Older Americans Increasingly Concerned About Future Financial and Health Security, Study Finds
Older Americans Increasingly Concerned About Future Financial and Health Security, Study Finds
Concerned about their financial and health security, a substantial majority of older Americans would favor setting aside a portion of their earnings in a special supplemental account to save for future medical expenses not covered by Medicare, a new survey from the New York City-based Commonwealth Fund finds.
According to the report, Will You Still Need Me? The Health and Financial Security of Older Americans, 69 percent of a nationally representative sample of 2,000 adults ages 50 to 70 support dedicating 1 percent of their earnings to a new Medicare health account to help them pay for long-term-care services or other uncovered healthcare expenses. The idea of saving for such an account drew broad-based support among older Americans regardless of income, political affiliation, region of the country, and health status. A strong majority of those ages 50 to 64 also said they would like to participate in Medicare before they turn age 65.
"It's clear that older Americans are uniformly concerned about their future," said fund president Karen Davis. "They are anxious for policy solutions that would improve their ability to protect against the high cost of medical care and make it easier to increase their retirement savings."
To download the complete report (59 pages, PDF), visit: http://www.cmwf.org/usr_doc/840_collins_olderadultsreport_06-30-2005.pdf.
“Baby Boomers Concerned About Their Financial and Health Security, Says Survey.”
Commonwealth Fund Press Release
6/28/05.
Primary Subject: Health
Secondary Subject(s): Aging
Location(s): National
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