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Elder Economic Security Standard Reveals New Levels of Need and Hardship among Older Adults in Michigan

Michigan’s older adults are more likely to be poor and at greater risk of not being able to afford their basic living expenses than U.S. census data indicate. According to a recent analysis comparing income data for Michigan seniors (people 65 and older) to the Elder Economic Security Standard™ Index, 37% of Michigan’s seniors are living at or below a level of basic economic security. Many of these older adults dwell in the state’s seemingly comfortable suburbs. Yet they struggle financially – simply to buy the basic food, housing, transportation and medical care needed to survive.

“This invisible poverty is all around us,” explained Dr. Thomas Jankowski, from the Wayne State University Institute of Gerontology’s Seniors Count! Project, and lead author of the study. For example, in Oakland County, home to Bloomfield Hills (one of the top five wealthiest suburbs in the U.S.), one out of every three people over age 65 is unable to meet basic living expenses. “As more people live longer, this will worsen,” he said.

Dr. Jankowski and his team unearthed these statistics by applying the Elder Economic Security Standard™ Index (Elder Index) to Michigan population data. The Elder Index measures economic security by producing a snapshot of basic expenses in retirement, including housing, health care, food, transportation, and other essentials such as long-term care when needed.

“The report is very illuminating,” said Kate White, Executive Director of Elder Law of Michigan. “Anecdotally, we have learned that older adults have been struggling to make ends meet for several years. Now we can quantify it. The numbers are frighteningly large, particularly in the City of Detroit where 60% of older adults are living in very hard conditions. I don’t think this is the economic situation some people thought we had for retirees and older adults in our state.”

The data has national implications. “As our members of Congress talk about possible reductions in benefits for Medicare or freezes in Social Security indexing, we now know that 1 in 3 older adults can’t afford it. They aren’t making ends meet now, and any reductions in benefits or increases in premiums will really hurt them. We could easily see a slip back into the kind of poverty that makes Social Security and Medicare so important in the first place. It is a retreat from our commitment to older adults to be able to live modestly, but with dignity,” said White.

The full report can be found by clicking here.

Related news:

MI Women Depend More on Social Security

Elder Law of Michigan's Executive Director, Kate White, recently spoke on WJSM radio station in Southwest Michigan. She educated listeners on the cost of living for seniors and the trend that a recent study found. To read more about the study and listen to the radio interview, click here.

Senior Advocacy in Action

Point of View

Brenda Buyce Depweg reports on the impact that older adults have in the State of Michigan in her latest article, “Seniors want to be part of the solution to budget problems, but it must be fair.” Brenda discusses the contribution that seniors make to Michigan’s economy. “We spend more than $30 billion annually in Michigan, which equates to almost 10 percent of the state's annual gross domestic production. Seniors contribute much to the state's tourism industry, but we fear that the level of increased taxes will curtail travel.” In a plea for compromise, Brenda illustrates that older adults need benefit programs and lower taxes. “It seems like retirees are getting the double whammy from the State of Michigan. They will end up paying more taxes, but the services that many rely upon to help them stay at home are also being cut and have increasing waiting lists.”

Click here to read the entire article

Economic Progress?

A new year means new political leaders here in Michigan and new challenges and opportunities in carrying forth the elder economic security agenda at the state and community levels. Michigan’s state of the state address outlined the various challenges our state must work through to get back on track and strengthen our state economy. During these times, however, we must remember the plight of our seniors and not leave them behind as we strive for overall economic progress.

