How Much Economic Security Do Seniors Have?

Economic security, or insecurity, on an aggregate basis is tough to measure. We’ve all seen the surveys that report the average American family has only a relatively few thousand dollars saved for retirement. But those surveys include all age groups. So the kids in their 20s just starting out are included with those in or very near retirement. An attempt at a more accurate look was made by a group called Wider Opportunities for Women. The group divided older Americans (whom they call “elderly”) by state. For each state, WOW determined how much money a single, renter over 65 years old and fully retired would need to meet basic expenses. It compared that to the Median Elder Income in the state. The result was the Economic Security Gap.

WOW concluded that over half of older Americans aren’t economically secure because they don’t have incomes that cover basic expenses. The best-off state was Alaska, where the median income covered 96% of basic expenses. The worst off was Massachusetts, where the median income covered only 62% of expenses. See the details here.