State officials outline governor's WISE initiative and master plan on aging, citing $144 million Social Security tax cut and food-program funding needs

SALT LAKE AREA — State officials briefed the Davis County Senior Services Advisory Board on a sweeping aging-focused package proposed in Governor Spencer Cox’s fiscal year 2026 budget and on a separate statewide master plan for aging.

Nels Holmgren, state director for the Utah Division of Aging and Adult Services, told the advisory board the governor’s WISE initiative — an acronym for wealth, independence, security and engagement — includes a proposal to eliminate state income-taxation of Social Security benefits and a mix of funding requests intended to shore up home- and community-based services.

Why it matters: Holmgren said the Social Security change would target tax relief to older Utahns and estimated the state revenue effect at about $144 million. He described additional funding asks to support in‑home care and protective services that, he said, would both improve care options and reduce long-term public costs by keeping people safely at home.

Holmgren said the governor proposes eliminating the tax on Social Security income, which the presentation characterized as one of the last states to tax that benefit and estimated would amount to roughly $1,000 per senior on average. “Tax cuts are always a popular item on the hill. But we could focus on one group that it will make a huge impact for,” Holmgren said, summarizing the governor’s rationale. He added that the state has a relatively large and growing senior population.

Holmgren described three other components of the initiative: - Independence: about $20.5 million recommended to increase provider rates, with an emphasis on the Medicaid “aging waiver” and the “New Choices” waiver that pay for in‑home services for people who otherwise might enter nursing homes. Holmgren said low rates have left the New Choices program effectively “frozen” in parts of the state because providers cannot afford to participate. - Security: funding to add adult protective services investigators and Office of Public Guardian staff to address a rising caseload and more complex investigations; Holmgren said the division currently has about 40 investigators statewide and that rural travel adds strain on staffing. - Engagement: roughly $4.5 million requested to preserve current levels of senior nutrition services (Meals on Wheels and congregate meals); Holmgren said roughly $4.2 million of that would be one‑time funding needed to avoid cutting existing meal service when expiring federal and one‑time state funds lapse next fiscal year.

Holmgren emphasized the budget package is the governor’s proposal and that the Legislature will make final funding decisions. He encouraged area agencies and local partners to use the one‑page briefs the division is preparing for lawmakers and to attend advocacy events at the Capitol.

Master plan on aging: Rob Entz, presenting a separate update on the statewide master plan on aging, said the Utah Commission on Aging’s plan — prepared after a 2022 legislative directive — lays out a 10‑year horizon for state priorities grouped into six pillars (community ecosystems, everyday wellness, planning for life, networks of care, technology and others). Entz described the plan as a framework for aligning state, local and nonprofit efforts rather than a directive to area agencies.

Entz said the commission will publish a public dashboard tied to measurable outcomes and that the governor’s office will host an aging symposium to discuss elements of the WISE initiative and the master plan. “This is a state we’d like everybody to feel like they have access to these things,” Entz said of the plan’s aspiration to improve access to housing, transportation, health and social supports.

What was not decided: Board members received the briefings for information; no formal county action or votes on the state proposals occurred during the meeting.

Context and next steps: Holmgren said the governor’s budget will enter an abbreviated appropriations review this session and that two technical bills the division plans to request would clarify prosecutorial definitions for adult protective services and ease information‑sharing procedures between the Office of Public Guardian and the Division of Services for People with Disabilities. He said listening sessions for the master plan will begin in March and the plan will be refined iteratively.

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