The average Social Security payment of $12,101 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--can not meet their expenses if they rent or own a home with a mortgage.

Men, with a pension in addition to Social Security and other sources of unearned income, are getting by. Renters and home owners without a mortgage have enough income to meet their basic expenses, but men who are still paying off a mortgage fall short of the Elder Standard.

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.