Are seniors aware of existing programs to help them financially and to help them age in place

Every jurisdiction should have programs in place to help seniors, but many seniors do not seem to be aware of the programs or perhaps the programs are not easily accessible to seniors or they are not promoted/advertised to seniors. In BC last year the Seniors advocate did a survey about our awareness of programs. Here are some of the findings for BC

In November and December of 2014, the Office of the Seniors Advocate in conjunction with HealthLinkBC and BC

Stats, developed and conducted a survey asking British Columbia seniors a series of questions on a range of issues.

The survey explored a number of questions (which I will give results for over the next few days.) The first question asked was:

1.  Are seniors aware of existing programs to help them financially and to help them age in place?

There are several financial programs that seniors can access in British Columbia that can help them. The programs asked about in the survey were:

a.  The SAFER Program (Shelter Aid for Elderly Renters) helps make rents affordable for those with low to moderate incomes by providing monthly cash payments to eligible B.C. seniors. Currently, around 17,500 seniors use the SAFER program, which is about one in five senior renters

b.  The Property Tax Deferment (PTD) Program is a loan program that allows eligible seniors to defer the annual property taxes on their home for as long as they own and live in the home and continue to quality for the program. The deferred taxes must be fully repaid, along with a lower than prime rate of interest, when the home is sold or upon the death of the homeowner.

c.  Medical Services Plan (MSP) premium assistance and Fair Pharmacare program are income-based provincial programs providing assistance with medical costs to eligible low-income individuals and families. Each requires application to or registration with the program.

d.  The federal Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) for low-income seniors, and approximately one in five of those respondents received the supplement. A single senior qualifies for GIS if they receive Old Age Security (OAS) and their income is less than $17,088 per year. A single senior’s GIS allowance per month is $764.40. A couple qualifies for GIS allowance if they receive OAS and if they have an income of less than $31,584. They receive $1013.72 total per month. Regarding this program as well, rates of awareness seemed to be higher among younger seniors, although a greater proportion of older seniors reported receiving the GIS. 

Senior renters reported fairly high awareness of the SAFER program, with slightly younger seniors than older seniors having knowledge of it (50 per cent versus 42 per cent, respectively) but of those, slightly older seniors than younger seniors receiving the grant (38 per cent 22 per cent, respectively).  The Northern Health Authority (NHA) reported both lower awareness (22 per cent) and usage (21 per cent) of the program, suggesting that information about SAFER may not be reaching those in the northernmost regions of the province.

The senior homeowners who participated in this survey reported high overall awareness, though low usage, of the PTD program: 61 per cent were aware of the program and, of those, just less than a quarter (23 per cent) had used it. The survey found that younger senior homeowners (those in the 65-74 age category) were more likely to be aware of the PTD program, but less likely to have used it.

Perhaps the most surprising (and troubling) survey finding related to the PTD was that senior homeowners with household incomes below $30,000 were by far the least likely to be aware of the PTD program: only 40 per cent of homeowners in this income bracket were aware of the program, compared with 75 per cent of homeowners with incomes greater than $60,000. These low-income senior households are the ones that could potentially benefit the most from a tax deferment program, yet are the least aware of its existence.

Three quarters of seniors who participated in the survey were aware of the federal Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) for low-income seniors, and approximately one in five of those respondents received the supplement. Rates of awareness seemed to be higher among younger seniors, although a greater proportion of older seniors reported receiving the GIS.

Medical Services Plan (MSP) premium assistance and Fair Pharmacare program are income-based provincial programs providing assistance with medical costs to eligible low-income individuals and families. Each requires application to or registration with the program. Overall, awareness of the MSP premium assistance program was low among survey respondents (39 per cent), but was higher for Fair Pharmacare (62 per cent). The survey results showed that awareness of both the MSP and Fair Pharmacare program was higher among the younger respondents, especially regarding MSP premium assistance: half of the 65-74 year old seniors were aware of the program, compared to only a quarter of seniors 75 and over.

As well, awareness of the MSP premium assistance program was as low among those in the bottom income group (40 per cent) as among those in higher income brackets; although one would expect and hope that all seniors with incomes below $30,000 would be aware of this program, this was not found to be the case.

Finally, questions in the survey focused on their health benefits and coverage for things like dental care, vision aids, and hearing aids. Overall, about half of the respondents indicated they had such medical coverage, with similar rates among younger and older seniors and throughout the five health authorities. 

However, lower-income seniors were less likely to enjoy such health plan benefits; while approximately 62 per cent of higher-income seniors had extended health benefit plans, that proportion dropped to just 35 per cent in the lowest income bracket.