Boost Your Budget® Week Connects Older Adults to Benefits

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Apr 04, 2022, 09:45 ET

National campaign encourages older adults to check their eligibility for programs

ARLINGTON, Va., April 4, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Council on Aging (NCOA), the national voice for every person's right to age well, is launching its annual Boost Your Budget Week campaign, from April 11 to 15. Hundreds of community organizations throughout the country will help older adults enroll in federal, state, and local benefits programs that will help them gain financial security.

"Inflation is eroding the buying power of the fixed incomes many older adults depend on, which is barely enough to make ends meet," said NCOA President and CEO Ramsey Alwin. "People shouldn't have to choose between food, housing, and medicine in a country with our resources. Boost Your Budget Week helps struggling older adults find the support they need to live with dignity."

The campaign focuses on getting older adults and their caregivers to use NCOA's free, confidential online screening tool available in both English and Spanish—BenefitsCheckUp .org and BuscaBeneficios.org—to see what benefits they might be eligible for depending on their zip code.

Visitors enter basic information and receive a personalized report of programs that can help them pay for food, medicine, utilities, and other daily needs. The tool screens for programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly Food Stamps), the Medicare Low-Income Subsidy, Medicare Savings Programs, and tax relief. Since 2001, 9.9 million people have used BenefitsCheckUp® to find over $42 billion in benefits.

Dozens of organizations nationwide implement the Boost Your Budget campaign in rural and urban communities serving Black, Hispanic/Latino, Asian, and LGBTQ+, and low-income older adults. These local agencies are part of NCOA's national network of Benefits Enrollment Centers, funded through the U.S. Administration for Community Living (ACL).

"Every year, $30 billion in benefits go unclaimed by older adults who are eligible for these programs but don't apply. Think about what a huge difference that extra money can make for their economic security," said Josh Hodges, NCOA's Chief Customer Officer.

This project is supported, in part, by grant #90MINC0002-02-02 from the U.S. Administration on Community Living (ACL), Department of Health and Human Services. Points of view or opinions do not, therefore, necessarily represent official Administration for Community Living policy.

The National Council on Aging (NCOA) is the national voice for every person's right to age well. We believe that how we age should not be determined by gender, color, sexuality, income, or zip code. Working with thousands of national and local partners, we provide resources, tools, best practices, and advocacy to ensure every person can age with health and financial security. Founded in 1950, we are the oldest national organization focused on older adults. Learn more at www.ncoa.org and @NCOAging.

SOURCE National Council on Aging