IMPORTANT- PLEASE READ THESE TERMS OF SERVICE CAREFULLY AS THEY CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING YOUR RIGHTS, REMEDIES, AND OBLIGATIONS.

Welcome to www.ncoa.org (the "Website"), a website of the National Council on Aging ("NCOA"). The Website is a tool to provide information and resources to the aging community in the United States, including information concerning access to benefits and community resources and discussion forums. These Terms of Service govern your rights and obligations concerning use of the Website. Please read these Terms of Service carefully. If you do not agree with these terms, please do not use the Website.

General

This Terms of Use Agreement (these “Terms of Use”) is a binding legal contract between you (“You” or “Your” either an individual or a legal entity) and The National Council on Aging (“NCOA”). These Terms of Use govern Your access to and use of the websites, media, apps, in-app services and any other cloud services offered by NCOA including without limitation www.NCOA.org, www.benefitscheckup.org, and www.NCOA.org/adviser/ websites and any media, software, programs, services, tools, features, databases, materials, content, features, products, apps, in-app services, or information available or sold on or through it or used in connection with it (collectively, the “Services” and each a “Service”). By downloading, accessing or using any part of the Service You have accessed, You will be bound by these Terms of Use. If You do not agree to these Terms of Use, NCOA is not willing to grant You any right to use or access the Service. In such event, You are not granted permission to access or otherwise use the Service and are instructed to exit the Service immediately.

NCOA may change, add or remove portions of the Terms of Use from time to time, and such changes shall become effective immediately upon posting. It is Your responsibility to review the Terms of Use prior to each use of the Service, and by continuing to use the Service, You agree to any changes, additions and removals.

Service access and use license

The Service You have accessed and all of its contents as a whole and in part are protected by copyright, trademark, service mark, trade name and other intellectual property, and are owned or controlled by NCOA, its affiliates and licensors. The Service is licensed to You, not sold. Except for the limited license granted in these Terms of Use, NCOA and its licensors retain all right, title and interest in the Service and all proprietary rights in the Service, including without limitation copyrights, patents, trademarks, service marks and trade names.

NCOA may change, suspend, or discontinue any aspect of the Service at any time. NCOA, its suppliers and service providers reserve all rights not granted in these Terms of Use.

GRANT OF LICENSE. NCOA grants You a personal, revocable, nontransferable, nonexclusive license to use the Service for personal, non-commercial purposes, conditioned on Your continued compliance with these Terms of Use.

