Twenty-five national and local organizations have signed on to a collaborative effort calling for the standard-of-living measures used to determine eligibility for programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, taxes, food assistance and housing support to be changed.

Additionally, the Equity in Aging Collaborative will promote the University of Massachusetts–Boston’s Elder Index, which measures the income older adults need to meet their basic needs, such as housing, healthcare, transportation and food.

“Inflation is decimating the little financial security older adults might have coming out of the pandemic,” said Ramsey Alwin, president and CEO of the National Council on Aging, a sponsor and member of the collaborative. “But even before that, the federal poverty level failed to reflect older adults’ real needs to age with dignity. The Equity in Aging Collaborative will work to ensure that the programs millions of people rely on actually keep pace with the costs of aging in America.”

The NCOA believes the collaborative can address historic challenges facing older adults by engaging multiple viewpoints. In addition to advocating for improving the standard-of-living measures used to determine eligibility for programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, taxes, food assistance and housing support, the group will advocate for the adoption of the Elder Index.

“All too often, discussions of economic security lay blame on individuals and their inability to ‘save for retirement.’ Most of us, however, work hard throughout our lives,” said Mary O’Donnell, president of the RRF Foundation for Aging, which awarded a grant to make the collaborative possible.

“Despite this, financial struggles in later life are distressingly common. These result from larger economic forces beyond our control, systemic inequities and an insufficient safety net,” O’Donnell added. The initiative, she added, “will highlight the need to rethink economic security in later life.”

Members of the collaborative: 

  • Aspen Institute
  • Center for Retirement Research at Boston College
  • Diverse Elders Coalition 
  • Generations United
  • Gerontology Institute at the University of Massachusetts–Boston
  • Grantmakers in Aging
  • Juanita C. Grant Foundation
  • Justice in Aging
  • LA County Aging and Community Services
  • Mayor’s Commission on Aging-City of Philadelphia
  • Mid-County Senior Center
  • National Academy of Social Insurance
  • National Civic League
  • National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare
  • National Council on Aging
  • New York Academy of Medicine
  • New York StateWide Senior Action Council 
  • Rio Grande Area Agency on Aging 
  • SAGE Advocacy and Services for LGBTQ+ Elders
  • San Ysidro Health
  • SCAN Foundation
  • Serving Seniors
  • Taub Foundation
  • Urban Institute
  • WellMed Charitable Foundation

The UMass Gerontology Institute is another sponsor of the collaborative.