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Why Marriage Matters to Senior Citizens
"When a gay, lesbian or bisexual senior dies, his or her surviving partner faces a financial loss that can amount to tens of thousands of dollars because the couple cannot be recognized as legally married in the United States. Despite having paid taxes their whole lifetime at the same rate as other Americans, surviving partners are: denied the Social Security survivor benefits that are made available to all married couples; heavily taxed on any retirement plan — 401(k) or IRA — they inherit from their partners, although married spouses can inherit these plans tax-free; and charged an estate tax on the inheritance of a home, even if it was jointly owned — a tax that would not apply to married spouses."
— The Cost of Marriage Inequality to Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Seniors, Human Rights Campaign Foundation
Use the key resources below to learn more about why marriage matters to senior citizens.
STORY CENTER COUPLES:
Meet a few of the senior couples who have shared their stories with Freedom to Marry:
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WHERE YOU CAN GO TO GET INVOLVED OR LEARN MORE:
Civil Marriage Discrimination & Gay and Lesbian Seniors
Marriage discrimination pushes many gay seniors into isolation, fear, a precipitous fall into poverty, and a higher risk of homelessness and premature institutionalization. According to a 2002 study in The Gerontologist (a publication of the Gerontological Society of America) the health of gay senior citizens is threatened by pervasive discrimination, requiring that we all ask "profound questions."
Lesbian and Gay Aging Issues Network (LGAIN)
A constituent group of the nonprofit American Society on Aging, LGAIN works to raise awareness about concerns of older LGBT people. The website's Recommended Resources section contains links to a broad range of books, reports, periodicals, fact sheets, websites, listservs, audiotapes, videos, and more.
Services and Advocacy for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender Elders
Incorporated in 1978 as Senior Action in a Gay Environment by a group of seniors, social workers, gerontologists, and activists in the lesbian and gay community, SAGE (now known as Services & Advocacy for GLBT Elders) is the world's oldest and largest non-profit agency dedicated to serving lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender senior citizens.
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THE NUMBERS: POLLING & STATISTICS:
The surviving gay partner of a retiree receives no Social Security survivor benefits. That contrasts with the more than $5,000 per year that widows and widowers draw, on average, in survivor benefits. "Outing Age" estimated in 2000 that, in that one area alone, the federal failure to be fair is costing gay seniors $124 million a year.
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LEGISLATIVE STATUS RELATING TO GAY AND LESBIAN SENIORS IN THE U.S.:
The Federal Pension Protection Act
Working very closely with members of Congress for more than three years, the Human Rights Campaign secured two important protections that assist gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans in the Pension Protection Act signed into law on Aug. 17, 2006. The act includes provisions allowing non-spouse beneficiaries to roll over retirement benefits, and adding non-spouse beneficiaries to the retirement plan hardship distribution rules. The two provisions extend important financial protections to same-sex couples and other Americans who name non-spouses as their retirement plan beneficiaries.
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PUBLICATIONS:
The Cost of Marriage Inequality to Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Seniors
Equality in access to marriage, and the many benefits and protections that go with it, would bring equity to the taxation of and benefits provided to all seniors, regardless of sexual orientation. Specifically, granting same-sex couples the right to marry would guarantee that the widows and widowers of same-sex couples would not be hit with undue estate tax and income tax burdens — nor deprived of Social Security survivor benefits — upon the death of a partner. Marriage equality also would decrease the risk of losing their homes that gay, lesbian and bisexual seniors now face when a partner enters a nursing home or dies.
Out & Aging: The MetLife Study of Lesbian and Gay Baby Boomers
All told, only about one in six LGBT boomers reported having made actual arrangements for future informal caregiving. But, when the need arises, more than half (53%) reported a partner or spouse is the most likely person to become their primary caregiver. Of those currently in civil unions, domestic partnerships or marriages, that
proportion rises to more than eight in ten.
Outing Age
Today we stand at the edge of two tidal waves: a growing wave of GLBT people aging and entering the social service and community institutions which care for and advocate for the elderly; and a tidal wave of reaction against government, and against government funding for social service needs.
