Older Adults Challenged Financially When Adult Children Move Home
February 2014
Policy Brief
This policy brief looks at the financial burdens imposed on older Californians when adult children return home, often due to a crisis not of their own making, to live with their parents. The findings show that on average in California, the amount of money that older adults need in order to maintain a minimally decent standard of living while supporting one adult child in their home increases their expenses by a minimum of 50 percent. Low-income older adults are usually on fixed incomes, so helping an adult child can provide the child with a critical safety net but at the cost of the parents’ own financial well-being.
Policy approaches to assisting this vulnerable population of older adults include implementing reforms to increase Supplemental Security Income (SSI), improving the availability of affordable housing, assuring that all eligible nonelderly adults obtain health insurance through health care reform’s expansion of Medi-Cal and subsidies, and increasing food assistance through SNAP and senior meal programs.
Read the related press release.
The High Cost of Caring: Grandparents Raising Grandchildren
June 2013
Policy Brief
This policy brief documents that the actual income needed to support a basic standard of living for older adults with grandchildren in California is about twice the Federal Poverty Level (FPL), depending on the county. Using 200% FPL as an approximate measure, about two-fifths of older grandparents who are responsible for their grandchildren in the state do not have enough income to make ends meet. The Elder Economic Security Standard™ Index (Elder Index) for California calculates that the costs of housing, food, and the older adults' health care account for more than two-thirds of total household expenses for grandparents and the grandchildren they are raising.
Read the related press release.
The Federal Poverty Level Does Not Meet Data Needs of the California Legislature
May 2012
Policy Brief
This publication highlights results from a broad survey of the California legislature on the data and information they use to understand poverty in their districts and finds that most prefer data that is tailored to their local constituencies, and takes into account current costs for basic living expenses, rather than just income or spending patterns.
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Older Adults Need Twice the Federal Poverty Level to Make Ends Meet in California
September 2010
Policy Brief
This policy brief uses the Elder Economic Security Standard™ Index (Elder Index) to show that both singles and couples age 65 or older who rent need more than twice the amount established by the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) Guideline to meet basic living expenses.
See related data.
Half A Million Older Californians Living Alone Unable to Make Ends Meet
February 2009
Policy Brief
Using the Elder Economic Security Standard™ Index (Elder Index), the authors of this policy brief find that nearly half a million elders (495,000) living alone in California in 2007 could not make ends meet — lacking sufficient income to pay for a minimum level of housing, food, health care, transportation, and other basic expenses. The authors find particular cost inequities for elderly renters, for Latinos, women, and the very old and find the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) guidelines that many programs use as part of eligibility guidelines is inadequate to support the needs of many seniors in California.
Read the press release.
See related data:
Federal Poverty Guideline Underestimates Costs of Living for Older Persons in California
February 2008
Policy Brief
The federal poverty guideline, used to determine income eligibility for many public programs, covers less than half of the basic costs experienced by adults age 65 and older in the state. This report shows how the new Elder Economic Security Standard index (Elder Index) for California provides an empirically-based measure that more accurately reflects county-level costs faced by older adults in the state.
Read the press release.
See related data.
