AARP has launched You’ve Earned a Say, a national conversation to help all Americans make their voices heard about the future of Medicare and Social Security and to take the conversation about these vital programs out from behind closed doors in Washington.

AARP is hosting local meetings, debates, bus tours and informational forums across the nation. In Colorado, AARP is traveling everywhere from senior centers to universities in an effort to listen to Coloradans and get their perspectives about Social Security and Medicare.

In Colorado, more than 693,000 people receive Social Security and more than 500,000 are on Medicare. Social Security lifts more than one quarter of Colorado retirees from poverty, and Latinos tend to use their earned benefits for more than 90 percent of their total household income.

Social Security and Medicare are vital programs that the people in our community earned and they should be there for your children and grandchildren. That is why we at AARP Colorado want to hear from you. Please, take the time to visit earnedasay.com for more information, or call us at 1-866-554-5376 and we will help get a questionnaire out to you.

Angela Cortez is the communications director for AARP Colorado. Reach her at acortez@aarp.org.