About One in Two Older Americans Are Economically Insecure

By Nathalie Voit

Well over half of older American women are financially insecure–and females are more likely than males to end up in this precarious economic situation–a report from the University of Massachusetts-Boston showed.

According to the Elder Index, which calculates the minimum cost of living for older adults, the proportion of single women aged 65 and older who can’t afford essential expenses is a staggering 54%. The share of women who can’t cover the basics is significantly greater than that of older American men who can’t: 45%.

The index considers several factors to classify seniors as poor: health care costs, food, housing, and transportation. Based on these variables, the University of Massachusetts-Boston calculates a ‘true cost of aging’ index for older residents.

The index results reveal that the minimum basic yearly income needed to sustain a single rent-paying senior in good health is $27,096. Older renting couples needed $38,676 per year to cover their expenses. And those numbers are based on 2021 data, before the cost of consumer goods and services soared an epic 9.1%.

In turn, the government’s own federal poverty threshold designates older Americans as poor only when they make $12,996 a year (Federal poverty guidelines are important because they help determine financial eligibility for federal assistance).

The number is far below the Elder Index’s own cap, which claims a single older adult in good health and living without a mortgage requires $22,476 to make ends meet. The thresholds are far higher for couples, mortgage owners, and renters. 

The substantial gap between the government’s own poverty baseline and the ‘true’ minimum cost of living for older persons means many seniors miss out on much-needed social welfare programs like Medicaid, Medicare, food stamps, and affordable housing subsidies.

“The poverty rate just doesn’t cut it as a realistic look at the struggles older adults are having,” William Arnone, chief executive officer of the National Academy of Social Insurance, said of the government’s standard-of-living measures. “The Elder Index is a reality check.”