WALTHAM, Mass., May 7 (UPI) -- Ninety percent of Latino and African-American seniors live on the edge of financial collapse, accelerated by the economic downturn, U.S. researchers said.
The report by the Institute on Assets and Social Policy at Brandeis University and the public policy organization Demos utilized the Senior Financial Stability Index -- a tool developed by the institute and Demos to assess the long-term economic security of seniors.
A combination of inadequate pensions and savings, high housing costs and increasing healthcare costs have resulted in about three-quarters of minority senior households not able to cover essential expenses, the report said.
The report also found that:
-- Out-of-pocket healthcare expenses are burdensome for 34 percent of African-Americans and 39 percent of Latinos.
-- High housing cost put the budgets of 60 percent senior households of color at risk.
"The current economic crisis will compound economic vulnerabilities that have been building for years unless policies are developed to reverse these trends," lead author Tatjana Meschede said in a statement.
The report is at: www.iasp.brandeis.edu or www.demos.org.
