African American and Latino Senior Citizens Face
Widespread Financial Insecurity in Retirement
New study finds nine of ten senior households of
color lack economic security
May
5, 2010 - Millions of African-American and Latino seniors are living on
the edge of financial collapse, according to a new report by the
Institute on Assets and Social Policy (IASP) at Brandeis University and
the public policy organization, Demos.
The report also says African American and Latino
seniors face widespread financial insecurity during retirement, a trend
accelerated by the current economic crisis. According to the study, 9 in
10 senior households of color lack sufficient resources for long-term
economic security.
The report, Severe Financial Insecurity among
African American and Latino Seniors, analyzed data from the Senior
Financial Stability Index (SFSI), a tool developed by IASP and Demos to
assess the long-term economic security of seniors.
The information leads the authors to conclude that
a combination of inadequate pensions and savings, high housing costs,
accelerating health expenses, and other trends that affect seniors, will
likely get worse, unless policies are enacted to address them.
"The current economic crisis will compound economic
vulnerabilities that have been building for years unless policies are
developed to reverse these trends," said Tatjana Meschede, lead author
of the report released today.
Particular vulnerabilities identified in the report
include:
● More than threefourths of senior households
of color do not have adequate financial resources from savings, Social
Security, or pension income to cover essential expenses for their
expected life spans.
● Out-of-pocket health care expenses are
burdensome for 34 percent of African American and 39 percent of Latino
seniors.
● High housing expenses put the budgets of 6
out of 10 senior households of color at risk.
"These data show that millions of African American
and Latino seniors are living on the edge of financial collapse, unable
to rely on assets, income, or other pillars of financial stability,
said Thomas Shapiro, co-author of the report and Director of the
Institute on Assets and Social Policy.
Their circumstances are only made worse by the
recent economic downturn, which has been characterized by dramatic
losses in assets and housing values,".
Policies must not only strengthen the existing
safety-nets and promote asset building opportunities for vulnerable
seniors, they also must protect younger families to help them enter
retirement on a stronger economic footing.
"Future retirees will be worse off unless we attend
to policies that grow their resources for the future, and combat the
rising costs of essential expenses for seniors," said Jennifer Wheary,
report co-author and a Senior Fellow at Demos.
May
5, 2010 - Millions of African-American and Latino seniors are living on
the edge of financial collapse, according to a new report by the
Institute on Assets and Social Policy (IASP) at Brandeis University and
the public policy organization, Demos. 