Hard Knocks, Indeed!

Via Economist’s View:

Provide Protections From Retirement’s Pitfalls

My research colleagues Gordon Mermin and Cori Uccello and I recently gathered hard facts on the boomer school of hard knocks. We found that more than 4 in 10 adults age 51 to 61 in 1992 were diagnosed with major new medical conditions — including heart disease, cancer, serious lung ailments, diabetes, strokes, and psychiatric problems — between 1992 and 2002. About one-third developed health problems so severe that they had to cut back on work or retire early. About 10 percent of married people became widowed; another 3 percent divorced.

Older adults also work in an uncertain job market as retirement nears. Almost one in five was laid off between 1992 and 2002. Remarkably, these jobs were lost during the longest economic expansion in U.S. history, when unemployment rates fell to historic lows. The next generation could approach retirement in far tougher economic times.

Combining all of these shocks, we found that about 7 in 10 adults age 51 to 61 in 1992 developed a health problem, lost a spouse to death or divorce, or became unemployed during the 10 years ending in 2002.

All those righties who think we don’t need things like social security, medicare, national health care, etc are idiots.