Seniors For Living

On the heels of continuous debates about the debt ceiling and entitlement reform (with Medicare and Social Security high on that hit list), and as we continue to trudge through a period of economic recovery after the housing market crash and financial crises of the past few years, it may not come as a surprise that economic insecurity is on the rise in senior households.

Demos.org and the Institute on Assets & Social Policy (IASP) just released a new research and policy brief in July, part of the Living Longer on Less Series, titled “From Bad to Worse: Senior Economic Insecurity on the Rise.”

Research was primarily based on the SFSI (Senior Financial Stability Index), which “projects essential needs over the life course and assesses available resources to meet those needs.”

Here are a few of the key findings:

• Between 2004 and 2008, economic insecurity in senior households increased by one-third (27% to 36%).
• The increase is driven by three major issues: lack of adequate assets, fixed budgets that are insufficient for meeting financial obligations, and the rising costs of housing.
• Economic insecurity is more prevalent in the households of senior single women and among minority populations.
  

Read the full report here.