Older adults anchor our families and communities and connect our families through the generations. But after working all their lives, nearly half of our nation’s older adults living alone struggle to pay for food, rent, and medical care. Older adults in two-person households fare only slightly better—one out of five lack the resources to pay for basic needs. Justice in Aging’s vision for aging in America is that all of us have the opportunity to age with dignity, regardless of financial circumstances—free from the worry, harm, and injustice caused by lack of health care, food, or a safe place to sleep. We believe that we should all be able to access the resources, services, and programs we need to thrive as we grow older, no matter our financial circumstances, where we come from, our race, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, ability, or language.
In 2020, as part of the reauthorization of the Older Americans Act, Congress created the Interagency Coordinating Committee on Healthy Aging and Age-Friendly Communities (ICC). They were tasked with developing a national set of recommendations on key aging issues, and, as the first step in this process, the Administration for Community Living (ACL) convened 16 federal agencies and departments to create a framework and strategic vision. In May 2024, the ICC issued their Strategic Framework for a National Plan on Aging. It is organized into four domains set forth by statute: (1) Age Friendly Communities; (2) Coordinated Housing and Supportive Services; (3) Increased Access to Long-Term Services and Supports; and (4) Aligned Health Care and Supportive Services. The Strategic Framework is intentionally aspirational and high level, and emphasizes the cross-cutting values of person-centeredness; inclusion; respect; and collaboration and innovation.
All of us are aging, and all of us have a stake in how older adults live and thrive in our families and communities. This paper is designed to identify opportunities that building a National Plan on Aging presents. It provides examples of specific policies that a National Plan on Aging could advance to improve the lives of older adults, families, and communities, particularly those who have experienced economic hardships and systemic discrimination.