Economic Progress?

Our Michigan partner, Elder Law of Michigan, discusses their priorities in the new year and the importance of programs and services in their state to  an elder's ability to age in place. 

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. 

As the lead state partner for the Michigan Elder Economic Security Initiative we aim to educate policy makers on the true cost of retiring in our state. In Michigan, a single elder renter needs $19,058 a year to make ends meet. Let’s not forget seniors received no cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) to their Social Security benefits this year, nor an emergency payment to supplement the COLA freeze. Despite this, the costs of food, gasoline and other basic goods continue to rise.  

This adds to the increased necessity of funding state programs and services that help seniors age in place. Elder Law of Michigan’s priority is to provide older adults with trusted information and support with programs that aid in legal, financial and personal-security issues that enable older adults to live comfortably and independently in their homes as they age. Elder Law of Michigan strives to be the most trusted resource for adults to ensure that they are safe, informed and treated fairly.

We encourage you to join the fight for a secure retirement for all seniors in your community and across the state. For more information on how to get involved with the Michigan Elder Economic Security Initiative, e-mail kwhite@elderlawofmi.org. Though times are tough, our voices must remain united and strong. Together, we can create real change this year and improve the economic security of our elder loved ones.

Reforming Tax-Free Retirement Savings to Help Low-Income Workers

This week, the Center on American Progress’ (CAP) Tax Expenditure of the Week series focused on tax-free retirement savings. Specifically, the brief noted that high earners benefit from this tax expenditure the most since they have more disposable income to put into savings. According to CAP, tax-free retirement savings are the second-largest tax expenditure yet, “Eighty percent of the tax benefits are claimed by the top twenty percent of income earners. The bottom three-fifths enjoy only seven percent of the benefit.”

To shift the balance and benefit of this tax expenditure to low-income workers, CAP discussed several ideas, including providing tax credits to workers rather than deductions. This would result in workers receiving the same dollar amount regardless of income. Consequently, this would help those in the low and middle-income brackets by providing a subsidy worth more percentage wise than that of the high earners.

As shown by WOW’s national Elder Economic Security Standard™ Index, Social Security is not enough to take care of one’s necessities in retirement. It is also more than 90% of income for 3 in 10 elders, due to a lack of savings in other areas, such as 401(k)s and pensions. Without a more progressive structure that incentivizes workers save for retirement, low and middle-income elders will increasingly depend on Social Security to meet their basic needs. 

Alisha Howell

Communications and Program Coordinator

Elder Economic Security Initiative

Elder Economic Security in 2011

Happy New Year! 2011 brings with it a new era for America – the official retirement of the Baby Boomer generation. This year, an average of 7,000 Boomers a day will celebrate their 65^th birthday. Now more than ever it is critical to advocate for the programs and services that allow seniors to age in place.

The Elder Economic Security Initiative (Initiative) has a host of plans to advocate on behalf of our growing senior population this year. First, we are excited to launch the Initiative in Washington and Colorado in the first half of the year. Our additional new states, Iowa, North Carolina and South Dakota, will follow thereafter. Our new state partners have already begun spreading the word about the Initiative. In fact, the Iowa Alliance for Retired Americans recently placed an op-ed about the project in the Des Moines Register.

Issue areas the Initiative is focusing on this year include the reauthorization of the Older Americans Act, Social Security and health care reform, specifically the implementation of CLASS (the long-term care insurance program) under the Affordable Care Act. Later in the spring, we will host our third annual blog day – a day-long online advocacy event aimed to engage as many people as possible about economic security.

So, stay tuned for this and much more in 2011!

Happy Holidays from WOW!

The WOW office will be closed from December 27-31. We look forward to working with you in the new year!

Importance of Preparing for Long-Term Care Costs

This week, the Elder Economic Security Initiative™ team met with our National Advisory Board to update them on the project and discuss goals for the New Year. Long-term care (LTC) and the importance of preparing future generations for the high costs of aging in place was a major component of the conversation, and, it turns out, in conversations throughout the country. Newsday recently featured the article “We can Avoid an Eldercare Crisis” which encourages Baby Boomers in particular to find ways to save for long-term care now before it’s too late. It also explains how to prevent future elders from depending on Medicaid, which provides benefits to low-income elders unable to pay for care. Medicaid eligibility requirements require those elders living on the edge to spend down their assets in order to qualify.