1. LIMITATIONS ON LICENSE. The license granted to You in these Terms of Use is restricted as follows:
   1. Limitations on Copying and Distribution. You may download or copy downloadable items displayed on the Service for personal, non-commercial use only, provided that You maintain and display all copyright, trademark and other notices contained therein.
   2. Limitations on Use. You may use and access the Service solely for Your personal, non-commercial use. All use of the Service must be in accordance with these Terms of Use. You may not use, copy, store, reproduce, transmit, distribute, display, modify, alter, license, sublicense, or commercially exploit the Service or any contents, information, data or materials provided through the Service in any manner not expressly permitted by these Terms of Use or the Service. You may not assign, sublicense, rent, timeshare, loan, lease or otherwise transfer the Service, or directly or indirectly permit any third party to use or copy any of the Services. You may not: (i) use any “deep link”, “page scrape”, “robot”, “spider”, or other automatic device, program, script, algorithm or methodology, or any similar or equivalent manual process, to access, acquire, copy, or monitor any portion of the Service or in any way reproduce or circumvent the navigational structure or presentation of the Service to obtain or attempt to obtain any materials, documents, or information through any means not purposefully made available through the Service; (ii) attempt to gain unauthorized access to any portion or feature of the Service, including without limitation, the account of any other authorized user or any other systems or networks connected to the Service or to any server used by NCOA or to any of the services offered on or through the Service, by hacking, password “mining” or any other illegitimate or prohibited means; (iii) probe, scan, or test the vulnerability of the Service or any network connected to the Service, or breach the security or authentication measures on the Service, or any network connected to the Service; (iv) reverse look-up, trace, or seek to trace any information on any other authorized user of or visitor to the Service; (v) take any action that imposes an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on the infrastructure of the Service or systems or networks of NCOA or networks connected to the Service; (vi) use any device, software, or routine to interfere with the proper working of the Service or any transaction being conducted on the Service, or with any other person’s use of the Service; (vii) use the Service to harvest or collect e-mail addresses or other contact information; (viii) market, co-brand, private label, separately distribute, resell or otherwise permit third parties to access and use the Service without the express, separate and prior written permission of NCOA; (ix) create an intact reproduction of a page or pages of the Service into another service; or (x) use the Service in an unlawful manner or in a manner that could damage, disparage, or otherwise negatively impact NCOA.
   3. Non-Solicitation. You may not post or transmit through the Service any material which contains advertising or any solicitation with respect to products or services.
   4. Limitations on Reverse Engineering and Modification. You may not reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble, modify or create works derivative of the Service or any materials accessed through the Service.
   5. Proprietary Notices. You may not remove any proprietary notices, including copyright and trademark notices, or labels from the Service on any materials accessed through the Service.
   6. Compliance with Applicable Law. You are solely responsible for ensuring Your use of the Service is in compliance with all applicable foreign, federal, state and local laws, rules and regulations.
2. USER OBLIGATIONS. By downloading, accessing, or using the Service in order to view information and materials or submit Material (as defined below) of any kind, You represent that You: (i) are at least eighteen (18) years of age, or between thirteen (13) and seventeen (17) years of age and using the Service with parental or legal guardian consent and supervision; (ii) are registered to the extent required, and have not been previously restricted, suspended or terminated by NCOA; and (iii) are not using another authorized user’s account without that person’s permission.
3. YOUR SUBMISSION OF CONTENT. The Service may contain comment areas, questionnaires, tools, and other interactive features where You can share and display content, information, postings, materials, including without limitation, statements, photographs, video and other images (collectively “Materials”). You are solely responsible for any Materials You provide. By submitting Materials to the Service, You warrant that You have all necessary rights to grant, and automatically grant to NCOA and its affiliates, a royalty-free, worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive and fully sublicensable right (including any moral rights) and license to use, license, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, publicly display, publicly perform, translate, and distribute such Materials (in whole or in part) and/or to incorporate them in other works in any form, media or technology now known or developed in the future. You also permit any other users of the Service to access, view, store or reproduce Your Materials and content for that user’s personal, non-commercial use. NCOA will not be required to treat any Materials as confidential, and You grant to NCOA the right to edit, copy, display, publish and distribute any Materials made available via the Service by You, without compensation to You or any other party submitting the Materials for You. Notwithstanding the right and license, by merely permitting Your Materials to appear on the Service, NCOA is not a publisher of such Materials, and is merely functioning as an intermediary to enable You to provide and display Materials. Moreover, and except as provided in these Terms of Use with respect to the right and ability of NCOA to delete or remove Materials, NCOA does not endorse, oppose, or edit any opinion provided by You or any other user and does not make any representation with respect to, nor does it endorse the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, or reliability of any Materials displayed, uploaded, linked-to or distributed by You or any other user. You agree that by using the Service, You will not post or transmit any of the following:
   1. Anything that interferes with or disrupts the Service or its operation;
   2. Materials that are vulgar, obscene, indecent, profane, or otherwise objectionable or offensive, defamatory, libelous, unlawful, threatening, abusive, harassing, misleading, or false;
   3. Unauthorized copyrighted materials, or any other material that infringes on the intellectual property rights, rights of publicity or personality, trade secrets, confidentiality, or privacy of others;
   4. Materials that encourage criminal conduct or that would give rise to civil liability or otherwise violate any law or regulation in any jurisdiction;
   5. Materials that harm minors;
   6. Materials that impersonate any other person or entity, whether actual or fictitious, or that misrepresent Your affiliation with any entity; or
