Cecily O'Connor
RedwoodAge.com
While the recession has taken a toll on most Americans, lower-income middle-aged adults have been particularly hard hit.
Nearly 60 percent of adults aged 45 and older who make less than $25,000 a year said they are either "not at all" or "not too" confident they will have enough money to pay medical and living expenses in retirement, according to a new AARP report. This compared to 36 percent of higher income adults who said the same.
Additionally, about 42 percent of the poorer adults rate their health as "fair" or "poor," and are struggling to meet basic needs, like paying for food and electricity, heat and water bills.
"Each day, millions are choosing between essentials like buying groceries or paying for prescriptions," said Jo Ann Jenkins, president of AARP's affiliated charity, the AARP Foundation. "It's a devastating choice that no one should have to make."
Like the general population, lower-income older adults have cut back - but they are doing so in greater numbers. Nearly 40 percent had to cancel or postpone needed healthcare or dental treatments in the last six months. That's twice as many as higher-income adults. Twenty-three percent of lower-income adults also skipped prescription doses, cut pills in half or did not fill prescriptions, compared with 15 percent of higher-income people.
Overall, about 20 percent reported problems paying their medical bills in the last six months, with African-Americans and Hispanics having the most troubles.
Housing Problems
In addition to healthcare, housing is another problem area because many
Americans have either defaulted on mortgages or are strapped to make payments
due to job loss.
As a result, lower-income adults are twice as likely to have looked for more affordable housing in the last six months, compared to higher-income levels. And half used their car less to cut down on gas costs.
To keep cash on hand, retirement savings accounts have been either been ignored or raided. More than one in four adults said they stopped contributing to retirement savings in the past six months. And 14 percent of adults 45 to 64 prematurely withdrew funds from retirement accounts - a trend that has increased during the recession as some boomers have few options when it comes to keeping a house or sending a child to college.
When asked about current value of retirement savings available, nearly half said they have less than $50,000, with 16 percent of those reporting no savings at all.
Other findings revealed additional ways in which lower-income adults are struggling:
- More than a quarter have put off or postponed getting needed health care or dental treatments or services in the last six months.
- More than a third said paying for gas is a challenge, and so is finding adequate public transportation alternatives.
- Nearly two thirds said that, based on what they have experienced or witnesses, older workers face age discrimination in the workplace.
