How to Participate in Boost Your Budget® Week
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Aging well is a right. But more than 17 million Americans age 65+ struggle with rising housing and health care bills, inadequate nutrition, lack of access to transportation, diminished savings, and job loss. Every April, NCOA's Boost Your Budget® Week helps educate older adults about the public (and private) benefits that provide hope for the economically insecure. These benefits are often a lifeline to helping low-income people with Medicare age well.
What are examples of public benefits that can help create money savings?
Programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Medicaid, Medicare Savings Programs, Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), and Part D Low-Income Subsidy (Extra Help) can boost older adults' budgets by thousands of dollars each year by helping with the costs of food, health care, prescriptions, and home heating and cooling.
But research has shown that there are still many barriers to enrollment in these programs, including knowledge of benefits and how to apply. As a result, millions of older adults are likely eligible for, but not enrolled in, benefits that can save money on health care, prescriptions, food, and more.
Boost Your Budget® Week: Find Your Benefits to Age Well aims to change that!
NCOA's national campaign unites aging and disability service providers under a common charge to:
- Educate low-income Medicare beneficiaries and their caregivers about the benefits available to improve their health and economic security, and
- Connect individuals to online (BenefitsCheckUp®) and community resources for benefits screening and application assistance.
When is Boost Your Budget Week?
Boost Your Budget Week takes place each year during the second full week of April (this year from April 13-17, 2026). But you're welcome to use these materials in your outreach messaging at any time of the year.
How should I structure my Boost Your Budget Week campaign?
NCOA welcomes the participation of any community or state agency that is working to assist low-income seniors and adults with disabilities to enroll in benefits. There is no limit on what your organization may do to draw attention to your services. For example, you may wish to:
- Share information about benefits as part of a food drive, health fair, or tax assistance event
- Sponsor a “telethon” at your local radio or TV station
- Run ads in local newspapers or on social media
- Invite media, legislators, and the public to tour your facility and learn about the importance of benefits for your community
NCOA's Boost Your Budget Week Toolkit
Our Social Media Toolkit has everything you need to spread the word about Boost Your Budget Week. You can click and post to LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and X (Twitter).
Looking for more resources? Download these tools to use in your organization's Boost Your Budget Week campaign.
| Resource | How to Use | Format |
| Boost Your Budget Week logo | Add the campaign logo to your materials; available in horizontal and stacked vertical formats in black, white, and color |
English horizontal |
| Animated videos | Share these short animated explainer videos to give older adults an overview of key programs that can help them save money | YouTube playlist |
|
Customizable posters | Hosting an event? Add event details to these posters and tailor them with your contact info | English (PDF) Spanish (PDF) |
| Public Service Announcements (PSAs) | Download television and radio PSAs to market to your community | Watch and Download |
| Media toolkit | Get tips (including a sample media advisory and press release) for attracting media interest in your campaign | English (Word) |
| Newsletter blurbs | Use these short blurbs to talk about the campaign to professionals and older adults, or place them in any outgoing emails or newsletters | English (Word) |
| Advocacy toolkit | Learn how to communicate with elected officials about your work | English (Word) |
This information was supported by the Administration for Community Living (ACL), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $13,504,196.00 with 100 percent funding by ACL/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by ACL/HHS or the U.S. Government.
