INFORMATION MEMORANDUM

 

AoA-IM-08-01

 

 

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            :    2008 Poverty Guidelines

 

 

LEGAL AND RELATED  :    Older Americans Act, As Amended

REFERENCES              Section 102

 

 

Purpose

 

This Information Memorandum transmits the 2008 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, 2008.  A copy of the 2008 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 2008 poverty guidelines represent income standards expressed in 2007 dollars (the reference to "2008" in the 2008 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-07-02.

 

EFFECTIVE DATE     :    None

 

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

 

 

 

 

_________________________________

Josefina G. Carbonell

Assistant Secretary for Aging

 

 

ATTACHMENTS        :    2008 Poverty Guidelines

 

HHS Federal Register Notice:

Annual Update of the HHS Poverty Guidelines

 

 

Attachment 1

 

2008 HHS Poverty Guidelines

 

Persons in Family or Household 48 Contiguous States and D.C. Alaska Hawaii
1 $10,400 $13,000 $11,960
2 14,000 17,500 16,100
3 17,600 22,000 20,240
4 21,200 26,500 24,380
5 24,800 31,000 28,520
6 28,400 35,500 32,660
7 32,000 40,000 36,800
8 35,600 44,500 40,940
For each additional person, add 3,600 4,500 4,140

SOURCE:Federal Register, Vol. 73, No. 15, January 23, 2008, pp. 3971–3972

 

 

 

For family units with more than eight members, add the following amounts for each additional family member: $3,600 (contiguous states and the District of Columbia); $4,500 (Alaska); and $4,140 (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, Vol. 73, No. 15, January 23, 2008, pp. 3971–3972