Money can't buy happiness or love – but it may buy more years of life, a new national report suggests.
Older adults in the poorest 20% of the U.S. population die, on average, nine years earlier than older adults in the wealthiest 20%, according to a new analysis from the National Council on Aging and the University of Massachusetts Boston.
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"Millions of older Americans who worked hard and played by the rules are dying early simply because they don't have sufficient financial resources," Ramsey Alwin, NCOA president and chief executive officer, said in a news release. "This is a call to action to change our policies and systems to ensure that every person can enjoy the gift of longevity — not just the wealthy."
The link between wealth and life expectancy has been well researched. A vast, international study from 2020 found that personal wealth had more impact than education or social class on how long people lived and how healthy they were in old age. Both wealthy women and men lived an average of nine disability-free years longer than poor women and men, according to that study.
Similarly, a 2016 study found the richest men in America live 15 years longer than the poorest, and the richest women 10 years longer than the poorest.
The new report analyzed data from the Health and Retirement Study – a long-term study that surveys a nationally-representative sample of about 20,000 people in the United States. It found an older adults with a household income of $19,560 in 2022 had an average age of death of 76. In contrast, older adults with a household income of $120,000 an average age of death of 85.
The report also found that about 80% of households headed by an older adult would not be able to handle the financial consequences of a major setback such as a severe health problem or divorce.
The researchers defined an older adult as someone 60 or older and examined data from 2018 to 2022.
The negative impacts COVID-19 had on health and employment continue to affect older adults in America. Medicaid rollbacks, new work requirements and other policy changes under President Donald Trump will mean more older adults will lose health insurance, incur medical debt and suffer food insecurity, the report said.
"The future of aging in America will likely be defined by an ever-widening inequality in both financial status and mortality, deepening the divide between the majority of older Americans (the 80%) and the top 20%," the report said.