Factors influencing financial strain on elderly people who live alone in the U.S.A.

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate factors influencing financial strain experienced by elderly persons living alone. Data for this study were drawn from a national survey conducted by Louis Harris and Associates, Inc. in 1986 at the request of The Commonwealth Fund Commission on Elderly People Living Alone to obtain a picture of the resources, problems, needs and preferences of elderly Americans who live alone. For this study, a path model was tested by using multiple regressions. Demographic factors (gender, age and race) were statistically significant factors indirectly influencing financial strain through one economic factor (income) and one health‐related factor (physical limitations). Economic factors (income and health insurance coverage) and one health‐related factor (physical limitations) were statistically significant factors directly influencing financial strain.

Elderly consumers and financial choices: A systematic review

“…The elderly who avoid insolvency often enjoy the following factors (Tynan and Drayton 1988): assets and savings accumulated during life; the absence of long-term loans and mortgages; the absence of children to raise; and benefits derived from one's personal situation (tax exemptions, retirement income, social security checks, discounts on food, transport, and prescription drugs). Furthermore, individuals who live alone could more often be damaged by financial strain in terms of perceived economic difficulties, due to physical and economic limitations (Lee 1994). Therefore, families are a means of absorbing the blows of "bad luck" and strengthening financial knowledge.…”