Help you may be missing at 60 and older
Answer six short questions to see which help you are likely to get and where to ask. Nothing you enter leaves this page.
This check needs JavaScript. The limits and where to ask are all listed below, so you can compare them yourself.
Where to ask
- Medicare costs: your SHIP (State Health Insurance Assistance Program). One-on-one Medicare counseling from a trusted, unbiased source. Find your local SHIP (shiphelp.org).
- Extra Help with drug costs: Social Security. Apply for Extra Help (ssa.gov). Applying also starts a Medicare Savings Program application with your state unless you say no.
- Medicare Savings Programs and Medicaid: your state. These are run by your state. Find your state Medicaid agency (Medicaid.gov).
- SNAP: your state SNAP office. SNAP state directory (USDA).
- Home repair: USDA Rural Development if the home is rural (check the address); otherwise your Area Agency on Aging, through the Eldercare Locator below.
- Meals, rides, help at home, and anything else: the Eldercare Locator. Call or text 1-800-677-1116. eldercare.acl.gov.
The limits this check uses
Monthly income unless it says a year. Your state may set higher limits for Medicare Savings Programs, and some states don’t count certain types or amounts of income or savings. Limits are slightly higher in Alaska and Hawaii.
Medicare Savings Programs, 2026
| One person | Married couple | Pays | |
|---|---|---|---|
| QMB | $1,350 | $1,824 | Part A and B premiums, deductibles, coinsurance, copays |
| SLMB | $1,616 | $2,184 | Part B premium |
| QI | $1,816 | $2,455 | Part B premium (first come, first served) |
| Savings, all three | $9,950 | $14,910 |
Source: Medicare.gov, Medicare Savings Programs. Read 2026-10-27.
Extra Help with drug costs, 2026
Income under $23,940 a year for one person or $32,460 for a married couple, and savings under $18,090 or $36,100, in most cases. You get it automatically with full Medicaid, a Medicare Savings Program, or SSI.
Source: Medicare.gov, Help with drug costs. Read 2026-10-27.
SNAP, Oct. 1, 2026 to Sept. 30, 2027
If someone in the home is 60 or older (or gets disability payments), the household only has to meet the net income limit. Net income is income after deductions: a $217 standard deduction, medical costs over $35 a month, and housing costs over half of income (no cap). Savings limit $4,750 ($3,000 otherwise); the home is not counted, and most states use rules that can allow more.
| People | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net limit | $1,330 | $1,804 | $2,277 | $2,750 | $3,224 | $3,697 |
| Gross limit (under 60 only) | $1,729 | $2,345 | $2,960 | $3,575 | $4,191 | $4,806 |
Sources: USDA, SNAP special rules for the elderly or disabled and SNAP eligibility (48 states and DC). Read 2026-10-27.
Senior meals (Older Americans Act)
For people 60 and older and their spouses of any age. No income or savings test is allowed. A program may ask for a voluntary contribution, and cannot turn anyone away for not giving one.
Sources: ACL, Nutrition Services; 45 CFR 1321.9(c)(2)(x)(E)-(F) and 1321.87 (eCFR). Read 2026-10-27.
Home repair: USDA Section 504 (rural homes)
- You own and live in the home, your household income is under USDA’s very-low limit for your county, and the home is in an area USDA counts as rural.
- Grants: 62 or older, and only to remove health and safety hazards or to make the home accessible for someone with a disability. A grant is paid back if the home is sold within 3 years.
- Loans: 1% interest over 20 years.
- “Elderly families” (as USDA defines them) first use net assets over $20,000; the home does not count.
- Loan and grant maximums: set by USDA. Check them with your Rural Development office.
Not rural? Your Area Agency on Aging often knows local home repair programs: reach it through the Eldercare Locator, 1-800-677-1116.
Sources: 7 CFR 3550.101 to 3550.114 (eCFR); USDA address eligibility lookup; eldercare.acl.gov. Read 2026-10-27.
Heating bills, and care at home
Help to keep your home warm, safe and repaired (LIHEAP and weatherization). Care at home instead of a nursing home (Medicaid, PACE, waivers, long-term care).
This page explains published federal rules; it is not an eligibility decision. The office that runs each program decides. The rows as data: benefits-60.json. Under 65 with Medicaid: the work rule. Other needs: every need, one door each.