The Significance of Federal Rental Help for Older Adults

Introduction

Housing is the inspiration to making sure that all of us have the chance to age in our personal houses and communities. But conversations about helps for older adults typically overlook the significance of federal rental help. These applications embrace varied types of help that help low-income renters, resembling housing vouchers, public housing, and supportive housing for seniors and folks with disabilities. Older adults, together with over two million seniors age 62 and over, are served throughout all these and different federal rental help applications.^[1]

On the similar time, too many low-income older adults – together with practically 4 million older renter households—are unassisted and don’t have reasonably priced housing.^[2] These older adults face dangers of homelessness and institutionalization. Policymakers should shield and broaden federal rental help so that everybody, together with older adults, can entry housing they will afford.

Extra Older Adults Can not Afford Rents and Are Turning into Homeless

Older adults are the quickest rising age group amongst individuals experiencing homelessness, with many shedding their housing for the primary time after age 50 on account of unaffordable rents.^[4] Whereas many elements contribute to homelessness, a key driver for older adults and others is housing unaffordability and the widening hole between incomes and rental prices.

In 2024, older adults age 55 and over comprised about 20% of all individuals experiencing homelessness. Nearly half of those older adults had been unsheltered, dwelling in locations resembling automobiles, parks, or on the streets regardless of many having severe well being circumstances and disabilities.^[5]

Older adults are considerably overrepresented amongst extraordinarily low-income renters, lots of whom have incomes at or beneath the federal poverty degree.^[6] Many low-income older adults stay on restricted mounted incomes, counting on Social Safety and/or Supplemental Safety Earnings (SSI) to fulfill all their primary wants. These advantages, whereas important, are modest and haven’t stored tempo with surging rents:

• SSI: Greater than seven million older adults and folks with disabilities, together with greater than two million seniors age 65 and over, depend on SSI and are priced out of each housing market within the nation.^[7] The present most federal SSI profit is simply $967 per 30 days for people,^[8] which is considerably lower than the estimated nationwide common hire of round $1,556 per 30 days for a one-bedroom condo.^[9]
• Social Safety: Older adults dwelling on Social Safety additionally typically have housing prices which might be unaffordable. The typical month-to-month Social Safety retirement profit is simply round $1,976.^[10] Older adults dwelling on this quantity should spend virtually 79% of their revenue to pay the nationwide common hire for a one-bedroom condo.

In 2024, older adults age 55 and over comprised about 20% of all individuals experiencing homelessness.

Too Many Older Adults Can not Entry Federal Rental Help

Solely about one in three older adults who wants sponsored housing receives it due to the shortage of federal rental help.^[11] Not like many different public advantages, federal rental help just isn’t an entitlement program wherein everybody who’s eligible can obtain advantages. Congress should allocate funding for federal rental help by way of an annual appropriations course of, and this funding constantly falls far wanting assembly the necessity. Though rents and homelessness have elevated, ranges of rental help have dropped to their lowest ranges in virtually 25 years, which means that fewer households are being served.^[12]

Consequently, older adults making use of for federal rental help face closed or multiyear-long waitlists. In some areas of the nation, individuals could wait greater than a decade to obtain help. In keeping with a nationwide survey of Space Companies on Ageing (AAAs), 71% of respondents recognized the unavailability or lengthy look forward to sponsored housing as a serious problem going through older adults.^[13]

Solely about one in three older adults who wants sponsored housing receives it due to the shortage of federal rental help.

Older adults who’re ready for sponsored housing typically face dire circumstances, with many unhoused older adults dying whereas homeless. Analysis reveals that older adults age 50 and over who stay homeless expertise accelerated ageing and elevated mortality dangers. These people develop geriatric circumstances, resembling frailty and cognitive impairments, normally present in individuals a minimum of 20 years older.^[14] Consequently, the median age of dying for older adults experiencing homelessness is simply about 65 years.^[15]

Federal Rental Help Helps Older Adults Obtain Financial Safety

Along with supporting older adults with housing, federal rental help improves older adults’ financial safety. Federal rental help is among the handiest anti-poverty applications for seniors, lifting extra older adults out of poverty than some other authorities program in addition to Social Safety.^[16] In 2023, federal housing subsidies raised over 700,000 seniors age 65 and over above the poverty line.^[17]

For older adults, housing is their best expense.^[18] Extra older adults than ever now expertise housing value burdens, which means they spend greater than 30% of their incomes on housing prices. In 2021, greater than half of older renter households (56%, or over 4 million households) had been value burdened. Including to this problem is the shortage of property amongst older renters, with greater than 4 in 10 older renters having lower than $1,000 in money financial savings.^[19]

Households with federal rental help, nonetheless, pay an reasonably priced quantity (typically about 30% of their incomes) in the direction of hire, with the housing subsidy protecting the remainder of housing prices as much as a sure restrict. By serving to low-income older adults pay for housing, federal rental help reduces seniors’ monetary burdens and permits them to make use of their restricted assets to fulfill their different primary wants, resembling meals and healthcare.

