Senior poverty can force older adults to choose between food and medical care.

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How Much Do You Know About Senior Poverty?

Take the quiz and learn more about an issue that affects millions of older Americans

Randy Lilleston,

AARP

En español

Published May 14, 2018

8 Questions

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How Much Do You Know About Senior Poverty?

[ {
  "question" : "By 2030, this percentage of U.S. adults will be 65 or older.",
  "answers" : [ {
    "answer" : "10 percent",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "15 percent",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "20 percent",
    "correctAnswer" : true
  }, {
    "answer" : "25 percent",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  } ],
  "multiSelect" : false,
  "explanation" : "Adults 65 or older also are the only population group to experience an increase in the number of people in poverty, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.",
  "hint" : "",
  "hintLink" : "",
  "questionImgCaption" : "",
  "questionImgCredit" : ""
}, {
  "question" : "True or false: Among people 65 or older, more than twice as many women as men live in poverty.",
  "answers" : [ {
    "answer" : "True",
    "correctAnswer" : true
  }, {
    "answer" : "False",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  } ],
  "multiSelect" : false,
  "explanation" : "Poverty rates are especially high for African American, Hispanic and Native American women, according to a 2015 study by the National Women’s Law Center.",
  "hint" : "",
  "hintLink" : "",
  "questionImgCaption" : "",
  "questionImgCredit" : ""
}, {
  "question" : "This percentage of low-income older adults choose to pay for food instead of medical care.",
  "answers" : [ {
    "answer" : "24 percent",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "36 percent",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "51 percent",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "63 percent",
    "correctAnswer" : true
  } ],
  "multiSelect" : false,
  "explanation" : "Drug prices are an increasing burden on older adults. The average cost of brand-name prescription drugs grew more than threefold between 2006 and 2015, according to AARP Public Policy Institute.",
  "hint" : "",
  "hintLink" : "",
  "questionImgCaption" : "",
  "questionImgCredit" : ""
}, {
  "question" : "About 46 percent of unmarried people over age 65 and nearly 25 percent of married older adults rely on Social Security for 90 percent or more of their income. What is the average monthly Social Security benefit?",
  "answers" : [ {
    "answer" : "$1,369",
    "correctAnswer" : true
  }, {
    "answer" : "$1,532",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "$1,960",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "$2,312",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  } ],
  "multiSelect" : false,
  "explanation" : "That averages out to $16,428 a year.",
  "hint" : "",
  "hintLink" : "",
  "questionImgCaption" : "",
  "questionImgCredit" : ""
}, {
  "question" : "Older adults who are food insecure are 60 percent more likely to have this.",
  "answers" : [ {
    "answer" : "Congestive heart failure",
    "correctAnswer" : true
  }, {
    "answer" : "Dementia",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "Parkinson's disease",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "Low-vision issues",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  } ],
  "multiSelect" : false,
  "explanation" : "They are also three times more likely to have depression.",
  "hint" : "",
  "hintLink" : "",
  "questionImgCaption" : "",
  "questionImgCredit" : ""
}, {
  "question" : "The U.S. government defines poverty as an income at or below this level per year for an individual.",
  "answers" : [ {
    "answer" : "$10,400",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "$11,800",
    "correctAnswer" : true
  }, {
    "answer" : "$13,200",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "$14,600",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  } ],
  "multiSelect" : false,
  "explanation" : "AARP Foundation considers those on the edge of poverty to be at risk as well. We build and support programs and services for older adults with an annual household income of less than $40,000, or 250 percent of the federal poverty level.",
  "hint" : "",
  "hintLink" : "",
  "questionImgCaption" : "",
  "questionImgCredit" : ""
}, {
  "question" : "True or false? There are more older adults who work full time but live in poverty than there are older adults who are unemployed.",
  "answers" : [ {
    "answer" : "True",
    "correctAnswer" : true
  }, {
    "answer" : "False",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  } ],
  "multiSelect" : false,
  "explanation" : "More than 13.2 million older adults who are still working are classified as low-income Americans.",
  "hint" : "",
  "hintLink" : "",
  "questionImgCaption" : "",
  "questionImgCredit" : ""
}, {
  "question" : "Unmet social needs increase the risk of this for older people.",
  "answers" : [ {
    "answer" : "Living in poverty",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "Living in growing isolation",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "Poor health outcomes",
    "correctAnswer" : true
  }, {
    "answer" : "Financial issues",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  } ],
  "multiSelect" : false,
  "explanation" : "Not being able to drive because of disability or mobility challenges, for example, may cause older adults to experience monetary, social, psychological and emotional costs.",
  "hint" : "",
  "hintLink" : "",
  "questionImgCaption" : "",
  "questionImgCredit" : ""
} ]

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Randy Lilleston is the homepage editor for AARP.org. He previously served as editor-in-chief for business news publisher Industry Dive and was a senior digital editor for NPR, USA Today and CNN.