WOW’s Elder Economic Security Standard™ Index (Elder Index) shows just how important it is to plan ahead. Depending on the level of care, LTC costs can double or even triple what it costs for an elder to meet her basic expenses. For example, in Bronx County, NY, an elder woman renter in good health needs $23, 328 a year to cover basic living expenses. This cost changes dramatically if she is in poor health and needs 16 hours a week of LTC assistance (a medium level of care); her annual expenses would nearly double to over $43,500.

Hence the need for a program to help Americans save for these high costs of care and the reasoning behind the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act – signed into law under health care reform. This program will allow workers to pay in to a government supported system and after five years of investment receive a daily cash benefit to supplement long-term care costs. This program will not only benefit elders but people of all ages who need assistance due to physical disabilities. Find out more about the program’s benefits at the New Old Age blog.

The reality is that long-term care is necessary for millions of elders in retirement and though many might not want to think about getting older, we must not only think but act. Through advanced planning and good decision making future retirees can save for their long-term care needs.


Alisha Howell
Communications & Program Coordinator
Elder Economic Security Initiative

New Study Shows Half of Seniors May Experience Poverty

Nearly half of all elders between 60 and 90 will experience one year of poverty, according to a study released this week in Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Social Services.

“Of course, this risk is not evenly distributed across the population. One of the most drastic economic divides is race,” notes the researcher, Mark R. Rank, Ph.D. The percentages of people who will experience at least one year below the federal poverty level by different demographic groups include:

• Race: 32.7% of white older Americans; 64.6% of black older Americans

• Marital Status: 51.2% of unmarried older Americans; 24.9% of married older Americans

• Education: 48.4% of those with fewer than 12 years of education; 20.5% for those with 12 or more years of education

This new research confirms the importance of the Elder Economic Security Initiative and the Elder Economic Security Standard™ Index (Elder Index). A comparison of the Elder Index to other measures of income (shown in the chart below) makes its relevance clear. Average annual Social Security income provides an older woman renter with only 61% of the income required to achieve economic security, compared to 81% for an older man.

The data shown by the Elder Index and the new report on elder poverty demonstrate the need to increase the benefit adequacy for Social Security recipients and to increase access to income support programs for seniors. Dr. Rank notes “legislators should consider policies that encourage greater levels of savings among the working-age population, facilitating cooperative living arrangements among the elderly, establishing fair terms with respect to reverse mortgage programs, and strengthening the Social Security and Supplemental Security Income programs.”

The time to act is now. Join your state’s Elder Economic Security Initiative to help rid poverty among our nation’s elders. The Initiative is currently active in 17 states; find out if your state is one of them.



Maggie Flowers
Field Manager
Elder Economic Security Initiative

Caring for the Caregiver

As National Family Caregivers Month comes to an end, WOW thanks caregivers across the country whose work makes it possible for millions of elders and persons with disabilities to live with dignity in their homes and communities. According to the National Alliance for Caregiving, 22 million Americans care for someone over the age of 50 and 60% of caregivers are women. Caregiving is essential to allowing many elders to age in place and the value of informal care that women provide ranges from $148 to $188 billion annually.

Informal caregiving, though necessary, can be detrimental to the economic security of women and their families. Many caregivers find themselves cycling in and out of the workforce, which limits their income both now and in the future. One-third of working women decrease their work hours when taking on caregiving responsibilities and almost 30% pass up a job promotion, training or assignment. Each of these examples explains the tough choices caregivers have to make and highlights the need for additional caregiver support systems. WOW supports allowing full-time caretakers to receive Social Security credits to increase their benefits in retirement as a step in the right direction. Currently, caretakers receive no credits when out of the workforce, which results in a smaller Social Security benefit in retirement.

Caregiving can be a daunting task and while there is more that needs to be done, current resources and networks strive to make caregiving easier for millions of Americans.

• Caregiver Community Action Network

• Top 10 Questions about Family Caregiving

• Financial Help and Advice for Caregivers


Take time today to thank a caregiver you know for all they do.



Alisha Howell
Communications & Program Coordinator
Elder Economic Security Initiative