Welcome to The Senior Alliance's advocacy newsletter, COLLOQUY!

This monthly e-mail is a look at the issues, legislation, and events impacting aging.

Michigan Budget Update

Both the Michigan House and Senate have passed their appropriations bills as of last Wednesday, May 15th. The next step in the budget process is to form a special committee with members from both the House and Senate so they can rectify the differences between each chambers' budget bills. The appointees for this special appropriations committee will likely be chosen in the upcoming weeks. Below are some current budget increases for the aging network and how much, if at all, a chamber has allocated to them:

• Funding for Long Term Care Ombudsman program staff: $3 million increase in the House and $1.5 million in the Senate.
• Funding for home-delivered and congregate meals: $1 million increase in the Senate.
• Funding for in-home services: $658,000 increase in the Senate.

Also of note: Michigan's direct care workers' wage increases have received level funding. The state currently has a supplement of $3.20/hour for every direct care worker whose company works with Medicare or Medicaid in the state. For fiscal year 2025, the supplemental funding for these underpaid workers was at risk of cuts since Michigan is no longer receiving large amounts of pandemic-related funding from the federal government. The state spends around $70 million for every dollar of an increase they give to Michigan direct care workers and the federal government pulled $35 million of funding Michigan was given last year to address the direct care worker crisis.

According to the Michigan Constitution, the Great Lakes State has until June 30th to pass its budget through the House, Senate, and Governor's office.

Bill to institute Retirement Savings Plan for MI Small Businesses

The Retirement Savings Program Act, House Bill 5461, was introduced by Representative Mike McFall (D-Hazel Park) on February 21, 2024. This bill would automatically enroll workers currently without workplace retirement benefits into individual retirement accounts (IRAs), where a portion of their wages could be set aside every pay period. Employees can determine when and how much they contribute, and have the option to opt out of the program. This program could help small businesses retain employees, allow more Michiganders to save enough for retirement, and save tax dollars as fewer people will need to take advantage of social safety net programs as they age. This program comes at no cost to employers; however, the initially proposed bill does not let employers opt out of offering this program to their employees.

As of 2020, nearly 42 percent of Michigan’s private-sector workforce ages 18 to 64 lacked access to a retirement savings plan at work. Insufficient retirement savings can drive older Michiganders to rely on social assistance programs, which is expensive for the state. Pew estimates that Michigan’s cost from insufficient savings, chiefly Medicaid costs, will total $11.2 billion cumulatively from 2020 through 2040. Fifteen states across the nation have already created similar automated savings programs, also known as “secure choice” or “work and save” programs.

House Bill 5461 received a hearing before the Michigan House of Representatives Committee on Labor in April. The bill now awaits a vote from the committee before it can go to House floor.

Bills to Defer Special Assessments for Low-Income Seniors

House Bills 5419 and 5420, proposed by Michigan Representatives Bill Schuette (R-Midland) and Mike Hoadley (R-Au Gres), would re-establish Michigan’s Special Assessment District Tax Deferral program. The Special Assessment District Tax Deferral program was in place until 2020 in Michigan and was largely successful at ensuring special assessments aren’t a financial burden on Michigan’s older adults with a fixed income.

Special assessments, unlike traditional summer and winter property taxes, are not based on the taxable value of someone’s home or the current services a homeowner might receive. Instead, special assessments pay for local infrastructure projects, such as replacing sewers, rebuilding dams, or installing sidewalks.



The Special Assessment District Tax Deferral program would give anyone 65 years of age or older with an income of $29,619 or less the option to put a lien on their house for the amount owed to the local government for the special assessment. The state covers the costs of special assessment taxes until the property is sold or changes hands. When the property changes hands, the lien becomes due back to the state so they can recuperate their money.

These reforms will allow low-income seniors to keep their homes while still funding the critical infrastructure projects special assessment taxes are used to build. Representatives Schuette and Hoadley introduced these bills in February and they now await a hearing in the Tax Policy committee.

New Michigan Poll on Healthy Aging

A new survey by the Michigan Poll on Healthy Aging found that finances are what concerns people most for the older members of their community. When this survey's respondents were asked to rate their level of concern about 26 different health-related topics for people aged 50 and older in their community, all six of the top issues were money related. Those same six topics rose to the top no matter what age, gender, region of the state or income group older adults came from. The results of this survey are very similar to those seen in a national sample of adults over 50 who were asked the same question via the National Poll on Healthy Aging.

Advocacy Questions: Please contact Nikki Hartley, Government Relations and Outreach Specialist, with any advocacy or public policy questions via e-mail at nhartley@thesenioralliance.org.

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