R.I. has 10th highest income gap between senior citizens’ incomes and younger residents’ incomes

PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island has the 10th highest income gap between senior citizens’ incomes and younger residents’ incomes, according to a new Interest.com report.

The Retired Income Study states that Rhode Island residents who are 65 and older have a median income that equals only 55 percent of the income of residents ages 45 to 64 years old, with $39,577 compared to $71,756. Twenty-four percent of households are age 65 and older.
The report found that older Americans are making slow but steady gains in income compared with their younger counterparts, but they are still falling short of the levels needed for a healthy retirement in all but one state – Nevada.
The study uses income statistics from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey to compare how those age 65 and over are faring against pre-retirement households led by those aged 45 to 64.
Interest.com aid that people generally need 70 percent of their pre-retirement income once they stop working. It found that senior citizens in 49 of 50 states aren’t replacing enough of their pre-retirement income. Nevada was at 71 percent; Washington D.C. was 74 percent.
“It’s clear that, nearly everywhere in the country, older Americans still don’t have the kind of money coming in that they need for a secure and comfortable retirement,” Mike Sante, managing editor of Interest.com, said in a statement.
“Many Americans are struggling to make ends meet in their golden years. Especially in high-cost areas such as the Northeast, retirees are not only competing against the higher incomes of their younger counterparts, but they are also battling higher costs for housing, gas, food and other necessities,” he added.
Massachusetts’ seniors face the largest income gap for the second year in a row, bringing in just under half as much money as Massachusetts residents between 45 and 64 years old – $40,020 compared with $82,112.
People age 65 and older are able to replace at least 60 percent of their younger counterparts’ annual incomes in 28 states and Washington, D.C.
Hawaii (69%), Arizona (68%) and Mississippi (68%) joined D.C. and Nevada in the top five.

Nationally, the median income for those who are 65 and older equals just 60 percent of the median income for 45 to 64 year-olds.
For the complete rankings of all 50 states and Washington, D.C., click HERE.

Interest.com is owned by Bankrate, Inc., which provides personal finance advice and information on the Web.

- Advertisement -

No posts to display