Aspen is a place for leaders to lift their sights above the possessions which possess them. To confront their own nature as human beings, to regain control over their own humanity by becoming more self-aware, more self-correcting, and hence more self-fulfilling.
Walter P. Paepcke, Aspen Institute Co-Founder
Aspen Institute
Blog Posts, and Publications
Rainy Days Don’t Retire: Older Adults, Financial Shocks, and the Promise of Emergency Savings Tools
As life expectancy in the U.S. increases, older adults will comprise a larger share of the population than ever before. At the same time, older adults will play an increasingly important role in the U.S. economy. Their contributions through consumption, labor, and unpaid activities—such as providing care to others and volunteering—is expected to grow to over $27 trillion by 2050, more than triple their contribution in 2018.
For older adults—and America—to thrive amid this transition, it will be vital to ensure their financial stability. Yet our analysis finds that nearly half (47 percent) of older adults lack the liquid savings they need to be protected from financial shocks.Fortunately, to fulfill their unmet need for savings, there is a significant opportunity—both at and outside the workplace—for a new generation of emergency savings tools to support older adults’ financial stability. This brief examines the unique policy and market innovation opportunities tailored to older adults, drawing on both original data analysis and existing research and solutions to explore the following questions:
What do we know about the unmet need for liquid savings and older adults, their employment, and the income streams they could draw from to build and replenish savings?
How do older adults seek to build emergency savings today with available financial tools?
Given many older adults’ dynamic and unique mix of income streams, where are there unexplored opportunities to build next-generation emergency savings tools to meet their needs?
Learn more about how we can tailor emergency savings tools to older adults by reading the brief.
Most households experience at least one financial shock in a given year, but there are few comprehensive solutions to help them. How can we solve this persistent challenge?
Households need tools that help them afford everyday life and build long-term security. Too often, policy systems fail to respond to both of these needs and instead prioritize one goal over the other.
Retirement is the ultimate financial report card—for individuals and for America. Learn how leaders are working to make the retirement savings system work for everyone.
Trump Accounts were signed into law. Now, private and public sector need to work together to make sure these early wealth building accounts help low-income families.
