarized, the chart outlines the following steps:

1. Encourage, by education, and legislation, if necessary, the principle that middle-aged and older men and women (ages 35-60 over) should be hired on the basis of ability, without regard to their age. It naturally follows that workers who approach retirement with spotty or broken work records are not well prepared for retirement. Not only is their morale depressed, but their income in retirement will be adversely affected by their lack of wage credits during their working years.

2. Encourage the more effective utilization of the skills and abilities of middleaged and older men and women by providing them with more opportunities for training, retraining, vocational rehabilitation, job reengineering, employment counseling and selective placement both on the job and in the community.

3. Encourage retention, beyond the normal retirement age, of those older men and women who are able and willing to work, not only by abandoning arbitrary mandatory retirement policies, but by the provision of opportunities for placement on less arduous work and for phased retirement. Also encourage more adequate early retirement when the workers are permanently and totally disabled or can no longer keep pace physically.

4. Encourage the provision of more adequate retirement income by continuing adjustment and improvement of social security and private or negotiated pension benefits, with particular attention to automatic adjustment of benefits in line with changes in the cost of living.

5. Encourage programs to help older employees prepare for retirement including provision in both public and private agencies in the community for informational, educational, and counseling services that are truly accessible to the worker on the job at any time after age 40 or 45 until he is ready to retire. 6. Encourage the development and use of public and private voluntary agency resources to assist the middle-aged and older individual in his search for employment and/or a creative and useful role in retirement.

The chart itself elaborates in some detail upon the specific methods that could be used to carry out these basic steps and to achieve the ultimate objective of an appropriate social climate for retirement.

LEGISLATIVE IMPLICATIONS OF RETIREMENT PROPOSALS

There are obvious legislative implications in the chart.

In the first place, it is clear that a strictly voluntary-educational approach to the problem of age discrimination in the hiring of middle-aged and older workers will not work effectively. Serious consideration should therefore be given to national legislation, such as has already been passed in some States, which added age as a factor in the fair employment practices laws of the States. Second, it is apparent that effective utilization of middle-aged and older workers requires legislation, or at least increased appropriations, to those public and voluntary agencies which provide vocational training, retraining, rehabilitation, counseling, and placement services. Furthermore, these funds should be identified in such a way as to insure accountability of expenditure specifically on direct services to older workers-otherwise they may be used on other programs of primary benefit to youth or other groups served by the designated agencies.

Third, it would seem that greater flexibility in retirement policy may require legislative action to encourage Federal, State, and local governments to act as policymakers and leaders in this field. In all too many instances, faulty public policy and practice is used by private employers and community agencies as an excuse for failure to act on demands for greater flexibility and some experimentation in this field.

Fourth, it would certainly be desirable to build into the social security system a more adequate interpretation of disability for retirement purposes and a more sensitive method of adjusting benefit levels to reflect changes in the cost of living.

Fifth, an appropriate agency of the Federal Government, perhaps the field offices of the Social Security Administration, should be authorized to provide technical assistance and leadership to communities in developing local retirement preparation education programs. Such agency should be given appropriations to provide staff for such technical assistance and leadership services. Sixth, some broad framework of effective Federal, State, and local organizational structure should be developed to provide a basis for the orderly development and coordination of services to older and retired workers. While the White House Conference on Aging will provide a semblance of structure at the Federal and State level, careful consideration should be given to the longrange nature of the problem of aging and the need for a Federal structure which gives proper voice and representation to all the departments and agencies which have a role in the development of a program for senior citizens.

FACTORS IN POSTRETIREMENT PROGRAMS

I would now like to concentrate my further remarks on an elaboration of what is involved in the development of postretirement programs for those who choose to retire. This is not spelled out in the chart, except by implication, because the chart concentrates its attention on the period leading up to retirement. Of course, I think this is an important aspect of the retirement problem, but my experience with the UAW clearly indicates that much can be done to improve the attitudes and approach of older workers toward retirement by the development of sound and visible programs for those who have already retired. To put it quite bluntly, we have found that retirement is accepted more willingly by older workers when they can see that those who have already retired are "making a go of it." For far too many older workers retirement still symbolizes, at best, the idea of being put on the shelf, and at worst, the last faltering step toward chronic illness and death.

