The Colorado Old Age Pension pays up to $1,005 a month in cash to residents aged 60 and older who have very little income or savings, and it often comes with medical coverage attached. The program is run by the Colorado Department of Human Services and sits on top of whatever federal benefits you already receive, filling the gap up to a guaranteed monthly floor.
Who Qualifies
Three things decide whether you can apply at all: you must be at least 60, live in Colorado with the intention of staying, and be a U.S. citizen or qualified legal immigrant.1Colorado Department of Human Services. Adult Financial Programs
After that, the finances decide the rest. Your countable resources can’t exceed $2,000 if you’re single or $3,000 for a married couple living together.2Colorado Bar Association. Colorado Senior Law Handbook – Old Age Pension Cash, checking and savings balances, and any secondary real estate count against the limit. Your primary home, one car, personal belongings, household goods, certain burial policies, and some life insurance are exempt.3Otero County, Colorado. Old Age Pension
Income counts too. The state looks at everything coming in — Social Security, SSI, veterans’ benefits, wages, pensions — and your total has to fall below the OAP standard of need for you to receive any payment.1Colorado Department of Human Services. Adult Financial Programs
How Much You’ll Actually Receive
The $1,005 figure is the ceiling, not what shows up in your account. As of January 2025, that’s the maximum monthly grant.4Legal Information Institute. 9 CCR 2503-5-3.530 – Old Age Pension (OAP) Program The state subtracts your existing gross income from $1,005 and pays the difference. If you get $400 a month from Social Security, OAP pays $605. If you have nothing coming in, OAP pays the full $1,005.
OAP is designed to work alongside federal benefits, not instead of them. As a condition of receiving the grant, you have to pursue every other income source you’re entitled to: apply for Social Security when you’re eligible, enroll in Medicare at 65, claim SSI or veterans’ benefits if you qualify. Every federal dollar you receive reduces your OAP payment by the same amount. Once your Social Security alone exceeds $1,005, the cash grant stops, though you may still keep the medical coverage.
One detail worth planning around: there are no retroactive benefits. Your eligibility starts the day you file your application, not the day you turned 60 or the day you ran out of money.5Department of Health Care Policy and Financing. Old Age Pension Rate Information Every month you wait to apply is a month of payments you can’t recover.
Medical Coverage That Comes With It
Getting approved for OAP usually opens the door to health coverage, and the program you land in depends on your age and situation.
- At 65 or older, you may qualify for Health First Colorado, the state’s Medicaid program, which covers doctor visits, hospital care, and prescriptions.
- Between 60 and 64, you may be covered through the OAP Health Care Program, a state-funded medical program for seniors who don’t yet qualify for Medicaid.6Boulder County, CO. Old Age Pension (OAP)
The OAP Health Care Program is built for people shut out of Medicaid for specific reasons: you haven’t been in the U.S. long enough to meet the five-year residency rule, you’re under 65 and don’t meet Social Security’s disability criteria, or your resources are above the Medicaid limit but still within OAP’s.6Boulder County, CO. Old Age Pension (OAP)
How to Apply
You use the state’s Application for Public Assistance, the same form that covers Colorado’s other adult financial programs.7Department of Health Care Policy and Financing. Application for Public Assistance Colorado File it online through Colorado PEAK, mail or fax it, or bring it to your county department of human services.1Colorado Department of Human Services. Adult Financial Programs PEAK also lets you upload documents and check your status.8Colorado PEAK. Apply for Benefits
Pull these together before you start:
- Proof of age, such as a birth certificate or Colorado driver’s license.
- Social Security numbers for everyone in your household.
- At least three months of bank statements for every checking and savings account.
- Documentation of every income source: Social Security, pensions, dividends, veterans’ benefits.
- Any life insurance policies with a cash surrender value, which counts toward your resource limit.
After you submit, the state schedules an interview to go over your finances and confirm your residency. A caseworker uses that call to clear up anything inconsistent in your paperwork. The state has 45 calendar days from receipt of your completed application to issue a notice of action telling you whether you’re approved and, if so, for how much.9Grand County, CO. Old Age Pension (OAP)
Keeping the Benefit
Approval isn’t permanent. OAP is redetermined every 12 months, and the state reverifies your age, residency, income, and resources at each review. You’re also expected to apply for any new benefits you’ve become eligible for in the meantime, like Social Security at 62 or Medicare at 65.
Between reviews, report changes in your income, household, or living situation to your county department of human services as they happen. An unreported bump in income or savings can trigger an overpayment the state will claw back from future checks, or end your eligibility outright.
If You’re Denied
If your application is denied or your grant is cut, the notice of action tells you why. You have 60 days from the date on that notice to request a state fair hearing.10Health First Colorado. Appeals An administrative law judge hears the case by phone or video and issues an initial decision; the CDHS Office of Appeals then issues the final agency decision, which the county must follow.11Colorado Department of Human Services. Office of Appeals A final decision you still disagree with can go to Denver District Court for judicial review.
Miss the 60-day window and the hearing option is gone. Your only path then is to start a new application, which, because of the no-retroactive rule, means losing every month in between.