In 10 years, the federal government will spend half its budget (not counting interest on the debt) on those aged 65 and older. The inexorable aging of the Baby Boom generation means that a growing share of federal spending will be used to support older adults—mostly for health care and retirement benefits. As CBO importantly notes, it is misleading to [...]
Mom fell. Those are two words we never want to hear, but if you have an aging parent, there is a good chance you will. What do you do? Falls are the leading cause of injury and death among older adults in the US. The Centers for Disease Control estimates that in 2014, older adults fell 29 million times, resulting [...]
Is the growing need for long-term supports and services (LTSS) by older adults driving big increases in Medicaid spending? Not according to a new study by Don Redfoot and my Urban Institute colleague Melissa Favreault. Indeed, they found that while Medicaid enrollment and expenditures for older adults grew in recent decades, it had far less effect on the program than [...]
It is easy—and dangerous—to create stereotypes of older adults. Just when you think you have a picture in your head of what a senior is, you realize how very different they are. To borrow a phrase: You’ve seen one older adult and, you’ve seen one older adult. The 50 million Americans over 65 are more economically and racially diverse than [...]
While many Americans spend their through assets in old age, a surprising number have more savings two decades after retiring than they do when they leave their jobs. The phenomenon is yet another chapter in the story of old age in the US-- which might be titled A Tale Of Two Retirements. A new study by Sudipto Benerjee of the [...]
Are you ready for a new debate over what to call old people? This happens every few years: We’ve tried senior citizens, seniors, the elderly, elders, retirees, and even gerontos. Lately, “older adults” seemed to be catching on. That’s the phrase I mostly use though it is not entirely satisfying either. Older than who? Then there are the euphemisms for [...]
Congress is nearing passage of a $1.5 trillion tax cut that would mostly benefit businesses and high-income households. For older adults, the effects are complicated. Some will receive large tax cuts. Some will be no better off and a few will be worse off. But beyond the immediate tax changes in the bill, the measure sets the stage for what [...]
You probably saw the headline: Six die in a Florida nursing home in the wake of Hurricane Irma. They won’t be the last frail elders to die needlessly. Many frail seniors who were living on the edge are going to die in southeast Texas and Florida in the coming weeks. We will probably never know how many because most will [...]
Older adults in the US may be making nearly one-third more, on average, than commonly thought, according to an important new study by two US Census Bureau researchers. Their report, published last month, finds that the median household income for those 65 and older was about $44,400 in 2012, significantly higher than the $33,800 previously reported by Census. The implications [...]
Older adults in the US are better off, on average, than those in other countries, according to a new index developed by researchers at Columbia University and the University of Southern California. However, while US seniors do relatively well by quality of life measures such as social connections at work and across generations, they fall in the middle of the [...]