Financial struggles exists for elderly
Making ends meet is no easy feat and it doesn’t get easier with age.
Tough times lie ahead for California’s elder residents, according to a new statewide initiative that on Tuesday released data revealing that the Federal Poverty Line (FPL) covers less than half of the basic cost of living expenses for senior citizens living in Los Angeles County.
The California Elder Economic Security Initiative (CAL EESI) program released data that compared local costs to the national FPL, called the Elder Economic Security Standard, which shows the basic annual cost of living for retired individuals living in the county ranges from roughly $22,800 to $38,000, depending on whether it’s a single or married couple living in rental housing or with a mortgage. Conversely, the national poverty line in 2007 was about $10,200 for a single senior citizen and $13,700 for an elderly couple.
The purpose of the findings, which were presented to the state senate Subcommittee on Aging and Long-term Care, was to persuade federal officials to adopt the Elder Economic Security Standard as opposed to the FPL, which is used to determine eligibility for many public programs, including food stamps and medical care, according to Susie Smith, the director of Cal EESI.
“The Federal Poverty Line is an outdated [method to determine] who gets access to public benefits,” Smith said on Tuesday.
The methodology for the poverty line was developed in the 1960s and applies to residents across the board, whether they reside in Kansas or Santa Monica, Smith said. The poverty line is also less for senior citizens than middle-aged adults, assuming that the elderly need less to survive than their younger counterparts, she added.
The Elder Standard Index was developed by Wider Opportunities for Women and the Institute of Gerontology at the University of Massachusetts-Boston and later adapted locally by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, which came up with county-specific results for the state of California.
“See which investment is making the biggest impact in the daily lives of seniors,” Smith said. “It’s more important to evaluate the true investment during the time of fiscal crisis.”
According to the data, one in three senior citizens in the county live off of Social Security payments, which average about $12,000 a year. For women residing in the county, the median retirement income is about $17,000, while for men, it’s about $22,700.
Santa Monica’s retired community is not immune to financial struggles, facing the same issues of living on a fixed income and choosing between paying for medical expenses and the basic necessity of food.
Rosemary Regalbuto, who helps run the Meals on Wheels program in Santa Monica, said that many of it’s clients face the decision of whether they should pay for the prescription medicine or buying food, often choosing the former.
“Over the years we’ve had clients that would eat cat food because it’s cheaper,” Regalbuto said on Tuesday. “They’re not getting proper nutrition.
“It’s only going to get worse because the cost of medication is getting so expensive.”
Yuliya Sullivan, the client coordinator for Meals on Wheels, said many of her clients live off of a small Social Security payment of about $1,000 a month, which after paying for rent and medication, leaves little for meals.
Some have difficult paying for the $6 fee to cover the cost of receiving two meals of days from the non-profit organization, Sullivan said, adding that the fee is waived for some clients.
“It’s amazing how little they have,” she said. “I know there is a person we serve who basically relies on us for food and I’m not sure if they have any food outside of what we deliver.”
Jump hedline: Financial struggles exists for Santa Monica elderly
Suggested pullquote: “The Federal Poverty Line is an outdated measure to looking at who gets access to public benefit,”
Susie Smith
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 27, 2008. Read the original PDF.