Growing Older, Growing Needs: Economic Insecurity, Caregiving, and Food Insecurity in Later Life

Session Submission Type: Panel

Abstract

Understanding and addressing the everyday realities of economic insecurity in old age is increasingly important in the United States. The number of adults sixty-five and older is projected to exceed the number of children younger than eighteen in the U.S. for the first time in history by 2034 and will continue to rise over time.  By 2060, nearly one in four Americans will be older than sixty-five and just one in five will be eighteen or younger. This increase in the size and proportion of the older adult population will be accompanied by a changing demand for services and governmental programs across a range of areas, including income support, food and nutrition assistance, and caregiving services.

The first paper by Clay Fannin (University of Wisconsin) and Colleen Heflin (Syracuse University) explores drivers of change in older adult food insecurity from 5.3% in 2001 to 9.2% in 2023.  Specifically, they examine the extent to which increases in older adult food insecurity can be attributed to the changing demographic composition of older adults, state policy changes, and state economic conditions.  The paper then estimates future levels of food insecurity under different assumptions regarding future demographic change, economic conditions, and policy scenarios, including proposed cuts to food assistance programs focused on older adults. 

The second paper by Rich Johnson and Barb Butrica (Urban Institute) explores the constitency of older age poverty rates over the last twenty years despite real increases in Social Security benefits over this period. The analysis uses data from the Health and Retirement Study to examine changes in earning histories, health, claiming age, and immigration and how these have influenced the poverty rate. Results provide a nice complement to the Fannin and Heflin paper and a direct link to the Lee paper.

The third paper by Zeewan Lee (University of Southern California) focuses on the timing of benefit claiming and the ability of the Social Security Program to provide financial security.  Using linked data from the Health and Retirement Survey to Social Security Administration records and monthly working trajectory data, this paper examines how a variety of post-claiming financial indictors (liquid assets, private pension wealth, real estate wealth, and total household wealth) are related to the timing of claiming Social Security benefits. The authors find that early claiming is associated with adverse financial outcomes and discuss policy implications of this finding.

The final paper by Lauren Hersch Nichols (University of Colorado) examines the extent to end of life care differs for Medicare patients enrolled in Medicare Advantage, which comprise nearly half of the total Medicare population.  Using data from the Health and Retirement Survey she finds that patients enrolled in Medicare Advantage are more likely to rely on uncoordinated and unsubsidized care from family caregivers or private service providers when discharged from the hospital for a life-limiting condition in the last year of life. 

 

 

Policy Area

• Poverty and Income Policy

Secondary Policy Area

• Family and Child Policy

Chair

• Clay Fannin, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Discussants

• Anna Wiersma Strauss, Indiana University

• Jonathan Schwabish, Urban Institute

Organizer

• Colleen M Heflin, Syracuse University

Individual Presentations

• Silver Years, Empty Plates: Food Insecurity in a Changing America - Presenting Author: Colleen M Heflin, Syracuse University; Non-Presenting Co-Author: Clay Fannin, University of Wisconsin-Madison

• Do Family Caregivers Subsidize Medicare Advantage Plans? - Presenting Author: Lauren Hersch Nicholas, University of Colorado Denver

• Social Security Claiming Timing and Older Adults’ Financial Wellbeing - Presenting Author: Zeewan Lee, National University of Singapore

• The Impact of Closing Social Security Offices on Current Social Security Beneficiaries - Presenting Author: Jonathan Schwabish, Urban Institute