A new independent online survey conducted by Crestwood Associates in partnership with Golden Gateway Financial found that nearly 80 percent of senior citizens polled, are worried about the impact of the financial crisis on their retirement savings. These seniors are looking for new ways to generate additional income, with more than half of respondents considering returning to the workforce or delaying retirement.
"Older Americans are aggressively searching for ways to gain control over and offset losses that might be near to impossible to recover in their lifetimes," said Eric Bachman, founder and CEO of Golden Gateway. "This is a generation that has seen and heard it all, and instead of asking them to overcome one more challenge we must effectively communicate the alternatives and solutions available to them."
According to the press release, Golden Gateway has seen the percentage of incoming calls to its offices involving senior citizens facing foreclosure rise nearly 200 percent in the last three months. Other observations from the survey include:
- Over 60 percent of those 65 and older said the economic crisis has permanently hurt their retirement savings
- Nearly 55 percent feel the current economic crisis is the worst they have experienced in their lifetime
- Three fourths of those surveyed are making adjustments to their lifestyle as a result of the current economic crisis
- Nearly one quarter said they have delayed making large purchases to conserve cash
- One quarter of respondents said they are either borrowing against their home or trying to sell it in order to generate income to survive
- Nearly one third said they were planning to delay retirement because of the current economic crisis
- More than 20 percent of respondents are considering returning to work because of the effect of the financial crisis on their personal plans
