Demographics of Poverty

When one writes about poverty, they consider the young children who lack the educational, health, and financial benefits of wealthier children and the middle-aged adults, who either cannot or do not hold jobs for whatever reason. Nonetheless, there is one demographic that remains invisible - the impoverished senior citizens. They remain invisible in part because their demographic generally does not contribute to the statistics of unemployment or the increasing issue of college debt. They are put into retirement homes, where they are quietly forgotten, except by their family members. New York City itself cut spending on senior citizens a couple of years ago, reducing the number of retirement options. Then there is the now glorified image of the senior citizen with several tattoos and plays tennis everyday - the Baby Boomer Generation, now well into their retirements, are the ones who perpetuate this image. However, it is merely a facade that covers up the millions of other retired citizens who face financial problems. In 2010, the number of the elderly who were below the poverty line increased from 9% to 16%. This number may not seem so bad without context - in context, you will realize this means that the elderly are 16% of the poor and it is the oldest of the elderly who make up the majority of this number. The poverty rate among the general populace is 16% of Americans, or 49 million. The dominant (and most troubling) reason is the medical-out-of-pocket expensiveness. For those who don't have healthcare, particularly the poor elderly who face ailing body systems, the difference between life and death can be money and a dearth of money. As people age, their pensions and personal savings become depleted and poverty means a 45% increase in the chance of debilitating illness. With a significant minority of the poor being the elderly, are we to leave the elderly to their own devices without help? On the other hand, do we blame them for not working harder and saving more when they were younger?
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-07/u-s-poverty-rate-increases-to-16-in-alternate-measurement-of-census-data.html