Poverty among the elderly is likely to increase, according to the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, the Associated Press reports.
The richest one-third of households may not be able to sustain their standard of living quite the way they were able to before retirement, but it will probably mean cutting back on extras.
The poorest one-third of America is at risk, however; the center forecasts that 45% of them are at risk of facing poverty. These people lack pensions, 401(k) savings and are less likely to own their own homes.
Of particular concern is the increase in the minimum age for Social Security benefits from age 65 to age 67 for those born after 1960. This will even put 60% of the bottom one-third of the members of Generation X at risk of being unable to maintain their standard of living in retirement.
For two-income households, the center’s concern is the salary level of women. Social Security pays non-working spouses 50% of their working partner’s benefit. Thus, if a working woman didn’t earn more than 50% of her husband’s salary, their combined Social Security benefits won’t rise.
The staff of Money Management Executive ("MME") has prepared these capsule summaries based on reports published by the news sources to which they are attributed. Those news sources are not associated with MME, and have not prepared, sponsored, endorsed, or approved these summaries.
