incomes and the total data obtained from the sources of payment of salary and wage payments to aging veterans by ernployers, plus Government payments of veterans' compensation and pensions presented above. Cash net income from selfemployment is another item that may be an important part of this total.

NON-MONETARY INCOME

The non-monetary income, or income in kind, that has been previously referred to herein, is an element in the economic well-being of aging veterans that is important to some individuals, particularly those located on farms or in rural areas and in owned homes or with relatives, and to those who are hospitalized or cared for in domiciliaries or homes for the aged not financially supported in full by the residents.

This kind of income has been under special study with reference to its importance in the economic support of farm families which supply part of their consumption from farm production without recourse to cash income. In the case of the aging, it is in the nature of a fringe benefit contingent on their physical and skill capabilities and the available opportunities, which vary from place to place and time to time.

One type of income in kind of special significance to some aging veterans is domiciliation in Veterans Administration facilities, which provide for a limited number, about 15,000, of the aging veteran population.

ASSETS AND DEBT OF THE AGING VETERAN POPULATION

With the rapid shift in the income status of aging persons, including veterans and their immediate families, that sets in at about the age 65, the pattern of expenditure undergoes a drastic change altering their roles as consumers in the economy. Along with this, the assumption of new debt is curtailed and old debt paid off to cut carrying charges and amortization payments on indebtedness such as mortgages.

In 1957 approximately 70 percent of the spending units with the head aged 65 and over were free of debt as compared with only 50 percent of the preceding ten-year age class and 31 percent of those aged 45 to 54. In fact, about 30 percent of the aged 65 and over group had eliminated obligations for regular payments such as mortgage interest and principal, rent payments, payments on short and intermediate term debt, life insurance premiums and payments into social security and retirement funds. By contrast with this, only a negligible proportion of those in the earlier age classifications were free of debt or of responsibility for some regular payments of this type.

Bearing out this indication in the short-term debt field is the finding in the 1957 surveys of the Federal Reserve Board that the use of installment credit declines rapidly with advancing age, and in the spending units with head aged 65 and over, only about 15 percent were carrying such debts at a given time. The decrease

in the use of installment credit, whether due to caution on the part of the buyer or the lender, correlates with declining income also, to about 15 percent of those with money incomes before taxes of $1,000 in 1956.

Thus, for a large proportion of the aging male population, including veterans, payments on account of both long-term and short-term debt have been reduced or eliminated. This situation is drawing increasing attention of business and agencies interested in providing bases for expanding spending and using up assets rather than saving by the aging.

Chapter VI

HOUSING OF THE AGING VETERAN

HOUSING OF THE AGING VETERAN

FAMILY STATUS AND HOUSING

IN-PATIENT AND DOMICILIARY HOUSING

OTHER AGING VETERAN HOUSING ASSISTANCE

NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN HOUSING OF THE AGING

The changing occupational and industrial structure of the economy has widely influenced the location and kind of housing as well as other living requirements of the population aged 65 and over, including veterans. At the same time there have been changes in the nature of the arrangements on this score avail. able to them.

One aspect of these background developments, in this case of prime importance in rural areas, has been the progressive shift out of agriculture, taking away the farm living arrangements which were conducive to including the aging with the other members of the family. Another, more important in urban and suburban areas, has been the increasing trend to housing in oneand-two-generation parents-and-children facilities, whether in single houses or multiple dwelling units and apartments. These have not provided the necessary additional space nor the sort of semi-separate accommodations required to include the grandparents or other aging members of the family.

These situations are now complicated from the national economic as well as individual standpoint by greater residential mobility of the younger family members, the provision of financing of new homes prior to the accumulation of savings by the young through "mortgaging" current incomes as well as the property, new housing designed for two-generation rather than three-generation occupancy, the growing replacement of dependence upon relatives by increasing cash income provided by Social Security and government and private pension and assistance payments, the housing problems created by the greater longevity of the aging population and longer survival of the wife, and the attempts to develop special housing in "retirement communities."