In 2023, federal housing subsidies raised over 700,000 seniors age 65 and over above the poverty line.

Federal Rental Help Helps Older Adults Age in Place

Most older adults who develop long-term care wants wish to keep away from establishments and age in place as a substitute, remaining in their very own houses with in-home helps. Many years of analysis and proof present that unaffordable housing results in individuals shedding their houses, whereas rental help helps individuals keep housed. Federal rental help prevents pressured strikes and evictions that may result in not solely homelessness, but additionally institutionalization for older adults with disabilities.

Unaffordable housing is linked to pointless institutionalization. A examine of older renters discovered that those that skilled housing value burdens had the best probability of shifting into nursing houses (the price of which is usually lined by Medicaid), even after adjusting for different elements, resembling well being and functioning. Researchers concluded that unaffordable housing possible contributes to pointless nursing residence placement, stating that “entry to reasonably priced housing…is essential to forestall pricey nursing residence use and permit individuals to stay in an setting that appropriately matches their wants.”^[20]

For older adults already in – however making an attempt to go away – establishments, federal rental help facilitates entry to community-based housing. Older adults particularly face challenges transitioning from establishments as a result of lack of reasonably priced housing locally that meets their wants. One examine of members in Medicaid’s Cash Follows the Individual (MFP) program, which helps disabled adults of all ages transfer out of establishments and into the group, discovered that older adults had been the one group for whom housing obstacles considerably predicted a failure to transition (versus longer transitioning occasions).^[21]

To handle housing challenges for members, many state MFP applications have partnered with public housing authorities (PHAs), which assist administer federal rental help on the state and native ranges. These collaborations have improved entry to housing for MFP members who would in any other case be unable to safe housing locally.^[22] PHAs even have the choice beneath federal laws and steering to implement ready record preferences for older and disabled adults, together with these transitioning from or susceptible to getting into establishments.^[23] Federal rental help can subsequently allow older adults to stay locally and age in place.

Conclusion

Federal rental help is a essential a part of the nation’s security web for seniors. By selling housing and financial safety, federal rental help can assist clear up homelessness and forestall institutionalization amongst older adults. To help low-income older adults, policymakers should shield and broaden federal rental help so that every one seniors can keep housed and age with dignity.

Endnotes

1. Middle on Price range and Coverage Priorities, “Federal Rental Help Truth Sheets” (January 2025), obtainable at https://www.cbpp.org/analysis/housing/federal-rental-assistance-fact-sheets#US. ↑

2. Middle on Price range and Coverage Priorities, “Chart E-book: Funding Limitations Create Widespread Unmet Want for Rental Help” (February 2022), obtainable at https://www.cbpp.org/analysis/housing/funding-limitations-create-widespread-unmet-need-for-rental-assistance. ↑

3. City Institute, “Staffing and Funding Cuts at HUD Would Have an Outsize Impact on Older Adults” (April 2025), obtainable at https://www.city.org/urban-wire/staffing-and-funding-cuts-hud-would-have-outsize-effect-older-adults. ↑

4. HHS, “Addressing Homelessness Amongst Older Adults: Remaining Report” (October 2023), obtainable at https://aspe.hhs.gov/websites/default/recordsdata/paperwork/9ac2d2a7e8c360b4e75932b96f59a20b/addressing-older-adult-homelessness.pdf. ↑

5. HUD, “The 2024 Annual Homelessness Evaluation Report (AHAR) to Congress” (December 2024), obtainable at https://www.huduser.gov/portal/websites/default/recordsdata/pdf/2024-AHAR-Half-1.pdf. ↑

6. See Alternative Begins at House, “Ageing Advocates Are Housing Advocates” (July 2024), obtainable at https://www.opportunityhome.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Ageing.pdf. The federal authorities typically defines “extraordinarily low-income” renters as these with incomes that don’t exceed the larger of the federal poverty tips or 30% of the world median revenue. ↑

