Eleanor Ramos & Mary J. Mayer
New York Citizens' Committee on Aging
New York, NY

Eleanor M. Ramos has been the part-time Executive Director of the New York Citizens’ Committee on Aging since September 2006, after having served over 15 years on its Board of Directors as Vice-President and Chair of the Public Policy Committee. ---- Mary J. Mayer was co-Chair of the New York Citizens’ Committee on Aging Task Force to Reduce Elder Poverty in NYC. During her 25 years with the New York City Department for the Aging, she held several positions, among them Director of Research, Planning and Policy Analysis (1977-90) and, at the time of her retirement, Deputy Commissioner. Read full bios by clicking "View Profile" below.

Historically, there is considerable evidence that, in many societies around the world, older persons have had a special role and were accorded prestige for their wisdom and experience, both within the family and the community. In more recent times the position of older persons in society has been undermined by factors such as smaller family size, the movement of younger family members away from their homes of origin – often to distant locations – and the increasing participation of women in the labor force, all of which have had the effect of devaluing the knowledge and experience of older persons, thus leading to a reduction in their societal roles and contributing to their disempowerment.

Empowerment has many interpretations in concept and practice. It can be a product of the environment or come from within an individual. For older persons empowerment is usually dependent upon their ability to provide for themselves and to make choices about their lives. While the empowerment of older persons in general has been affected by the societal changes mentioned above, there is a significant segment among them facing an almost impenetrable barrier to achieving empowerment: elderly persons living in poverty tend to be marginalized – a fact that only accelerates as the older population continues to age.

Poverty is more than a lack of financial resources; it is a serious threat to health, well-being, dignity and the ability to participate fully in our society. Poverty isolates those who experience it.

Now, there is no question that the United States has made tremendous strides in reducing poverty among the elderly during the past several decades. In 1959, 35.2 percent of those 65 and older had incomes below the poverty threshold. By 2006, the poverty rate for this age group had fallen to 9.4 percent. Put another way, poverty among Americans aged 65 and older has fallen from one in three persons in 1960 to one in ten today. This success cannot be denied.

But this progress has been accompanied by a perception that -- thanks to the success of programs like Social Security and Medicare, which indeed have alleviated economic insecurity among the elderly -- this group now receives adequate assistance. As a result, in recent years the issue of poverty among older persons has faded from national view when the fact is that, despite tremendous forward strides in many places, it has actually increased in certain areas of the country.

When the New York Citizens’ Committee on Aging -- a not-for-profit, non-partisan organization that has worked to improve the quality of life for older New Yorkers for nearly 50 years -- analyzed data from the 2005 Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, it found that the poverty rate among older persons in the 20 most populous American cities placed New York second only to Detroit. This led the Citizens’ Committee to undertake an Initiative to Reduce Elder Poverty by giving visibility to the existence and extent of poverty among older residents and to work to identify policy changes needed to address this issue.

Analysis of data from the Census survey produced some alarming findings. Nationally, 9.9 percent of older Americans were living in poverty, which marked a continuing decline countrywide. But the poverty rate among those 65 and older in New York City was more than twice the national average: 20.3 percent, or 191,653 individuals.

Who are these elderly poor? 75 percent live alone, and 14 percent are married. The rest live with relatives. Significantly more older women live in poverty than older men: 23 percent, as opposed to 17 percent. Poverty is most prevalent among New York City’s racial and ethnic minorities. The rate for Hispanic elderly, 34 percent, is three times the national average while the rates for Black and Asian elderly are more than double it, at 22 percent and 25 percent, respectively. Though poverty rates were much lower, 14 percent of Caucasian elderly were also living below the poverty line. Those who are both poor and disabled constitute 12 percent of the elderly in New York City, twice the national rate of 5.5 percent.

Generally speaking, three circumstances tend to describe seniors living in poverty. There are those who have been economically insecure throughout their lives and consequently bring few resources into their older years. A second group includes those who had limited resources for retirement but through uncontrollable factors -- such as the loss of a pension, unexpected job loss or even a decline in the stock market -- experienced a sudden decrease in resources. The third group are those who experience an unforeseen crisis such as a major illness, the death of a spouse or a divorce that plunges them into poverty.

In September 2007, the New York Citizens’ Committee on Aging established the Task Force to Reduce Elder Poverty in NYC, comprised of representatives from more than a dozen organizations. The Task Force proposed that efforts be focused on four key areas affecting the City’s elderly poor: 1) providing income security and employment opportunities; 2) strengthening the existing social safety net to prevent individuals from falling into poverty; 3) expanding affordable housing options and supports; and 4) reducing the financial burden often associated with serious health conditions and/or disabilities.

A series of meetings were held with elected and appointed officials to obtain their views on what new policies or changes in existing policy might be achievable. In February 2009, the Citizens’ Committee published a report: Keeping the Promise: Recommendations to Reduce Elder Poverty in New York City, containing recommendations relating to each of the four key areas above.

The initiative has brought visibility and heightened attention to an important concern for all who work with and on behalf of older persons. As a result, the Committee’s access to policymakers has increased significantly, as has the number of community partners working for policy change.

In addition to the policy changes proposed in its report, the New York Citizens’ Committee on Aging supports efforts to revise the Federal method of measuring poverty that has been used since 1969 and, it is widely agreed, is no longer adequate. The NYC Center for Economic Opportunity has developed a new approach to measuring poverty based on the recommendations of the National Academy of Sciences. Using this more accurate method, the poverty rate for New York City’s elderly soars to 32 percent!

If older persons are to be fully participating members of their communities, they must have the same power and influence enjoyed by others. But they must have a standard of living that enables them to achieve this empowerment. Living in poverty overwhelms their ability to do so.

Given the current climate of economic crisis that has created critical budgetary situations in cities and states nationwide, is this an appropriate time to press for policy changes that, admittedly, will have costs attached? The New York Citizens’ Committee on Aging believes it is. At the minimum, the most beneficial assistance for those in poverty would be to increase the Federal Supplementary Security Income level, Food Stamp allowances, congregate and home-delivered meals support under the Older Americans Act and housing subsidies.

The next several decades will see a significant increase in the number elderly persons in our nation. It is expected that, among this larger elderly population, many will enter their retirement years lacking income security. Large numbers of those aged 50 to 64 exist on incomes below the poverty line. As they age, they will face a very difficult retirement both for the reasons described here and because of the negative effect of the economic downturn on their retirement resources.

Unless initiatives are taken to address the issue of elder poverty, empowerment and self-sufficiency may never be a reality for many older persons in our country. Now is the time to act so that poverty will no longer be a barrier to participation in one’s community.