Seniors are not just numbers in the budget

Check out the commentary on seniors and the congressional "super committee" in The Denver Post, plus find links to the rest of the day's public-policy news, at the weekday Colorado news roundup.

Older adults hit hard by housing costs, recession

Housing costs are increasingly burdensome for Colorado’s older adults since the housing crisis and recession began in 2007. Older homeowners and renters routinely have a tougher time affording the rent or mortgage payments, and many low-income households face more unsustainable housing costs, new research shows.

AARP’s "State Housing Profiles 2011" shows nearly 35 percent of Colorado homeowners age 50 and older pay at least 30 percent of their incomes for housing costs. More than half of renters age 50 and older pay at least 30 percent for housing costs. These numbers show a dramatic rise in the housing burden since 2000.

AARP report echoes CCLP’s findings that neither median income nor Social Security allow for elder economic security. According to CCLP’s Elder Economic Security Index, a single person age 50 and older needs to bring in at least $28,260 a year solely to meet expenses, a significantly higher amount than the $10,890 federal poverty level. The Elder Economic Security Index is explained in a CCLP policy brief, Elders Living on the Edge.

More data shows older adults are being disproportionally affected by the continuing effects of the recession, and Colorado’s low-income elders face financial challenges that threaten their economic security and the health of their communities. Elders face increasing expenses while their fixed incomes are eroded by weaknesses within the economy.

Elder economic security: Half of Coloradans age 65 and older must pay a mortgage or rent

The cost of housing remains a major factor in household budgets for Coloradans age 65 and older. An estimated 31 percent of households in that agegroup have a mortgage to pay, and 20 percent are renters. A mortgage or rent dramatically increases the cost of living for elders, but those differences among households aren't accounted for in conventional measurements of economic security.

For more insights on the true cost of living for elders in Colorado, including estimates for each of the state's 64 counties, check the Elder Economic Security Standard Index for Colorado.

Elder economic security: More than one in five Coloradans age 75 and older have annual income of less than $15k

About 22 percent of Coloradans age 75 and older have annual household income of less than $15,000. That's not enough to make ends meet, even if it's a single-person household without a mortgage, according to the Colorado Elder Index.

For more insights on the true cost of living for elders in Colorado, including estimates for each of the state's 64 counties, check the Elder Economic Security Standard Index for Colorado.

Elder economic security: Household income declines by nearly half for households age 65 and older

Colorado's median household income for householders age 65 and older was $37,284 in 2009, or just more than half the median household income of householders in their "peak earning" years of 45 to 64. That rapid drop in income as folks get older has important implications for ensuring Colorado's elders have income that's adequate to meet their needs.

For more insights on the true cost of living for elders in Colorado, including estimates for each of the state's 64 counties, check the Elder Economic Security Standard Index for Colorado.

Elder economic security: Some income benchmarks fall far short of measuring the true cost of living for elders

The cost of living for a two-person elder household in Colorado is nearly double the average Social Security benefit for elders here, assuming the couple is in good health and has a mortgage.

For more insights on the true cost of living for elders in Colorado, including estimates for each of the state's 64 counties, check the Elder Economic Security Standard Index for Colorado.

Elder economic security: How the Elder Index compares to other income benchmarks

The cost of living for a single Coloradan age 65 and older in good health and with a home mortgage to pay is nearly three times higher than the official federal poverty guideline.

For more insights on the true cost of living for elders in Colorado, including estimates for each of the state's 64 counties, check the Elder Economic Security Standard Index for Colorado.

Elder economic security: True cost of living for elders in Colorado much higher than most income benchmarks

For single elders in good health, the statewide Colorado Elder Index is $17,664 for homeowners without a mortgage, $21,828 for renters and $28,260 for homeowners with a mortgage. This represents the living expense costs (housing, health care, transportation, food and miscellaneous) for elders age 65+ in Colorado. The Elder Index is much higher than other commonly used income benchmarks.

For more insights on the true cost of living for elders in Colorado, including estimates for each of the state's 64 counties, check the Elder Economic Security Standard Index for Colorado.

