If you dig into the details, it looks pretty legit. The Elderly Index aka cut-off line that they are using is really pretty low...like 20k living expenses for a single elderly person living alone with no mortgage. Of course that adjusts up to 27.6k for a an elderly person living in an apartment in Boston.
scholarworks.umb.edu
"For older adults living in their own homes without a mortgage, the Elder Index is $20,064 annually for an older adult living alone"
"Elder Index Values for Renters, by State, 2016"
"Massachusetts $27,624"
"Household income is based on 2010-2014 5-year American Community Survey PUMS data, with income values converted to 2016 dollars using the June 2016 Consumer Price Index."
So the income that was included in the study likely does not contain saving draw downs, help from families, and any social benefits other than Social Security. So most likely they are not all starving...yet?...instead just living in the red and scraping by.
The typical outcome anyhow for the VAST majority of currently, independent, elderly people is that eventually they go broke and end up in nursing home being paid for by the state. Which is probably the future that this study indicates much more than starvation.
"Older adults who live in group quarters, including institutional settings, those who reside in households including three or more people, and those living with anyone under the age of 65 are not included in this analysis."
In a way, the study might understate the overall picture. Since it only included independent elderly and not those already broke in a nursing home or living with their kids or on the streets.
In other words, invest in nursing home... |
