The Economic Impact of the Pandemic on Older Adults

ABSTRACT

The global health pandemic exacerbated existing economic disparities for many older adults who struggled as a result of structural inequality. Even before the onset of COVID-19, many older adults of color showed signs of financial precarity as they were more negatively impacted by the housing crisis of 2008, losing their homes at disproportionate rates or never recovering the loss of equity in their homes. Older adults of color shoulder the burden of this reality, and their lives have been further devastated by the pandemic, resulting in greater economic instability, and expanding income and wealth gaps.