The findings have implications for an aging society that has seen widening economic inequality, with the income gap between the richest and poorest households in recent decades, according to the Urban Institute, a think tank in Washington, D.C., as well as to other researchers.
As the U.S. population ages, the divide between rich and poor is also reflected in the experiences of senior citizens, with many reaching retirement age without the financial resources to handle shocks like a health emergency or the loss of a spouse, the NCOA study found.
The difference in average mortality age by income could be due to a lack of preventative care for low-income seniors, an inability to pay for care as they age or the stress of financial instability, Johnston said.
The poverty rate among U.S. seniors rose to 15% last year from 14% in 2023, the highest among all age groups, according to Census data.
"Older adults are placed into situations where they are going to have to make really difficult decisions: Am I going to go to the grocery store, am I going to pay rent or am I going to get my medication?" Johnston told CBS News. "It's not only about forgoing one of those things, but it's the added stress about those decisions."
About 80% of people over 60 have few, or even zero, financial assets and would struggle to cope with a financial shock like the loss of a spouse or needing long-term care, according to the report. Most of those Americans will face financial insecurity in their later years, the researchers said.
"If older adults can't afford long-term care or can't afford medicine, family members are often picking up that cost," Johnston said. "The lost economic productivity among Gen Xers and millennials will play out over the next one to two decades."
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