More than half of older Americans in a new survey live on $2,000 a month or less

The Senior Citizens League surveyed 904 people over 62 this year, weighted the answers to Census population figures, and asked them the plainest question there is: how much do you live on each month?

44% said between $1,001 and $2,000. Another 10% said less than $1,000. More than half, in other words, are living on about what the average retired worker's Social Security check pays, $2,088 a month, and not much else.

The league, an advocacy group for retirees, also estimates that Social Security benefits lost about 13.7% of their buying power between 2016 and 2026, and 89% of respondents said this year's 2.8% raise fell short of what they actually paid. Those are the group's own figures, and it has a policy agenda, so read them as its estimates rather than a government count.

The stakes are not abstract. The Government Accountability Office counted an estimated 138,000 Americans aged 55 and older experiencing homelessness on a single night in 2023. For a renter on a fixed income, one rent increase is the whole story.

Why the raise misses

The cost-of-living adjustment is set by a formula, not a vote. Since 1975 it has followed the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, the CPI-W, which measures what working households buy.

People over 62 do not spend like working households: a larger share of their budget goes to housing and health care. The league says housing and transportation costs have risen faster than overall inflation for 15 years, which lands hardest on retirees who rent. A formula built on a commuter's shopping cart will keep missing that budget in the same direction.

The index built for older households exists. It is the CPI-E, an experimental index weighted toward the spending of people 62 and older, and the league says it regularly comes in higher than the CPI-W. The league wants the COLA switched to it, along with a guaranteed minimum raise of 3%, a one-time "senior stimulus" payment, and an end to income tax on benefits.

What those fixes cost

Every one of those asks is worth debating, and every one of them should be priced the way we would price a benefit cut.

A higher raise is paid from the same retirement fund that runs short in 2032. Switching to the CPI-E adds to the benefits the fund owes every year, so on its own it moves the date closer. Ending the income tax on benefits removes revenue that is credited back to the trust funds today. The bill that pairs the CPI-E with new payroll taxes, and what it costs, shows what it takes to pay for the change honestly.

We think the CPI-E is the fairer measure of what a retiree's dollar buys, and that it belongs in any solvency deal, paid for, not bolted on in an election year. None of that will help a reader pay October's rent. The four programs below can.

Four programs you already paid for

These are not charity. They are programs funded by the same taxes you paid for 40 years, and the income rules are more generous for older households than most people assume.

1. A Medicare Savings Program pays your Part B premium. Run by your state Medicaid office, these programs pay the $202.90 monthly Part B premium, and the most generous one also covers deductibles and copays. That money stays in your Social Security deposit every month. Qualifying also enrolls you in Extra Help for prescriptions, which caps each covered drug at $12.65 in 2026. Medicare's own page says you may qualify in your state even if your income or savings are above the federal limits, because some states do not count certain income or assets.

2. SNAP has special rules for households with someone 60 or older. A household with an older member only has to pass the net income test, not the gross one, can keep up to $4,500 in countable savings, and can deduct medical costs above $35 a month that insurance does not pay. Your home does not count as an asset. Together, those rules can make a household eligible that would fail the standard test.

3. LIHEAP helps with heating and cooling bills. The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program is federally funded and run by states and local agencies, and each state sets its own application dates and limits. If your utility bill is what breaks the month, this is the call to make before the first cold snap, not after the shutoff notice.

4. Your state probably has a property tax break for older homeowners. If you own your home, the relief programs most eligible homeowners over 65 never use can freeze or cut the bill, and that article walks through how to find yours.

What to do this month

1. Write down two numbers. Your total monthly income before anything is taken out, including the Medicare premium, and what you pay each month for rent or mortgage, utilities and out-of-pocket medical costs. The programs above look at income, and SNAP also looks at those costs.
2. Call your state Medicaid office about a Medicare Savings Program first. It puts money back into every check, and it opens the door to Extra Help.
3. Apply for SNAP even if you think you make too much. The net income test and the medical deduction were written for exactly your situation. Bring receipts for prescriptions and premiums.
4. Ask your utility or local community action agency about LIHEAP before winter. Dates and funding differ by state, so ask early.
5. If you manage money for a parent on a small check, do this for them. The paperwork is often the hardest part.

This story first appeared at Senior Daily Benefits, our sister publication on Social Security, Medicare and the money you earned.