   7. Files that contain malicious code, viruses, corrupted files, or any other similar software or programs that may damage the operation of another’s computer, network, or the Service.
4. OTHER TERMS AND CONDITIONS. Additional notices or terms and conditions may apply to receipt of services, participation in a particular program, sweepstakes, training, authorized user registration to other specific portions or features of the Service, all of which are made a part of these Terms of Use by this reference. If there is a conflict between these Terms of Use and the terms posted for or applicable to a specific portion of the Service, the latter terms shall control with respect to Your use of that portion of the Service.
5. LINKS TO OTHER SERVICES. NCOA may provide links, in its sole discretion, to other services. NCOA is not responsible for the availability of these outside resources or their contents. NCOA expressly disclaims any responsibility for the content, materials, accuracy of information and/or the quality of the products or services provided by, available through, or advertised on these third-party services, or the products or services provided by any third party.
6. LINKS TO THIS SERVICE. You may link to the Service provided that You do so in a way that indicates that the link is direct to an NCOA Service and is fair and not misleading. You may not integrate or make use of all or part of the Service in ways that would confuse or mislead visitors as to the nature and origin of the Service’s content.
7. PASSWORDS; SECURITY. Registration by You as an authorized user for access to certain areas of the Service may require both a user name and a password (“Authorized User Credentials”). You may also have to provide certain registration information, all of which must be accurate and updated. You are not allowed to share or give Your Authorized User Credentials to anyone else. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of Your password. You agree not to use another person’s Authorized User Credentials or select Authorized User Credentials: (i) with the intent to impersonate another person; (ii) subject to the rights of another person without authorization; (iii) in violation of the intellectual property rights of another person; or (iv) that NCOA, in its sole discretion, deems inappropriate or offensive or discriminates on the basis of race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. You acknowledge and agree that You shall have no ownership or other property interest in Your account and/or user name, and You further acknowledge and agree that all rights in and to Your user name and account are and shall forever be owned by and inure to the benefit of NCOA. Failure to comply with the foregoing shall constitute a breach of these Terms of Use, which may result in immediate suspension or termination of Your Authorized User Credentials. NCOA WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE ARISING FROM YOUR FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THESE OBLIGATIONS. NCOA reserves the right to delete or change Authorized User Credentials (with or without notice) at any time and for any reason.
8. TERMINATION. These Terms of Use and Your license to use the Service will take effect the moment You install, access, or use the Service and will be in effect until terminated as set forth below. This license will automatically terminate in the event You breach any of these terms. Termination will be effective without notice. You may terminate these Terms of Use at any time by ceasing to use the Service. All applicable provisions of these Terms of Use as identified below will survive termination. Upon termination, You must destroy all copies of any aspect of the Service in Your possession. The following will survive termination of these Terms of Use for any reason: (i) the General section below; (ii) the provisions concerning rights in Your Materials that You have granted to NCOA; and (iii) NCOA’s proprietary rights, indemnity, disclaimers of warranty, limitation of liability, and governing law.
9. WARRANTY DISCLAIMER. YOU EXPRESSLY AGREE THAT USE OF THE SERVICE IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK AND YOU ASSUME ALL RISK. THE SERVICE AND ITS INFORMATION, CONTENT, MATERIALS, PRODUCTS, SERVICES, AND USER CONTENT IS PROVIDED ON AN “AS AVAILABLE,” “AS IS” BASIS. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, NCOA AND ITS LICENSORS DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE SERVICE, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF NON-INFRINGEMENT, TITLE, MERCHANTABILITY, QUIET ENJOYMENT, QUALITY OF INFORMATION, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND RESULTS THAT MAY BE OBTAINED FROM USE OF THE SERVICE. NCOA DOES NOT ENDORSE, RECOMMEND, OR MAKE ANY WARRANTIES AS TO THE CONTENT, INFORMATION, MATERIALS, USER MATERIALS, FEATURES, SERVICES, PRODUCTS, OPINIONS, OR STATEMENTS AVAILABLE ON OR THROUGH THE SERVICE OR THROUGH LINKS ON THE SERVICE. NCOA DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICE WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS, OR THAT THE OPERATION OF THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE, OR THAT DEFECTS IN THE SERVICE WILL BE CORRECTED. YOU SPECIFICALLY ACKNOWLEDGE THAT NCOA IS NOT LIABLE FOR THE DEFAMATORY, OFFENSIVE OR ILLEGAL CONDUCT OF OTHER USERS OR THIRD-PARTIES AND THAT THE RISK OF INJURY FROM THE FOREGOING RESTS ENTIRELY WITH YOU.
10. OTHER DISCLAIMERS. CONTENT ON THE SERVICE IS NOT INTENDED TO SUBSTITUTE FOR PROFESSIONAL ADVICE OF ANY KIND. IN PARTICULAR, NOTHING CONTAINED ON THE SERVICE IS OR SHOULD BE CONSIDERED, OR USED AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR, MEDICAL ADVICE, DIAGNOSIS OR TREATMENT. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF YOUR PHYSICIAN OR OTHER QUALIFIED HEALTH PROVIDER WITH ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE REGARDING PERSONAL HEALTH OR MEDICAL CONDITIONS. NEVER DISREGARD OR AVOID PROFESSIONAL MEDICAL ADVICE OR DELAY IN SEEKING IT BECAUSE OF SOMETHING YOU HAVE READ, HEARD OR SEEN ON THE SERVICE.
    NCOA DOES NOT REPRESENT OR WARRANT THAT PRODUCT INFORMATION ON THE SERVICE IS ACCURATE OR COMPLETE, AS INFORMATION MAY BE PROVIDED BY PRODUCT MANUFACTURERS OR SUPPLIERS, AND ON OCCASION MANUFACTURERS MAY MODIFY THEIR PRODUCTS AND UPDATE THEIR LABELS. WE RECOMMEND THAT YOU DO NOT RELY SOLELY ON THE INFORMATION PRESENTED ON THE SERVICE AND THAT YOU CONSULT THE PRODUCT’S LABEL OR CONTACT THE MANUFACTURER DIRECTLY IF YOU HAVE A SPECIFIC CONCERN OR QUESTION ABOUT A PRODUCT.
11. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, IN NO EVENT WILL NCOA OR ITS SUPPLIERS/LICENSORS BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTY FOR ANY DIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE, OR INDIRECT DAMAGES (WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), OR OTHERWISE), WHICH INCLUDE, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR PERSONAL INJURY, LOST PROFITS, LOST DATA AND BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF, OR INABILITY TO USE, THE SERVICE, ITS CONTENT OR PRODUCTS, OR ANY OF ITS THIRD PARTY CONTENT OR PRODUCTS AVAILABLE OR SOLD ON OR THROUGH THE SERVICE, EVEN IF NCOA HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. IN ANY CASE, THE ENTIRE LIABILITY OF NCOA AND ITS SUPPLIERS/LICENSORS UNDER THESE TERMS OF USE FOR ALL DAMAGES, LOSSES, AND CAUSES OF ACTION (WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), OR OTHERWISE) IS LIMITED TO THE AMOUNT PAID BY YOU, IF ANY, FOR ACCESS TO THE SERVICE.
    
