---
title: Poverty Among Americans Over 65 Rose Again in 2025 as the National Rate Fell
description: Poverty among Americans over 65 rose to 15.4% in 2025 even as the national rate fell, driven by medical costs Social Security cannot keep up with.
author: Darie Nani (Editor-in-Chief)
updated: 2026-09-17T03:17:25.618Z
canonical: https://richdadmagazine.com/article/senior-poverty-rate-2025-social-security-medical-costs
image: https://cdn.nanimediahouse.com/pexels-elderly-couple-organizing-their-finances-on-a-cozy-living-ro-39191611.jpg
categories: Money & Legacy
content_type: News
region: United States
publication: Rich Dad Magazine
schema_type: Article
---

Poverty fell across most of the United States in 2025, and among children it reached a record low, but for people over 65 it rose for a second straight year.

The official U.S. poverty rate fell half a percentage point to 10.2% last year, and 34.5 million people were counted as poor, [according to the Census Bureau](https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2026/demo/p60-290.html). Child poverty reached a historic low of 13.4%. Older Americans went the other way: under the Supplemental Poverty Measure, the poverty rate for people 65 and older [rose to 15.4%](https://www.ncoa.org/article/poverty-among-older-adults-keeps-growing/), up from 15.1% in 2024 and 14.0% in 2023, the National Council on Aging reported. That is the second annual increase in a row.

More than 10 million older adults now live in poverty. Their rate is higher than for any other age group and higher than the country as a whole. Older Americans depend more than anyone on a fixed income, and they are the group now falling behind.

## Medical Bills Are Why the Senior Rate Is So Much Higher

Under the official poverty measure, about 10.2% of adults 65 and older, roughly 5.9 million people, fall below the line. The Supplemental Poverty Measure puts the same age group at 15.4%. The difference is health spending: the newer measure counts government benefits as income but then subtracts costs a household cannot skip, and for older Americans the largest of those is out-of-pocket medical spending. Prescriptions, doctor visits, and the share of care Medicare does not cover push millions of seniors below the line even after their benefits are counted.

Social Security is the largest antipoverty program in the country, and it moved 28.8 million people of all ages out of poverty in 2025 under the Supplemental Poverty Measure. Almost 21 million of them were older Americans, by the National Council on Aging's count. Without it, poverty among older people would be far higher. The average monthly benefit is a little over $2,000, and many older adults receive well below that with no other income. When medical costs climb faster than the benefit, that income no longer stretches.

## Millions of Eligible Seniors Are Not Claiming the Help They Qualify For

About 9 million older adults who qualify for help are not signed up for it, roughly 70% of those eligible, according to the National Council on Aging's Benefits Participation Map. That includes food assistance through SNAP, Medicare Savings Programs that cover premiums and cost-sharing, and Supplemental Security Income for those with the lowest incomes. Checking an aging parent's eligibility for these programs is one of the few moves that can lift a fixed-income household back above the line.

Research by the National Council on Aging and UMass Boston found that people 60 and older earning $20,000 or less a year die about nine years earlier than those earning $120,000 or more, and almost half of people 60 and older have incomes below what they need for basic living. Ramsey Alwin, president and CEO of the National Council on Aging, said: “No one should have to make such painful tradeoffs after a lifetime of contributing to our society.”

## FAQ

**Q: What is the poverty rate for older adults in the US right now?**
It depends on the yardstick. Under the official measure, about 10.2% of adults 65 and older are poor. Under the Supplemental Poverty Measure, which accounts for medical and living costs, the rate is 15.4%, the highest of any age group.

**Q: What is the Supplemental Poverty Measure?**
It is a newer Census Bureau yardstick that counts government benefits as income and then subtracts unavoidable costs like out-of-pocket medical spending, housing and work expenses. Because older households spend heavily on health care, it puts more of them below the line than the official 1960s measure does.

**Q: Does Social Security keep seniors out of poverty?**
For millions, yes. Without it the older-adult poverty rate would be far higher. The worry is depth of coverage rather than whether it works: when the benefit is a household's only income, even a program this large leaves a growing share of seniors just below the line.

**Q: Could my parents already qualify for help they are not getting?**
Very possibly. Around 9 million eligible older adults, about 70% of those who qualify, are not enrolled in benefits such as SNAP, Medicare Savings Programs, and Supplemental Security Income. Checking eligibility costs nothing and can free up money that medical bills would otherwise consume.