Supporting Veterans and Seniors

Veteran Support

• Ended state taxation of military service pensions, applicable to every Veteran who retires from active duty and wants to make Rhode Island their home. Military retiree income feeds the local economy, and these Veterans bring a wealth of knowledge and backgrounds benefiting Rhode Island.
• Dedicated funding for the Vet Pass Transportation program. Many injured, ill, and disabled Veterans identify access to reliable transportation, including services to get them to and from VA healthcare appointments, as critical and important to reintegration efforts.
• Added $350,000 in dedicated grant funding to the Rhode Island Office of Veterans Services (RIVETS) budget, with $50,000 of that to be used for a build-out of Operation Stand Down RI’s food pantry and clothing shed storage facility. Another $100,000 was allocated to Veterans of Foreign Wars of Rhode Island for Veteran Service Officer services. The remainder is for entities to be determined by RIVETS.
• Allocated $250,000 to digitize the 65,000+ paper DD214 documents (military discharge paperwork) that RIVETS has in multiple filing cabinets. Digitizing these records allows for more efficient, secure, and accessible storage of these important documents needed to verify military services for benefits, retirement, employment, and membership in Veterans’ organizations.
• Updated statutory language in 2023 to allow for interment of National Guard and Reserve members at the Rhode Island Veterans Memorial Cemetery. This change brought Rhode Island in compliance with the federal Burial Equity for Guard and Reservists Act, which recognizes the significant contributions of guard members and reservists to keeping us safe at home and abroad.
• Expanded our footprint by providing services to Veterans at the Westerly and Woonsocket Education Centers and entered a groundbreaking partnership with the Regional VA benefits office, allowing for their employees to meet confidentially with Veterans and family members at our three (Warwick, Bristol and Exeter) locations, so that Veterans don’t have to drive into Providence and struggle with parking on Westminster Street.
• Launched the Veterans’ Café Program, spearheaded by RIVETS in partnership with the Office of Healthy Aging (OHA) and Meals on Wheels, which caters to those that are at risk of social isolation and may need increased access to adequate nutrition. The program offers a socialized dining opportunity at a community-based location, a full lunch service, and health and wellness education.
• Hired a Women Veteran Program Coordinator to actively increase awareness of the obstacles female Veterans face, as well as expanding access to resources for this underserved population. By 2045, women will represent 22 percent of Rhode Island’s Veteran population, making them one of the fastest-growing Veteran cohorts.
   

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Senior Support

• In FY 2025, invested $10 million to help stabilize Rhode Island’s nursing home industry, supplementing a $30 million investment in FY 2023.
• Increased the maximum pension exemption from $20,000 to $50,000, which will allow personal income tax filers to exempt up to $50,000 for qualified single filers and $100,000 for joint filers.
• Invested $1.4 million in community-based programs and services in FY 2025, enabling older adults to age healthily, happily, and in the manner they choose.
• Signed the Secure Choice Act, offering additional retirement savings options and enabling hardworking Rhode Islanders to retire with dignity. Secure Choice will allow over 170,000 Rhode Islanders who do not currently have access to retirement savings options to begin saving for retirement.
• Included a $3.7 million investment in FY 2023 to increase the Circuit Breaker Tax Credit available to qualifying seniors, raising the maximum credit received to $600 and increasing the income threshold for eligibility to $35,000.
  Both the credit amount and income threshold are adjusted for inflation starting in tax year 2024. This property tax credit program provides relief to eligible seniors and adults with disabilities who own or rent their homes.
• Launched a Rhode Island Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders (ADRD) 2024-2029 State Plan, with support from RIDOH, in February 2024. This ambitious plan details 36 strategic recommendations on how to improve the quality of life and accessibility of care for Rhode Islanders with dementia and their caregivers by the end of this decade.
• Launched the digiAGE program to bridge the digital divide faced by many older adults.
  • Taught older adults to effectively use devices like smartphones, tablets and laptops. This program, a partnership with OHA and URI Cyber-Seniors, delivered 451 iPads and 157 hotspots to older adults living in the community.
  • Provided online learning opportunities to more than 8,700 individuals who took advantage of classes promoting digital literacy, socialization, health and wellness, and new learning experiences from 2022 to 2024.
• Increased support for Meals on Wheels of RI by 19 percent in FY 2024, adding $100,000 in additional state general revenue for meal delivery to Rhode Island seniors. In 2023, Meals on Wheels of RI delivered over 350,000 nutritious meals and served almost 3,000 homebound seniors.
• Allocated $250,000 in the past two budgets to Rhode Island’s free Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC), known as “The Point.” The Point provides valuable information and assistance to persons ages 55 and older to help identify needs, explore resources and services, and help with applying to public and private programs.
• Increased rates for the OHA At HOME Cost Share program, which provides both homecare and adult day services.
• Allocated an additional $250,000 in general revenues in FY 2024 for total general revenue funding of $770,000 for the Livable Home Modification Grant program. The program provides 50 percent reimbursement of the total retrofit costs, up to $4,500, to support home modifications and accessibility enhancements to allow individuals to remain in community settings.
• Signed legislation in 2023 that protects consumers from gift card scams by requiring retailers to post a notice warning about how con artists impersonating a business or government agency invent phony charges or sweepstakes winnings and demand expedited payments via a gift card.
• Signed legislation that provides all Medicare recipients over 65 years of age applying for a Medicare supplement plan guaranteed issue rights regardless of health or receipt of healthcare by the applicant. Also signed legislation that helps lower drug costs by capping a 30-day supply for prescription epinephrine auto-injectors (EpiPens) at $35 and not subject to any deductible.