President Harry Truman calls on the Federal Security Agency, then manager of Social Security, to host the first National Conference on Aging. Ollie Randall, a leading social worker and advocate, helps organize the event as head of the new National Committee on the Aging.

The National Committee hosts a conference to explore whether chronological age is an acceptable basis for retirement policy. Geneva Mathiasen, the committee’s first executive secretary, edits Criteria for Retirement, a report stating older adults should “have an opportunity to continue working, making some social contribution … as long as they are willing and able.”

In the 1950s, few states licensed or inspected nursing homes. After years of study, the National Committee issues a groundbreaking report that spurs action on nursing home legislation, licensing programs, and improvements in practice.

With support from the Ford Foundation, the National Committee on the Aging becomes an independent organization and is renamed the National Council on Aging.

Inspired by the first White House Conference on Aging, NCOA leaders sponsor a new association for nonprofit nursing homes called the American Association of Homes for the Aging. Now named LeadingAge, the organization focuses on improving the nation’s senior living options.

NCOA conducts a study of local programs that deliver meals to homebound older adults. The report provides a model for the aging network and leads to federal funding of home-delivered meals programs.

NCOA successfully advocates for the passage of Medicare, Medicaid, and the Older Americans Act, landmark bills that establish the modern aging network. Under Operation: Medicare Alert, NCOA employs teams of older volunteers to educate and enroll more than 3 million people in their new benefits.

As part of the war on poverty, NCOA publishes guidelines for a model community action program that employs older adults to work with very young children in institutions. Months later, the Foster Grandparents program is launched, and it continues today.

NCOA starts Project FIND, the first major effort in the U.S. to study the lives of low-income older adults, identify their greatest needs, and investigate resources available to them. More than 50,000 older adults respond to questionnaires. Project FIND continues today at one of the original pilot sites in New York.

Building on its earlier work, NCOA champions passage of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, which prohibits employers from discriminating against individuals who are 40 or older in any aspect of employment.

NCOA contracts with the U.S. Department of Labor to administer the newly created Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP). The initiative offers job training and placement for older workers. NCOA manages 24 SCSEP offices throughout the U.S.

NCOA forms the National Institute of Senior Centers (NISC) to serve as a voice for the growing network of community-based centers established under the Older Americans Act. NISC offers best practices, standards of excellence, and professional development, which continue to this day.

To ensure that the needs of Black older adults are addressed at the upcoming 1971 White House Conference on Aging, Hobart Jackson and other NCOA leaders help form the National Caucus & Center on Black Aging. The nonprofit remains the only national organization devoted to minority and low-income aging.

NCOA launches a pioneering study of public attitudes of aging in America. Most respondents say they resent mandatory retirement and want to remain active. Media reports on the findings help shift people’s view of older adults.

NCOA partners with the National Endowment for the Humanities to offer reading materials and leadership guides for local discussion groups. More than 40,000 older adults join with their peers to discuss history and literature at 800 sites nationwide.

NCOA works with the Ad Council to run a national public service announcement themed Older Persons: A Natural Resource. The billboards and ads in TV, radio, and newspapers urge Americans to “get off your rocker and don’t take old age sitting down.”

NCOA establishes the National Institute on Adult Daycare, now known as the National Adult Day Services Association. The organization provides training for professionals and accreditation for centers, allowing more older adults to live at home.

NCOA helps launch the Leadership Council of Aging Organizations (LCAO), which brings together national partners to advocate jointly for systems change. Today, 68 LCAO members continue to collaborate to improve federal aging policy and programs.

NCOA plays a central role in the third White House Conference on Aging. Jack Ossofsky, then chief executive of NCOA, leads efforts to safeguard Social Security benefits and broaden opportunities for older workers.

President Ronald Reagan signs the first Senior Center Week presidential proclamation, calling on everyone to “honor older Americans and those local organizations that bring together activities and services for their benefit.”

In a culmination of more than three decades of advocacy, NCOA successfully urges Congress to amend the 1967 Age Discrimination in Employment Act to finally eliminate mandatory retirement, making it illegal for most employers to force employees to retire based solely on age.

NCOA joins with the Child Welfare League of America, Children’s Defense Fund, and AARP to found Generations United, a nonprofit still at work today bringing generations together and advocating for sound intergenerational policy.

An NCOA survey is the first to study long-distance caregivers. The research finds that nearly 7 million Americans are serving in this role, and they collectively lose about 15 million days of work annually.