    Some states do not allow the exclusion of incidental or consequential damages, or the limitation on how long an implied warranty lasts, so some of the above may not apply to You.
12. ONLINE SHOPPING. All product and service descriptions and depictions are approximate and are provided for convenience purposes only. The inclusion of any products or services on the Service does not imply or warrant that such products or services will be available. In the event a product or service available on or through the Service is listed at an incorrect price or with incorrect information, NCOA will have the right to refuse or cancel any orders placed for the product or service listed at the incorrect price, whether due to a typographical error, an error in information received from NCOA’s suppliers or providers, or otherwise. Your receipt of an electronic or other form of order confirmation neither signifies NCOA’s acceptance of Your order, nor constitutes confirmation of NCOA’s offer to sell. NCOA reserves the right at any time after receipt of Your order to accept or decline Your order for any reason. NCOA may charge and withhold the applicable sales tax for orders, otherwise. You are solely responsible for all sales or other taxes, on orders shipped to You. If You wish to purchase any product made available through the Service, You may be asked to supply certain information relevant to such transaction including, without limitation, Your credit card number, its expiration date and security code, the billing address, and any shipping information. YOU REPRESENT AND WARRANT THAT YOU HAVE THE LEGAL RIGHT TO USE ANY CREDIT CARD(S) OR OTHER PAYMENT METHOD(S) UTILIZED IN CONNECTION WITH ANY TRANSACTION. By submitting such credit card or payment information, You grant to the NCOA the right to provide such information to third parties for purposes of facilitating the completion of any transactions initiated by You or on Your behalf. Verification of information may be required prior to the acknowledgment or completion of any such transaction. It is Your responsibility to ascertain and obey all applicable local, state, federal, and international laws (including minimum age requirements) in regard to the receipt, possession, use, and sale of any product or service purchased from the Service. By placing an order, You represent that the products, services, and event registration ordered will be used only in a lawful manner pursuant to any additional terms that may accompany them. Except as otherwise set forth herein, the risk of loss for and title to products, services or event registrations purchased on the Service passes to You upon electronic transmission to the recipient or delivery to the carrier, as applicable.
    
