State bills would enable older adults to stay, age in place in their homes

New Jersey Assembly Speaker Craig J. Coughlin (D) last week introduced legislation that would create a new property tax credit program called StayNJ, which he said is meant to make it more affordable for older New Jerseyans to stay in their homes and age in place there.

Craig also introduced legislation that would expand medical assistance for health insurance and prescription drugs. 

“With StayNJ and the expansions of these healthcare programs, seniors will be able to envision retirement in their communities with their friends and loved ones,” Coughlin said in a statement. 

One bill would increase the income eligibility threshold and eliminate the asset test for Medicare savings programs. Income limits would increase to $29,160 for single residents and $39,440 for married couples, up from the current range of up to $20,000 for a single resident and $26,622 for married couples. Older adults who participate in Medicare savings programs would receive an average benefit of more than $2,200 on their premiums alone.

Another bill would raise income eligibility for the Pharmaceutical Assistance to the Aged and Disabled, or PAAD, program and the Senior Gold prescription discount program. Under the legislation, an applicant with an income equal to or less than 400% of the federal poverty line is eligible for PAAD. In 2023, 400% of the federal poverty line is $58,320 for a single individual and $78,880 for someone who is married. The bill also would  eliminate the Senior Gold income threshold to make  all seniors and individuals with disabilities eligible.

Under StayNJ, the state would provide a 50% credit on older adults’ property tax bills, capped at $10,000. Homeowners who are aged 65 or more years would be eligible for the tax credit on their principal residence, and there would be no income limit for eligibility.  Payments would be applied directly to tax bills, with benefits starting Jan. 1, 2025.

“I’ve heard from people who have to sell the home they raised their children in, and leave the neighborhood they’ve lived in for 30 years, because they can’t afford to stay,” Coughlin said. “My plan, StayNJ, will mean that seniors have the freedom to plan a future in New Jersey with friends and loved ones they’ve spent a lifetime making memories with.”

Assembly Majority Leader and co-sponsor Lou Greenwald (D) called the income tax proposal a “game changer.”