Seniors Have Both High Hopes and Major Concerns About the Future - East Idaho News
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Seniors Have Both High Hopes and Major Concerns About the Future

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Getty 081012 OlderCouple?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1344627199279Digital Vision/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Despite tough economic times, at least one group of Americans is bullish about their future. They’re the baby boomers born between 1946 and 1964.

In a poll conducted of 2,250 people ages 60 and older by the National Council on Aging, UnitedHealthcare and USA Today, 75 percent of baby boomers believe life will continue to get better, due in large part to people working longer and advancements in healthcare.

However, their optimism is also tempered by some realism about the way the economy has stagnated, with a third of this group worried that they won’t be able to pay for long-term care, while 20 percent say that a major financial downturn would seriously affect their fiscal situation.

Just over seven in ten seniors earning under $30,000 annually, which is considered low income, admit to a lingering health problem and that they’re less likely to exercise than their more financially secure counterparts.

Meanwhile, about a fifth of seniors over the age of 65 are still working either full- or part-time, some because they want to, other because they have to in order to make ends meet.

“Aging in place” is another goal of most seniors — that is, living in their own homes. Most people in their 60s say that it’s feasible to live independently, although less than half of folks in their 70s see that as a realistic possibility.

There’s another major concern brought up by the respondents in the survey — that is, the availability of resources and services in their communities, with more than a fourth of people in their 60s worried that a lack of these services will make it more difficult to “age in place.”

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

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