7. Technical Help Collaborative, “Priced Out” (2025), obtainable at https://www.tacinc.org/assets/priced-out/; SSA, Month-to-month Statistical Snapshot (January 2025), obtainable at https://www.ssa.gov/coverage/docs/quickfacts/stat_snapshot/#table3. ↑

8. SSA, “SSI Federal Cost Quantities for 2025” (2025), obtainable at https://www.ssa.gov/oact/cola/SSI.html.  ↑

9. Residences.com, “Residences.com Lease Report for January 2025: A Quiet Begin to the New 12 months” (February 18, 2025), obtainable at https://www.residences.com/weblog/residences.com-national-rent-trends-report. ↑

10. SSA, “What’s the common month-to-month profit for a retired employee?” (January 2025), obtainable at https://www.ssa.gov/faqs/en/questions/KA-01903.html. ↑

11. Middle on Price range and Coverage Priorities, “77% of Low-Earnings Renters Needing Federal Rental Help Don’t Obtain It” (2024), obtainable at https://www.cbpp.org/77-of-low-income-renters-needing-federal-rental-assistance-dont-receive-it#77-of-low-income-renters-needing-cbpp-anchor. ↑

12. New York Instances, “As Want Rises, Housing Support Hits Lowest Degree in Almost 25 Years” (December 2023), obtainable at https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/19/us/politics/housing-aid-rent-costs.html. ↑

13. USAging, “2023 Chartbook – Extra Older Adults, Extra Advanced Wants: Tendencies and New Instructions from the Nationwide Survey of Space Companies on Ageing (2023), obtainable at https://www.usaging.org//Information/AAA-Survey-Report-23-508.pdf. ↑

14. Rebecca T. Brown, et al., “Geriatric Circumstances in a Inhabitants-Based mostly Pattern of Older Homeless Adults” (February 2016), obtainable at https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5881727/; see additionally Laura Kurtzman, “Homeless Folks Undergo Geriatric Circumstances Many years Early, UCSF Research Reveals” (February 2016), obtainable at https://www.ucsf.edu/information/2016/02/403511/homeless-people-suffer-geriatric-conditions-decades-early-ucsf-study-shows. ↑

15. Rebecca T. Brown, et al., “Elements Related to Mortality Amongst Homeless Older Adults in California” (August 2022), obtainable at https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9425284/. ↑

16. Middle on Price range and Coverage Priorities, “Analysis Reveals Rental Help Reduces Hardship and Offers Platform to Broaden Alternative for Low-Earnings Households” (December 2019), obtainable at https://www.cbpp.org/analysis/housing/research-shows-rental-assistance-reduces-hardship-and-provides-platform-to-expand. ↑

17. See U.S. Census Bureau, “Poverty in america 2023” (September 2024), obtainable at https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/2024/demo/p60-283.pdf. ↑

18. Nationwide Council on Ageing, “How Older Adults Can Get Assist Paying for Housing” (Might 2024), obtainable at https://www.ncoa.org/article/how-older-adults-can-get-help-paying-for-housing/. ↑

19. Joint Middle for Housing Research of Harvard College, “Housing America’s Older Adults 2023” (2023), obtainable at https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/websites/default/recordsdata/studies/recordsdata/Harvard_JCHS_Housing_Americas_Older_Adults_2023_Revised_040424.pdf. ↑

20. Meghan Jenkins Morales, et al., “The Results of Housing Value Burden and Housing Tenure on Strikes to a Nursing House Amongst Low and Average-Earnings Older Adults” (June 2020), obtainable at https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7681215/#s13. ↑

21. Julie Robison, et al., “Challenges to Neighborhood Transitions By Cash Follows the Individual” (Jan. 2020), obtainable at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7240761/. ↑

22. Facilities for Medicare & Medicaid Providers, “Report back to Congress: Finest Practices within the Cash Follows the Individual (MFP) Demonstration” (February 2024), obtainable at https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid/long-term-services-supports/downloads/mfp-best-practices-rtc-feb2024.pdf. ↑

23. See, e.g., 24 C.F.R. § 982.207; HUD, Discover PIH 2012-31 (Assisted Housing for Individuals with Disabilities Below Olmstead Implementation Efforts to Present Neighborhood-Based mostly Choices Somewhat Than Institutional Settings) (June 2012), obtainable at https://www.hud.gov/websites/paperwork/pih2012-31.pdf. ↑