Building on Living Longer on Less, the first report in a series examining the financial vulnerability of the elderly, this report examines the economic security of African-American and Latino senior households.

 

LONG-TERM ECONOMIC SECURITY AND RISK 
  • The SFSI finds that  91 percent of both African-American and Latino seniors face financial vulnerability. Thus, nine out of 10 senior households of color do not have sufficient economic security to sustain themselves through their projected lives. Among Latino single seniors, only four percent are financially secure. 

SOURCES OF ECONOMIC INSECURITY AND RISK

 

  • Assets: More than three fourths of senior households of color (76 percent of African-American and 85 percent of Latino seniors) do not have sufficient financial resources to meet projected lifetime expenses. 
  • Healthcare Expenses: Out-of-pocket health expenses are burdensome for 34 percent of African-American and 39 percent of Latino senior households. These expenses will eat up an increasingly larger share of fixed budgets in senior households in the future.
  • Housing Expenses: High housing expenses put six in 10 African-American and Latino seniors’ budgets at risk. 
  • Home Equity: Forty-four percent of African-American and 37 percent of Latino senior households are at risk with respect to home equity—meaning that they rent or have no home equity.