A record number of older adults now call Long Island home, but a new report warns that many are struggling with financial insecurity, poverty and the need to work well past retirement age.
Long Island is home to more than half a million older adults, those 65 and older, making up nearly 18% of the population across Nassau and Suffolk counties, according to a new report.
The study, by Jonathan Bowles and Rachel Neches, released by the Center for an Urban Future with funding from AARP New York and based on U.S. Census Bureau data from 2013 and 2023, shows that the region’s older population has grown 24% over the past decade.
But alongside the growth, many seniors are struggling financially.
In Nassau County, the number of older adults living in poverty rose 68% over the past decade, from 9,173 in 2013 to 15,433 in 2023.
That represents 6.1% of the county’s seniors, up from 4.4% a decade ago. Suffolk County saw a smaller, but still significant, increase of 57%, with 16,714 older adults living at or below the poverty line.
The report found that many Nassau seniors lack reliable retirement income.
Among those over 70, nearly half reported no retirement income from sources other than Social Security and more than one in 10 reported no Social Security income at all.
On Long Island overall, roughly 37,000 seniors over 70 reported no Social Security income in 2023, and nearly half lacked retirement income from other sources.
Disparities persist among racial and ethnic groups.
Poverty rates in Nassau are highest among Hispanic older adults at 10.2%, followed by Black seniors at 5.9%, whites at 5.9%, and Asians at 4.3%.
Older adult immigrants in the county face a poverty rate of 6.7%, compared with 5.9% for U.S.-born seniors. On Long Island as a whole, Hispanic seniors saw the largest increase in poverty, rising 128% over the decade.
Many older Nassau residents remain in the workforce out of necessity.
The number of employed seniors grew 51% over the past decade, from 39,585 in 2013 to nearly 60,000 in 2023.
About 24% of Nassau’s older adults are employed, up from 19% a decade ago, while roughly one in five older adults on Long Island overall is now working, including about 24,000 who are self-employed.
“Too many Long Islanders are struggling to make ends meet as they age. With more than a third of Nassau and Suffolk residents now over 50, the challenges are only growing,” New York State AARP Executive Director Beth Finkel said in a statement. “Nearly half have no retirement savings, poverty among older adults in Long Island has climbed, and family caregivers, the backbone of our long-term care system, are stretched thin.”
The report recommends that state and local officials respond with stronger aging services and targeted policies, including tax credits for older workers and family caregivers, expanded senior housing options, and measures to reduce utility and prescription drug costs.