NCOA launches the Health Promotion Institute to promote the physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual well-being of older adults. The institute focuses on injury prevention, immunization, and consumer information.

NCOA works to enhance consumer choices about home and community-based long-term care services for older adults and people with disabilities. The Independent Choices program acts as a national catalyst for self-determination and consumer direction in long-term care.

In an effort to advance best practices and standards among senior centers, NCOA develops the nation’s first senior center accreditation program. The program includes a self-assessment, peer review, and on-site visit.

NCOA begins conducting surveys on everything from chronic pain and untreated hearing loss to sex and high blood pressure. The hearing loss study finds a link between untreated hearing loss and emotional distress, social isolation, and paranoia.

Under the leadership of Jim Firman, president and CEO, NCOA harnesses the newfound power of the internet to connect eligible older adults to benefits online. BenefitsCheckUp® helps visitors see if they might qualify for programs to help them afford food, medicine, and other daily costs.

In the nation’s first major expansion of Medicare, Congress passes the Medicare Part D prescription drug program. NCOA successfully advocates for federal funding to help low-income people with Medicare afford their health care and to conduct outreach and enrollment to ensure older adults are getting the new benefits.

In a major expansion of its role in healthy aging, NCOA is named the national technical resource center for a federal initiative to develop and spread evidence-based programs to older adults nationwide.

As Medicare Part D is implemented, NCOA unites more than 100 organizations in the My Medicare Matters campaign to enroll 320,000 individuals in the new Extra Help program that provides prescription drug cost assistance to people with low incomes.

NCOA launches the Falls Free® Initiative and releases the landmark Falls Free National Action Plan to map a strategy to reduce falls among older adults. One year later, NCOA hosts the first National Falls Prevention Awareness Day on the first day of fall in September.

NCOA advocacy leads to the creation of the National Center for Benefits Outreach and Enrollment. NCOA is selected to manage the center, which leads efforts to find and enroll eligible older adults into benefits programs.

NCOA persuades Congress to pass the Keeping Seniors Safe from Falls Act, which authorizes demonstration programs, research, and public education on falls prevention.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development requires reverse mortgage counselors to use NCOA's BenefitsCheckUp and educational guide with all older homeowners who are considering a reverse mortgage.

NCOA leads the Elder Justice Now campaign to raise awareness of elder abuse. The effort leads to the 2010 passage of the Elder Justice Act.

NCOA strengthens provisions in the Affordable Care Act to improve Medicare chronic care and Medicaid home and community-based services, then educates older adults about the new law through the Straight Talk for Seniors® campaign.

Under the leadership of Jim Firman, President and CEO, NCOA launches the Aging Mastery Program® (AMP), an innovative workshop designed to help older adults make the most of their longevity.

With funding from the Walmart Foundation, NCOA builds on its benefits access work through a new senior hunger initiative focused on enrolling more eligible older adults into the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

NCOA receives federal funding to establish the National Falls Prevention Resource Center, which provides grants and support to local organizations offering evidence-based programs.

Thanks to NCOA’s advocacy, 579,000 people with low incomes and Medicare gain permanent access to Medicare’s Qualifying Individual program to help pay their Medicare costs.

Over 1,000 aging services professionals from across the nation attend NCOA’s first Age+Action® Conference to share ideas and advocate on Capitol Hill.

In response to the pandemic, NCOA supports the aging services network as they provide crucial food, services, virtual programs, and support to isolated older adults.

NCOA launches the Falls Free CheckUp®, a free online tool that enables older adults to check their risk for falling.

In the American Rescue Plan, NCOA successfully advocates for $1.43 billion in pandemic relief funding for critical community programs under the Older Americans Act.

NCOA launches the Benefits Helpline, a toll-free number for BenefitsCheckUp users to receive in-person assistance applying for benefits.

NCOA successfully advocates for provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act that cap Medicare out-of-pocket prescription drug costs, allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices, and strengthen assistance for low-income beneficiaries.

NCOA receives funding to establish the Direct Care Workforce Strategies Center to improve recruitment, training, and retention of the nation’s direct care workforce.

NCOA launches NCOA Adviser, a free online resource that helps older adults save money by providing expert reviews on products and services to age well.

With federal funding, NCOA leads a national campaign to ensure older adults and people with disabilities receive the latest COVID and flu vaccines, resulting in 320,000 vaccines administered.

Along with the National Consumers League, NCOA launches the Obesity Bill of Rights calling for people with obesity to be screened, diagnosed, counseled, and treated according to medical guidelines.