Seniors

Challenges Facing Older Adults in the U.S.

Challenges Facing Older Adults in the U.S.

A trio of articles published ahead of print in Health Affairs focuses on challenges facing older adults in the United States. Rowe provides an overview of policies and initiatives that seek to expand seniors’ access to health care, housing, and economic security. Herbert and Molinsky call for additional services and supports that would allow older adults to age successfully at home, including crafting new housing options, expanding financial support to appropriately retrofit existing homes, and improving delivery of inhome support services. Pearson et al. explore the adequacy of long-term care and housing needs for middle-income seniors, finding that 54 percent of seniors do not have sufficient financial resources to meet these needs. The forthcoming issue is broadly focused on elder care.

Rowe: https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/full/10.1377/hlthaff.2019.00095;

Herbert and Molinsky: https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/full/10.1377/hlthaff.2019.00203;

Pearson et al.: https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/full/10.1377/hlthaff.2018.05233;
April 24, 2019 View Resource

The Poverty-Reducing Effect of Five Key Government Programs in Rural and Urban America

The Poverty-Reducing Effect of Five Key Government Programs in Rural and Urban America

Federal programs are critical for helping those with low incomes make ends meet. But not all such programs are equally effective at reducing poverty, nor do they benefit all of those in poverty uniformly. In this brief, we explore the extent to which rural and urban residents access five social programs—Social Security, disability benefits, federal and state cash assistance, the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)— and the effect of these programs individually and collectively in bringing family incomes closer to the poverty threshold. View Resource
Maine Data Glimpse: Share of Householders Age 60+ Living Alone

Maine Data Glimpse: Share of Householders Age 60+ Living Alone

This graphic shows the share of Maine residents age 60 and older who live alone.

  • More than two of every five Maine seniors lives alone (41.3 percent).
  • Rates in Waldo County are lower than the statewide share, at 35.9 percent.
  • The share of seniors living alone is higher than the statewide estimate in Androscoggin and Knox Counties (44.9 percent and 45.7 percent, respectively).
View Resource
Redesigning the Financial Roadmap for the LMI 50+ Segment

Redesigning the Financial Roadmap for the LMI 50+ Segment

For decades, the financial lives of Americans over the age of 50  were understood to follow a predictable lifecycle pattern. After working full-time into their early 60s, these individuals stopped working completely and began depending financially on a defined benefit pension plan. With a paid-off mortgage, comprehensive healthcare coverage, and reduced living expenses, they were free  to live frugally, but securely, in their retirement. View Resource

An Invisible Tsunami: ‘Aging Alone’ and Its Effect on Older Americans, Families, and Taxpayers

An Invisible Tsunami: ‘Aging Alone’ and Its Effect on Older Americans, Families, and Taxpayers

Social capital may be most valuable when an individual’s needs are greatest. Old age is a time of life when people often need to rely on family, friends, and other social relationships for care they are no longer able to provide for themselves. If an elderly adult lacks those relationships, however, they may have to lean more heavily on paid professional care, potentially leading to a lower quality of life and higher costs for families and government. View Resource
Who Was Poor in the United States in 2017?

Who Was Poor in the United States in 2017?

For the past few years, The Hamilton Project has released an annual report characterizing poverty in America. Describing who is poor is critical for making anti-poverty policy and directly relevant to determining eligibility for means-tested programs.

In 2017, 12.3 percent of the population—39.7 million people—lived in poverty, as defined by the official poverty measure [1]. The share of the population living in poverty was statistically significantly lower in 2017 than in 2016 by 0.4 percentage points. View Resource
How Secure Is Employment at Older Ages?

How Secure Is Employment at Older Ages?

This report assesses the precariousness of older adults’ employment. Using a nationally representative longitudinal survey, we follow workers from their early 50s to age 65 and beyond and measure the incidence of involuntary job separations. Our analysis focuses on employer-related separations as opposed to quits driven by poor health, family caregiving responsibilities, or other personal reasons. We tabulate separations caused by layoffs and business closings as well as quits motivated by job dissatisfaction and unexpected retirements. We consider only those separations that have serious financial consequences, leading to long spells of nonwork or substantially reduced earnings. Our results show that slightly more than one-half of adults in their early 50s who are working full time, full year with a long-term employer subsequently experienced an employer-related involuntary job separation. Only 1 in 10 of these involuntarily separated workers ever earned as much after their separation as before. Median household income fell 42 percent following an employerrelated involuntary job separation, and median household income at age 65 for workers who experienced an involuntary separation was 14 percent lower than for those who did not. View Resource
Evaluation of the Effect of the Older Americans Act Title III-C Nutrition Services Program on Participants’ Health Care Utilization

Evaluation of the Effect of the Older Americans Act Title III-C Nutrition Services Program on Participants’ Health Care Utilization

The Administration on Aging (AoA) within ACL at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services administers the Older Americans Act Title III-C Nutrition Services Program (NSP). The NSP promotes access to nutritious meals, nutrition education, and nutrition counseling; facilitates social contact; and conducts health promotion activities all which help older adults maintain their independence in their homes and communities. View Resource
Older People Working Longer, Earning More

Older People Working Longer, Earning More

By 2030, the U.S. Census Bureau projects that one in every five residents will be older than age 65. What do we know about older workers’ labor market participation and earnings today?

We know that the number of older workers is on the rise. We also know that these workers are not only making more money on average than ever before but are outpacing the average earnings growth of other age groups. View Resource

Healthy Aging Begins at Home

Healthy Aging Begins at Home

Over the next 15 years, the explosive growth of the nation’s senior population will present unprecedented challenges. Unfortunately, millions of Americans will find they lack enough savings to fund their retirements. Some will struggle to afford their housing, while others will find their housing is ill-suited for living independently. Many will eventually need help with the “activities of daily living,” like eating, bathing, and dressing, assistance that can be both costly and taxing on other family members. Most older Americans will suffer from at least one chronic condition. View Resource
2015 White House Conference on Aging Final Report

2015 White House Conference on Aging Final Report

On July 13, 2015, President Obama hosted the sixth White House Conference on Aging, joining older Americans and their families, caregivers, and advocates at the White House and virtually through hundreds of watch parties across the country.
View Resource
“You Only Pray that Somebody Would Step In”: Mapping the Gaps Between Expert and Public Understandings of Elder Abuse in America

“You Only Pray that Somebody Would Step In”: Mapping the Gaps Between Expert and Public Understandings of Elder Abuse in America

Moving the problem of elder abuse up the list of public priorities and engendering a productive public conversation around the issue requires a new communications strategy. An effective reframing strategy can foster better understanding of the issue, raise its salience in public thinking, and generate support for needed policies. This report represents the first step in a larger research project to develop such a strategy. View Resource
Administration on Aging

Administration on Aging

The Administration on Aging (AOA) is the principal agency of the U.S Department of Health and Human Services designated to carry out the provisions of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (OAA). The OAA promotes the well-being of older individuals by providing services and programs designed to help them live independently in their homes and communities. The Act also empowers the federal government to distribute funds to the states for supportive services for individuals over the age of 60. View Resource
Maine State Plan on Aging

Maine State Plan on Aging

The federal Older Americans Act of 1965 requires all states to prepare a periodic State Plan on Aging in order to receive federal funds under the Act. The Maine Office of Aging and Disability Services (OADS) developed this plan for meeting the needs of older adults in Maine in cooperation with Maine‘s Aging Network. The goal is to assist elders and adults with disabilities over age 60, to maintain their independence, and to live successfully in their homes and communities. Maine‘s plan is for a four year period beginning October 1, 2012 through September 30, 2016. View Resource