Why Many Older Americans Are Losing Ground Even With An 80 Year Old President
23 de junio de 2026
By Nina A. Kohn, Syracuse University and Naomi Cahn, University of Virginia
American political leadership skews decidedly older than the population as a whole. President Donald Trump turned 80 years old on June 14, 2026. The median age for senators...
But are those older people in office a sign that the U.S. government is turning into a “gerontocracy” that is giving younger generations short shrift?
No – many older Americans are becoming worse off.
We areexperts in elder law who have been following the legal treatment of older Americans for decades. One of us writes a leading elder law casebook, and we are co-authors of a book on aging that will be published in January 2027. Through our research, we have observed a series of federal policy changes that will make life harder for many Americans of modest means as they age.
In our view, those policies show why, more than ever, it is wrong to assume that rich and powerful older people will protect all older adults, including those who aren’t wealthy.
Social Security cuts loom
Perhaps the most publicized of these policy failures is that the federal government hasn’t taken steps to stave off Social Security benefit cuts.
The program will have to cut the benefits it provides by roughly 22% starting in 2032 unless Congress steps up. That would affect a lot of people: Currently, Social Security pays benefits to more than 60 million retired workers, as well as survivor benefits for the spouses of workers who have died and their eligible children.
A tax break included in the big tax and spending package Trump signed into law in summer 2025 that benefits some older people will actually weaken Social Security for everyone by reducing the tax revenue that funds the program.
These changes will hit some older adults harder than others. Social Security keeps millions more women than men out of poverty, as well as more Blacks and Latinos than whites.
People cheer as President Donald Trump gives a speech about taxes and Social Security in Florida on May 1, 2026. Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images
Long-term care concerns ramp up
Older adults in need of long-term care also face new risks.
In December 2025, the Trump administration rescinded regulations that would have required nursing homes that receive Medicare or Medicaid funding to meet new minimum staffing standards.
Federal law requires states to pay for nursing home care for older adults who qualify for Medicaid’s long-term care coverage. But the federal government does not require states to cover the cost of home-based care, which is what most older people prefer to institutional settings.
When Medicaid benefits are cut, states need to make up that lost money. Evidence from past Medicaid cuts suggests that services to help older people remain at home are among the first to be cut.
Many older adults also get other government benefits through programs that are being scaled back, including one that helps them pay for their energy bills.
This thinning out of the safety net troubles us in part because of another trend: More Americans over 65 are becoming homeless.
Meanwhile, as the number of older Americans has soared – it grew 13% from 2020 to 2024 – funding for important social services for people 65 and over has not kept up.
In short, although many American political leaders are themselves over 65, programs that millions of older Americans of modest means rely on to stay out of poverty and make sure they can get the care they need are becoming less reliable and providing less support.