Click Here to read the entire article

On the Hill

The Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday approved the fiscal year 2011 spending measure for programs in the following departments: Labor, Health and Human Services and Education. The bill provides $169.6 billion in discretionary funding for a range of programs that will help create jobs and train American workers target fraud and abuse and incentivize states and local communities to reform their health, workforce and education systems. Highlights of the spending measure include: an increase of nearly $163.6 million over the fiscal year 2010 level for state grants for job training and employment services, for a total of $3.8 billion; a $25 million increase for the Green Jobs Innovation Fund, for a total of $65 million; $10 million to create a State Paid Leave initiative which will provide competitive grants to help states establish paid leave programs, which typically offer up to 6 weeks of benefits to workers who must take time off to care for a seriously ill child, spouse, or parent, or to bond with a newborn or recently adopted child). Also included is an increase of $38.2 million for local programs that provide congregate and home-delivered meals to seniors; $14.9 billion for title I grants to local education agencies for improving education for low-income students; and $242 million for five new Workforce Innovation Funds which will be administered jointly by the Secretaries of Labor and Education, including $55 million for dislocated workers, $35 million for adult job training, $27 million for disabled individuals and $30 million for adult education programs.

Click Here to read the entire article

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.

Click here for full story!

Making a Difference for Real People

Other Programs

Carol Rushlow

Carol Rushlow, a 74-year-old woman living in rural Michigan, could easily give up hope. Instead, she searches for ways to be involved in her community and seeks out services to help her reach economic security.

After graduating high school, Carol got married and stayed home to raise her three children before entering the real estate business, where she stayed for almost 50 years. While working, Carol unexpectedly became pregnant with her fourth child but decided to continue working. As a self-employed real estate agent, Carol had no 401(k), but she did save for her retirement. Sadly, at the young age of 42, Carol’s husband passed away after suffering from pancreatic cancer. This took both an emotional and financial toll on Carol. She became hard-pressed to pay her mortgage and other basic needs living on her income alone.

Click here for full story!

EESI Report BAnner

In celebration of Older American's Month 2010, Elder Law of Michigan and Wider Opportunities for Women (WOW) are teaming up with national and state allied organizations on Wednesday, May 26th for a second annual blog day. This year, we want to be sure the voice of advocates and concerned citizens is represented in the conversation concerning the nation's debt, so we're holding the event the day of the next meeting of the President's National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform.

This year's theme: America's Budget Matters (So Does Yours)

Click here to read a blog entry by Kate White on Social Security challenges!

What is the Index and why is it important?

The Index is data that can be used like a family budget to gauge the costs to retire. It will show, in table format, the essential costs older families will incur so that they understand current market rates for housing, health care, long term care, utilities, food and transportation. County level data and variable factors such as family size, health status and type of home (owning or renting) are part of the Index. Estimates on the costs of community-based long term health care for older adults by level of care needed (low, medium and high) is a critical part of the Index. It will also demonstrate the market rate costs of in-home long-term health and care services.

Planning for retirement is complicated for families of modest means. The Index is a tool that can be used by these families and their caregivers to budget, plan and work toward the most basic economic security in retirement.

The Index is unbiased, trusted information that can guide decisions on:

  • When to retire or whether to take a buy out?
  • Will part time work or continued employment for pay be necessary after age 65?
  • How much does a family need to budget for food, housing, medical care, utilities, and other essential needs to make ends meet?
  • What will long term health care cost if or when an older adult begins to need assistance with daily activities?

Additional Information and Materials

  • The Cost of Retiring in Michigan (The Walt Sorg Radio Show, July 16, 2009)

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    • More on the Index

    The Index does not include in-kind supports provided by family or friends.
    The Index does not include "extras" such as eating out in restaurants, entertainment/recreation, gifts at holidays or birthdays, vacations, or other activities that can meet our social needs for community, connection and enjoyment.

    Often, the Federal Poverty Level is used as a guide for providing programs and services to those in need. The research conducted by the Gerontology Institute at the University Of Massachusetts Institute Boston to create the Index reveals that to meet a person's most basic needs after age 65, that they need substantially more money than the Poverty Level. The Poverty Level is a measure of how poor people are (or of deprivation),not a measure of how much someone needs to meet their most basic human needs (or sufficiency).

    If you would like to participate in the work around the Elder Economic Standard or know older adults who are experiencing hard times and would like to tell their stories, please contact Kate White at 517.853.2375 or kwhite@elderlawofmi.org.