How Are You Faring?

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While older adults are constantly mentioned as most vulnerable during the COVID-19 pandemic, recent reports by the U.S. Census Bureau point out that there are differences between health and other issues. In fact, in some ways seniors are more secure than younger people in the population.

Who is Hardest Hit During COVID-19 Pandemic

Along four dimensions covered in a Household Pulse Survey, seniors (age 65 and older) were less impacted than the 25-39 age group by concerns related to loss of employment income during the COVID-19 pandemic: ability to pay their rent or mortgage, worry, depression, and food insecurity. The results were somewhat similar when comparing people with incomes less than $25,000 per year with those with incomes of $100,000 or more per year.

Paying Next Month's Rent or Mortgage

One in ten seniors who lost employment income during the pandemic (12.2%) expressed slight or no confidence in their ability to pay the next month's rent or mortgage payment, compared to a third (33.7%) of those 25-39 who had lost income. This could indicate the degree of safety net provided by Social Security and pensions that produce a "floor" not available to the majority of younger workers.

The gap was wider when measured against income—the widest of the four questions asked. Fewer than one in ten (8.4%) of those with higher incomes—even while losing employment income—expressed concern about making the next month's rent or mortgage payment, while that was a concern for fully half (50.0%) of low income respondents who lost employment income.

Worried

Asked whether they were "unable to stop worrying more than half of the days or nearly every day" brought the highest response for both age groups of those who have lots employment income: two in ten seniors (21%) and nearly four in ten 25-39 (36.6%).

This question got the second highest response among low income earners who lost income, with 4 in ten saying they were worried (41.8%). Even among high income earners, it drew the highest response, at nearly a quarter (23.8%).

While responses tilted toward the younger and low income groups, the high overall response seems to indicate the general anxiety about the COVID-19 virus, reflecting significant media exposure to messages of uncertainty and fear on top of personal income loss.

Depressed or Hopeless

This questions produced a response very close to the one on worry. People who had lots employment income were asked if they were "felling down, depressed or hopeless more than half or nearly every day." The responses were only slightly less than for worry: 18.0% of seniors and 32.2% of 25-29; 19.5% of high income versus 39.9% of low income. These numbers are within the margin of error, which means that for practical purposes the two groups of responses are interchangeable.

Food Insecurity

Here, people who had lots employment income were asked if they experienced "sometimes or often not having enough food to eat." The responses were similar to the question of making the next rent or mortgage payment, but somewhat attenuated. Six in 100 (5.8) or seniors agreed with this statement, while two in ten (20.5%) of 25-39 agreed.

The widest gap of the survey was revealed in food insecurity by income. Only two in 100 high income earners (2.1) said they had difficulty, while more than one third (36.0%) of low income earners agreed.

See the full report by Brain Mendez-Smith and Mark Klee, survey statisticians at the U.S. Census Bureau.