Millions of elderly people live below or barely above the poverty line. About 3.4 million of those over age 65 live in poverty (considered to be below an income of $9,669 for one person and $12,186 for a couple in 2006). Meanwhile, 22.4% have a family income below 150% of the poverty line. In an article for the  Center for American Progress, Alexandra Cawthorne stresses that seniors’ economic security (or lack of it) will become increasingly important as growing numbers of the 75 million baby boomers enter the senior years.¹

Cawthorne adds that the elderly poverty rate would be higher if the measure of poverty were more precise. The burden of rising health care costs with age, for instance, is not taken into consideration in defining poverty. Such costs are worrisome to seniors: in the recent Foundation on Aging for Larimer County Aging Needs Survey, 52% of participants cited health care costs as a concern. This is hardly surprising, as these costs can reduce seniors’ disposable income for other expenses, such as energy and food bills.¹ In addition, some groups of elderly people are at greater risk than others: seniors from ethnic minorities represent 70% of the poor economically vulnerable (those with limited incomes that are not low enough for means-tested assistance programs).² Likewise, women who are 75 or older are three times more likely to be poor than are men of the same age (1.3 million women compared with 416,000 men).¹

Finding solutions to assist the poor and economically vulnerable elderly is crucial for a variety of reasons, including evidence of a strong association between illness, death, and income. Studies reveal that people with lower incomes die earlier, have more mental health conditions, more chronic health problems, more functional limitations, and worse health overall. In a National Poverty Center paper, authors Pamela Herd, James House, and Robert F. Schoeni conclude that difficulty meeting needs such as adequate nutrition and a healthy environment, an inability to afford basic requirements such as housing and food, and a lack of health insurance and health care all contribute to worse health in poor people.³

Participate in the discussion about Economic Security in Larimer County.

References

1.  Cawthorne A. Elderly poverty: the challenge before us. Center for American Progress; 2008 Jul 30 [cited 2009 Jul 28]. Available from: http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/07/elderly_poverty.html

2.  Faruque CJ. The economically vulnerable elderly American. Selfhelp Magazine; 2009 [cited 2009 Jul 28]. Available from: http://www.selfhelpmagazine.com/article/elderly-poor

3. Herd P, House J, Schoeni RF. Income support policies and health among the elderly. Conference on Health Effects of Nonhealth Policies. Washington: National Poverty Center; 2006. National Poverty Center Working Paper Series #06-27.