Catherwood LibraryILR School

The pandemic's disruptions could worsen pre-existing economic gaps for Blacks and other people of color that will continue into their retirement years. Unemployment rates for older Black and Latino workers have been over.higher, and indications are that millions of older workers will retire prematurely, with less Social Security and other retirement funds to tide them over. Prior to the pandemic, a study by the Center for Retirement Research showed that the typical Black household had only 46% of the retirement savings being held by white households, with Hispanics having 49%. The Elder Index, a report that shows the ability of older people to cover basic living expenses, shows that 2/3s of single Black people and 3/4s of single Hispanic people have incomes below this measure. Ideas to narrow the gap include some adjustments to Social Security such as raising the full retirement benefit age, but the problem with that is many Black Americans have shorter lifespans as well as harder physical labor into their older years than do white Americans. Others have proposed revising current early retirement reductions to allow higher benefits, establishing a better basic minimum benefit, as well as increasing benefits for workers who leave the work force frequently due to family care or job loss.