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NEWS:
'We've Come a Long Way, Baby'
When they fell in love 29 years ago, they were afraid to hold hands in public, worried that their relationship could prompt the loss of their jobs or even physical violence against them. But on Monday, Fanda Bender and Sheila Gam of Talent plan to register as domestic partners, part of what they hope will be a wave of gay and lesbian couples around the state acting on a state law and federal court decision that cleared the way for such partnerships. "We've come a long way, baby," Bender said.
Legislation Proposed to Protect Same Sex Elderly Couples In Danger of Losing Homes
New legislation has been proposed for the 2008 session that would protect elderly same-sex couples from losing their home if one of them receives public assistance and requires nursing home care.
COLUMN: Same-sex and worried about retirement
Columnist Martha Hamilton writes about the financial difficulties many same-sex couples face because they cannot receive the tax breaks and retirement benefits that come with marriage.
BLOG: Marriage issues from a grandparent's point of view
When my daughter recently lost her internet technology job to outsourcing and was pondering how best to continue with health insurance for her and the baby, I suggested naively that her partner just cover them on her insurance. My daughter rolled her eyes and said, "No way that's going to happen—this is Nevada." I was so used to my fellow Oregon employees insuring their domestic partners of either sex all these years that I'd forgotten how other states are until my daughter's dilemma brought it all home.
Senior same-sex couples navigate system that doesn't recognize them
After 25 years together, Bill Twibill and Casper Kranenburg are linked by love, mutual respect and an inch-thick stack of documents that form a fragile facsimile of marriage they hope will allow them to care for each other as they age. Many gay men and lesbians worry that they'll still face discrimination in nursing homes and retirement communities. Married couples, for instance, are guaranteed rooms together, but that's not the case for same-sex couples.
BLOG: Why marriage matters: Gay elders
Renea enjoys lunch daily at a Chicago senior center serving low income seniors. Her much younger lover who is 59 was laid off from her job of 15 years and after 8 months has still not found employment. Renea supports them both on her Social Security benefits. Among other things, Renea is terrified because she is much older than her lover and if she dies her lover will not be able to continue Social Security benefits the way that straight married couples do. Her lover will be destitute. At the moment her lover is just hungry.
Gay and lesbian seniors face great discrimination
LGBT elders face unique problems that loosely fit into three categories: individual discrimination, abuse, and issues caused by the inability to marry one's partner. Discrimination and abuse are problems that can cause a LGBT senior to become isolated and even to go back into the closet. The issues associated with marriage stem from legal rights automatically conferred upon married couples that cannot be privately arranged or contracted for by same-sex couples and, for those rights for which contracts may be made, the high cost of attorneys is the reason many cannot do so.
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MULTIMEDIA:
Elderly Aunt Disses Mitt Romney
Outlook Video (Gay TV)
Tom Smith interviews Brad, an internet blogger and video podcast (vlog) producer, from the "Willing Warrior". First they talk about what a podcast is, then, more about his video podcasts, where he covers topics as diverse as taking a stand on gay issues, speaking up for yourself, the coming out process, marriage equality, and homophobia in senior care homes.
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A constituent group of the nonprofit American Society on Aging, LGAIN works to raise awareness about concerns of older LGBT people. The website's Recommended Resources section contains links to a broad range of books, reports, periodicals, fact sheets, websites, listservs, audiotapes, videos, and more.
Incorporated in 1978 as Senior Action in a Gay Environment by a group of seniors, social workers, gerontologists, and activists in the lesbian and gay community, SAGE (now known as Services & Advocacy for GLBT Elders) is the world's oldest and largest non-profit agency dedicated to serving lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender senior citizens.
A Human Rights Campaign Foundation Report
January 29, 2004
Equality in access to marriage, and the many benefits and protections that go with it, would bring equity to the taxation of and benefits provided to all seniors, regardless of sexual orientation. Specifically, granting same-sex couples the right to marry would guarantee that the widows and widowers of same-sex couples would not be hit with undue estate tax and income tax burdens — nor deprived of Social Security survivor benefits — upon the death of a partner. Marriage equality also would decrease the risk of losing their homes that gay, lesbian and bisexual seniors now face when a partner enters a nursing home or dies..
