45% of Americans Over 65 Have Trouble
Meeting their Basic Needs

Everyone deserves quality health care and sufficient resources to be able keep a roof over their heads, pay for food and medicine, and meet their other basic needs. But in America today that vision is out of reach for nearly half of older adults. Our approach to advocacy directly improves the lives of millions of older adults. We train thousands of individual advocates, providing information on emerging legal issues. Through our relationships with these on-the-ground partners, we learn about systemic issues and work to address them through legislative and administrative advocacy. If those methods fail to bring about the change we seek, we use impact litigation to advance justice.

Health Care

Older adults with Medicare spend an average of $5,368 a year on out-of-pocket costs and most have no long-term care coverage. We protect & improve programs that make health care more affordable & break down barriers to services so that older people can age at home
and in their communities.

Economic Security

Nearly 5 million older Americans live on less than $1,000 a month. We expand access to Social Security, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), and Housing programs that help older adults meet their basic needs. And we address systemic barriers that make it difficult for seniors to access these programs.

Litigation

As the only national organization focused on solely on senior poverty, Justice in Aging is there as a champion in the courts for those who have been marginalized and excluded from justice. Working in partnership with advocates and pro bono attorneys at the nation's top law firms, we’ve returned billions in benefits to older adults with limited resources.

Anyone can age into poverty.

Ortencia was a kindergarten schoolteacher who must now plan each meal in order to stretch a meager monthly income to cover rent, food, utilities, medication, transportation, and other expenses. Bill worked various jobs in San Francisco for 30 years before being diagnosed with a chronic disease and becoming homeless for the first time at 59 years old.

Learn more about their stories, and the struggles they and many other older Americans face in accessing the health care and the resources we need to thrive. And find out more about how Justice in Aging’s advocacy is helping to build a system where all of us will have an opportunity to age with justice and dignity.

Latest Resources & Media

Photo of a statue of a woman balance scale held in one hand. This statue, Lady Justice, is commonly used to represent fairness and justice in judicial systems.
Fact Sheet

Campos v. Kijakazi Settlement: Information for Advocates

The court-approved settlement in Campos v. Kijakazi, No. 21 Civ. 5143 (E. D. N. Y.), will benefit more than two million Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients who incurred overpayments during the COVID-19 National Emergency. Waiver of March-September 2020 Manual SSI Overpayments with No Action Required by SSI Recipients *Additionally, SSA

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Nationwide Settlement Grants Millions of Dollars to Supplemental Security Income Beneficiaries Harmed During Pandemic

Settlement Comes After Class Action Lawsuit Filed by NYLAG, Justice in Aging, and Arnold & Porter Alleged that Pandemic-Related Administrative Errors and Shutdowns led the Social Security Administration to Charge Low-Income Recipients with Overpayments Millions of low-income older adults and people with disabilities who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and

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Resident Rights in Medicaid-Funded Assisted Living and Group Homes

When: Thursday, December 14, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. PT / 2:00 p.m. ET Medicaid increasingly can pay for assisted living services or for comparable services provided in a group home or other residential facility for persons with disabilities. As a condition of accepting Medicaid payment, the facility must honor resident

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Medi-Cal Asset Limit Elimination: What Advocates Need to Know

When: Thursday, December 7, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. PT  Starting January 1, 2024, the Medi-Cal asset limit will be completely eliminated. The asset limits were previously increased to $130,000 for a single person in July 2022. With complete elimination, the Medi-Cal program will only consider a person’s income for financial

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