Middle-Class Seniors Losing Access to Housing and Healthcare

Over half of middle-class seniors will be unable to access assisted living in the next decade, according to a new study.

By 2029, about 14.4 million middle-income Americans over the age of 75 will be unable to afford housing with personal care assistance—more than double the number today. In the Boston Globe, Robert Weisman explains that researchers call this group the “forgotten middle”: people who can’t afford private assisted living but also don’t qualify for subsidized home care.

"The study is seen as a springboard for a national push to create new assisted-living models and accelerate construction of assisted-living units for middle-income residents," Weisman reports.

"There's no real model for middle-income people to retire and live securely," one advocate told Weisman. Non-profits are working to create "an alternative system to support the whole baby boomer generation," which would include building more middle-income senior housing, creating new pricing models, and strengthening Medicare plans as well as retirement funds.