Senior Americans Have More Purpose, Focus & Vision

Older Americans report having more feelings of purpose, focus and life vision than younger Americans...

59% of a 45- to 74-year age group surveyed said their lives have purpose, versus 47% of those aged 25- to 44-years

62% of the surveyed 45- to 74-years-olds say they have focus, while only 45% of the age group 25-44 report having focus

55% of the older age group said they have vision for the future, versus 43% of the 25-44 year-olds


Source: Metlife Mature Market Institute

Senior Voters: Engaged and Unhappy

78% - Percentage of seniors who are certain they will vote in the election.

65% - Percentage of seniors who have little or no confidence in the government's ability to make progress on important issues.


52% - Percentage of seniors who say they will likely vote for a Republican candidate in the mid-term election.


65% - Percentage of seniors who say they are closely following campaign news.


74% - Percentage of seniors who say they are dissatisfied with national conditions.


36% - Percentage of seniors who say they are less likely to vote for an incumbent running for re-election.


32% - Percentage of seniors who say they are more likely to vote for someone who has never held elected office.

Sources of Income for Seniors in Retirement...

Social Security makes up about 40% of retirees’ incomes, while pensions and annuities add another 20% for people ages 65 and older.  

26% of the income comes from wages, with another 13% coming from assets.  

Of those who are retired, 80% receive some level of Social Security, 55% earn money on savings, while 35% have pensions.  

20% of people who have retired are still working.  

Here’s a scary thought:  The median income is just $18,000, which is up from $13,264 in 1974.  As you can see, retirement income has not really kept up with inflation.  

Not too surprisingly, women rely more on Social Security income than men, who have pensions and annuities to fall back on.  

(Source:  Employee Benefit Research Institute and U.S. Census Bureau)

Retirement Income for Boomers: No More Than A Guessing Game?

More than 90% of Baby Boomers feel the United States is facing a retirement crisis, yet most have a limited understanding of how much money they’ll need and fear they’ll outlive their income according to a new survey from Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America (Allianz Life). 

The study, titled Reclaiming the Future: Challenging Retirement Income Perceptions, was conducted in May 2010 with more than 3,200 Baby Boomers ranging in age from 44 to 75.

Although 61% of Boomers fear outliving their money in retirement more than death, 31% say they are not too clear about what their expenses will be in retirement and 36% have no idea if their income will last.

“These results are troubling not only because people are fearful about retirement income, but also because of how little they know about how much money they’ll need,” said Gary C. Bhojwani, president and CEO of Allianz Life. “We hope that our Reclaiming the Future study will shed some light on the issue and inspire Boomers to take control of their retirement planning today.”

A majority of respondents feel their retirement lifestyle must surpass their parents (79%), indicating a need to focus on income in retirement versus accumulation of assets.

When asked how much yearly income is needed in retirement, respondents indicated a median income of $59,000 per year. 

Unfortunately, Boomers were off by a factor of nearly 3 times too small when estimating how much they’d need to save to create that household income.

It’s clear that this level of planning amounts to no more than a guessing game.

Unemployment for Seniors? Still Rising...

• 7.1% - Unemployment rate in May for workers 55 and older, up from 7% in April.
  
  
• 44.2 – Number of weeks older jobseekers were unemployed in May, up from 42.9 in April.
  
  
• 59.4% - Percentage of older jobseekers who were unemployed for 27 weeks or more in May, up from 23% at the start of the recession.
  
  
• 7.6% - unemployment rate for older men in May, compared with 5.9% for older women.
  
  
• 28 million – Number of people 55 or older who had a job in May.
  
  

Source: AARP

1 of 5 Senior Americans Has Been Swindled

More than 7.3 million older Americans — 1 out of 5 citizens over the age of 65 — already have been victimized by a financial swindle, according to a new survey.

The survey, by the nonprofit Investor Protection Trust and conducted by Infogroup/ORC, was released Tuesday to mark World Elder Abuse Awareness Day.

The survey of 2,022 American adults — including 706 adult children with at least one parent aged 65 or older and 590 adults who are aged 65 or older and have children — found that half of older Americans exhibit one or more of the warning signs of current financial victimization.

For example, more than one out of three seniors (37%) are currently being pitched by “people [who] are calling me or mailing me asking for money, lotteries, and other schemes.” 

Almost half of those aged 65 or over (44%) got at least 2 out of 4 questions wrong about basic investment knowledge. About 1 out of 3 older Americans (31%) said they are vulnerable in one or more ways to potential financial victimization.

“We now know that a shockingly large number of older Americans are already victims of financial swindles and millions more are in danger of being exploited in such a fashion,” said IPT president and CEO Don Blandin in a statement.

71% of those over 65 handle their finances themselves, while 24% rely on relatives for at least some help and 3% rely on non-family members, according to their children.

