On April 24, Health Affairs released an article and study entitled The Forgotten Middle: Many Middle-Income Seniors Will Have Insufficient Resources for Housing and Health Care.

The study, as we reported earlier this month, was conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago with funding by the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC), with additional support from AARP, the AARP Foundation, the John A, Hartford Foundation, and the SCAN Foundation.

The study highlights the growing number of seniors who will not have financial resources to afford senior housing with supportive services. For example, researchers found that by 2029, 54% of middle-income older adults would not have enough assets to cover the annual $60,000 cost for assisted living and out-of-pocket medical care.

Meeting the needs of middle-income older adults has long been an issue that has concerned LeadingAge and its members. In March, LeadingAge released its own study on how older baby boomers envision their quality of life if they need long-term care services.

In addition, earlier this year the LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston published a research report, entitled Exploring Financing Options for Services in Affordable Senior Housing Communities.

LeadingAge members are also in the forefront on this issue. Many members have developed affordable housing in various parts of the country and many more are in the process of developing housing for middle-market seniors. A good example is a Seattle-based member, Sustainable Housing for Ageless Generations (SHAG), which has 5,400 affordable units with several more in development.

LeadingAge applauds NIC for funding this study and will work with all stakeholders to continue our work in developing innovative ways to address the needs of the middle market.