AARP: Recession, Gas Price and Housing Worries Reverberate for Boomers and Older Americans

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September, 2009 -- More than a full year after gas prices peaked above $4.00 a gallon, Americans still report changing driving habits and worrying about gas costs.

In AARP’s Closer Look poll, the first of a series of quarterly polls of boomers and older Americans planned for regular release by AARP, half (51%) of all Americans age 45+ reported having had trouble paying for gas or driving less to cut costs in the past year. In fact, more people age 45+ reported problems with gas prices than reported problems paying their medical bills or experiencing losses in the financial markets.

Those most likely to still be working with children at home felt the most pain from gas prices. More than half (57%) of 45-64 year-olds reported being pinched by high gas prices. Many also couldn’t compensate by taking public transportation. More than two thirds (68%) of those who had a hard time paying for gas also found their access to public transportation inadequate.

Not surprisingly, the cost of getting around added more stress for those aged 45-64 who lost their jobs or had lower incomes. Seven in ten (71%) of those recently out of work reported being affected by gas prices and that public transportation didn’t provide them much relief. Almost two-thirds (62%) of those who’d lost a job said public transportation was a problem for them.

“It is time to rebalance America’s priorities,” said Elinor Ginzler, AARP Senior Vice President for Livable Communities. “So many people have followed the ‘drive until you qualify for a mortgage’ approach that we’ve lost sight of what makes a community livable and what makes our lives satisfying.” Three in ten people age 45+ even find walking in their neighborhood problematic, some because they feel unsafe, others because their sidewalks and crosswalks are inadequate. “The expiration of the Surface Transportation Reauthorization legislation today provides a reminder to reset our transportation goals,” said Ginzler. “People of all ages and abilities need to be able to go where they want safely, efficiently and with choices of how they travel.”

The constraints of recession and higher gas prices are reflected in and even compounded for some by the inability to find more affordable housing. Half (56%) of Americans age 45+ say a shortage of affordable housing options is a problem in their communities.

Half (52%) of all people age 45+ also report that foreclosures are a least a minor problem in their neighborhoods and one in five say foreclosures are a major problem. One in three say they have lost a substantial amount of equity that they had counted on for retirement.

AARP Closer LookSM is the first of a series of quarterly polls of boomers and older Americans planned for regular release by AARP. For a copy of the entire survey, go to http://www.aarp.org/research/surveys/money/econ/trends/articles/closer.

Methodology: Random Digit Dial telephone interviews for this poll were conducted from July 22 – August 3, 2009 among a nationally representative sample of 939 respondents 45 years of age or older. Of those, 100 respondents were Hispanic and 103 respondents were African American. The margin of error for total respondents is +/-3.20% at the 95% confidence level.

Source: AARP