Gov. Lujan Grisham calls for 2027 to be the ‘year of New Mexico senior citizens’

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham called for the upcoming 2027 legislative session to be the “year of New Mexico senior citizens” as the state is projected to have one of the largest populations of seniors 65 or older by 2030.

Lujan Grisham spoke to attendees of the state’s 48th annual Conference on Aging this week in Glorieta where approximately 1,000 New Mexico seniors, caregivers, professional careworkers and others gathered for informational sessions, panels and activities held over two days. This was the final aging conference before Lujan Grisham’s second and final term ends.

“You’re the reason this state works,” Lujan Grisham said on Tuesday, the first day of the conference. “It’s all of the retirees, it’s the grandparents raising grandchildren, it’s the families and generations of commitments that make this state who she is, and will determine what kind of future she has.”

Lujan Grisham praised the Legislature for supporting funding for universal childcare, early education, free access to college and decreasing childhood poverty rates during her administration, but said the populations needing the most support now are adults with disabilities, veterans and retirees. 

“Those are game changers for New Mexico’s future, but we can’t measure our future with those numbers and successes that I just rattled off if we aren’t taking care of the families who are still left behind by lack of federal support and funding, by inflation that is crippling everyone,” Lujan Grisham said. “This is not unique, I wish it was, and it’s cyclical. It’s happened before.”

She pointed to more direct transportation benefits, including the use of Uber, to make sure older adults can go to medical appointments; raising healthy food standards across the state, particularly as food costs have increased; and expanding and improving senior centers as a hub for services. Lujan Grisham added that she will be living in Albuquerque after her term ends and will commit to working with an area senior center to help make improvements. 

“Let’s rebuild something that New Mexico, for a long time, was known as one of the leaders in the country, because we can do that again, and we can do it in a way that supports our sovereign nations, our rural communities, our homebound elders and their families, and we can also create more working opportunities for people who desire that for their future,” Lujan Grisham said. 

Aging and Long Term Services Department Secretary Emily Kaltenbach told Source NM that insufficient caregiving capacity and social isolation are major issues facing the state currently. 

“We have older adults who live in rural areas without the natural supports because younger generations are moving to find economic stability elsewhere, leaving a lot of older adults in rural areas, and that social isolation really makes me nervous,” Kaltenbach said. “We’d like to support programs that address it early.”

According to the New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration, ALTSD’s Fiscal Year 2028 general fund request is $97 million, which is 25% higher than the previous year, and more than $120 million counting federal and other funding. The budget includes requests to add staffing within the Adult Protective Services Division and to make the Kiki Saavedra Dignity Fund, used to address “high-priority” services such as transportation and food insecurity, a permanent endowment. Kaltenbach is expected to present the department’s budget request to the Legislative Finance Committee in the next few weeks.