written by Ruth Schwartz, Executive Director
There is widespread agreement among experts that the way the federal government measures poverty is inadequate and outdated. The current formula is premised on the average family’s food cost and has been in place for more than four decades.
One of the more compelling attempts to develop a new measurement has been undertaken by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research and the Insight Center for Community Economic Development. Begun in 2008, The Elder Economic Security Standard Index is a county-specific measure of the minimum income necessary to cover all of a senior’s basic expenses using reliable government statistics and includes housing, food, health care and transportation. Because housing costs vary so greatly by region and also by whether an individual is a renter or a homeowner, the specificity is illuminating.
The current federal poverty level is $10,870 annually. According to the most recent updated Elder Index, 1.46 million (39%) of older Californians have incomes above the federal poverty level and so are not considered “poor” yet do not have enough income to meet their basic needs.
According to the Elder Index, economic insecurity is highest among elders of color, women and those older than 75 years of age. Interestingly, more than one-third of seniors live in extended households and are highly vulnerable to economic insecurity should their living arrangements change.
One in three California seniors rely exclusively on Social Security, which is an average of $12,540 annually. However, in Los Angeles County, according to the Elder Index, a senior needs an annual income of at least $16,355 if they own their own home and do not have mortgage payments; $22,827 if they rent their housing; and $30,591 if they are a homeowner with a mortgage. Even many seniors with some retirement income fall short of these necessary incomes.
Shelter Partnership anticipates that seniors will become homeless at increasing rates in the next several years, largely as a result of their inadequate incomes and the rising cost of housing, coupled with a decline in state services. This is why we are so committed to seeing more senior housing developers accept homeless seniors in their projects and work to see more housing developed for seniors who have become homeless.
For more information on the Elder Index, go to http://www.insightcced.org/communities/besa/about-elder-index.html
Affordable Living for the Aging (ALA) embraces at-risk, vulnerable and homeless seniors in all it’s planned projects and looks forward to working with Shelter Partnership to ensure more housing is developed for homeless seniors.