Half of Americans now aged 55 or older are likely to have less than $20,000 a year to live on at age 65, according to an analysis by economist Teresa Ghilarducci at New York’s New School.
“That means chronic deprivation for the rest of your life,” she said.
The reason: the economic shutdown. Older workers have been more vulnerable to layoffs than younger ones, leaving them jobless during a time of life when saving for retirement ramps up.
Three million older workers have been pushed out of the labor force since March. Nearly half of them may never find another job, a study by the New School’s Retirement Equity Lab found.
As a result, jobless elders may feel compelled to drain money out of their retirement funds – something the CARES Act made more alluring by removing penalties on withdrawals made by people younger than 59.5 years and allowing them to pay back the funds tax-free within three years.
Also, employers have not been contributing normally to workers’ retirement plans. During the Great Recession, 20 percent of employers suspended contributions to such plans; since January, about 50 percent have.
“They learned they could get away with it,” Ghilarducci said.
Jobless people younger than 62, and therefore not yet able to collect Social Security or enroll in Medicare, are the most vulnerable, she said. “Millions of people could fall between the cracks.”
TRENDPOST: Adding to the dismal economic plight of many boomers is the dawn of an unprecedented era of chronic poor health. Among the conditions that are rising at historic rates: diabetes, heart failure, cancer, circulatory conditions, kidney and liver diseases, and related illnesses.
Today, more than 25 percent of Americans over the age of 65 have been diagnosed with diabetes. Astoundingly, some 70 percent of boomers are overweight, and nearly 40 percent are clinically obese.
As a result, they will be far more dependent on others and government subsidies to survive. In fact, in the U.S., public health care expenses are expected to rise nearly 6 percent this year as a direct result of the increased spending necessary to cover the escalating number of boomers enrolling in Medicare health insurance programs.
Deaf, Blind, and Out of Their Mind
Latest estimates project that one in ten people older than 65 have developed features of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. This is a progressive, irreversible, non-curable disease that will continue to worsen despite the best medical care.
And as their conditions decline, they will need greater supervision and assistance. Dementia disorders will further tax already overburdened health care systems worldwide, most of which are ill equipped to provide medical care for these patients.
TREND FORECAST: The world is not prepared for the impact the Bye, Bye Boomers trend is about to unleash.
As the data shows, the golden years for millions of seniors in 2020 will be marked more by how to survive rather than how to thrive. As noted, the data in virtually every area that determines quality of life for seniors is negative and trending more negative.
The institutions and legacy support systems designed to help alleviate the impact of these trends is woefully inadequate.
Bye Bye Boomer is a macro, powerful trend. How seniors will house, feed and heal themselves are the three categories that demand creative, broad thinking.
From shared living options, such as co-housing, a newly emerging trend, to affordable, effective whole health healing alternatives that can improve the lifestyle of Golden Agers, there are numerous golden opportunities for Ontrendpreneurs®.
TRENDPOST: As the economy declines and jobs are lost, more children have moved back with their parents. According to the Pew Research Center, “The share of 18- to 29-year-olds living with their parents has become a majority since U.S. coronavirus cases began spreading early this year, surpassing the previous peak during the Great Depression era. In July, 52% of young adults resided with one or both of their parents, up from 47% in February.”
On one hand, with more children at home, any income earned they can contribute toward living expenses and housing costs is a positive for the older generations that are short on cash.
On the other hand, it will put more downward pressure on the apartment rental sector, especially in large cities, that are (were) attractive experiences for younger generations.
