By Lisa Watts
Since 2006, UMass Boston’s Elder Index has been a powerful tool for measuring the economic security of older adults.
Nearly half of all older adults living alone in the United States and one out of five older couples lack the financial resources to pay for their basic needs, according to the most recent estimates from the Elder Index, an online data tool produced by UMass Boston gerontologists.
The index provides county-by-county calculations of how much income older adults across the United States need to meet their basic needs and age in place. Those needs cover a range of expenses from housing and food to healthcare and transportation.
The Elder Index calculates the percentage of adults aged 65 and older who struggle financially and offers regional comparisons for living costs and economic security. A 2022 Elder Index report found that more than one-third of older singles in every state are at risk of being unable to afford basic needs and age in their own homes.
“We wanted to know what it costs to cover an adequate lifestyle and to measure that consistently across the U.S.,” says Jan Mutchler, who has produced the index since 2008. “We all know that geographic differences in cost of living exist, but they are ignored by the (Federal Poverty Level).” For example, the average Social Security benefit covers 90% of living costs in rural West Virginia but just 38% of living costs in San Francisco.
Launched nearly 20 years ago, the Elder Index has helped elected officials, advocates, journalists, researchers, and others who work to help older adults facing economic hardship as they age in place. The National Council on Aging and RRF Foundation began campaigning in the last few years to institutionalize the index as a more accurate measure of economic security than the six-decade-old Federal Poverty Level (FPL). On average, the Elder Index’s bar for meeting basic needs is twice the income level of the FPL.
“Our goal with the Elder Index is to move the financial security conversation toward adequacy rather than destitution,” says Mulcher.
“The Elder Index provides the basis for a national discussion around equity, aging, and the food, health, and economic security of older people, shining a light on the real financial struggles that older people are facing every day across the country,” says Ramsey Alwin, president and CEO of the National Council on Aging.
Read more about the Elder Index’s impact at the Gerontology Institute Blog.