Feb. 23: BEST OF THE BLOGOSPHERE

February 23, 2026

In the U.S., senior poverty is on the rise

Writing in USA Today, Medora Lee reports that senior poverty is on the rise south of the border.

“Based on the official measure, which is a simple calculation based on pre-tax cash income compared with a national threshold, the percentage of seniors in poverty rose to 9.9 per cent in 2024 from 9.7 per cent in 2023,” she writes.

The increase in senior poverty, she adds, “contrasts with every other age group, which saw declines or stayed steady.”

“Once again, more older Americans are sinking into poverty, just as 11,000 are turning 65 every day,” Ramsey Alwin, president and CEO of the National Council on Aging, a nonprofit focused on improving the lives of older adults, tells USA Today. “A country as rich as ours should be shocked that over 9.2 million of our fellow older Americans struggle to cover basic expenses like food and medicine.”

The article says that inflation, which has been higher since the pandemic, and “expensive caregiving costs” are factors driving senior poverty in the States.

“The increase in senior poverty reflects a broader caregiving crisis affecting older Americans,” states Jason Resendez, president and chief executive of the nonprofit National Alliance for Caregiving, in the USA Today article.  “Our latest research shows that nearly half of family caregivers − including 14 million who are seniors themselves − face significant financial strain from providing care, with many depleting savings and taking on debt.”

Extra financial assistance during the pandemic helped reduce the rate of senior poverty, but it has increased in the years since the support payments stopped coming, the article notes.

Worse, some programs that aided older Americans have recently seen funding cuts.

Alwin tells the newspaper that “recently enacted cuts to SNAP (food stamps) will increase hunger among older Americans and the recently passed Medicaid cuts will lead to a sicker older population.”

Possible solutions raised in the article include better awareness of existing support programs – “70 per cent of older Americans, or nine million, are eligible for support programs but not enrolled,” the article notes. As well, the article suggests that benefits from Social Security (the U.S. equivalent to the Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security) “need to be bolstered,” as Social Security is America’s “largest anti-poverty program.”

Similar comments have been made about Canada’s support programs for seniors by Carole Fawcett of the Seniors Tin Cup movement. She told Save with SPP last fall that her group would like to see those programs provide annual benefits to low-income seniors in the $25,000 range. “They will be able to live a basic, simple life at that level of income,” she told us.

If there’s a takeaway from all this, it is that any amount you are able to save during your working career will help your future you. If you can join a retirement program though your work, be sure that you do. If not, the Saskatchewan Pension Plan may be just the ticket.

SPP is a voluntary defined contribution plan that’s open to any Canadian with available registered retirement savings plan room. You can decide how much to contribute to SPP each year – any amount up to your RRSP limit. As well, you can transfer in amounts from any other non-locked in RRSPs you may have.

SPP’s role in this process is on the investment side. SPP will grow your savings dollars in a low-cost, professionally managed pooled fund. When it’s time to retire, your income options include a lifetime monthly annuity payment, or the more flexible Variable Benefit.

Check out SPP today!

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