The country needs to do something, and fast! Or else this new study says there will be more homeless adults in the next decade. As it stands, 65-year-olds and older adults make up one-fifth of the nation.
Unless the country can dramatically boost efforts to increase its supply of affordable homes for these people. There may be a crisis on our hands.
The study report says a growing number of people with low, fixed incomes will struggle to afford housing in the next decade. In a report this week, Harvard researchers noted that the number of older Americans will skyrocket during this time.
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The report also says by 2040, the number of households with heads aged 80 or older will reach 17 million.
Jennifer Molinsky, the report’s lead author, said. “There is a good news part of this, in that it’s not a bad thing that there are a lot more older people living longer. We just don’t have the housing and support that we need for this growing population.”
She also says incomes decline as you age older, especially around age 80. At that age, people with the lowest incomes and the most severe health problems struggle to afford housing. Not to mention necessary health care and assistance.
“The older population is growing, especially at those ages when people’s incomes are going down. “She added that people in their 60s and 70s usually have significantly higher incomes than octogenarians.
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Linna Zhu is a fellow at the Urban Institute whose research focuses on housing for older adults. She says that the report’s findings tally with other data showing a growing number of Americans will struggle with housing costs. Zhu said:
“It’s very sad. As researchers, we’re looking at these numbers, but behind all that is people’s daily lives. It’s really frustrating to see the challenges seniors are facing in the housing market. We will all be there one day.”
She adds that there are some critical differences in housing security among people. After all, some have paid off their homes, while others still have mortgages, and there are those who rent.
Molinsky believes that the effects of America’s widening income inequality will become easier to see among older adults. Especially as people enduring a “lifetime of disadvantage” enter the later stages of life.
“The next decade is going to challenge millions of people to find adequate housing and supportive services that they need to stay in that house,” she said.
Only a few older Americans can afford their housing costs and the price of assisted living or a home health aide. According to the researchers, in 97 U.S. metropolitan areas, less than 1 in 5 adults aged 75 or older could stretch their budgets to accommodate housing and care.
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The matter isn’t helped by the fact that all kinds of disabilities worsen with age. And more than half of people over the age of 80 report having trouble with their vision, mobility, hearing, cognition, or other health issues.
These problems predicated on health issues are often more challenging for people of color and those with lower incomes, according to Molinsky.
Things are bound to worsen until even average whites and those with moderate incomes have to actively plan towards avoiding it in their later lives. There is hope the government will find a solution, but until then, what happens?
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