Stria: The Truth About Older Consumers: Household Budgets (November 26, 2018)

This piece challenges some of the “successful aging” narratives about older adults that are common in U.S. media. The author explores some of the different expenses older adults encounter (such as higher health care costs) that make them vulnerable. The author also acknowledges that many older adults start out as poor, and aging makes them poorer, and that some older adults, such as LGBT older adults, are more likely to age into poverty. The author interviewed Justice in Aging Executive Director, Kevin Prindiville, for insight into senior poverty, who said, “The cost of housing and health care keeps rising. Pensions are smaller than had been promised and some have disappeared altogether. Social Security is a bedrock, keeping 15 million older people out of poverty—but just barely. We have not strengthened or expanded Social Security and it’s not keeping up.” Read the full article.