Older Americans, employed and unemployed, may never recover financially from this latest recession, and more than half don't foresee themselves having enough money to live comfortably in their retirement.

These are new findings from AARP's latest Public Policy Insitute report. The report is a collection of data taken from a survey of more than 5,000 Americans – age 50 and over – who were employed, had been employed, or were seeking employment during the three year recessionary period before they were surveyed online last October.

“Many older Americans have been buffeted by skyrocketing health care costs, dwindling home values, shrinking pension and investment portfolios, and employment struggles,” says John Rother, AARP’s executive vice president for Policy, Strategy and International Affairs. “Even if you have a job, this survey demonstrates that you are not immune to the negative effects of the recession.”

Overall, the recession took a toll on older Americans' finances, savings, health care and employment status.

Most troubling, nearly 30 percent of those surveyed reported they had exhausted all their savings during the recession. For those having trouble making ends meet, more than one in three (36.4 percent) stopped or cut back on saving for retirement.

Although recent findings from a Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index show older Americans actually have the highest overall well-being (with an increase in health behaviors and an uptick in emotional health), this group (49.5 percent) had problems taking care of financial needs and delayed getting medical or dental care or stopped taking medications.

Roughly 13 percent of older Americans also began collecting Social Security benefits, and two-thirds did so earlier than planned.

“Older Americans have good reason to be worried about the future because they have less time than others to recover from the impact of the last three years,” Rother says. “When older Americans are borrowing against their future or betting against their health, serious challenges lie ahead.”

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AARP: Older Americans may never recover from recession

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