To achieve a more positive attitude toward retirement among UAW members we have as a matter of basic principle encouraged the continuing active participation of our retired workers in union activities and affairs. They continue as active and voting members of the union even after they retire and even though they must no longer pay dues. Furthermore, each local union is required, by a constitutional amendment passed at our 16th convention in 1957, to establish a standing committee on retired workers. This committee is encouraged to join with committees from other UAW locals in the same community to organize areawide councils on retired workers. These councils, in turn, are urged to work with other community groups, including the central labor body, the United Community Services Organization, councils on aging, etc., to develop programs that will be of value to all retired workers. Retired members are encouraged

to participate on local union committees, areawide councils and similar groups, and, in some places, we have been able to establish citywide steering committees of retired workers to advise on policy and reflect in other ways the interests and needs of those who have already retired.

A second basic principle of our postretirement program is that it shall serve the broad needs of all senior citizens and the whole community and not just the narrow needs of our own retired members. This is why we have stressed communitywide organization and cooperation with other groups interested in aging on a communitywide basis. Finally, in order to finance these activities, each local union contributes 1 cent per member per month to the areawide program and this is matched by a 1-cent-per-member contribution from an international retired members fund.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF UAW PROGRAMS

What have we accomplished in this postretirement program and what problems have we encountered requiring additional help from other public and private sources? Perhaps our most notable achievements have been in setting up, or in encouraging others to establish, activity or dropin centers for retired members and senior citizens, generally. There are now 50 or more communities throughout the United States and Canada in which the UAW has directly established, or has been instrumental in getting the community to establish, activity or dropin centers, or lounge programs. In Detroit, for example, we operate three such centers with partial financial support from the United Fund. These centers provide a place where retired workers can go during the period of the day previously devoted to work. Here they meet old friends and find new ones; they participate in a wide array of activities ranging from reading and watching TV to social and square dancing. We have developed many special interest groups working on a variety of projects and activities, ranging from toymaking for crippled children to creative writing and choral and orchestral music groups. We have conducted formal education programs on subjects ranging from home nursing and first aid to union counseling and friendly visiting.

A trained social worker supervises center activities, guides the development of program and provides individual counseling on social, health and family problems. Community agencies provide part-time help to assist us in specialized educational and recreational projects. But the centers are actually run by a Series of committees chaired and staffed by retired workers themselves. Despite the fact that these centers are housed in rather limited space in local union halls at least one-third of the participants are not UAW members. Many social problems are brought into central focus in the center programs for the first time. For example, so many members complained of the high cost of daily transportation that a committee was formed to seek a reduction in bus fares during the off-hours of the day. This committee was successful in its efforts, and now all retired persons over 65 in the city of Detroit can ride the buses from 9:30 to 3:30 at half fare. We are also negotiating for a drug prescription discount plan for senior citizens at the present time. Other similar projects are concerned with the development of "buddy" sponsored blood banks for senior citizens, a liberalization of surplus food, financial requirements, a senior citizen day and the ball park, and an organized campaign to get action on the Forand bill, H.R. 4700, which would aid greatly in meeting hospital and medical expenses for social security beneficiaries.

UNMET NEEDS OF SENIOR CITIZENS

The principal unmet economic needs of our retired members and other senior citizens seem to be in the health, medical, and housing fields. This is why we urge support of the Forand bill and the Housing bill passed by the House and Senate which includes provision for an augmented public housing program. It would be most helpful, for example, if public housing legislation specifically recognized the needs of senior citizens and provided that a certain ratio of units, say 5 or 10 percent should be specially designed and reserved for older couples and individuals in need of low cost housing. Since retired persons living on fixed incomes are adversely affected by rising living costs, we also favor some form of "built-in" adjustment of social security benefits to compensate for rising costs of basic items such as food, shelter, and essential services.

Outside of these economic needs centering on income maintenance, housing, and health problems of retired workers, the greatest need is for greater public