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U.S. NEWS Thursday 28 april 2022
Older people fret less about aging in place: AP-NORC Poll

Associated Press to older people.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The In the poll, people 50 and
older you are, the less you older reported that their
fret about aging in your communities do an uneven
own home or community. job of meeting basic needs.
That’s a key insight from While access to health
a new Associated Press- care, healthy food and
NORC Center for Public Af- high-speed internet were
fairs Research poll, which generally rated highly, only
found that U.S. adults ages 36% said their community
65 or older feel much bet- does a good job provid-
ter prepared to “age in ing affordable housing. Just
place” than those 50-64, 44% were satisfied with ac-
who are mostly still in the cess to transportation and
final stretches of their work- to services that support old-
ing years. er people in their homes.
The poll also documented Kym Harrelson-Pattishall is
greater insecurity around hoping that as more peo-
aging in place for older ple retire to her coastal
Black and Latino Ameri- North Carolina community,
cans, the likely result of a health care facilities and
deep-rooted wealth gap other services will follow. As
that markedly favors white A man and woman walk under trees down a path at Alta Plaza Park in San Francisco. it stands now, a major med-
people. Associated Press ical issue can involve a car
Aging in one’s own home, trip of up to an hour to the
or with family or a close area resident. started early in her career, when she made house calls hospital.q
friend, is a widely held as- Also, people approaching
piration, with 88% of adults their 60s may question if
50 and older saying it’s their Social Security and Medi-
goal in an earlier AP-NORC care will truly be there for
poll. them. Stacy Wiggins, an
The outlook among those addiction medicine nurse
65 or older is upbeat, with who lives near Detroit, fig-
nearly 8 in 10 saying they’re ures she’ll probably work at
extremely or very prepared least another 10 years into
to stay in their current home her late 60s — and maybe
as long as possible. part-time after that. Older
But doubts creep in for friends are already collect-
those ages 50-64. Among ing Social Security.
that group, the majority “In my group, you wonder if
who rate themselves as ex- it’s going to be available,”
tremely or very prepared Wiggins said of govern-
shrinks to about 6 in 10, ac- ment programs that sup-
cording to the poll. port older people. “Maybe
This relatively younger it’s not. You will find people
group is especially likely to who are less apt to have a
say their financial situation is traditional pension. Those
the main reason they don’t are things that leave you
feel very prepared to age with a lot of trepidation to-
in place. And they’re also ward the future.”
more likely to feel anxious Some people now in their
about being able to stay in 50s and early 60s may still
their communities, get care be dealing with the over-
from medical providers hang of the 2007-09 reces-
and receive backup from sion, when unemployment
family members or close peaked at 10% and fore-
friends, the poll found. closures soared, said Sarah
Part of it may be due to fear Szanton, dean of the Johns
of the unknown among Hopkins University nursing
people who’ve relied on a school. For an aging soci-
paycheck all their lives. ety, the U.S. does relatively
“When you’ve never done little to prepare older adults
it before, and you are only to navigate the transition to
going to do it once, you’re retirement, she observed.
sort of flying by the seat of “As Americans, we’ve al-
your pants,” said Leigh Ger- ways idolized youth and
stenberger, in his late 60s we’re notoriously underpre-
and retired from a career in pared for thinking about
financial services. “I spent a aging,” Szanton said. “It of-
lot of time talking to people ten comes as a surprise to
ahead of me in the jour- people.” Her involvement
ney,” says the Pittsburgh- with aging-in-place issues