MSNBC, May 13th, 2008

AARP survey shows 40 percent are helping children with bills

The economic downturn is hitting roughly one
in 10 middle-aged and older Americans especially hard, compelling them
to borrow money for everyday living expenses and to seek help from
family, friends or charities, according to a survey released Tuesday by
the AARP.

In the
telephone survey of 1,002 adults 45 and older, nearly four in 10 said
they had helped a child pay bills or expenses. Among retirees,
one-third said they’d helped their children pay bills. Eight percent
said they’d helped a parent pay bills or expenses. The survey’s margin
of sampling error was plus or minus 3 percentage points.

One-third of survey participants said they stopped putting money into their 401(k) or retirement account and 14 percent said they had cut back on their medications.

“We have patients coming in fewer times,” said
registered nurse Tucky Franz of Salisbury, Md. “They’ll cut back
because of the copay.”

The majority of baby boomers
said they were finding it more difficult to pay for essentials and
utilities, and six in 10 said they had cut back on eating out and
entertainment.

James
Dyas, 75, of Sherman, Conn., said he and his wife go to their favorite
Mexican restaurant about half as frequently as they used to. “About all
the money we have goes to buying gasoline,” he said.

While the survey doesn’t show large numbers of people making radical changes — taking second jobs or moving to a smaller home — it did find that more than one-quarter of those surveyed are having trouble paying their mortgage or rent.

Compared
with older people, a greater percentage of younger baby boomers, those
45 to 54, said they were cutting back on medications, prematurely
withdrawing retirement funds and postponing paying bills.

“For
the younger boomers, it’s been an especially rude wake-up call,” said
Jim Dau, a spokesman for the AARP, a nonprofit that advocates Americans
50 and older.

Debra
Koziol, a 48-year-old hospital finance worker in Rhode Island, said
she’s started carpooling to work with her sister a few times a week and
packing lunch every day.

“The food is better,” she said. “Some of this is creating better habits, not so much waste.”

About Reverse Mortgages:  Learn all about reverse mortgages at NewRetirement.com

Annuity Advice for Retirement:   Evaluate and compare annuities at NewRetirement.com

NewRetirement Retirement Calculator:   Assess your retirement plan with the NewRetirement Retirement Calculator.