Also known by the term “the poverty guidelines,” the federal poverty level (FPL), is the minimum annual income an individual or family needs for food, clothing, shelter, transportation, and other necessities. The US Department of Health and Human Services annually adjusts the FPL according to inflation. The FPL is issued in February of the year to which it applies and is designated by the year in which it is issued. The US Department of Health and Human Services prefers the term “the poverty guidelines” to “federal poverty level” as it considers the latter ambiguous, especially where precision is required in administrative and legislative settings.
Persons or families with annual income below the FPL are officially considered to lack adequate subsistence and to be living in poverty. Conversely, individuals or families with income above the FPL are not considered to be in poverty. Income considered in determining poverty status includes earnings, unemployment compensation, workers’...
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Levy, C.J. (2008). Federal Poverty Level. In: Loue, S.J., Sajatovic, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Aging and Public Health. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-33754-8_176
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