15 Helpful Government Resources for Seniors

Last Updated: April 15, 2019

Over the years, the United States government has developed a number of useful programs and resources to help older adults. Many seniors fail to take advantage of the resources available, due to a lack of knowledge about how to access them or simply not knowing that they exist.

To help you make sure you’re not leaving valuable benefits or knowledge on the table, here’s a list of government resources for seniors that you may find useful:

1. Area Agencies on Aging

For geographic regions around the country, you can find Area Agencies on Aging that provide services to help with elder abuse prevention. If you or anyone you know has experiences that you feel may qualify as elder abuse, you can search the National Association for Area Agencies on Aging in order to find the closest agency to you.

2. Benefits Checkup

Benefits Checkup is a site designed specifically to make it easier for people to figure out what benefits they’re eligible for. You can provide some basic information about yourself and search to see suggestions that might match up with your needs and qualifications.

3. Benefits.gov

You can’t take advantage of a benefit unless you know about it first. Benefits.gov helps people discover the range of available benefits they may be qualified for and learn how to apply for them.

4. Department of Veterans Affairs

For seniors that are either veterans themselves or married to one, the Department of Veterans Affairs is an important resource for helping you make sure you take advantage of all the veterans benefits available to you.

5. Eldercare Directory

The Eldercare Directory is your go-to resource for finding legitimate, reputable businesses in industries relevant to seniors. You can find information on firms that focus on elder law, government programs, long-term care options and more.

6. Healthfinder

Healthfinder.gov provides both a wealth of authoritative educational information on health topics and a search directory to help you find health care in your area.

7. Inventory of Units for the Elderly and Persons With Disabilities

While the name’s a mouthful, this service from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development helps low-income seniors find subsidized housing that’s designed to accommodate seniors and people with disabilities.

8. Medicare

Medicare is a government-funded health insurance program for all citizens over the age of 65. This one’s probably not new to you, but if you have any questions about your Medicare coverage or could use some more information about how it all works, Medicare.gov has got you covered.

9. Nutrition Services Incentive Program

NSIP is another program that provides grants to states and local governments to purchase or receive healthy food from the USDA to be made available to low-income seniors.

10. PACE

Many seniors hope to avoid having to move to an assisted living community or nursing home. The PACE program is designed to help put alternative options in patients’ reach so they can hopefully receive the care they need without a move.

11. Reverse Mortgage Program

The reverse mortgage program provides seniors with a way to trade in on some of the value of their home while continuing to live in it. Reverse mortgages are a valuable resource for seniors who own a home and are struggling to find a way to cover their living expenses and the costs of senior care in retirement.

12. Senior Community Service Employment Program

The SCSEP helps match low-income seniors with part-time work they can do in government, non-profit and religious positions to supplement their income and stay financially solvent into retirement.

13. Senior Corps

For seniors looking for a way to give back, Senior Corps helps match you with meaningful volunteer opportunities that match your priorities and skill sets.

14. Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program

To help encourage healthier eating amongst seniors, the Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program provides grants that fund coupons that seniors can use to buy discounted food at farmer’s markets and community supported agriculture programs.

15. Social Security

Social Security is a government program that provides seniors with a set income amount each month after they reach a certain age. Like Medicare, the existence of this program probably isn’t news to you, but you may well have questions about how it works and how to get the most out of it. SSA.gov provides plenty of resources to help you out.

If you enjoyed this list of 15 government resources you might also be interested in these 10 financial resources for seniors.

There’s no reason to miss out on the government resources for seniors that can help you with challenges you currently face.

Take advantage of the benefits available to you today.

Kristen Hicks

Kristen Hicks is an Austin-based copywriter and lifelong student with an ongoing curiousity to learn and explore new things. She turns that interest to researching and exploring subjects helpful to seniors and their families for SeniorAdvisor.com.