The Elder Economic Security Standard Index (also known as the Elder Index) measures income adequacy for older adults, similar to the Federal Poverty Index. Wider Opportunities for Women collaborated with the Gerontology Institute at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, to develop benchmarks for basic costs of living for elder households and allow elders to age in place with dignity. It illustrates how costs of living vary geographically based on the characteristics of Housing.
- Health Care.
- Transportation.
- Food.
- Miscellaneous Essentials.
The costs are for basic needs of elder households; they are based on market costs and do not assume any subsidies.
Deeper dive
Millions of older adults struggle to make ends meet. Many live on fixed incomes and may be forced to choose among basic needs like housing, food, or medications. The ELder Index looks at what is needed to achieve economic security by family type, local expenses, savings requirements, and income and at the city, county, and state levels. Reporters (and consumers) can use the database to find out how much is needed to achieve this benchmark, compare expenses across locations and family types; download national, state, county and city index data; and access additional information on elder economic security, according to the National Council on Aging, which helps maintain the database.
For example, in 2017, an older adult in good health living alone in a rented apartment needed, on average, $23,364 to cover their basic expenses. By comparison, the 2017 FPL was $12,060 for a family of one. The site was updated in November 2021 to reflect most recently available costs and expenses.