Find all the senior-related guides below for your convenience. Select your guide below.

Food Stamps Guide

If you need help paying for food and groceries, you may qualify for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as Food Stamps. This program helps low-income seniors, as well as families and adults, access nutritious foods throughout the United States.

Seniors who qualify for food stamps will receive an electronic benefits transfer (EBT) card to use in authorized stores all over the country and but SNAP-approved foods. Essentially, the EBT card works like a debit card and is loaded with money every month. This will continue to be the case as long as the person remains eligible for SNAP benefits.

The allotment you can receive each month will depend on the level of income, the size of the household and other factors. To qualify for SNAP as a senior, you will need to meet different requirements from the rest of the eligible groups. For instance, seniors don’t generally have a formal source of employment. You will also need to meet other criteria such as an income level below your state’s threshold.

Section 8 Guide

Affordable housing can be extremely hard to find a senior in the United States. If you live on a fixed income, you may be looking for cheap housing options, such as rental units. The Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program, commonly known as Section 8, is one of the wealthiest and largest housing assistance programs in the country at a federal level.

Section 8 provides seniors with vouchers they can then use to get homes, apartments and condos with lower rents. You can select between different types of homes according to your preferences, as long as they qualify for Section 8. Housing assistance is highly popular and Section 8 has limited availability of homes, so it is not uncommon for applicants to be placed on a waiting list within their local public housing authority (PHA).

If you wish to qualify for Section 8 as a senior, you will need to meet your state’s income requirements. You may also need to qualify for the “elderly household category” as long as you meet the age requirement.

Unemployment Insurance Guide

If you lost your job through no fault of your own, you may be able to apply for unemployment insurance (UI) and receive weekly payments. Each state has different criteria to provide these benefits. However, if you quit your job voluntarily or to retire, regardless of the state you live in, you will not qualify for these benefits.

If you are laid off, furloughed or your hours are reduced, you may be able to qualify for UI benefits. Keep in mind that if you are fired due to misconduct, you cannot apply for unemployment benefits. The amount you will receive monthly will depend on how much you earned before being fired, furloughed or had your hours reduced. This number may be different depending on the state.

If you wish to continue receiving unemployment benefits as a senior, you will need to actively be looking for a new job. Several states have waived this requirement due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but have already reinstated it so be sure to check with your local unemployment office.

TANF Guide

If you are struggling to pay for your essentials, you may be able to qualify for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families or TANF program. This is a federal financial assistance program and if you qualify, you may receive cash payments to help you pay everything from housing to medical bills, clothes and food.

Seniors who wish to receive TANF payments will need to be responsible for at least a child younger than 18 years old, have dependents or full-time students younger than 19 living with them. Children don’t have to be in their custody but must live with them.

However, because TANF is a financial-based aid program, you must have limited resources and a low income. In general, if there are a lot of people living under the same roof, the income will be higher, but if the income of each person is low, the household may still qualify for TANF.

Medicaid Guide

Health care in the United States is extremely expensive. This has resulted in millions of seniors applying and relying on Medicaid, a federal health insurance program, to get the healthcare they need at an affordable price. Medicaid is available to several different groups, including seniors, as long as they meet the requirements.

Despite it being a federal program, states can provide benefits in any way they see fit. For instance, many states extend the level of income for seniors so that a larger population can get coverage.

If you wish to qualify for Medicaid as a senior, you will need to meet certain requirements including where you live, how much your earn, what is the size of your household and more. If you are considered “medically needy” of Medicaid, you may automatically qualify for this federal program.

Medicare Guide

Medicare is an extremely popular health program among seniors and disabled adults and provides low-cost health care to millions of seniors in the country. If you qualify, you may considerably reduce our out-of-pocket expenses, including copayments and premiums.

This program is particularly aimed at seniors that are 65 years of age or more. Nonetheless, depending on their level of disability, disabled adults may qualify for Medicare before turning 65.

The Medicare health insurance program has four main parts: Part A, Part B, Part C and Part D. The first two parts are generally known as “Original Medicare” and cover both inpatient and outpatient services. The third part is known as Medicare Advantage Plan and is a supplemental coverage plan you can get from private insurance companies. The last part provides drug coverage and helps seniors pay for their prescriptions.