Seniors May Be Even Poorer Than Assumed

Poverty rates among seniors aged 65 and older are higher under the supplemental poverty measure than under the official poverty measure, according to an issue brief released by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF). The share of seniors living in poverty is higher in every state under the supplemental poverty measure, and is at least twice as high in twelve states.

In 2011, the Census Bureau released the supplemental poverty measure in response to growing consensus that the official poverty measure, created in the 1960s, was outdated and insufficient. Using the supplemental poverty measure, KFF found that at least 10 percent of seniors live in poverty in all but one state, whereas under the official measure, poverty rates are below 10 percent in most states.

Policymakers continue to discuss proposals that shift added health care costs to older adults. Under the supplemental poverty measure, which deducts health spending from income, poverty rates among older adults would increase if seniors were made to pay more for their Medicare coverage. The average Medicare household already spends three times more on health care-related costs compared to  the average non-Medicare household—15 percent vs. 5 percent as a share of total income.

Read the KFF issue brief.