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The number of retirees living in poverty is increasing

Nearly 10 million seniors struggle to meet basic needs

Updated:

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By:
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Mark Huffman
Reporter

Mark Huffman has covered consumer issues since 2004, with a special focus on protecting and empowering older adults. A former news correspondent for the Associated Press Radio Network, Westwood One, and ConsumerAffairs, Mark brings decades of journalistic experience to RetirementLiving.com. He is passionate about giving consumers a voice and helping them make informed decisions. Mark has also created educational content, including Senior Scam Alert, a video resource designed to help seniors recognize and avoid fraud. He holds a B.A. from the University of Kentucky and lives with his family in Richmond, Virginia.
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Photo by Volodymyr Hryshchenko on Unsplash

Key Insights

  • New Census data shows the poverty rate among older Americans rose to 15% in 2024.
  • Over 9.2 million older adults now struggle to meet basic needs like food and medicine.
  • NCOA urges Congress to protect safety-net programs and fully fund Medicare assistance.

Most retirees leave the workforce with dreams of a comfortable, mostly carefree life. But many are finding that the dream is harder and harder to achieve.

The number of older Americans living in poverty increased in 2024, with more than 9.2 million struggling to cover essentials like food, housing, and medication, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The National Council on Aging (NCOA) says the findings underscore a worsening crisis as the country’s population continues to age.

“Once again, more older Americans are sinking into poverty, just as 11,000 are turning 65 every day,” said Ramsey Alwin, President and CEO of NCOA. “A country as rich as ours should be shocked that so many of our fellow older Americans struggle to cover basic expenses.”

The Census Bureau’s Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM), which provides a more comprehensive picture of economic well-being by taking into account benefits such as food assistance, estimated the poverty rate among older adults at 15% in 2024. That’s up from 14% in the two previous years and far higher than the 9.5% recorded during the pandemic, when federal relief programs provided temporary support.

“When we lifted up individuals and families during the pandemic, poverty among older Americans went down,” Alwin said. “When that help went away, poverty increased.”

Programs under threat

Alwin highlighted the critical role of programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Medicaid, and Medicare Savings Programs (MSPs) in protecting older adults. But she warned that recent cuts to SNAP and Medicaid could worsen food insecurity and health outcomes for millions of seniors.

Social Security, meanwhile, remains the single largest poverty-fighting tool. According to NCOA, it moved 28.7 million people out of poverty under SPM in 2024.

NCOA is urging Congress to reauthorize and fully fund the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act (MIPPA), which helps low-income Medicare beneficiaries afford health care and prescriptions. The law has already been extended 14 times with bipartisan support.

Even so, Alwin noted that millions of older adults remain disconnected from available assistance. NCOA estimates that 70% of eligible seniors – about 9 million people – are not enrolled in programs that could ease their financial burden.

“In America, the ability to age well, with health and financial security, should be a right for every person, not a privilege,” Alwin said.