Over the next several months, Justice in Aging will release a series of papers containing specific policy recommendations that California’s Master Plan for Aging must include to meet its goals to advance equity, increase economic security and safety, and improve access to quality, affordable health care and LTSS programs. 

These recommendations will be informed by our expertise in the various programs serving low-income older adults, and the set of Master Plan principles we released earlier this year. We will partner with other trusted experts and advocates in developing each set of recommendations. 

The second of this series of papers, Increase Income for Seniors and People with Disabilities who Receive SSI/SSP, offers three specific policy recommendations for addressing the rising income inequality leading to a lack of retirement security, and for addressing the recession-era cuts that pushed SSI recipients below the poverty line.

We are grateful to partners at the California Association of Food Banks and the Western Center on Law & Poverty with whom we worked to develop these recommendations.