Elder Index

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The Elder Index is a measure of the cost of living for older adults in the United States. It is calculated for every county in the United States, and provides a realistic benchmark of living expenditure that includes housing, food, transportation, health care, and basic household items for older adults. [1] [2] The Elder Index is produced by the Gerontology Institute, within the John W. McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies at the University of Massachusetts Boston.

Contents

History

The Elder Index was conceived of by Ellen Bruce and Laura Henze Russell at the Gerontology Institute, UMass Boston. [3] The strategy used in calculating the Elder Index draws on a “family-budget” approach, taking into account the characteristics and spending patterns of elder households. [2] Starting in 2011, the Elder Index has been calculated and distributed for every county in the United States.

Key features

Some key features of the Elder Index include:

Summary of the 2016 Elder Index

Comparison with other measures

The Elder Index is different from conventional poverty measures in that it is built around everyday expenses encountered by older adults and is a realistic benchmark of income adequacy. [4] For example, in 2016, the share of older adults living alone with incomes below the Federal Poverty Line is 18.8% on average throughout the United States; another 34.2% live above the poverty level yet still have income less than what is required to live with economic security. [1] [5]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Mutchler, Jan; Li, Yang; Xu, Ping (2016). "Living Below the Line: Economic Insecurity and Older Americans Insecurity in the States 2016". Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging Publications.
  2. 1 2 Boston, Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging, University of Massachusetts; Boston, Gerontology Institute, University of Massachusetts (2017). "The National Elder Economic Security Standard™ Index: Methodology Overview". Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging Publications.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. Paterson, Kent. "U.S. Stumbles Toward Day of Reckoning with Rising Retirement Crisis". New America Media. Archived from the original on 2017-10-28. Retrieved 2017-10-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  4. Span, Paula (14 March 2012). "The Future: No Lattes, No Movies". The New York Times. Retrieved 2017-10-21.
  5. Johnston, Katie. "For many Massachusetts elderly, financial security elusive". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2017-10-16.