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New
economic woes hit Boomers,
Seniors
hardest
Millions of older Americans stand at the
epicenter of the current financial crisis
and the implications must be confronted,
said experts during a symposium at
The Gerontological Society of America’s
(GSA)
61st Annual Scientific Meeting.
“The slumping stock market, falling housing
prices, and weakening economy have serious
repercussions for the 94 million Americans
age 50 and older who are approaching
retirement or already retired,” said Richard
W. Johnson, PhD, principal research
associate at the Urban Institute.
“Retirement accounts lost about 18 percent
of their value between September 2007 and
September 2008, and housing prices fell from
4 to 20 percent between January 2007 and May
2008, depending on where seniors live.”
He added that the clock is ticking for
people trying to salvage their fiscal
futures.
“Older Americans have little time to recoup
the values of their homes, 401(k) plans, and
individual retirement accounts — all
important parts of their retirement nest
eggs. More and more older Americans are
working to bolster their retirement incomes,
but the rising unemployment rate, now 6.5
percent, limits their prospects,” Johnson
said.
Peter G. Peterson Foundation Vice President
C. Eugene Steuerle, PhD, another speaker at
the session, confirmed the magnitude of the
situation.
“The current financial crisis has involved a
loss in the U.S. of perhaps $15 trillion and
a world-wide loss several-fold larger; these
are numbers that vary widely from week to
week. Among those most affected are those
who were planning on spending down their
assets in retirement or as they move toward
retirement,” he said.
Steuerle also noted that these problems
raise a set of related questions.
“Who should government help if it can only
cover a tiny portion of the losses? Did the
bubble market mislead people as to what was
affordable? What are the consequences for
the nation of saving very little when times
were good? Can we set out on a course now to
avoid some of these problems in the future?”
he asked.
The symposium was an outreach of GSA’s
public policy initiative.
###
The Gerontological Society of America
(GSA) is the nation's oldest and largest
interdisciplinary organization devoted to
research, education, and practice in the
field of aging.
The principal mission of the Society — and
its 5,000+ members — is to advance the study
of aging and disseminate information among
scientists, decision makers, and the general
public. GSA’s structure also includes a
policy institute, the
National Academy on an Aging Society,
and an educational branch, the
Association of Gerontology in Higher
Education.
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