    NCOA reserves the right to change its prices and related policies in its sole discretion. It is Your responsibility to keep apprised of these Terms of Use.
13. DIGITAL MILLENNIUM COPYRIGHT ACT (“DMCA”) NOTICE. NCOA is committed to complying with copyright and related laws, and requires all users of the Service to comply with these laws. Accordingly, You may not store any material or content or use or disseminate any material or content though the Service in any manner that constitutes an infringement of third party intellectual property rights, including rights granted by copyright law. Owners of copyrighted works who believe that their rights under copyright law have been infringed may take advantage of certain provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (the “DMCA”) to report alleged infringements. You may not post, modify, distribute, or reproduce in any way any copyrighted material, trademarks, or other proprietary information belonging to others without obtaining the prior written consent of the owner of such proprietary rights. It is the policy of NCOA to terminate use privileges of any user who repeatedly infringes the copyright rights of others upon receipt of proper notification to NCOA by the copyright owner or the copyright owner’s legal agent.
    If You feel that a posted message is objectionable or infringing, NCOA encourages You to contact NCOA immediately. Upon NCOA’s receipt of a proper written notice of claimed infringement under the DMCA, NCOA will respond expeditiously to remove, or disable access to, the material claimed to be infringing and will follow all other relevant procedures specified in the DMCA with regard to the claimed infringement. The designated agent of NCOA (i.e., the proper party) to whom You should address such notice is listed below.
    If You believe that Your work has been copied and posted using the Service in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, please provide NCOA’s designated agent with a written communication containing the following information:
    1. an electronic or physical signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the exclusive right in the copyright that is allegedly infringed;
    2. a description of the copyrighted work that You claim has been infringed;
    3. a description of where the material that You claim is infringing is located to permit NCOA to locate the material;
    4. Your address, telephone number, and email address;
    5. a statement by You that You have a good faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and
    6. a statement by You, made under penalty of perjury, that the information contained in Your report is accurate and that You are the owner of the exclusive right in the copyright that is allegedly infringed or authorized to act on the owner's behalf.
       
