An alarming amount of LGBTQ+ seniors are living in poverty — but it doesn’t have to be this way.

One in five U.S. households led by people over 50 have no retirement savings, according to a recent report from the Milken Institute and SAGE, and 61 percent of American elders — those ages 65 and older — say that they worry about not having enough financial resources to support themselves in later life.

This fear is felt even more strongly by LGBTQ+ elders, about 40 percent of whom are living below the federal poverty line. Compared to the rest of the population, their poverty rates can be between 20 and 40 percent higher than their heterosexual and cisgender peers. […]