What Will This Election Mean for Older Americans?

America's electorate contains 69.7 million baby boomers. What issues matter most to these voters — and are candidates addressing them?

Here's what we know about how the two major party candidates stand on four major issues that matter to many older Americans.

Social Security is one of the most vital issues for older Americans. And, as things now stand, unless the Social Security system is changed, benefits will be cut by 21 percent in 2034, due to solvency issues. The only way to shore up Social Security is by raising taxes, cutting benefits (which could include raising the retirement age) or both. [More]

Health care is among the top four issues for registered voters in the upcoming presidential election, according to Pew Research poll results. Seventy-four percent said it was “very important” to their vote. That’s no big surprise. And more than 3,400 Next Avenue readers who participated in an online poll in January rated health care as their second most important concern in the election; the economy was No. 1. [More]

Not-so-funny thing about trying to suss out where Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump stand on retirement security matters for Americans: There’s very little to go on. Neither candidate spoke about retirement security in their big economic speeches. Their websites are mostly mute, too, aside from talk about Social Security. [More]

Considering that Americans 65 and older are the demographic group most likely to vote, it is astounding how little the major parties’ presidential candidates have talked about two issues that loom so large in older adults’ lives: caregiving and long-term care. [More]


 

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Read more in Next Avenue's Election 2016 Special Report