Can you afford to get older? According to a new Harris Poll, most people are not confident that we as a country are prepared to handle the costs generated by an aging population as Baby Boomers grow older. The findings of the survey suggest that many people are aware of the challenges yet are willing to consider possibilities on addressing solutions such as encouraging people to work longer and to increase the age of eligibility for Social Security and Medicare. Unsurprisingly, raising taxes or cutting benefits are much less acceptable. However, raising taxes is less unpopular than cutting benefits.
Surveying 2,576 adults online, Harris Interactive found the public is split on whether we will be able to afford the cost of many more old people (33%). According to Harris, 38% said will not be able to do so or 29% are not sure. More younger people (47% of Echo Boomers) and 51% of Gen Xers (aged 34-45) than older people think we will not be able to afford it.
Other results from the survey found:
- A 47% plurality of adults – but less than a majority – thinks that it is a good thing that life expectancy is increasing and that there are likely to be many more old people. Older people are much more likely than younger people to believe this; 58% of people over 65 think this but only 35% of “Echo Boomers” aged 18-33. While only 20% of adults think this is a bad thing, fully 34% are not sure.
- When confronted with a list of five possible ways of addressing the future cost of Social Security and Medicare, a third (35%) of adults say they don’t favor any of them. Possibly they do not believe the underlying premise that there is a problem. By far the most people (47%) believe we should “encourage people over 65 to work.” The next most acceptable option would be to increase the age of eligibility for Social Security and Medicare (30%). Only 21% think we should raise taxes while very few people (9%) think we should reduce Medicare or Social Security benefits.
- When told that “most economists think it is inevitable that we will have to do one or more of these things, whether we like it or not” and asked to pick two, the same pattern emerges. Fully 61% favor encouraging more older people to work, and 46% favor increase the age of eligibility. Almost a third (31%) choose increased taxes while very few favor cutting benefits for Social Security (10%) or Medicare (12%).
- A large 68% to 16% majority (with 15% unsure) believes “we as a society are not adequately prepared to spend more years caring for our aging parents than for our children.”
- A 50% to 26% plurality of those aged 18-64 believe that “our health care system, as it is now,” will not be able to handle the large number of older people who are likely to have chronic medical conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and arthritis.
- When told that “many economists think that, to pay for Social Security and Medicare . . . many more people should retire later and continue working after 65,” a large 64% to 25% majority of those under 65 agrees with this.
“These findings are interesting and important,” said Dr. Robert Butler, the president of the International Longevity Institute. “It is good to see public support for people working later in their lives. This would not only reduce the economic problems addressed in the survey; research shows that people with purpose and who have something to get up for in the morning live longer and better lives. There is also evidence that increased longevity creates new wealth.”
Most People Believe that We Are Not Prepared for Increase in Longevity and Number of Old People
