InsightCCED.org - What Elders Need vs. What They Have in San Diego

This chart compares the basic cost of living, as quantified by the Elder Standard Index, to three common sources of income for elders. The gap between what elders need to cover their basic living expenses in San Diego County, as shown by the Elder Standard Index lines in black, and the income they have, as shown by the green bar charts, illustrates the degree of economic instability that too many elders experience. To view more detailed numerical data behind this visual, click here.

It's not just "poor" elders who are struggling in San Deigo County:

The average Social Security payment of $12,255 is not enough to live on, and yet, one out of three seniors in California rely exclusively on Social Security to cover their basic costs.
Women--even those few fortunate enough to have a pension in addition to Social Security--who rent or who own a home with a mortgage, can not meet their expenses.
Men, with a pension in addition to Social Security and other sources of unearned income, who own their own homes but are still paying off a mortgage, fall short of the Elder Standard Index.
Public supports are supposed to help close the gap between seniors' income and their expenses, but many elders fall through the cracks: access to these supports is based on an unrealistically low assessment of what it costs to live, the $10,210 Federal Poverty Line.
SSI, the program designed to help the most vulnerable population - the blind, aged, and disabled -- puts them hovering right above the FPL, but far below what it really costs to make ends meet, according to the Elder Standard.

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