       NCOA’s designated agent for notice of claims of copyright infringement can be reached as follows:
       
       By Email:
       kevin.madden@ncoa.org with the subject line “DMCA”
       
       By Mail:
       
       National Council on Aging
       Attn: Chief Administrative & Financial Officer
       251 18th Street South, Suite 500
       Arlington, VA  22202
       
        
14. INTERNATIONAL USERS. While all Services are controlled and operated within the United States, this publication may be distributed internationally and may contain references to NCOA, NCOA services, products, and programs that are not in Your country. These references do not imply that NCOA intend to announce or provide the programs, products, or services in Your country. NCOA makes no representation that content, materials or products available on or through the Service are appropriate or available for use outside of the United States. If You access or use the Service from a location outside the United States, You are responsible for compliance with applicable laws, including local laws regarding online conduct and content and product use, and U.S. export laws and regulations.
15. MONITORING. NCOA has the right, but not the obligation, to monitor the content of the Service (including any social or chat forum or tools, services or functions that enable the sharing, display or performance of any Material), to determine compliance with these Terms of Use and any operating rules established by NCOA, and to satisfy any law, regulation or authorized government request. NCOA has the right and sole discretion to edit, refuse to post, or to remove any Materials submitted to or posted on or within the Service, including, without limitation, the right to remove any Materials that NCOA, in its sole discretion, finds to be in violation of the provisions hereof or otherwise objectionable.
16. INDEMNIFICATION. You agree to indemnify, defend and hold NCOA and its affiliates and its and their respective directors, officers, employees, volunteers, and agents harmless from and against any and all claims, actions, demands, damages, costs, liabilities, losses and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs) arising out of Your use of the Service.
17. PRIVACY POLICY. You understand, acknowledge, and agree that the operation of certain programs, services, tools, purchase options, materials, or information in the Service requires the submission, use and dissemination of various personal identifying information. Accordingly, if You wish to access and use those programs, services, tools, materials, purchase options, or information of the Service, You acknowledge and agree that Your use of the Service will constitute acceptance of the personal identifying information collection and use practices contained in the privacy policies posted on the Service.
18. TRADEMARK INFORMATION. The NCOA emblem and the National Council on Aging name and logo are federally protected and registered marks of The National Council on Aging and protected under United States Code, Title 18, Section 706. All other trademarks displayed on this Service or through links to other services are the property of the respective trademark owners.
19. GENERAL. These Terms of Use are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia, as applied to agreements entered into and wholly performed within the Commonwealth between Commonwealth of Virginia residents. Any action or proceeding brought by You or NCOA shall be brought only in a court of competent jurisdiction located in the District of Columbia and You and NCOA agree to submit to personal jurisdiction of those courts for purposes of any action or proceeding. These Terms of Use shall not be governed by the 1980 U.N. Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods. These Terms of Use constitute the entire understanding and agreement between NCOA and You with respect to the Service and any transactions contemplated in these Terms of Use, and supersede all prior or contemporaneous oral or written communications with respect to the subject matter of these Terms of Use, all of which are merged into these Terms of Use. You may not modify, amend or alter in any way these Terms of Use. In the event any provision of these Terms of Use are found to be invalid or unenforceable pursuant to judicial decree, the remainder of these Terms of Use will remain valid and enforceable according to its terms. Any failure by NCOA to strictly enforce any provision of these Terms of Use will not operate as a waiver of that provision or any subsequent breach of that provision. The disclaimers and limitations of liability will survive any termination or expiration of these Terms of Use. IT IS EXPRESSLY UNDERSTOOD AND AGREED THAT IN THE EVENT ANY REMEDY HEREUNDER IS DETERMINED TO HAVE FAILED ITS ESSENTIAL PURPOSE, ALL LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY AND EXCLUSIONS OF DAMAGES WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT.

Revised August 2023.

Regarding YouTube videos shown on www.ncoa.org, www.ncoa.org/adviser/, www.benefitscheckup.org and other NCOA digital properties, please see YouTube API Services - Developer Policies.

Questions

Please direct any questions you may have about these Terms of Service and/or notify NCOA of any violations by writing to newsletters@ncoa.org.