Americans Near Retirement Hardest Hit By Economy’s Downturn

Americans on the cusp of retirement are being hardest hit by the slumping economy and have seen their household income drop 10 percent since 2009 along with the decline in the value of their homes, the New York Times reported.

Household incomes have dropped across almost every demographic, and on average the median household incomes for Americans are 4.8 percent lower than they were three years ago, the Times reported, citing new report from Sentier Research, a data analysis company that specializes in demographic and income data.

But for people between the ages of 55 and 64 it’s even worse, the Times reported. They have been affected disproportionately and their household incomes have fallen to $55,748 from $61,716 over the last three years, a decline of 9.7 percent.

“I was laid off in ’08, and I never really managed to get back into the job market,” Jan Thomas, 62, who lives in Sarasota, Fla., told the Times. “I’ve pretty much gone through my savings at this point. You know, taking money out of one account, then the other. Then it all just kind of went poof.”
Since the recession began in 2007, median household incomes have fallen 7.2 percent.