Summary
The number of people ages 65 and older who live in poverty has increased by more than 1 million since before the pandemic. Many of these individuals are no longer in the workforce, but access to the earned income tax credit (EITC) could boost their financial security in pivotal ways. The earned income tax credit has been available to workers without children since 1993. In 2018, 5.6 million people, including nearly 3 million children, avoided poverty thanks to the credit. Biden’s Fiscal Year 2025 budget calls for making changes to the EITC permanent. It would put an average of $800 into the pocketbooks of millions of low-wage workers.
