INFORMATION MEMORANDUM

 

AoA-IM-09-01

 

 

TO                                   :         STATE AND AREA AGENCIES ADMINISTERING PLANS UNDER TITLE III AND TRIBAL ORGANIZATIONS ADMINISTERING PLANS UNDER TITLE VI OF THE OLDER AMERICANS ACT OF 1965, AS AMENDED

 

SUBJECT             :                     2009 Poverty Guidelines

 

 

LEGAL AND RELATED   :               Older Americans Act, As Amended

REFERENCES                             Section 102

 

 

Purpose

 

This Information Memorandum transmits the 2009 update of the poverty guidelines issued annually in the Federal Register by the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.  The most recent guidelines were published in the Federal Register of January 23, 2009.     A copy of the 2009 poverty guidelines from this notice is attached to this memorandum.

 

These guidelines provide guidance about the definition of "greatest economic need" as used in section 102(27) of the Older Americans Act, as amended.     The Secretary's guidelines vary by family size and are updated annually to account for changes in the cost of living (as measured by the change in the average annual value of the Consumer Price Index or CPI-U). The 2009 poverty guidelines represent income standards expressed in 2008 dollars (the reference to "2009" in the 2009 guidelines is to the year of issuance).

 

The Secretary's guidelines are based on the definition of poverty maintained by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Bureau of the Census.  However, OMB's poverty thresholds are adjusted by the Secretary before being

converted into poverty guidelines.     The Secretary's guidelines include higher poverty levels for Hawaii and Alaska (115 percent and 125 percent, respectively).

 

The information in this memorandum supersedes AoA-IM-08-01.

 

EFFECTIVE DATE      :              None

 

INQUIRIES TO        :                State agencies should address inquiries to Regional Administrators on Aging, DHHS regional      offices

 

 

 

 

_________________________________

Edwin L. Walker

Acting Assistant Secretary
   for Aging

 

 

ATTACHMENTS         :                 2009 Poverty Guidelines

 

 HHS Federal Register Notice:

Annual Update of the HHS Poverty Guidelines

 

 

Attachment 1

 

2009 HHS Poverty Guidelines

 

 

Persons in Family or Household 48 Contiguous States and D.C. Alaska Hawaii
1 $10,830 $13,530 $12,460
2 14,570 18,210 16,760
3 18,310 22,890 21,060
4 22,050 27,570 25,360
5 25,790 32,250 29,660
6 29,530 36,930 33,960
7 33,270 41,610 38,260
8 37,010 46,290 42,560
For each additional person, add 3,740 4,680 4,300


SOURCE:  Federal Register, Volume 74, Number 14, January 23, 2009, pp. 4199-4201

 

For family units with more than eight members, add the following amounts for each additional family member:  $3,740 (contiguous states and the District of Columbia; $4,680 (Alaska); and $4,300 (Hawaii).  In each case, the same increment applies to smaller family sizes also, as can be seen in the figures above.

 

The information in this table was originally published in the Federal Register, Volume 74, Number 14, January 23, 2009, pp. 4199-4201.