The variety of aged of us residing in poverty on Lengthy Island spiked dramatically over the previous decade, as hundreds say they’re unable to make ends meet, based on a brand new examine.
Researchers discovered that 14,600 of Nassau County seniors reported being in poverty in 2022, the most recent out there knowledge — a rise of 78% from 2012, based on a report by the Manhattan-based suppose tank Heart for an City Future.
In the meantime, in Suffolk County, 15,692 seniors reported being in poverty, up 48% in the identical time interval.
“Many of those older New Yorkers are financially insecure and struggling to make ends meet,” the suppose tank’s government director, Jonathan Bowles, mentioned in an announcement.
“We’re going to see hundreds extra older adults fall into poverty except state leaders act now to handle affordability challenges going through so many older adults,” he mentioned.
General, the overall poverty price amongst seniors in Nassau County was reported at 5.5% and 5.7% in Suffolk, based on the examine, which was first reported by Newsday.
Researchers additionally discovered that no less than 45% of seniors in each counties had no retirement financial savings.
Aged residents — who make up slightly below a fifth of the Lengthy Island’s whole inhabitants — reported scuffling with housing, meals and transportation, based on the examine.
Reps from the American Affiliation of Retired Individuals, which funded the examine, linked the grim findings to a scarcity of inexpensive housing and a rise in meals price.
“It’s very jarring to see these numbers and seeing the rise of the price of meals, it actually places the inhabitants between a rock and a tough place,” Beth Finkel, an AARP state director for New York.
Statewide, the variety of individuals 65 and older reporting poverty jumped by 50% between 2012 and 2022, based on the examine.
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