The report finds that inflation of goods and services has severely impacted seniors, but inflation of senior living is much softer by comparison.
CHARLOTTE, N.C., Dec. 5, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- PayingforSeniorCare.com, a comprehensive resource providing financial information for senior care, today released a report examining the impact of inflation on seniors. The two-part report shares findings based on a survey of 1,000 U.S. adults aged 55+, and data showing the best and worst states for senior living inflation in the United States. The report aims to both highlight seniors' inflation concerns, and provide informational resources for those who need financial assistance.
The survey shows that 4 in 10 seniors worry that they won't be able to afford food and groceries in the future due to inflation, and 1 in 5 say that inflation has caused their grocery bill to increase by more than $250 per month. Overall, 1 in 4 seniors say that they've had to make drastic changes to their lifestyle to cope with inflation. For example, more than 1 in 10 seniors say they've had to skip meals to make ends meet, and 1 in 10 say that they've delayed needed medical procedures to save money.
However, our research shows that inflation for senior living is not as extreme. According to data from Caring.com, one of the nation's leading senior living referral services, senior living in the U.S. has not experienced the inflation that other sectors of the economy have. Average assisted living costs have only increased 3.7 percent since 2019, while the Consumer Price Index (CPI), a measure of consumer goods and services, has risen by 15.6 percent during the same time period.
"While inflation remains a serious concern for seniors and the population in general, relatively low occupancy rates in senior living communities driven by COVID-19 has largely kept inflation at bay," says Han Hwang, Caring.com's EVP of Partnerships. "However, we are hearing from operators that rates will continue to increase over time - those prices just haven't caught up yet with inflation in general."
This report finds that not all states have enjoyed the same low inflation of senior living. Several, including North Dakota and Hawaii, have inflation rates of over 20% since 2019 – significantly outpacing the 15.6% inflation rate of the CPI.
Data for this report uses proprietary information about rent costs among Caring.com's senior living partner communities. Learn more about the report's methodology and find resources for seniors negatively impacted by inflation here: payingforseniorcare.com/2022-inflation-and-seniors-impact-report.
About PayingforSeniorCare.com
PayingforSeniorCare.com strives to be the most complete, up-to-date, and reliable source of simple, easy-to-access financial information about senior care. This includes the Eldercare Financial Assistance Locator tool, and other comprehensive resources are continually being added and updated for those in every state in the nation. The site is owned and operated by Caring, LLC, a leading senior care referral service.
Media Contact
DENISE GRAAB, DIRECTOR OF REVIEWS PROGRAM & MARKETING, Caring.com, (650) 762-8190, [email protected]
SOURCE Caring.com
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