A recent statewide telephone survey conducted by the AARP shows that many likely Pennsylvania voters worry about the financial security of their retirement. Most non-retirees surveyed have either already delayed retirement, or expect they’ll have to.
The survey’s Economic Anxiety Index indicates non-retirees are significantly more uneasy than retired voters. The Index uses five component concerns to evaluate the levels of apprehension of registered voters who are expected to participate in the November gubernatorial election.
Retirees and non-retirees alike worry most about high taxes. Survey respondents also ranked their anxieties about living costs, health expenses, financial security, and not having enough money to pay for in-home care or a nursing home for themselves or a spouse.
Voters 50+ in Pennsylvania want elected officials to make affordable at-home care a priority. Overwhelmingly, voters disagree with lawmakers’ recent decisions to redirect lottery proceeds to nursing homes instead of at-home care.
From the AARP survey results:
Voters want more support for caregiving so that the elderly and people with disabilities can live independently. Caregivers and those who have received care constitute an important emerging constituency.
- In addition, the majority of voters believe PA lottery funds should be used to pay for at-home care, as opposed to care provided in a nursing home.
Caregiving is defined in the survey as providing unpaid care for an adult loved one who is ill, elderly, or has a disability. Caregivers assist with all kinds of chores: bathing and dressing, meal preparation, and managing medical care, to name a few.
Most 50+ voters are concerned about caregiving. Seventy-three percent of 50+ voters have been caregivers in the past, are likely to be caregivers in the future, or are currently caregivers, according to the survey.
Reach Molly Duerig at 724-799-4098 or mollyduerig@gmail.com.
