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The AARP Public Policy Institute's nonpartisan policy analysis focuses on issues of critical importance to older Americans and draws on the work of experts across the ideological spectrum.

Financial Pain Points for Older Consumers: A Look at the CFPB Complaint Database

Ten years after its creation, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) complaint database serves as a powerful tool for individuals to file complaints about a financial product or service, to see that their voices are heard, and in some cases to obtain relief. This report examines complaints filed with the CFPB from individuals self-reporting as older adults, largely focused on the time period from January 1, 2018, through June 30, 2021. 

Supplemental Security Income: Continuity and Change since 1974

This brief describes how the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program works, and the demographic and economic characteristics of beneficiaries of SSI (generally prior to the pandemic as enrollment has declined during the pandemic, likely due to field office closings). It includes a discussion of state programs that supplement federal SSI, explores reasons some eligible people do not participate in SSI, and previews some changes to the program currently under discussion. 

Monthly Employment Data Digest

The latest monthly digest of employment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) examines the findings from the Employment Situation Report. It takes a closer look at employment data for people ages 55 and over, including labor force participation, employment rates, and duration of unemployment.

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Medication Literacy: A Helpful Concept for Understanding Medication Decision Making among Older Adults

While health literacy is widely understood as a quality measure of health care decision making, another related measure calls for increased attention, particularly regarding older adults: medication literacy. 

Medicare Beneficiaries’ Out-of-Pocket Spending for Health Care

This AARP Spotlight report highlights the high out-of-pocket spending that many Medicare beneficiaries face, detailing actual health care spending by people enrolled in traditional Medicare and showing how large the financial burden of health care is for them, based on costs relative to income. It also highlights the need to consider targeted policies to protect people with Medicare from burdensome health care spending, especially as enrollment continues to grow, and outlines some guiding principles for any related Medicare policies. 

Millions of Adults Ages 50 and Older Rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

This paper examines the pre-pandemic immunization environment in nursing facilities, explores how facilities administered immunization during different periods of the pandemic, and highlights issues that states and facilities should consider as they evaluate whether and how their immunization programs can be modified or improved. 

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Long-Term Services & Supports State Scorecard

A State Scorecard on Long-Term Services and Supports for Older Adults, People with Physical Disabilities, and Family Caregivers

LTSS Choices: Empowered Direct Care Worker: Lessons from the Green House Staffing Model

This paper describes the most widely researched model in the small-house nursing homes category: THE GREEN HOUSE®. Authors discuss how the Green House staffing model improves the quality of work life for staff and promotes positive outcomes for residents and whether any of these tactics can be adopted by nursing homes that are not yet able to change their housing structures.

LTSS Choices: International Review of Experts’ Recommendations for Reforming the Long-Term Services and Supports Workforce

This report describes the LTSS workforce in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), of which the United States is a member country. It reviews the challenges LTSS workers face, summarizes experts’ recommendations for reform, and offers examples from some OECD countries that are innovating to improve the situation for their LTSS workforce.

LTSS Choices: Promoting Choices through Restorative Services: International Innovations

This report highlights a multidisciplinary intervention that strengthens a person’s ability to function called restorative services (sometimes called reablement or restorative care). It explores the evidence of the impact of restorative services and reviews roughly 20 years of evidence related to the efficacy of these services by summarizing international and country-specific studies. It concludes with recommendations for policy makers.

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Caring Locally for Caregivers: How State and Local Laws Protect Family Caregivers from Discrimination at Work

Workplace discrimination against employees who care for adult family members, called Family Responsibilities Discrimination (FRD) or caregiver discrimination, is an escalating problem that can disadvantage employees and put employers at legal risk. This report details the ways in which state and local laws fill in the gaps left by federal law by prohibiting employment discrimination that occurs because of family caregiving.

Managing a Paid Job and Family Caregiving is a Growing Reality

The 2020 Caregiving in the U.S. report revealed an increase of more than 5 million employed family caregivers since 2015. This report takes a deeper look into the Caregiving in the US data at the nearly 30 million Americans who are caring for an ill friend or family member while also working at a paying job. It highlights the impacts and challenges of managing both responsibilities, and it identifies what’s changed since 2015.

Caregiving in the United States 2020

First conducted in 1997 by the National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP, Caregiving in the U.S. 2020 update presents a portrait of unpaid family caregivers. Family caregivers now encompass more than one in five Americans. The study also reveals that family caregivers are in worse health compared to five years ago. 

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