Federal poverty line grossly underestimates the needs of California's seniors says new UCLA report

If you are elderly and live in California, how poor do you have to be to become eligible for public assistance?

Too poor, says a new report issued by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research (CHPR). The new Elder Economic Security Standard Index (Elder Index) for California, to be released tomorrow, shows that the Federal Poverty Line (FPL), used to determine income eligibility for most public programs, covers less than half of the basic costs experienced by adults age 65 and older in the state.

The FPL is also used to allocate state and federal resources to local communities, and is an important index. In 2007, the federal poverty guideline for a single, elderly person (age 65 and older) was an annual income of $10,210, and for an older couple, $13,690. But according to the report’s calculations, broken down by each California county, a basic annual cost of living for a retired older adult, in good health and living in rental housing, averages $21,011, reaching a high of $27,550 in San Mateo County. For an older couple the average is $30,537, reaching a high of $37,263, again in San Mateo County.

“Knowing the true cost of living for older adults is vital if we are to ensure that elder Californians can meet basic needs and maintain their independence,” said Steven P. Wallace, a professor in the UCLA School of Public Health, associate director of the CHPR, and lead author of the report. “The Elder Index is a new way to assess income adequacy for older adults that is designed to replace the Federal Poverty Line in policy and practice.”

“The Elder Index is a fact-based and comprehensive look at expenses elders. It provides an accurate tool for legislators to evaluate existing and future policy decisions, direct service providers to assess their communities’ needs and secure necessary funding, advocates to better express their priorities, and individuals to plan for retirement,” explains Susie Smith, Director of the California Elder Economic Security Initiative (Cal-EESI). Located at the Insight Center for Community Economic Development, Cal-EESI is using the Elder Index as part of a statewide project to raise awareness and promote policy and programs that assure income adequacy for all older Californians.