Bank Hosts Discussion on the Economics of Aging

A recent Richmond Fed program about the economic impact of aging offered insight into the workforce and lifestyle choices that Americans of all ages are making and how this impacts the economy.

District Dialogues: The Economics of an Aging America was held at the Richmond Fed's downtown headquarters on August 9. Featured speakers were Genevieve Waterman, director of economic security for the National Center on Aging; Gigi Amateau, an assistant professor in VCU's Department of Gerontology, who is partnering with Senior Connections, the Capital Area Agency on Aging, to facilitate The Longevity Project; and John Bailey Jones, the Richmond Fed's vice president of microeconomic analysis. Renee Haltom, the Bank's regional executive for Virginia, moderated the conversation.

The District Dialogues series is a forum for community members to engage with experts about prevailing issues facing the Fifth District and beyond. Aging was the third topic explored in the series this year.

"We felt this was an important topic to discuss because of the Federal Reserve mission to foster maximum employment and price stability," Haltom shared in her opening remarks. "For us to achieve our mandate, it's really important for us to understand what affects employment for different types of people. For example, if you have a massive cohort of people starting to move into retirement and draw down savings, that may have an effect on the overall economy; and people on fixed incomes can feel inflation a bit more harshly than others. These are important impacts that we need to understand."

Haltom walked program participants through data points that revealed the growing ratio of older Americans compared to younger working adults and illustrated why this matters: "If more people are collecting social security benefits than paying in due to the growth of the aging population, there is a tangible impact of less social security benefits being available at some point. You can really broaden this example to any of society's resources."

Haltom's overview fostered the conversation that Waterman, Amateau and Jones engaged in around the real-world impact of policies that serve the aging, the gaps therein and how older adults are managing.

A recent study conducted by The Longevity Project revealed that older adults in the greater Richmond region believe ageism is keeping them out of the labor force, Amateau said, while Jones noted that many individuals in their 60s are adopting second careers or assuming "bridge" jobs rather than fully retiring.
Amateau shared details about the federal Older Americans Act, which provides resources and services for all Americans beginning at age 60. "There is an amazing safety net and infrastructure of 700 Area Agencies on Aging in every city and county, and within U.S. territories," Amateau said.

Even so, she, Jones and Waterman noted that more older Americans are struggling to maintain affordable housing, and the number of homeless adults ages 50 and older in the Richmond region is growing.

The National Council on Aging seeks to assist older Americans who are struggling with needs like this and help them consider alternative ways to remain independent, such as creating small businesses or engaging in the gig economy, Waterman said.

"Seeing the trend of Baby Boomers not being able to save money, they are really the ones that are going to be showing up and changing the landscape with the combination of available technology and flexibility in the workforce," said Waterman, who noted the ripple effect of this trend on younger adults who may be juggling childcare and possibly elder care.

The conversation wrapped up with a question-and-answer session, followed by an opportunity for in-person guests of the hybrid program to continue the discussion with the panelists and engage with leaders of Senior Connections, who were available to share information about the organization's resources.

"The information shared offered insight and perspective into both the deeply personal, and the more broadly economic, aspects of aging," said Kartik Athreya, the Richmond Fed's director of Research. "We hope attendees left armed with information that helps them in personal decision-making, and also in framing how aging matters for our society."

The next District Dialogues program will be held on November 7 and will focus on the Economic Outlook of Youth in America.

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.