Three in 10 W.Va. seniors can't make ends meet
Claude Churchwell, 65, manages Covenant House's food pantry as a volunteer. He and 88,000 other West Virginia seniors have been trying to live on Social Security alone. "You can't make it on that," he said.
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Three out of every 10 older West Virginians live on Social Security, with no other regular income, according to a report released Wednesday.
"That's a startling statistic," said Jan Mutchler, a University of Massachusetts gerontology professor who contributed to the study "Elders Living on the Edge," a West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy report.
"In most states, it's one in four," Mutchler said.
About 88,000 West Virginians over age 64 don't have any regular income other than Social Security, said Renate Pore, Center on Budget and Policy health care analyst.
"Their Social Security checks do not cover basic food, housing, utilities, insurance, property taxes and other necessities," she said.
West Virginians draw an average of $1,137 in Social Security per month, she said, but food, shelter and other necessities cost about $1,500 on average.
"This does not include money to go out to eat or get your hair fixed or buy gifts for your grandkids," Pore said. "We're talking bare necessities."
At 65, after 31 years as a nurse's aide, Charleston resident Claude Churchwell has tried to live on Social Security. "I can't make it," he said. "I don't have a pension. I've got to have a job."
He eats and volunteers at Manna Meal and lives in subsidized housing. "I finally got a Medicare card, so I can finally get my medicine," he said. Social Security cost-of-living increases have been frozen for the past three years, he noted, but "prices haven't stopped going up."
Churchwell does what he can to help others get by. Starting this month, he will be paid to run the Covenant House food pantry he has managed as a volunteer. "You see a lot of older people in here," he said.
Many people over 64 find ways to make extra dollars, Pore said, "but if they're in poor health or have no family to help, they face hard choices."
"How do people get by?" Churchwell said. "Do without their medicine. Eat a little bit, then go hungry."
Most people who can't make ends meet are women. "Women live longer, and they earn less money than men," Pore said.
In 2009, the average West Virginia woman over 64 got about $4,200 less in Social Security than male recipients did, $11,979 compared with $16,281. "The women may have been homemakers or may have worked decades without pensions," Pore said. "Maybe their husband died."
"The report provides a realistic picture of what people need to live," said Laura Boone, director of the West Virginia Long-Term Care Partnership." It gives us a realistic alternative to the federal poverty level."
A person is officially poor by federal poverty standards if they make $10,830 or less, she said, but the federal poverty level is based mainly on the cost of food and does not react to increases in the cost of housing and health. To quote the Census Bureau Web site, it is "not a complete description of what people and families need to live."
In 2009, West Virginia Social Security averaged $13,644, but necessities cost more, according to the report:
Read the full report:
Click here to view graphic.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Three out of every 10 older West Virginians live on Social Security, with no other regular income, according to a report released Wednesday.
"That's a startling statistic," said Jan Mutchler, a University of Massachusetts gerontology professor who contributed to the study "Elders Living on the Edge," a West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy report.
"In most states, it's one in four," Mutchler said.
About 88,000 West Virginians over age 64 don't have any regular income other than Social Security, said Renate Pore, Center on Budget and Policy health care analyst.
"Their Social Security checks do not cover basic food, housing, utilities, insurance, property taxes and other necessities," she said.
West Virginians draw an average of $1,137 in Social Security per month, she said, but food, shelter and other necessities cost about $1,500 on average.
"This does not include money to go out to eat or get your hair fixed or buy gifts for your grandkids," Pore said. "We're talking bare necessities."
At 65, after 31 years as a nurse's aide, Charleston resident Claude Churchwell has tried to live on Social Security. "I can't make it," he said. "I don't have a pension. I've got to have a job."
He eats and volunteers at Manna Meal and lives in subsidized housing. "I finally got a Medicare card, so I can finally get my medicine," he said. Social Security cost-of-living increases have been frozen for the past three years, he noted, but "prices haven't stopped going up."
Churchwell does what he can to help others get by. Starting this month, he will be paid to run the Covenant House food pantry he has managed as a volunteer. "You see a lot of older people in here," he said.
Many people over 64 find ways to make extra dollars, Pore said, "but if they're in poor health or have no family to help, they face hard choices."
"How do people get by?" Churchwell said. "Do without their medicine. Eat a little bit, then go hungry."
Most people who can't make ends meet are women. "Women live longer, and they earn less money than men," Pore said.
In 2009, the average West Virginia woman over 64 got about $4,200 less in Social Security than male recipients did, $11,979 compared with $16,281. "The women may have been homemakers or may have worked decades without pensions," Pore said. "Maybe their husband died."
"The report provides a realistic picture of what people need to live," said Laura Boone, director of the West Virginia Long-Term Care Partnership." It gives us a realistic alternative to the federal poverty level."
A person is officially poor by federal poverty standards if they make $10,830 or less, she said, but the federal poverty level is based mainly on the cost of food and does not react to increases in the cost of housing and health. To quote the Census Bureau Web site, it is "not a complete description of what people and families need to live."
In 2009, West Virginia Social Security averaged $13,644, but necessities cost more, according to the report:
| A West Virginia renter needs, on average, $17,460 to cover basic necessities.
| A homeowner with no mortgage needs $14,832.
| If the homeowner has a mortgage, that figure rises to $20,616.
Some counties are more costly than others. Average rents range from $323 per month in Clay County to $642 in Jefferson County. The report includes county-by-county snapshots of local costs, with detailed looks at Kanawha, McDowell and Jefferson counties.
"The costs are calculated modestly in this study," Pore said. Food costs, for instance, come from the federal Department of Agriculture's low-cost food plan for West Virginia.
"We also assumed good health, which most seniors report," she said. "But if people have a medical crisis, they can suddenly be in deep trouble."
If a person's husband or wife dies, income can drop by more than half, but costs go down only 36 percent, according to the study.
About 12,000 West Virginia elders now live in nursing homes and other institutions. Of the rest, 66 percent own their homes with no mortgage. Another 18 percent have mortgages and 16 percent are renters.
The center partnered with Wider Opportunities for Women, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit group that has reported on 10 other states. "West Virginia costs are lower than costs in most states, but so is the income," project director Stacy Sanders said.
West Virginia elders are more likely to own their homes, she said. "That's a blessing, but they also have repair bills, which aren't included in our cost estimates."
By 2030, almost 427,000 West Virginians will be over 64, according to Census projections, a 53 percent increase. The report's authors recommend that West Virginians:
| Expand in-home care and community programs that allow elders to age in their homes
| Plan programs that promote good health and nutrition for older adults.
| Help younger people plan realistically for retirement.
| Invest in weatherization / accessibility for older adults in their homes.
| Encourage unpaid caregivers, such as family and friends
Reach Kate Long at katel...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1798.