89% of children are “very confident” or “somewhat confident” of their parents' current ability to handle personal finances. Only 11% of them said they are “not very confident” or “not confident” at all. 

Top Mobility Issues For Older Americans...

• 3,129 – Number of people per 10,000 between 50 and 64 who have trouble stooping, bending, or kneeling.
  
  
• 1,491 - Number of people per 10,000 between 50 and 64 who have trouble sitting two hours.
  
  
• 1,186 - Number of people per 10,000 between 50 and 64 who have trouble reaching over their head.
  
  
• 2,491 - Number of people per 10,000 between 50 and 64 who have trouble standing two hours.
  
  
• 2,010 - Number of people per 10,000 between 50 and 64 who have trouble pushing or pulling large object.
  

Source: RAND Corporation and National Institute on Aging

Frightening Medicare Stats...

The Medicare Hospital Insurance Trust Fund, which pays for Medicare Part A, is now projected to be exhausted in 8 years, sometime during 2017.

It has been estimated that the typical older couple may need to save $300,000 to pay for health care costs not covered by Medicare alone.

The average Part B plus Part D premium is estimated to equal about 12% of the average Social Security benefit in 2010, and 16% of the average benefit in 2025.

Taken together, this means that if no action is taken, Medicare premiums and cost-sharing could eat up more than 33% of Social Security benefits in the next 15 years.

A typical older couple in traditional Medicare will pay almost $90 next year on average to subsidize private insurance companies who are not providing their health benefits.

Source: HealthReform.gov

How Defined Benefit Pensions Support Retirement Security

Research from the National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS) suggests seniors with defined-benefit pension income fare better than seniors without such income.

The Institute found seniors with a pension are less likely to be considered “poor or near poor,” and are less likely to suffer material hardships or rely on public assistance than those with income from other sources. The study was based on data from the 1996, 2001 and 2004 panels of the U.S. Census Bureau’s Survey of Income and Program Participation.

Pensions help 4.7 million Americans avoid poverty. According to NIRS, nearly twice as many households headed by someone 60 or older received Social Security benefits, than income from defined benefit plans. Still, over 1 million more households stayed above the poverty line with help from their defined-benefit plan income than from Social Security. The Institute notes that “Social Security is highly effective at helping seniors avoid poverty, but defined benefit pensions enable people to maintain a middle-class standard of living in retirement.”

Pensions substantially reduce material hardships. Over 500,000 Americans would have would have struggled to buy food if not for their defined-benefit plans. About 380,000 would have been unable to pay for rent, mortgage or bills, and 320,000 would have struggled to pay for health care.

Pensions keep 1.4 million Americans off public assistance. According to NIRS, without income from their defined-benefit plans, 1.4 million American households would have to rely on public assistance. The Institute estimates that defined-benefit plans reduced claims to public programs, excluding Medicaid, by $7.3 billion in 2006.

Health Care and Seniors – Inside The Numbers

• Eleven million seniors are still subject to rising premiums. Those affected are new enrollees in Part B, high earners, and seniors who are delaying receipt of Social Security benefits. Premiums for Part B increased by a staggering +72% between 2000 and 2005.
   
• Social Security represents half or more of total income for 67% of beneficiaries, and for 33% of beneficiaries, Social Security represents 90% or more of total income.
  
• Social Security provides 45% of income for seniors in the second-highest income quintile, and 18% in the top 20%.

• The average annual Social Security benefit for retirees in January 2009 was $13,900. By comparison, the federal poverty guideline level for a single person is $10,830 a year, and the recommended income to meet basic expenses as a retired homeowner (as calculated by the Elder Economic Security Index) is $16,300.

Source: The Economic Policy Institute

Social Security & Defined Contribution Plan Statistics...

2.5 million – Number of people over 60 who receive income from a defined-contribution account; an additional 3.5 million receive income from a spouse’s account.

37.6 million – Number of people who receive benefits from Social Security; an additional 2.1 million have a spouse who receives benefits.

$24,435 – Mean annual amount from a senior’s defined-contribution account, compared with $11,965, the mean annual amount from Social Security.

$11,970 - The median annual amount from a senior’s defined-contribution account, compared with $12,038 from Social Security.

Source: National Institute on Retirement Security

Senior Citizens On Love & Relationships

• 16% — Percentage of people 65 or older who say they could fall "head over heels" in love; 39% say they have already done so.
  
  
• 44% — Percentage of people over 65 who say romance becomes more important as you age.
  
  
  
• 89% — Percentage of people 65 or older who are married to the person they are in love with; 2% say that person is no longer living. Only 1% say they are living with, but not married to, the person they are in love with.
  
  
  
• 27% — Percentage of older adults who say they would be willing to leave their profession for someone they love; 22% would move to another country.

Source: AARP