Cost of Living Too Costly for Seniors

By Timm Herdt
February 27, 2008

SACRAMENTO — The threshold for seniors to qualify for government assistance is so low that most Ventura County seniors who have incomes twice that high don't have enough money to pay for the necessities of living, a UCLA study released Tuesday shows.

The study finds that a single senior living in a one-bedroom apartment in Ventura County needs $23,910 a year to pay for rent, food, healthcare, transportation and other basic expenses. To qualify for most assistance programs, a senior must have an annual income near the federal poverty level, now at $10,200.

"How poor do you have to become to be eligible for assistance? Too poor," said Steven Wallace, associate director of the UCLA School of Public Health. "Elders cannot make ends meet with incomes at the poverty line."

The study shows that the nearly two out of three seniors in California who survive solely on Social Security benefits are unable to meet necessary expenses. The average Social Security benefit for a couple, for instance, is $21,569, but basic monthly expenses for a healthy couple who rent a one-bedroom apartment in Ventura County is nearly $10,000 more than that, or $31,259.

http://venturacountystar.com/news/2008/feb/27/cost-of-living-too-costly-for-seniors/