State starting to wake up to the true cost of making ends meet for elders

Coloradans in all corners of the state are starting to wake up to the true cost of making ends meet for elders, thanks in part to the media attention we've received from our Elder Index report released earlier this month. Check out this video report from the CBS affiliate TV station in Grand Junction.

Colorado news roundup: New report tells of cost of making ends meet for seniors

The Colorado Center on Law and Policy yesterday released the state's Elder Index, a look at the trust cost of meeting basic expenses for seniors in each of the state's counties. Read about it, plus find links to all the day's public-policy news, at the weekday Colorado news roundup.

Sign the petition! Colorado elders need your support!

Please sign a petition urging the President to protect programs that support economic security for elders. Then pass on to others! According to the recently released Colorado Elder Index, many seniors who worked their entire lives (whose incomes are comprised of Social Security, pensions and interest from any savings) are unable to achieve economic security.
Sign the petition now!

A week of blogs will explore elder economic security

Our pals over at Wider Opportunities for Women today launched a "blogging event" intended to explore the components of economic security for older people. Check it out at the Elder Economic Security Initiative blog.

The Family Economic Security Program of the Colorado Center on Law and Policy is the state partner for the Elder Economic Security Initiative. The initiative is a national campaign to ensure that all older Americans are able to age in place with dignity and economic security. Read WOW's September 2010 news release.

Colorado news roundup: Baby boomers' retirement highlights value of Social Security

An editorial in The Denver Post says Congress needs to reform Social Security. The program isn't about to go bankrupt, as some have suggested, but it's definitely worth thinking about how to preserve and strengthen one of our nation's most effective anti-poverty programs. Read the Post's view, along with links to all the day's public-policy news at the weekday Colorado news roundup.

CCLP is the new Colorado partner for the Elder Economic Security Initiative

Here's the text of a news release issued Sept. 27 announcing the Colorado Center on Law and Policy's selection as state partner for Wider Opportunities for Women's Elder Economic Security Initiative.

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Wider Opportunities for Women Announces New Elder Economic Security Initiative State Partners


WASHINGTON, DC – Wider Opportunities for Women (WOW) announces the expansion of its Elder Economic Security Initiative™ (Initiative) to five new states: Colorado, Iowa, North Carolina, South Dakota and Washington. The Initiative is a national campaign to ensure that all older Americans are able to age in place with dignity and economic security. Today marks WOW’s official partnership with the Iowa Alliance for Retired Americans, North Carolina Alliance for Retired Americans, Experience Works South Dakota, and the Washington Association of Area Agencies on Aging and expands WOW’s partnership with the Colorado Center on Law and Policy.

“WOW is pleased to extend the Initiative at time when Americans are increasingly concerned about having economic security in retirement,” said Stacy Sanders, Director of the Elder Economic Security Initiative. “Through the Initiative, our new partners will gain a framework and tools to promote a cornerstone of the American dream, a secure retirement, for their state’s elders and families.”

Now functioning in 17 states, the Initiative demonstrates through its framework and tools that elders cannot make ends meet merely living above the federal poverty level nor by living on Social Security alone. A key component of the Initiative is the Elder Economic Security Standard™ Index (Elder Index), a geographically-based measure of economic security. Developed by WOW in collaboration with the Gerontology Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston, the national Elder Index shows that the average Social Security benefit of $12,526 for a single elder woman provides just 51-76% of what is needed to be economically secure depending on housing and health status.

“Suggested cuts to Social Security at a time when Americans of all ages are struggling to pay the bills sound an alarm for action,” said Sanders. “The Elder Index shows that current Social Security benefits in and of themselves are not enough to meet basic needs. With more and more retirees likely to rely solely on these benefits cuts would push future retirees further away from economic security.”

The Elder Index, to be released next year in each of these new states, will provide a snapshot of what it truly costs to retire, including housing, health care, food, transportation, other essentials and, when needed, home and community-based long-term care at the state and county levels. “Moving forward, the Initiative will continue to build economic security for America’s seniors through the development of research-driven policy agendas developed by national and local experts,” said Sanders. “Older Americans have spent a lifetime working hard and playing by the rules and they deserve to have a secure retirement.”

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