Nearly Half of Puerto Rico's Seniors Living in Poverty
SAN JUAN -- Approximately half the people over the age of 60 in Puerto Rico live below the poverty level, according to a study by the office of the ombudsperson for the elderly released Wednesday.

The report "Economic Equity and Puerto Rico's Elderly Population," conducted by professors Linda Colon and Heriberto Martin, indicated that 43.6 percent of people aged 60 and over in the U.S. commonwealth receive Social Security benefits. But that federal assistance, estimated at just over $7,000 annually, is insufficient to cover basic daily expenses and is less than the U.S. federal government's poverty threshold of $9,669 for an individual aged 65 or over.

Ombudswoman Rossana Lopez Leon urged Puerto Rico's public and private sectors to "attend to the economic reality" of the island's elderly population. "Given this reality, we have a great challenge (ahead of us) to guarantee rights and services for the elderly this year and in the immediate future," Lopez Leon said.

She also warned that the economic situation for citizens over the age of 60 will worsen in the short term due to the stagnation of the global and local economies. Seniors are the fastest-growing demographic group in Puerto Rico and are expected to represent 25 percent of the island's population by 2020, the ombudswoman said.

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