The United States of Aging Survey National Findings 1

Financial Security

While many American seniors are on good financial ground today, they have mixed feelings about their future prospects.

The majority of older Americans (64 percent) report that it is very or somewhat easy to pay their monthly living expenses now, but almost one in four (24 percent) are not confident that their income will be sufficient to continue to meet their monthly expenses over the next five to 10 years. When it comes to retirement savings, almost one quarter (23 percent) of seniors are either not confident in, or do not have, a financial plan for their retirement years.

If an accident or unexpected medical issue was to occur, 71 percent of older Americans believe they would be able to pay associated expenses.

Two-thirds (66 percent) of Americans aged 65 and older depend on Medicare. Of the respondents aged 60 to 64, one in four are not confident that they will be able to afford the costs associated with Medicare, such as deductibles, premiums and copays, in future years.

Additionally, close to one-third (29 percent) of respondents report they are not confident that they know about all of the government benefits for which they are eligible.

Of the one in five seniors who are still employed either full or part-time, 69 percent report that they are working for economic reasons, but productivity (76 percent) and enjoyment (70 percent) also, rank high in their list of reasons to stay in the workforce.

Despite this desire to continue working, only 28 percent of respondents believe that their community offers enough job opportunities for older Americans.

Caregiving

Seniors are not only receiving long-term care – they are providing it, too. Half of older Americans report having someone they consider to be a caregiver in their lives – and close to one-third (28 percent) of seniors say they serve as a caregiver for someone else.

Nearly nine in 10 (87 percent) older Americans who have a caregiver say they are receiving care from a family member. More than half of those caregivers (52 percent) live at home with their care recipient.

Among those seniors who do not currently have a caregiver, 39 percent believe it is likely that they will need one of their children or grandchildren to serve as their caregiver in the future.

Forty-five percent of respondents who serve as a caregiver for someone else report that they would benefit from additional services to support them, such as respite care.

While 61 percent of these caregivers are aware that there is a service in their community that they could call to request assistance with everyday needs, only 15 percent report having utilized such services. An additional 22 percent of seniors are unsure if such services exist in their communities