The Cost of Marriage Inequality to Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Seniors

A Human Rights Campaign Foundation Report

Publication Date: January 21, 2004
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The nonpartisan Urban Institute publishes studies, reports, and books on timely topics worthy of public consideration. The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the Urban Institute, its trustees, or its funders.

Note: This report is available in its entirety in the Portable Document Format (PDF).

OVERVIEW

When a gay, lesbian or bisexual senior dies, his or her surviving partner faces a financial loss that can amount to tens of thousands of dollars because the couple cannot be recognized as legally married in the United States. Despite having paid taxes their whole lifetime at the same rate as other Americans, surviving partners are:

  1. Denied the Social Security survivor benefits that are made available to all married couples;
  2. Heavily taxed on any retirement plan — 401(k) or IRA — they inherit from their partners, although married spouses can inherit these plans tax-free; and
  3. Charged an estate tax on the inheritance of a home, even if it was jointly owned — a tax that would not apply to married spouses.

Same-sex senior couples also are more likely than married heterosexual couples to still be making mortgage payments on their home. This higher debt burden, combined with the financial losses that stem from being unmarried, means that surviving partners may also be at greater risk of losing their homes upon the death of a partner than surviving heterosexual spouses.

In addition, surviving partners whose name does not appear on the title of the home the couple lived in are at risk of being forced out by the deceased partners' next of kin who may claim ownership — a risk no surviving spouse would face under any circumstances.

Gay, lesbian and bisexual seniors also are at significant risk of losing their home when an elderly partner enters a nursing home. This is because federal Medicaid law permits a married spouse to remain in the couple's home when a husband or wife enters a nursing home — but it does not grant unmarried couples the same right.

AGING OF GAY, LESBIAN AND BISEXUAL COMMUNITY

More than one in 10 same-sex couples include a partner 65 years old or older, and nearly one in 10 couples are comprised of two people 65 or older, according to Census 2000.1 Two thirds of these couples have lived together in the same house for five years or more, and more than four out of five own their home.2

The proportion of same-sex couples that includes one or both partners 55 and older is even higher. Nearly one in four same-sex couples include a partner 55 years old or older, and nearly one in five couples are comprised of two people 55 or older.3

As is the case with married heterosexual senior couples, the greatest numbers of same-sex senior couples live in California, New York and Florida, while Illinois and Arizona also have significant numbers.

The 10 counties with the greatest number of same-sex couples that include a partner 65 years old or older are:

1. Los Angeles County, Calif. 3,410 couples
2. Cook County, Ill. 2,190
3. Kings County (Brooklyn), N.Y. 1,440
4. Broward County, Fla. 1,415
5. Miami-Dade County, Fla. 1,265
6. Palm Beach County, Fla. 1,155
7. San Diego County, Calif. 1,135
8. Queens County, N.Y. 1,090
9. Riverside County, Calif. 1,085
10. Maricopa County, Ariz. 1,070

There are many more same-sex couples that include a partner 55 years old or older — more than twice as many in some counties. For example, the 10 most popular counties for couples that include a partner 55 or older are:

1. Los Angeles County, Calif. 7,540 couples
2. Cook County, Ill. 4,340
3. Kings County (Brooklyn), N.Y. 2,845
4. New York County (Manhattan), N.Y. 2,815
5. Broward County, Fla. 2,560
6. Miami-Dade County, Fla. 2,370
7. San Diego County, Calif. 2,290
8. Riverside County, Calif. 2,230
9. Queens County, N.Y. 2,135
10. Maricopa County, Ariz. 2,130

The highest concentrations of same-sex senior couples, in comparison to all seniors, are in:

1. San Francisco County, Calif. 7.77* total of 825
2. New York County (Manhattan), N.Y. 5.73 1,070
3. Riverside County, Calif. 5.54 1,085
4. Broward County, Fla. 5.42 1,415
5. Kings County (Brooklyn), N.Y. 5.09 1,440
6. Baltimore City, Md. 4.66 400
7. Polk County, Fla. 4.45 395
8. Palm Beach County, Fla. 4.41 1,155
9. Alameda County, Calif. 4.40 650
10. Philadelphia County, Pa. 4.40 940
* Number of coupled same-sex seniors for every 1,000 adults aged 65 or older.
Note: Census 2000 counts of same-sex unmarried partners should not be interpreted as an actual count of either the entire gay, lesbian and bisexual population or the same-sex coupled population of the United States. Counts of same-sex couples do not include any single gay men or lesbians as the Census questionnaire does not include questions about sexual orientation, sexual behavior or sexual attraction. Further, Census 2000 likely undercounts same-sex couples (identified by their sex and relationship status: an adult of the same sex is identified as the "husband/wife" or "unmarried partner" of the person filling out the Census form). Several factors could explain this undercount. For confidentiality reasons, some same-sex couples may feel uncomfortable identifying the nature of their relationship on a government survey. Some couples may define their relationship as something other than "husband/wife" or "unmarried partner." Estimates of the undercount vary. In their report, "Missing Same-sex Couples in Census 2000," Badgett and Rodgers (IGLSS 2003, http://www.iglss.org/media/files/c2k_leftout.pdf) find that the Census Bureau missed at least 16 to 19 percent of all gay or lesbian couples. If five percent of the U.S. adult population is gay or lesbian and approximately 30 percent of gay men and lesbians are coupled (as several surveys suggest), then Census figures did not count 62 percent of all same-sex couples.

Note: This report is available in its entirety in the Portable Document Format (PDF).

1. Of all same-sex couples, 11.8 percent include one senior, 65 years old or older; 9.4 percent include two seniors.

2. Seventy-one percent of same-sex senior couples have lived together in the same house for five years or more.

3. Of all same-sex couples, 23.4 percent include a partner 55 years old or older; 18.6 percent are comprised of two people over 55.

Topics/Tags: | Families and Parenting | Retirement and Older Americans

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