From the standpoint of aging veterans confronted with the se developments, other complications arising from changes in their own individual physical conditions and economic situations after

reaching the age 65 bring new housing problems of different natures while they are within the aging classification. From general indications it would appear that the critical points or times of change in this regard develop for the aging veteran individual at three junctures: these are (1) when employment and income derived from it terminate or taper off to a minor role in income support, (2) when deteriorating physical condition brings a change in self-maintenance capabilities and (3) when the husband or wife dies and leaves the married aging veteran single.

These developments do not normally take place at one point in time, such as when he reaches the age 65. Rather, the general indications we have on housing of the aging during this period after 65 suggest that, except for the disabled and for the influence of some employment opportunity shortcomings of the economic system, these conditions reach a more critical period for the majority as they more nearly approach 70 and over. They are moreover to a great degree beyond the control of the individual's choice.

Housing for the aging veteran is, therefore, in a state of flux not only in relation to changes arising from longer-term trends in family relationships and housing in general, but also in response to episodic shifts in his own housing needs and financial support capabilities while in the aging classification.

HOUSING OF THE AGING VETERAN

Up-to-date, comprehensive and precise information on many vital aspects of the housing situation of the population 65 and over, including veterans, are now lacking. Some improvement in this regard will result from the 1960 Census tabulations, when available, but a great deal more information will be required for full understanding and intelligent planning by all concerned in this dynamic area of economic life.

The following background sketch covers some outstanding aspects of the general housing situation of veterans 65 and over (sometimes roughly indicated by data for the aging male population as a whole) and recent developments of particular importance to the future in this regard.

FAMILY STATUS AND HOUSING

The three most common methods of meeting their non-institutional housing needs among aging veterans are by continuing in their established dwellings after reaching 65, transferring to new dwellings of their own elsewhere, or moving in with one of the children or other relatives.

Bearing in mind again that the income and marital status of the aging family head or individual changes with advancing age within the aging classification, recent data for the aging group as a whole indicate that two-thirds of the non-farm families with heads 65 or over are in one or two-person households, and onequarter are single persons living in separate dwelling units. With the exception of the larger houses, (i.e., with 7 or 8 rooms),

the families with head aged 65 or over occupied dwellings in non-farm areas which had about the same number of rooms as the dwellings of the under 65 population. This is undoubtedly the result of the continued occupancy of the larger quarters by older people, particularly couples, after the children have grown up and dispersed.

Some indications as to home ownership status are presented in recent consumer finance surveys by the Federal Reserve Board which indicate that in 1959 some 62 percent of the individuals or non-farm family spending units with the head aged 65 or over owned their dwellings, 24 percent rented, 7 percent lived with relatives, and another 7 percent received housing as a part of compensation or were living in the current quarters temporarily. The same general situation was found in 1954 according to a Housing and Home Finance Agency study. Judging by relationships based on pertinent 1950 Census data, these percentages may be taken as fairly representative of the 65 and over veteran group.

It thus appears that over half of the aging population including veterans, are as a group home-owners and secondarily renters. Other housing arrangements are of prime importance to special groups considered in connection with the developments covered below.

IN-PATIENT AND DOMICILIARY HOUSING OF AGING VETERANS

The unusual characteristics of the disabled aging veteran group as compared with the non-veteran aging male population have required special care facilities and support arrangements. This has resulted from the large number and the kinds of injuries sustained by wartime military service survivors, the relatively short periods in which they were incurred and the periodicity of the wars giving rise to them.

As these veterans come into the 65 and over age classification and as they have incurred the added disabilities associated with aging, they require additional special care.

As part of its in-patient care program, the Veterans Administration furnishes domiciliation to veterans who are affected by a permanent or chronic disability, unable to earn a living, and without financial resources adequate for self-support. The purpose is to provide living quarters while they are receiving rehabilitation treatment so that they can return to their own communities and continue their lives as far as possible on a self-sustaining basis. Where this degree of rehabilitation cannot be achieved, the Veterans Administration provides domiciliation.

Such housing and rehabilitation care is provided at 17 field stations, at 14 of which medical services are provided by the hospitals in conjunction with which they are operated. Additional domiciliary care is provided by the Veterans Administration by a grant in aid program which reimburses States operating suitable homes, of which there were 33 in 28 States in 1959. About 9,700 veterans were so cared for in that year.