Moneywise and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commissions or income through links in the content below.
As inflation continues to reshape the American economy, a quiet demographic shift is compounding the financial pressure on seniors.
Adults who age alone, or adults who age without spouses, partners, or adult children to depend on, face more precarity, more anxiety, and a greater likelihood of living in poverty.
Before the mid-20th century, aging was often a community or family process. Beginning in the 1980s, the landscape changed dramatically.
According to KFF Health News, about 28% of Americans age 65 and older now live alone, a sharp increase from about 10% in 1950 (1). For these people, the margin for error in retirement planning is shrinking.
The Society of Actuaries (SOA) generally defines people living alone as older adults who are single, live alone, and lack traditional family support, such as a spouse or close adult children (2).
While widowhood was once the primary driver of this demographic, the modern population of single people is more diverse.
Demographic trends, including lower marriage rates, higher late-life divorce rates (often called “gray divorce”), and the decision not to have children among younger boomers and Generation X mean that the proportion of people living alone is increasing compared to older generations (3).
Living alone was made possible by the economic expansion of the 20th century and the advancement of women’s rights, but an unintended consequence of that freedom is potential financial vulnerability.
Seniors who live alone bear the full cost of housing, utilities, transportation, and food. In personal finance, this is often known as the “singles tax.”
A couple living together only needs one Internet connection, for example, one heating bill, and often just one vehicle. A solo worker pays the same rate for these essentials, but with a single income stream.
For this reason, single retirees often need significantly greater retirement resources to maintain the same lifestyle as couples (4).
This problem is worse for women, who, on average, live longer than men and may have lower lifetime earnings due to wage differentials or interruptions in caregiving. After age 75, 43% of women live alone, while only 21% of men do, mainly because women have a longer life expectancy (1).
Housing is the largest item in most retirees’ budgets and, for people who live alone, it can be the most difficult expense to cover.
Rising rents, property taxes and homeowners insurance can quickly overwhelm a single income, particularly in high-cost regions where seniors may have deep community roots that they don’t want to give up by relocating or downsizing.
Health care costs are also daunting. Without a spouse to provide unpaid care in the home, people living alone may face immediate out-of-pocket costs for home health aides, assisted living, or nursing home stays as their health declines, and these services can cost thousands of dollars per month.
According to data collected by CareScout, home care costs, community assisted living costs, and nursing home costs with private rooms have increased 9% since 2022 (5).
Costs differ by location, but the national average for annual in-home costs was $77,796 in 2024. For assisted living communities, the cost was $70,800 and for nursing homes with private rooms it was $127,752.
And chances are, Medicaid alone won’t be enough. In 2023, Medicaid only paid 44% of the costs of long-term institutional care (6). That ratio could shrink even further as the One Big Beautiful Act (OBBBA) will cut Medicaid spending by $911 billion over the next decade (7).
If you are worried about shouldering these costs alone, you may want to consider opting for long-term care insurance.
One option is GoldenCare, which offers comprehensive long-term care insurance policies. They included hybrid life insurance or annuities with benefits for long-term care, short-term care, long-term care, home health care, assisted living, and traditional long-term care insurance.
But long-term care isn’t one-size-fits-all. That’s why GoldenCare offers several options to fit your needs and budget.
You can get personalized customer service from GoldenCare long-term care specialists to help you identify the best coverage options for you and your budget.
Read more: Is retirement approaching without savings? Don’t panic, you are not alone. Here are 6 easy ways to catch up (and quickly)
Despite these risks, many lone workers find themselves paralyzed when it comes to planning. Essential items like detailed budgets, long-term care plans, or legal documents that name decision-makers are often left unfinished.
Decisions about downsizing, buying insurance, or moving to supportive communities are sometimes delayed until a crisis forces them to act (8).
Standard retirement rules of thumb, such as saving enough to replace 70% to 80% of pre-retirement income, and the 4% rule, may not apply to people who live alone. Because they can’t rely on their partner’s pension, Social Security, or “free” caregiving work, their financial bar is higher.
A solo worker’s retirement budget should take into account paying professionals for tasks that spouses or children typically do for free, such as transportation, trips to the grocery store, and home repairs.
To reduce their risk, people who live alone should be strategic about income, savings, and retirement. As a general rule, those who live alone after age 65 are more likely to need to delay receiving their Social Security benefits until age 70 to maximize their monthly payment.
People who live alone should also be intentional about choosing their network of trusted friends and neighbors who can provide emotional and practical support that acts as a safety net when health problems arise.
And without a second income or a built-in support system, people living alone may want to plan for additional financial wiggle room.
If you’re unsure how to plan for aging alone, you might benefit from a counselor, but finding the right counselor can be an intimidating process.
Advisor.com can help you find an experienced FINRA/SEC registered financial professional near you.
Simply enter basic information about yourself and Advisor.com’s AI-powered technology will match you with vetted advisors who best fit your specific needs and goals.
Advisor.com uses things like client reviews, professional experience, and credentials to find the best advisors available, so you don’t choose a name at random. And every advisor you are matched with is a fiduciary, meaning they are legally obligated to put your best interests first.
The platform even allows you to schedule a no-obligation initial consultation with your partner for free to see if you’re a good fit.
There is no doubt that aging alone is on the rise and, for many people, it brings with it a sense of freedom and autonomy.
“There can be great joy in aging alone. Feeling the freedom to choose their own path, those who age alone are the captains of their own ship,” said Heather Nawrocki, vice president of experiences and connections at AARP, in a survey report, reflecting on the findings (9). “They can pursue their own interests. There’s a lot of positivity.”
But people who live alone often face higher per-person costs and heavier planning burdens than their partnered peers.
That’s why investing early can make a big difference. And when it comes to retirement, every detail counts, especially with the power of compounding.
Investing just $30 each week can add up to more than $94,000 in retirement savings over 20 years, assuming compounding is 10% annually.
If you’re hoping to develop an investing habit, Acorns makes it easy for you.
With Acorns, you can automatically invest spare change from your daily purchases into a diversified portfolio of ETFs managed by experts from leading investment firms like Vanguard and BlackRock.
Simply link your cards to the app and Acorns will round up each purchase to the nearest dollar, investing the difference into a diversified portfolio. That means your $4.25 morning coffee becomes a 75-cent investment in your future.
And you can even receive an additional $20 investment if you sign up today.
We rely only on verified sources and credible third-party reports. For more information, see our editorial guidelines and ethics.
KFF (1); Society of Actuaries (2); US Facts (3); Forbes (4); CareScout (5); KFF (6); National Association of Counties (7); AARP (8, 9)
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
