Cities and towns across the United States are facing rapidly aging populations. This silver tsunami” brings with it a change in communities’ housing, transportation, and health care needs. A report from the University of Massachusetts quantifies some of those needs in a state-by-state economic security index for older adults. In North Carolina, 53% of single seniors live below the economic security standard as defined in the index, and 21% live below the poverty line. Both rates are greater than those for the United States as a whole, making North Carolina’s seniors among the most vulnerable in the nation.
The NC Housing Finance Agency works to improve economic security for senior homeowners (and others with special needs) through our home rehabilitation programs. These programs can help preserve home value and provide accessibility modifications that allow seniors to continue living in their homes rather than entering costly institutional care.